Be Careful About Assumptions
We talk a lot about building relationships with current donors, especially in the face of more and more difficult new donor prospecting.
Major gift fundraisers, at least the successful ones, are astute relationship builders. And generally the reward is quite apparent.
It’s a bigger challenge to move relationship building down the donor pyramid. There’s a lot more information to elicit and process, and then utilize effectively in fundraising programs. But there’s no excuse for not doing this with your online donors, where data collection and utilization at large scale is entirely feasible.
Still, as this article, My Name Is Loren. BTW, I’m A ‘He’, illustrates, one needs to be careful about the marketing assumptions behind your use of personalized data. Further, don’t bother collecting information you won’t act upon. And always remember database Rule #1: garbage in, garbage out!
Apart from previous giving history, what, in your organization’s fundraising context, might be the 2-3 most important bits of information about your individual donors that you could act upon to build closer relationships with each them? Are you getting that information? If so, are you using it?
Tom
Behavioral Science Q & A
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I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
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Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]
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There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
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I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
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