Harnessing the power of data in a fundraising environment can breed the misconception that charities lose a valuable connection with donors.
When relying on figures and numbers, many believe that donors become just a number in a report, or that it’s impossible to genuinely get to know those who support you the most.
While there will never be a replacement for authentic relationship-building with donors forged by picking up the phone and meeting face-to-face, your data is a pivotal step that will help you identify those connections.
Notable patterns might include in the evening while casually surfing the internet, on a Monday morning when paying bills, or during a lunch break while catching up on emails. By comparison, a cheque received in the mail could have been written at any time and provides no indication about habits or routine.
How this information will grow income:
How they prefer to communicate
Understanding donor preference is critical to successful fundraising outcomes.
If a mail recipient deletes appeal emails without even reading them yet continues to respond by mail to direct mail appeals, you can make an informed assumption that there’s no longer a need to include them in email campaigns. Similarly, if a donor always gives online but they’ve never received email communication, it’s worth testing to see if they read your emails.
How this information will grow income:
The time of year they like to donate
Your appeal data is already likely to have been segmented by giving frequency, but behind the scenes analysis can help further personalise communications. While Christmas and tax appeals are generally the most popular times to donate, sophisticated data tracking can help identify the frequency of donations (such as monthly, annually or every Monday for example) to help you devise a personalised communication plan that meets those actions.
How this information will grow income:
How long they spend on your website
Some donors go straight to the donation page while others prefer to take their time reading testimonials and mulling over the content. Using sophisticated website analysis, you can see exactly how long a visitor spends on each page of the site and the actions they take when they get there.
How this information will grow income:
Capitalising on the benefits of data analysis will help you tailor communications and meet the needs of your donors at every step.
To find out how SupporterHub can help you get to know your donors better, enquire about our free trial today. SupporterHub is a SaaS platform that can help charities get to know donors on a deeper level. Sign up today and get four weeks free! Get started
