3 Ways to Make the Most Out of Your Donor Data

When you consider what your nonprofit knows about just one of its supporters, you’ll quickly realize that you have a lot of information on them. From contact details to giving and involvement history to mission-specific interests, your organization’s database and fundraising software provide a detailed picture of that individual. Multiply this information by your total number of donors and add all of the new data coming in every day, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed!

With all of this information to sift through, it’s no surprise that many fundraising and development teams struggle to fully take advantage of the donor data available to them. But with the right strategies and tools, it’s possible for any organization, regardless of size or mission, to leverage donor data to its maximum potential.

In this guide, we’ll cover three effective ways to make the most of your nonprofit’s donor data. With these tips, you’ll be well-equipped to put one of your most valuable resources to good use instead of drowning in a sea of numbers and details. Let’s dive in!

1. Identify Potential Major Donors Through Prospect Research

According to DonorSearch, “Prospect research [also known as prospecting or screening] is a technique used by nonprofit fundraisers, major gift officers, and development teams to identify high-impact donors within and beyond an organization’s current donor pool. Through this process, nonprofits gather…information about donors’ backgrounds, past giving histories, wealth indicators, philanthropic motivations, and more details that help determine prospects’ likelihood of giving.”

Thorough prospect research involves finding new major donors using third-party databases and screening existing supporters to see if any of them are willing and able to increase their contributions. In both cases, a viable prospect will have three types of data to their name (also known as indicators or markers):

• Capacity indicators show whether a prospect is in a financial position to make a large gift and include wealth data points like real estate ownership, stock holdings, business affiliations and political giving history.

• Philanthropic indicators demonstrate a prospect’s charitable tendencies and include their donation history with your nonprofit and other similar organizations.

• Affinity indicators help you determine if a prospect would give to your specific organization and include a strong connection to or passion for your mission, a history of nonprofit involvement through non-donation avenues and personal information like interests, values and family ties.

When you invest in a prospect research solution, choose one that integrates with your donor database so information transfers seamlessly to each prospect’s profile for easy access. Additionally, there are tools on the market designed to help you analyze your prospect research data and draw actionable insights from it, including AI-powered predictive modeling and prospect reporting solutions.

2. Create More Effective, Personalized Communications

Imagine you receive a marketing email from your nonprofit about your monthly giving program. Which of these messages would you rather receive?

• • Option #1: “Dear Friend, We appreciate your ongoing support of the Cat Rescue Society of Central North Carolina. Whether you donated, volunteered or attended an event this year, your involvement meant the world to us and our resident cats. Would you be willing to join our monthly giving program at the entry level of $10/month to help even more cats in need?”

• Option #2: “Dear Dylan, Thank you so much for continuing to support the Cat Rescue Society of Central North Carolina this year! The 20 hours you spent volunteering at our headquarters and three in-kind gifts of canned cat food meant the world to us and our resident cats. To make an even bigger difference next year, would you consider joining our monthly giving program? Just $10/month would provide two weeks’ worth of food for a cat like Dante or Garfield!” [Insert photos of Dante and Garfield here.]

We’re guessing Option #2. The first email is obviously a generic request that many supporters received, while the second email makes the recipient feel seen and valued for their individual contributions. 

Addressing supporters in this more effective way is only possible if you leverage data! Use the tagging and search features of your nonprofit’s donor database to segment your supporters, or group them based on shared characteristics like:

• Demographics: Age, gender, location, education, family status, wealth

• Psychographics: Hobbies, interests, values, preferred communication channels

• Giving history: Average gift size, donation frequency, recency of giving, lifetime value

• Engagement: Event attendance, volunteering, board service, advocacy

Segmentation allows you to send tailored messages to the groups of donors who are most likely to respond well to them. For example, older wealthy donors may prefer a direct mail message about contributing to your annual fund, while younger supporters with fewer resources might be more receptive to text message reminders to sign up for upcoming volunteer opportunities. Develop general message templates, then fill in the blanks with each recipient’s preferred name and engagement history to personalize your asks and thank-yous.

3. Encourage Supporters to Get Involved in New Ways

You probably know from your experience as a nonprofit professional that today’s fundraising climate is challenging, and the overall data on the sector would agree. According to Giving USA 2024, total charitable giving increased by 1.9% year-over-year in current dollars in 2023, but when adjusted for inflation, it actually decreased by 2.1%. 

However, a deeper understanding of your donors can help them stay connected to your organization in ways that go beyond donations and still further your mission in meaningful ways. For example, you could:

• Promote a variety of volunteer opportunities. Some supporters may be happy to contribute a few hours to your organization on a weekly or semimonthly basis, while others would rather spend a full day volunteering for a special event. Many might find virtual volunteering more convenient. Offer volunteer opportunities that require many different skills in each of these formats to engage as many potential volunteers as possible.

• Plan new fundraising events. If you feel stuck in a rut with your annual gala that attracts the same group of major donors every year, consider surveying your supporters to see what types of events they’d like to attend. You might find that your most physically active donors would enjoy a 5K race or bikeathon, supporters in their teens and 20s might have fun at a benefit concert or trivia competition and parents of young children may appreciate a family-friendly movie night or craft session.

• Generate support for advocacy campaigns. While your nonprofit can’t legally endorse political candidates, you can advocate for sociopolitical issues and causes related to your mission. Email and social media make it simple to mobilize your supporters to spread awareness of these initiatives, sign petitions and even contact corporations or government representatives directly.

Additionally, Better Impact recommends cultivating supporters who enter your database as volunteers, event attendees or advocates to become donors when they’re able and willing to give—it works both ways, as long as you have the data to back up your decisions!

Your nonprofit depends on supporters’ generosity and dedication to fulfill your mission. Therefore, it’s critical to collect and leverage useful information about all of your donors. The tips above—along with your nonprofit’s database and other helpful tools—will allow you to better understand, communicate with and engage your audience. Happy fundraising!