Year-round engagement is a must for political and nonprofit success.
What to Know:
- 60 days of donor silence can lead to a 40% drop in engagement when trying to reactivate.
- Groups that emailed supporters at least twice a month retained 55% more donors annually.
- It costs 5 to 7 times more to reengage a lapsed donor than to keep an active one engaged.
- Campaigns with consistent monthly texting more than doubled voter turnout compared to last-minute blasts.
- Text messages still see open rates around 90%, compared to just 20% for email.
In today’s political and nonprofit landscape, silence isn’t neutral—it’s fatal. Leaders who fail to regularly email, text, or mail their donors and members risk losing more than just a few clicks. They risk losing loyalty, momentum, and ultimately, the very foundation of their organizations.
The evidence has never been stronger: if you don’t actively nurture your supporter base, someone else will. And by the time you realize it, the damage may be irreversible.
The Dangerous Cost of Going Silent
According to a 2025 analysis by Campaigns & Elections, organizations that let their donor or membership lists go cold for as little as 60 days saw up to a 40% drop in engagement when they attempted reactivation. In an era where Americans are bombarded with thousands of messages daily, absence leads to being forgotten.
Based on 2025 data showing a 40% drop in engagement after 60 days of silence | Made with DALL·E
The truth is harsh: today’s supporters need constant affirmation that they matter. Without consistent communication—whether through email, text, or even old-fashioned mail—your mission slowly fades from their consciousness. Not because they don’t care, but because attention is finite. If you aren't maintaining that connection, others will happily step in to claim it.
Engagement Is Essential to Contemporary Fundraising
There’s a misconception among some leaders that communication is only necessary during fundraising pushes. That thinking belongs to another era. In 2025, engagement isn’t a nice bonus; it’s the core driver of organizational survival.
The 2025 Nonprofit Tech for Good Report found that nonprofits emailing their lists at least twice a month retained 55% more donors annually than those who only sent quarterly newsletters. Meanwhile, the M+R Benchmarks Report showed that political campaigns maintaining consistent monthly text communication doubled their voter turnout rates compared to those who relied on last-minute blasts.
Infographic showing how regular email and text communication boosts donor retention and voter turnout | Made with DALL·E
In other words, regular contact isn’t an act of courtesy. It’s an act of stewardship. It's how you protect the investments—emotional, financial, and volunteer—that your supporters have already made in you.
Cold Lists Don’t Just Shrink—They Die
Allowing your list to go cold has consequences beyond a temporary dip in fundraising numbers. It fundamentally degrades the quality of your supporter base over time. Donors who were once loyal lose interest. Once-motivated volunteers lose urgency. Once-enthusiastic members find other homes for their activism and generosity.
The AFP Fundraising Effectiveness Project 2025 highlights that organizations neglecting consistent contact see donor lifespans shrink by 20% compared to pre-2020 benchmarks. Donors who feel abandoned are not just less likely to give again; they are more likely to distrust future communications altogether. Trust, once lost, is rarely regained.
Infographic showing how donor attrition shortens supporter lifespan | Made with DALL·E
Moreover, reactivating a cold supporter isn’t just harder—it’s significantly more expensive. Studies show it costs 5 to 7 times more to reengage a lapsed donor than to cultivate an active one. In political terms, that’s the difference between turning out voters at $5 a head versus $35 a head.
Why a Warm List Wins Every Time
When political committees, nonprofits, or advocacy groups invest in consistent, meaningful communication, the results speak volumes. Lists that stay warm deliver higher open rates, better clickthroughs, more small-dollar donations, and more volunteer hours.
This isn’t hypothetical. According to the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), organizations that prioritized monthly educational emails—not just fundraising asks—saw a 15-30% increase in second gifts compared to peers who only emailed when they needed donations.
Pie charts showing higher donor returns and engagement from warm lists | Made with DALL·E
In politics, the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Democratic National Committee (DNC) both reported in early 2025 that volunteer recruitment texts sent to warm lists were twice as effective as those sent to cold lists. Keeping supporters engaged, informed, and involved turns passive backers into active foot soldiers when it matters most.
How Smart Leaders Are Staying Warm in 2025
The organizations seeing real success aren’t treating engagement like an afterthought. They’re treating it like a daily discipline, woven into every part of their strategy. Today’s winning leaders are creating year-round communication calendars—balancing updates, thank-yous, educational briefings, and calls to action.
Infographic outlining key strategies for sustained supporter engagement, from SMS outreach to first-party data | Made with DALL·E
By investing in segmentation, they are able to communicate with new prospects and loyal donors in different ways. They’re leveraging text messaging more aggressively, knowing that open rates for SMS still hover around 90%, compared to 20% for email. They are also investing in first-party data—building strong, self-owned lists rather than relying heavily on third-party rentals or advertising.
Data privacy regulations and the shifting landscape of digital marketing make this more important than ever. Perhaps most importantly, they are communicating even when they aren’t asking for anything. Because every touchpoint—every update, every thank-you, every small story shared—is a thread that weaves stronger bonds between the mission and the people who support it.
Wrap Up
The world moves fast. Donors have more causes competing for their attention. Voters have more candidates vying for their loyalty. Members have more movements clamoring for their time. If you aren’t regularly showing up in their inbox, their mailbox, or on their phone screens, you are effectively stepping aside and letting someone else build that relationship instead.
Silence is no longer neutral. Silence is surrender. In 2025 and beyond, the organizations that survive—and thrive—will be the ones that understand a simple truth: movements are fueled by relationships, not just transactions. Relationships are fueled by consistent, heartfelt, meaningful engagement—day after day, month after month, year after year.
Warm lists are worth their weight in gold. Cold lists are a graveyard. Stay warm. Stay winning.