Hi, I’m Jen. I’m new here, the newest employee at DonorVoice. I’ve been helping mission-driven organizations challenge the status quo for nearly two decades.

About a year ago, after meeting Kevin and the DonorVoice team serendipitously, Kevin invited me to join DonorVoice. At the time, I wasn’t ready. I stubbornly wanted to prove that I could build something myself. 

Over the following year, however, I worked on several projects with DonorVoice, and I couldn’t shake the sense that I was meant to be an agitator—and that I wanted a team around me to tackle the hard problems in the fundraising world. 

One of those problems is how we measure the true drivers of donor behavior in an omnichannel world. That’s why I want to introduce you to the BEATS model.

So here I am, with my first post on The Agitator. 

How We Got Here

For the last 50 or so years, direct mail was the bread and butter of US based nonprofit fundraising. When a user responded to a piece of mail using the enclosed reply slip, we credited that piece of mail with the gift. That was the original last-click attribution. 

As digital fundraising grew, we applied source codes and last-click attribution to our digital reporting. This is mainly because our systems are relics of a direct mail world. 

As technology improved, we started reporting on even more granular interactions, but still relied heavily on outdated attribution methods that fail to capture the complexity of donor journeys and resort to attributing revenue to the easiest to measure channels. 

So, Why BEATS?

The BEATS Model is a framework that perfectly encapsulates how to bring clarity and truth to fundraising measurement—all while keeping a relentless focus on real donor impact.

BEATS stands for:

• B – Business Financials (or the Bottom Line)
• E – Experiments
• A – Analysis
• T – Technology
• S – Surveys

BEATS isn’t a rigid template or a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, it’s a mindset—a culture of evidence and experimentation that helps fundraisers to make smarter, more confident decisions.

Breaking Down BEATS

B — Business Financials

Too often, fundraisers focus on top-line revenue—how much came in—without questioning how much actually stayed to advance the mission after factoring in costs. Or worse, only focus on the channel revenue in their silo, hoping to claim credit for their increased pie slice even as the overall revenue pie gets smaller.  BEATS pushes us to prioritize net revenue, marketing efficiency, growth and long-term donor value. That means looking beyond short-term wins to whether our channels are sustainable and profitable over time.

E — Experiments

In a multichannel world, the only way to know what truly drives giving is to test – but this isn’t your typical A/B package or ad copy test. These experiments are meant to answer whether channel activity is causing revenue to come in that wouldn’t otherwise.  Is the revenue truly additive or swapping pie slices?  And if it’s additive, what is the real ROAS vs. the inflated one reported by the channel. This is done with randomized experiments, holdout groups, geo-tests and incrementality studies to isolate cause and effect, cutting through attribution noise. Experiments are the backbone of BEATS because they separate bogus platform ROAS from real impact.

A — Analysis 

Good data is only useful with good analysis. BEATS emphasizes thoughtful modeling and measurement—from simple metrics to more advanced methods like casual impact or media mix models—to get closer to the truth of what’s driving donor behavior. It’s not about chasing the fanciest technique, but about matching the right analysis to the right question.

One powerful tool I’ve seen in practice is DonorVoice’s Commitment Score, which measures a donor’s psychological attachment to the organization. This goes beyond giving behavior alone, capturing the emotional and attitudinal drivers of loyalty and helping you identify and nurture your highest-potential supporters.

T — Technology

Technology powers all of this: data pipelines, reporting tools, testing platforms. But it’s not just about shiny objects—it’s about making measurement reliable, scalable, and repeatable. BEATS encourages you to invest wisely in the technology stack that supports your culture of testing and analysis.

S — Surveys 

The final element, Surveys, brings the donor voice into the mix. Numbers can tell you what happened, but not always why it happened. Surveys help you layer in the donor’s perspective, closing the gap between observed behavior and donor motivations. DonorVoice’s feedback platform is a great example of how to do this at scale, allowing organizations to systematically gather, analyze, and act on donor insights to improve the experience and reduce churn.

Closing Thoughts

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that challenging the status quo, being an Agitator, takes guts—but it’s also the most rewarding part of this work. Fundraisers are under more pressure than ever to deliver results, but we also owe it to our missions to get to the truth of what’s working, what’s not, and why.

The BEATS Model isn’t magic, and it isn’t a shortcut. It’s a mindset shift—a way to anchor your decisions in evidence, curiosity, and rigor. It’s about asking better questions and building the tools, experiments, and processes to answer them honestly.

My challenge to you is simple: pick one part of BEATS and start there. Maybe it’s your first randomized holdout test. Maybe it’s a survey to understand why donors lapsed. Maybe it’s a more honest conversation with your finance team about net revenue. Whatever you choose, commit to taking the first step.

If you’re interested in diving deeper into BEATS or sharing your own measurement stories, let’s connect. I’d genuinely love to hear your experiences and explore how we might challenge the fundraising status quo together. Drop me a note at jboland@thedonorvoice.com. My virtual door is always open!

Jen