Top tips for successful data-driven fundraising
Melanie May | 6 June 2023 | News
Data is essential for finding the right supporters to reach out to, and for engaging with them relevantly. But successful data-driven fundraising requires a number of ducks to be in a row.
From collecting useful data in the first place, to keeping it clean and accurate, and knowing how to gain the valuable insight that enables teams to build up a strong picture of supporters and how to talk to them – here are some tips from the experts for getting most out of what data has to offer.
Be clear on objectives
It sounds obvious but ahead of any fundraising activity, a key starting point for fundraisers is simply to be clear on what they’re looking to achieve, and to define these goals and objectives so everyone understands them. They might be anything from increasing average gift size, to improving donor retention rates, or lowering acquisition costs. Without that clarity at the outset, it’s very difficult to know what data will be useful for helping to achieve them.
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Collect and analyse data
The information that databases typically hold on supporters, from giving history to engagement levels, can provide a lot of valuable insight that can be used to improve fundraising. Getting the most out of it though requires time to build it up and regular reviewing to identify trends, patterns, and opportunities for improvement.
Kirsty Neal, Independent CRM & Insight Consultant, Bright Corners Data, says:
“The really valuable insights use years’ worth of data. Start with what you want to know. Do you have all the information you require? What additional data do you need to collect and how will you get it? Whether it’s segmenting your appeals to track responses, or asking everyone who donates about their motivations for giving, put your plan into action as soon as you can and then try not to change it too much. After a year or two you’ll see a picture emerging. That may seem like a long time to wait for an answer, but future you (or whoever takes over) will be grateful you started now!”
Streamline data entry
Nonprofits are using more and more channels and platforms, all of which provide data that needs uniting to make it accessible for use. There is much nonprofits can do to save time with their data entry, create consistency, and reduce the risk of human error when bringing this data together. Fundraising tools and platforms such as CRM systems, email marketing software, and online fundraising platforms can streamline data management processes and automate routine tasks.
Sean Donnelly, Co-Founder of CharityBI says:
“Some charities build ‘mapping spreadsheets’ for different platforms. This involves copying the data from a platform export (most likely a spreadsheet) into another spreadsheet that you have created. In one tab of the mapping spreadsheet, you will have the columns set up in such a way that your CRM can understand and receive the data (i.e. “map” the data to your CRM). This mapping tab will have a series of formulas that pull in the data from the tab you have copied in, but transform it into a format that your CRM will understand. It’s not as complicated as it might seem at first but it will take some time to initially set up, and you still need to do manual downloads/uploads. Still, it’s better than mapping fields every time you upload data to your CRM.
“If you have the technical capability, you can also look at creating bespoke automations and data pipelines that ingest data from platforms into your CRM automatically via APIs. This is a good option but not all platforms have APIs, it’s expensive to implement and when platforms change their data schema, the process will break and you’ll have to update it.”
Prioritise data accuracy
There are numerous reasons why data needs to be clean and accurate, from the trust this helps to build with supporters, to compliancy with relevant data protection regulations. Having the correct processes in place for data deduplication, and flagging goneaways and the deceased, as well as for recording contact preferences, are essential for good relationships with supporters and the wider public. And for achieving the best possible campaign response.
Neal adds:
“Good data is the bedrock of all your reporting and insight. If it’s not clean, accurate and complete then focus on getting that right before you try to analyse it. Any insights based on bad data will be bad insights.”
Use modelling & analysis to understand audiences at a deeper level
Data brings audiences to life, with surveys, data analysis, and modelling all help fundraisers to build up a stronger picture of supporters. Predictive analytics, for example, can help to identify potential high-value donors and optimise fundraising efforts. Predictive modelling can pinpoint individuals more likely to give larger gifts or become long-term supporters, allowing nonprofits to prioritise who they talk to and how.
Stuart McCoy, Data Strategy Consultant, DM Insight, advises this:
“Uncover your supporters’ attitudes to giving and other forms of engagement. What are their preferences, motivations, hopes, fears, world views?! Many supporter motivations can be imputed, or alternatively build a strategic segmentation using warm and cold surveys to find new and emerging audiences with a high propensity to engage with you. This also allows you to scope and size the opportunity within these segments to inform budget planning. Data on most charity CRMs is usually fairly flat, limited to supporter behaviours and basic demographics. To start to really improve your income and engagement KPIs it is vital to bring your various audiences to life, and develop dedicated propositions and journeys around each discrete segment.”
Segment donors for better targeting
Segmenting supporters means grouping them based on factors such as age, giving history, and levels of engagement. This helps nonprofits tailor fundraising efforts and communications to appeal to these different audiences, and the more relevant and engaging they are, the more likely they’ll hit the mark.
Joel Voysey, Fundraising & Income Generation Consultant, Joel Voysey Fundraising, advises:
“Make your donor data work harder by creating personalised appeals that resonate with each segment. Use past giving patterns, communication preferences, and donor interests to craft compelling messages and donation requests and drive up donor engagement and response.”
Consider your metrics
Metrics such as campaign response, ROI and average gift are useful for determining the success of an activity and providing insight that can be used with future campaigns. But there are also others, such as lifetime value and engagement, that when measured can provide a much deeper understanding of supporters and programme success.
Jon Kelly, Managing Director at Sequoia says:
“What charities need most from their data insights is a shift to more long-term indicators such as LTV and engagement. These latter measures give much better health checks on the state of your fundraising programme and will highlight areas for attention and gaps and or opportunities.
“Supporter engagement is key in the fundraising strategy and goes hand in hand with lifetime value to show who your best supporters are. By using measures such as these and breaking them down across different segments of supporters (by product, recruitment channel or demographics) you will be able to better understand your supporters, see where your programme is being most successful and identify any potential for improvement.”
Set targets
It’s not enough simply to have targets for fundraising activity – they also need evidence behind them that explains why they’ve been chosen and backs up the decision to run this activity. This data is easier to find when activity is something a charity has done before than it is with a new activity, which requires perhaps hunting for sector benchmarks or other charities’ results, but either way, having this is a key step for successful campaign planning.
Alex Srivastava, Strategy Director at Open explains:
“Not having evidence for your targets can cause lots of problems for you later – set them too high and you may not get investment next time and may cut a viable income stream, set them too low and senior leaders may question their validity, and the validity of all the targets you set. Whenever you’re setting targets ensure they are backed by benchmarks and/or previous results, are achievable and genuinely hold campaign results to account. Always show results in relation to target, and make sure that target is aligned to a long-term charity mission.”
Test and optimise
Taking a test and learn approach enables a nonprofit to try an idea – or campaign – in a small way, enabling risk and expenditure to be kept low until it’s clear whether it’s worth committing more time and resources to rolling it out larger-scale. But there are some key tips for making sure any testing is useful.
Srivastava says:
“Always make sure ahead of setting up testing you’ve got the volumes you need for statistically significant results. If your volumes are too small, can you streamline down your testing? Or run the same test again on your next email or mailing? Creating and sticking to a testing plan for the year based on strategic goals is also useful, and can help to avoid going down a route of reactive testing.”
Another tip is to implement an iterative approach by testing different strategies and tactics. A/B testing can be conducted on various fundraising appeals, landing pages, email subject lines, and call-to-action buttons, and the results analysed to help optimise the approach and enable the continuous refining of campaigns.
Monitor and measure success
Once a campaign is out there, it’s not enough just to measure the end results. Tracking ongoing performance will provide valuable insights into what is and isn’t working. Depending on the channel, this can enable adjustments to be made while it’s still live to improve results, as well as helping to inform future activity.
Voysey says:
“As the well-known business maxim suggests; ‘what gets measured gets managed’. Continuously monitor the performance of your fundraising campaigns and initiatives. Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) aligned with your goals and track them regularly. Evaluate your progress, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven adjustments to your strategies.”
Build a data-driven culture
Of course, last but not least, for successful data-driven fundraising, data needs to be at the heart of an organisation. Educating teams about its critical role, and encouraging them to make decisions based on evidence and insights derived from data analysis will help to ensure that everyone understands its value for fundraising – and in turn make fundraising more valuable.
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.