It’s no secret that data empowers informed decisions and strengthens nonprofit fundraising strategies. However, many organizations may think they’re using donor data properly when they’re really just storing it.
Bloomerang’s Mission Retainable Report reveals that “while 94% of fundraisers use CRMs, only 47% take full advantage of these tools and use donor insights to tailor their outreach.” To help you determine whether you’re part of this group, we’ll explore warning signs that you’re not using donor data to its fullest potential and offer tips to better use this valuable information, helping you create more sustainable fundraising practices.
1. Generic Communications
Every donor has a unique motivation for giving and a personal history with your organization, and your communications should reflect these characteristics. If you send the same email blasts and thank-you letters to each donor, you’re not using data effectively, and you risk alienating your supporters.
How to Fix This Issue
- Segment donors. Segmentation involves grouping donors based on factors like giving history, interests, and demographics. Creating these segments in your CRM lets you personalize communications at scale. For example, an animal shelter may invite supporters who have expressed interest in adopting a pet to its upcoming adoption event. Then, for supporters interested in animal rescue, the shelter might share success stories about rescued animals getting care.
- Personalize messages. Beyond segmentation, personalize communications by addressing donors by name, referencing their exact gift amounts, and highlighting their history with your organization. These small personal touches show you’re committed to building individual relationships with each supporter.
- Follow communication preferences. Ask supporters which communication channels they prefer (e.g., SMS, email, or direct mail) and how often they’d like to hear from you. Store this information in donor profiles and use it to tailor your stewardship strategy for each supporter.
2. Undelivered Messages
If your communications frequently bounce back to your organization, you’re likely relying on outdated contact information. Storing donor data without verifying or updating it prevents you from actually reaching donors and wastes precious resources.
How to Fix This Issue
- Audit your database. Just as you likely audit your financial records, auditing your database helps you catch errors and fix them before they become larger problems. Bloomerang’s donor database guide recommends regularly scanning your database to correct duplicate, outdated, or incomplete donor data, and running your system through National Change of Address (NCOA) processing to update address information.
- Request donor updates. Sometimes the best way to determine whether donor information is outdated is to simply ask. Send donors regular questionnaires asking if they’ve moved or changed their contact information and requesting their new information if they have. Also, build a short survey into common forms and signup cadences (e.g., donation forms or volunteer registration).
- Append missing data. You may also work with a data provider to append missing information, such as email addresses for email marketing, phone numbers for text messaging, employer information for corporate gift opportunities, or physical addresses for direct mail campaigns. As long as you work with a reputable provider that follows all data handling best practices and regulations, this approach allows you to collect donor data efficiently.
3. Infrequent Donor Outreach
If you only contact donors to solicit donations, you’re missing out on ample stewardship opportunities. When you use data to better understand donors, you can send them valuable communications that strengthen their relationships with your nonprofit.
How to Fix This Issue
- Use automation. Automated email cadences help you engage donors while saving your team time. For example, you may set up automated welcome messages to trigger when a donor makes their first contribution. Just ensure your automated cadences correctly use personal information so they feel genuine.
- Track engagement. Pay attention to donor giving frequency to pinpoint supporters who haven’t contributed in a while. Re-engage these donors by reaching out to them with communications about your nonprofit’s current priorities and low-commitment, convenient ways they can renew their support.
- Celebrate giving and volunteering milestones. Celebrating milestones helps your nonprofit show gratitude for your supporters while building their relationship with your cause. For example, let’s say a supporter has used their volunteer time off (VTO) to help out with 50 events. Contacting them to celebrate this win will make them feel more connected to your organization and more likely to continue volunteering.
4. Low Donor Retention
While only 47% of nonprofits use their CRMs to their fullest potential, the Mission Retainable Report also reveals that only 38% track first-time donor retention rates. If you have low donor retention but don’t analyze the data behind it, it’s difficult to identify trends and create tailored retention strategies.
How to Fix This Issue
- Track retention by segment. Run retention reports for different donor segments, such as first-time, major, and recurring donors. When you identify which groups are most at risk of lapsing, you can develop targeted outreach campaigns and focus your efforts where they matter most.
- Analyze why donors lapse. Investigate why donors have lapsed in the past to prevent current donor disengagement. Check when they stopped contributing regularly, engaging with your communications, or attending events, so you can intervene and prevent current supporters from leaving your nonprofit’s community.
- Set up lapsed donor alerts. Configure your nonprofit CRM to notify you when a donor hasn’t given or engaged within a certain period of time. Reach out to these supporters to gauge why they’ve halted their involvement and determine whether you can re-engage them.
5. Decisions Made by Guesswork
Data should drive your marketing, fundraising, stewardship, and retention efforts. When you rely on data for decision-making, you can clearly point to what’s working for your organization, what needs to change, and where you should focus your time and resources.
How to Fix This Issue
- Reference historical campaign data. Let’s say you run a GivingTuesday campaign each year. Before planning for this year’s efforts, analyze last year’s average gift size, email open rates, and total funds raised so you can create realistic yet ambitious goals that push your nonprofit forward.
- Implement A/B testing. Test different versions of email subject lines, donation page elements, and call-to-action buttons to determine what your audience responds to best. While industry benchmarks can help you generally understand what donors want to see, A/B testing lets you hone in on which small design or copy changes truly resonate with your unique donor base.
- Send donor surveys. Reach out to donors to collect their feedback on your communications, events, and overall operations. Distribute the results to the relevant team members so they can use this data to inform their future efforts. For example, if a supporter mentions that they’d like to see more hands-on volunteering opportunities, share this information with your volunteer coordinator.
Continuously refining your donor data strategy empowers you to adjust to changing donor preferences and adapt to current trends. Prioritize upgrading your data approach and reading up on what other organizations are doing to better inform your own efforts.