Data gives you insights into your supporters, giving you the ability to identify who your donors are and how to reach them. See part 1 of this series with additional tips by clicking here!
To use your data to your best advantage, follow these tips:
- Opportunize matching gifts.
- Perform prospect research.
- Track your data.
4. Opportunize matching gifts.
Matching gifts allow an organization to essentially double a single donation1. A donor’s employer or company may offer matching gifts to donors who make eligible donations.
Some platforms allow you to integrate matching gift software into your online donation pages so that donors simply have to search for their companies to determine if they can apply for matching gifts2.
However, you can also use your donor data to help you identify matching gifts opportunities within your organization.
Start by checking your donor’s business affiliations.
If you can identify which donors work for companies that offer compatible matching gift programs, you can send these donors targeted marketing materials that explain the matching gift process.
Donors who know about the opportunity to apply for matching gifts will generally do so. After all, they are increasing the size of their donation and the size of their impact on your cause without having to give an extra donation themselves!
In summary, your donor data can show you valuable matching gift opportunities, so that you can inform donors and double their donations.
5. Perform prospect research.
Your marketing strategy should be about more than soliciting donations and support for your organization. It should be about transitioning donors to higher giving levels, building deeper relationships, and engaging donors in new and exciting ways.
After all, data-driven marketing shouldn’t just keep your nonprofit afloat; it should help it grow.
To create the most effective marketing strategy, you can perform prospect research on your donors to identify those with more giving potential.
For example, you can look at this data to gain a more holistic picture of who your donors are:
- Past giving to other nonprofits and your nonprofit.
- Political giving.
- Stock ownership.
- Philanthropic involvement.
- Real estate ownership.
- Giving frequency.
Looking at both philanthropic and wealth indicators can help you identify potential high-level or recurring donors.
Once you’ve identified these prospects, you can send them targeted marketing materials designed to unlock their true potential. You can, for example:
- Suggest a larger gift amount. If you believe a donor is giving less than their potential, you can simply suggest a larger giving amount that’s more in line with their abilities. You don’t have to do this on an individual basis. Instead, you can create suggested giving tiers on an online donation page3 as well.
- Provide opportunities for engagement. Involve donors more deeply in your cause by sending them information about their areas of interest. This can include articles related to your cause, local volunteer opportunities, and regular updates about the impact that giving has on helping those in need.
- Ask them their opinion. You can send targeted surveys to transitional donors, asking them what they’d like to see from your organization. Doing so can show your donors that you’re invested in them and in their vision for your nonprofit. For major and high-level donors, you can also ask them personally.
Ultimately, prospect research can help you market your cause with an eye toward donor growth.
In summary, use prospect research to identify potential in your donor data, so that you can send these donors marketing materials that are designed to engage them more deeply in your organization.
6. Track your data.
To ensure that your marketing strategy is working, you’ll need to track your data.
Make sure that you establish the starting and ending dates of each fundraising campaign so that you can see when and how your marketing efforts improved.
Tracking your data is made easier with integrated CRM software, which can collect information from your online donation pages automatically.
This process will help you streamline data tracking from your online channels as you input data from your other giving methods.
Additionally, you can use data to identify trends that your organization can capitalize on. If you notice a spike in mobile giving, then you may want to include QR codes on your printed marketing materials, for example.
In summary, tracking your data can help you evaluate your marketing strategies and identify opportunities for fundraising growth.
Data-driven marketing allows you to use what you know about your donors to create the strongest possible appeals. When it comes to marketing your cause, you need to pull out all the stops.
Your donors can help you achieve your mission, but first, you have to reach them!
