Automated Supporter Journeys: Making Retention Work For Charities
The NCVO report that charities are under increasing pressure to do more with less. Supporter expectations are rising, resources are stretched, and the need for more effective retention strategies has never been greater. Automation—once a buzzword, now a practical necessity—can help charities deliver timely, personalised automated supporter journeys that keep donors engaged. But what does automation really look like in practice, is it the right way to go, and how are sector leaders making it work?
A panel of fundraising professionals explored automation in supporter journeys in a Woods Valldata webinar: Supporter Journeys and Thanking – available now to watch on demand.
Here’s a little of what they had to say…
The Benefits of Automation
During the Woods Valldata webinar, the panel explored the challenges and opportunities of automated supporter journeys. As Andrew Sargent, Head of Analysis from Sequoia Insights explained, “Automation is really important, because otherwise all your time would be taken up doing selections, sending something out, and I think it would just be too hard.”
The panel agreed that automation isn’t just about efficiency—it’s about freeing up fundraisers to focus on strategy, creativity, and relationship-building. With the right systems in place, charities can ensure supporters receive the right message, at the right time, through the right channel.
Automating supporter thanking, as part of your charity response handling and fulfilment, for example, provides an excellent opportunity to make the supporter feel valued at a time when they are most connected with your cause.
Putting the Supporter in the Centre
Effective automation starts with good data. Having the right data in your CRM can make all the difference. Even if that just starts with the most recent transactions and values, you can build on that over time with more personal information such as connection to cause and reasons to give. But it’s important that this is shared on a charity-wide basis rather than working in silos. The supporter, not the charity structure, needs to be at the centre of the process.
As Jessica Hosseiny, Head of Retention and Development from Shelter shared, “We’ve recently launched three collaborative, matrix working groups across core areas of our work to try and break down silos in the individual giving team. They focus on loyalty, regular giving and cash. That’s trying to really focus on what will have the most impact.”
Andrew agreed by saying, “If you do [automation] in silos, and you do that without a joined-up view, that will get so hard to manage. So, I think trying to either take a step back, or if you’re starting from scratch, like, what do you want those automated flows to look like? And then within that, start to do a little bit of personalisation.”
By mapping supporter journeys and centralising data, charities can identify key touchpoints and triggers for automated communications. This ensures that every supporter receives a journey tailored to their preferences and behaviours.
Personalisation at Scale
One of the biggest benefits of automation is the ability to personalise communications at scale.
Personalisation is about using more than a supporter’s name—it’s about sending relevant messages based on their journey stage, interests, and previous interactions. The panel discussed how charities are using automation to deliver welcome emails, thank you letters, and stewardship calls at key moments, driving engagement and reducing attrition.
Testing and Optimising Automated Supporter Journeys
Automation isn’t a set-and-forget solution. The panel emphasised the importance of regular testing and optimisation. Jessica described how Shelter uses A/B testing to determine the best automated supporter journeys: “Testing is key to finding that the space in the middle between individualisation and one-size-fits-all… if you’ve done a really solid AB test with a control group, automation comes in when you roll it out because you’ve got the confidence that it works. But don’t just automate and forget it has happened—check in at different points.”
By analysing key metrics charities can continually improve their automated journeys and ensure they’re delivering maximum value.
Keeping the Human Touch
While automation can deliver efficiency and scale, the panel was clear that it should never replace the human touch. As Chris Allum Head of Fundraising Products from Guide Dogs shared, “Having an effective supporter journey is really critical for us to be able to maximise the return that we get from those donors. In fact, we’ve got a whole team dedicated to just doing retention within the team… creating really great content and getting that out at the right time, to the right people.”
Automation enables fundraisers to focus on what matters most: building relationships, listening to supporters, and delivering meaningful experiences.
Making Automation Work
Automated supporter journeys is about more than technology—it’s about strategy, insight, and a commitment to putting supporters first. By combining good data, thoughtful planning, and regular optimisation, charities can deliver journeys that engage, delight, and retain.
Support is out there...
If all this sounds a little beyond what you can do in-house, consider looking at the market to see what support is available.
Woods Valldata’s Response Handling Services, for example, support large-scale fundraising programmes with complex data capture and automated thanking fulfilment as part of their service. For smaller and medium-sized charities, ResponseGo offers a simple, scalable, and affordable solution—ensuring you can capture the right data and deliver great next-step experiences.
When it comes to thanking, SmartThank takes the complexity out of personalised thanking for Woods Valldata response handling charity partners. With hundreds of variable text options, SmartThank ensures every supporter feels valued, driving loyalty and repeat giving.
And for the wider journey? Why not reach out to a specialist like Sequoia Insights who will help you develop a supporter journey that works for you and your supporters.
Contact Woods Valldata today to learn more about our Response Handling, ResponseGo, and SmartThank solutions. And don’t forget to watch our Supporter Journeys & Thanking webinar on demand for even more expert insights!
