Data-driven fundraising for nonprofits

The giving climate has dried up and non-profits are hurting. But they may also be sitting on their most untapped resource: Data.

Earlier this year, the Better Business Bureau published a study showing a majority of consumers had stopped charitable donations because they felt more affluent individuals should or could pick up the slack.

The data further exposed generational shifts: Gen Z donors were almost twice as likely as older generations to have reduced or stopped their giving, with over 40% claiming they stopped because they hadn’t been asked to continue.

As the saying goes, “If you don’t ask…” But it begs a more pressing question for non-profit fundraisers: “If not them, then who did we ask?”

Economies of (small) scale

Knowledge is power, so it’s understandable that every app or piece of software promises valuable data. It’s a compelling selling point. But it can be a double-edged sword.

Larger, more institutionally complex organizations—non-profits included—often own or license myriad platforms that are acquiring, analyzing and documenting (or at least storing) a wealth of data from any number of sources, for any number of purposes. And as anyone who has worked in a larger organization will attest, it leads to problems. Just ask the Chief Data Officer who left after only 30 months in the job…

The larger the corporation, the greater the opportunity for silos. For discrete projects. For data protectivity rather than data democratization.

Smaller, more nimble organizations don’t typically feel the same pain, and while that may be because they don’t have the same breadth of data, pursuing excellence shouldn’t prevent achieving good. These are the organizations where fundraising and marketing could and should work side by side—because when they do, great things can happen.

Hello, is it me you’re looking for?

Even the most fundamental CRM, if properly used, will capture, access and operationalize a slew of valuable information that non-profits should not overlook or underestimate.

Without too much effort or investment, non-profit marketers can overlap operational information—like email engagement, web traffic, event attendance, social media interactions—with donor demography from their fundraising peers, like donor status, tenure and value growth.

By introducing a robust donor feedback loop tracking brand health, strategic affinity etc. and you can develop a profound understanding of who you’re talking to, what resonates with them and what, if anything, they want to see in return.

It’s that first part—understanding who you’re talking to—that’s critical. A one-size-fits-all approach rarely works in fundraising. Smart segmentation of your donor base enables tailored communications, fostering more meaningful engagement and, overtime, more donations.

Putting the data into action

Predictive analytics uses historical data to forecast future outcomes. For instance, by analyzing past donation trends, fundraising teams can anticipate fallow seasons and proactively strategize—again, with marketing and communications colleagues—to develop compensatory programs.

It’s then on the marketing function to deliver a frictionless engagement experience that is tailored for specific audiences, and distributed through the right channel, at the right time.

There is no silver bullet for fundraising and right now, whether it’s B2B or direct-to-consumer, there’s no denying it’s tough going. But taking simple steps to collaborate across fundraising and marketing teams, and combining the data you already own, can reap record-breaking rewards.

Still not sure how to get started? Mission Brands Consulting can help.