Do Your Donors Want To Relate?
The truth is … many do, some don’t.
And of course the trick to optimizing your fundraising is knowing who does and who doesn’t.
While The Agitator preaches retention, retention, retention — i.e., building durable relationships — we also note that you shouldn’t (and can’t afford to) simply throw money against all your existing donors indiscriminately.
So how do you know who to target or invest the most against? Especially when it comes to your newest donors … without much of a giving history?
My colleagues at DonorTrends are refining a methodology to do precisely that … pre-identify and target the donors with the greatest likely commitment to your organization.
They’ve been doing the field and analytical work on this challenge over the summer, working with about twenty participating nonprofits. And they have some answers, tools and tactics.
They’ve targeted September, when fundraisers have reported back for action, to present their findings and insights via The Agitator, after collaborating groups get a thorough briefing.
Stay tuned.
Tom
One response to “Do Your Donors Want To Relate?”
Behavioral Science Q & A
Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
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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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Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
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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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Good point Tom. It’s irritating when any organization, nonprofit or otherwise, doesn’t “get” you and your level of interest. Here at Convio, Mike Rogers spearheads much of the leadership around predictive analytics. His blog posts can be read at http://www.connectioncafe.com/authors/michael-rogers.html. Hope this is helpful!