As any fundraiser knows, finding and keeping donors is a crucial component of a nonprofit organization’s ability to fulfill its mission. Donor stewardship is a time-consuming, but essential process to keep your organization’s biggest supporters connected and engaged with your mission. Good stewardship can help one-time donors and event attendees become long-term supporters of your cause. The rewards for keeping your donors closely engaged with your mission can be huge – according to NPOInfo’s charitable giving statistics, donors are 60% more likely to become recurring donors after their second gift.
Luckily for today’s fundraising professionals, there are tons of helpful technology tools available to help make the donor stewardship process easier. Good stewardship requires strategically nurturing quality donor relationships and setting up effective communication channels. Your organization can use donor data to inform your stewardship strategy by helping you understand who your donors are, the best ways to reach them, and what their capacity is to give.
Let’s run through the things you need to know when collecting and using donor data that will inform your donor stewardship plan. In this article, we’ll discuss:
What donor data should you collect?
The first donation is the beginning of your donor stewardship journey, so it’s important to take advantage of the moment! Understanding more about who your donor is can help you understand if they are likely to give again. Specifically, plan to prioritize the collection of:
Demographic data
This is basic information about your donors–for example, a donor’s age, gender, employment status, employer, etc. This information can be gathered at the time of donation or can be purchased from a data appending service for nonprofits.
Donor history
Nonprofits tend to retain repeat donors at higher levels than one-time donors. For supporters who have given multiple times, make sure to take note of how much they gave, how often they gave, and the last time they gave. This information can be used during your next fundraising drive to create a short list of reliable supporters who could help with your campaign, as well as lapsed donors who may need extra nurturing to re-engage with your mission.
Wealth indicators
These data points can help you analyze a donor’s potential to give. For example, information about a donor’s real estate investments, stock ownership, and business affiliations can give you an idea of their capacity for giving at a greater level, or if they are experiencing financial hardships that would make an ask inappropriate. This information can be found in public records, such as the Federal Election Commission’s website or county tax records, or using a wealth screening tool.
Supporter interests
These are often answers to questions such as: What motivates your donors to give to your cause? What interests do they have outside of philanthropy? This information helps you craft appeals that are more likely to land with your donors. For example, one study found that people who identified as environmentalists were less likely to experience “compassion fade” on issues of conservation than those who do not identify as environmentalists. Understanding how your donors see themselves, their interests, and their connection to your cause will help you improve your fundraising efforts. This information can be gathered in a number of ways, from informal conversations to online surveys.
How should you collect donor data?
Now that we have some examples of the type of data you should be collecting, let’s talk about how nonprofits can collect donor data. You could get this information:
Using donor data research tools
With more data being created than at any other point in human history, there are ample opportunities to build a more complete picture of your donors.
Donor data tools, such as wealth screening software or data append services, help you fill in gaps you may not have collected about your donors.
Some examples of data that a research tool can help you find are:
- Contact information (such as address, phone number, or email)
- Demographic information (such as age, gender, and political affiliation)
- Past giving behavior
- Employment information (such as current employer and salary information)
- Wealth information (such as real estate holdings and net worth estimates)
- Educational information (such as level of education and alma mater)
Using donor research tools can help you personalize your stewardship strategy and improve your fundraising by uncovering areas where you may be leaving money on the table. For example, employer appends can tell you where your supporters work, which in turn can tell you if your donors may be eligible for matching gifts from their employer.
When someone donates
The best time to gather donor data is when they are donating! The donation form is a great opportunity to collect basic data from donors (such as their name, email address, age, etc.).
Since you want to make sure your donors follow through with the gift, it’s best not to ask too many questions on the form itself. Wherever possible, use checkboxes instead of requiring donors to type out an answer.
In your acknowledgment email or on your thank you page, you might ask your supporters about their motivations behind giving to your cause or whether they would like to continue being involved.
Through short online surveys
Surveys offer you a chance to gather more comprehensive information from your donors (ex. specific interests, feedback on your organization). Make sure to include a survey description that will help donors understand how completing a survey can benefit your organization and work. Shorter surveys will net you better completion rates.
For a seamless data gathering experience, make sure your survey tool integrates with your CRM!
During events
Face-to-face interactions are perhaps the best way to keep your audience engaged as you collect data. Decide beforehand how the data you collect from event interactions will be saved to your donor database.
You can also send a post-event survey, gauging how likely a supporter is to attend your next event, donate, or volunteer.
How do you use donor data?
Now that you understand what data your nonprofit should track and how to collect that data, it’s time to put this information to use! Let’s look at three ways your nonprofit can apply donor data to your day-to-day activities.
Segment your outreach efforts
As your supporter base grows, it becomes increasingly important to develop a targeted marketing strategy. Every donor is different, and effective stewardship should provide all supporters with the ability to engage with your organization in a meaningful way.
Your data on past supporter involvement and interests will help you determine which segments to prioritize to maximize the chances of positive responses. For example, supporters who have volunteered with your nonprofit in the past should be the first group to receive subsequent volunteer recruitment communications. From there, you might reach out to recurring donors and frequent event attendees who might be interested in getting involved in another way.
Additionally, demographic data can be an indicator of what marketing channels a donor prefers. Let’s say you’re planning your organization’s next fundraising event. If your top priority is attracting older, well-established donors, sending invitations via direct mail will likely be your best bet. However, newer supporters in their 20s would probably respond better to digital communications like social media posts and your event microsite.
Tailor your fundraising asks
Demographic data and giving history are often good indicators of how much a donor is able and willing to give. That way, you can create individualized fundraising asks that each supporter will be receptive to.
This concept is most often associated with major donor fundraising, but it’s also helpful for growing your recurring giving program. For example, consider a donor who has given $200 once a year for each of the past three years. Because they donate consistently, they might be open to deepening their engagement by becoming a recurring donor if you pitch them effectively on the convenience of setting up automatic gifts each month.
However, you still need to come up with a monthly gift amount to suggest to this donor. A good entry point for them might be $20 per month, as they’d end up giving $40 more per year than they would have otherwise (income data can be helpful in determining whether this could be feasible for them) while contributing to your nonprofit’s long-term sustainability and deepening their engagement.
Grow your corporate giving partnerships
Although most donor data applications focus on the revenue stream of individual donations, this information can also help you bring in more corporate contributions. By knowing where your employees work, you can more effectively leverage:
- Matching gift programs, where employers match the donations their employees make to eligible nonprofits at a 1:1 ratio.
- Volunteer grants, which are financial contributions from companies based on their staff members’ volunteering with your organization.
- Corporate sponsorships—if a loyal supporter works for a business you’d like to approach about a sponsorship, they may be able to make the introduction for you.
Stay on top of which companies in your area participate in corporate giving so you can quickly identify and reach out to the donors who would be able to participate in these initiatives. Additionally, invest in easy-to-use software to accept and monitor corporate contributions. The best nonprofit solutions integrate with corporate giving platforms on the employer’s side to streamline the process for everyone involved.
Conclusion
With data more available and easy to access than ever, fundraisers can use data to improve their donor stewardship efforts and keep their donors engaged with their mission.
Organizations should collect data about their supporters, including demographic data, history of giving, wealth indicators, and other interests. You can gather that data in several ways from using donor data research tools to short surveys online or at events. Once you have that information, you can use data to better prioritize your stewardship activities and, when the time is right, gauge your supporters’ ability to give.
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Author: Mukundan Sivaraj
Mukundan is a writer at CallHub, an outreach platform that connects nonprofits with their supporters through voice and text messages. Mukundan’s focus on nonprofit technology and communication helps him show organizations big and small, how technology can help elevate their cause.