Blog: your own data as the foundation for effective fundraising

Setting up a successful donor journey nowadays is no longer possible without data. It's not just about winning back former donors, but also about acquiring new donors – it all begins with the data you already have as a charity. The interesting thing is that, as a fundraiser, you often already have the most important keys and just need a little help to unlock the potential of your own data. But how?

DONOR REACHABILITY

A well-organized and up-to-date database is the backbone of communication with donors. You want to make sure you have a database that meets these four requirements:

  • Up to date: Are the donor details not outdated? Are deceased donors not being contacted? Ensure that all contact information, such as names, addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers, is up to date.
  • Complete: are all relevant data available? Collect information about your donors, such as their interests, previous donations, and potential channels to reach them.
  • Correct: are the data in your database accurate? Avoid duplicate entries and incorrect information.
  • Unique: Is each donor listed only once? Eliminate duplicates to prevent noisy data.

Improving your data quality is an ongoing process. Regular updates and cleanup actions are essential for an optimal donor database. This way, you can easily initiate win-back campaigns, for example, targeting donors who have recently moved. Or run a loyalty campaign based on interests. Knowing that an average of 10% of consumers in a database has moved, a targeted approach to data quality can have a significant impact on costs and conversions.

ACQUISITION

According to our philosophy, the most effective way to acquire new donors starts with your own data. To acquire donors, you need to understand what characterizes your current donors. Create a 360-degree view of your donor database by differentiating between various segments, such as:

  • Top donors: The most generous supporters who may be willing to give even more.
  • Loyal donors: People who have regularly and consistently contributed to your organization.
  • Active donors: Donors who actively engage with the organization.
  • Inactive donors: Former donors who have reduced their involvement.

Add segmentation data to get an even better understanding of your donors. From this insight, look at which other households resemble your (top) donors: look-alikes. This allows you to select households with a higher likelihood of becoming new donors. Consider which selections you want to include or exclude to optimize your acquisition efforts. And make sure you have a personalized message that matches the selections.

Now that you have identified the right target groups, it's time to activate them. Use various one-on-one channels, including:

  • Direct mail: Physical mail pieces can add a personal touch to your acquisition efforts.
  • Email: Efficient and cost-effective for reaching inactive or former donors, for example.
  • Telemarketing: Personal conversations can be a powerful way to engage donors.
  • Online: Use online advertising on platforms like Google, DPG Media, 2dehands and Meta to create a new dialogue channel for existing donors. Based on CRM data, you can often match and reach up to 80% of your donors.

Of course, one channel doesn't exclude the other. In fact, a multichannel approach to (potential) new donors often results in a conversion uplift of up to 30%.

Measuring your acquisition efforts is essential for long-term success. Make sure you:

  • Refine your selections based on the performance of previous campaigns.
  • Have insight into response rates so you can evaluate the effectiveness of different channels.
  • Try to reactivate non-conversions via other channels and approaches.

In short, ensure continuous optimization of your campaigns based on collected data and keep looking for ways to expand and retain your donor database. Effective donor acquisition is an ongoing process that begins with a solid database and insight into your donors. This foundation will allow you to maximize your acquisition efforts and increase support for your organization.

If you want to keep the tips for acquiring donors in a data-driven way on top of your mind? then download our infographic 'effective donor acquisition in 4 steps'.