Management Leads to Retention<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\nData is helpful in the short-term, but it also aids in your long-term donor retention efforts. Again, the key is to take the donation information you gather and do something with it, not just collect it. Use your data to learn about your donors, how they choose to give, and what prompted the donation. Then develop your fundraising calendar around what you learn<\/p>\n
Which Essential Donation Data Should You Collect?<\/h2>\n
There\u2019s virtually an unlimited amount of data for you to collect regarding donors and donations, but let\u2019s narrow our focus to just donation management practices. What donation data should you collect to 1. Cover all the avenues donors give through, 2. Grow your nonprofit, and 3. Retain your donors? Here\u2019s are the must-have data essentials:<\/p>\n
Gift Amount<\/strong>: This is the total gift amount you receive per donation (also called a one-time gift) from a donor.<\/p>\nGift Frequency: <\/strong>How often a donor gives. Many nonprofits choose to look at this data point on a monthly or annual basis.<\/p>\nInfluence Value: <\/strong>This amount includes the money given by a donor, in addition to the donations they\u2019ve influenced through methods like peer-to-peer fundraising and advocacy.<\/p>\nSource: <\/strong>The avenue a donor uses to give, such as in-person at a special event, online peer-to-peer campaign, or donation form.<\/p>\nPayment Method: <\/strong>How a donor chooses to make a payment, including cash, check, PayPal, direct withdrawal, and credit card.<\/p>\nOptional Criteria\/Extras: <\/strong>This includes any additional information you want to collect for accurate record-keeping. Some donation management extras include:<\/p>\n\n- Gift match amount<\/li>\n
- Donation tipping (donor covering any processing fees)<\/li>\n
- Recurring or monthly giving<\/li>\n
- Membership status<\/li>\n
- Donor incentive received<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Using Your Data: Metrics To Track & Monitor<\/h2>\n
You can collect all the data in the world, but if you don\u2019t do something with it, it\u2019s practically useless. So, what can you do with your donation data? As you see below, there\u2019s a lot of details to extract to help improve your fundraising efforts, maximize your efficiency, and best reach your donors.<\/p>\n
These include:<\/p>\n
Average One-Time Donations<\/strong><\/p>\nTotal $ donated over course of campaign\/# of donors <\/em><\/p>\nHelps you narrow down your pledge\/donation form donation tiers for a particular type of campaign<\/p>\n
Average Annual Donation Per Donor<\/strong><\/p>\nTotal $ donated over 12-month period\/# of donors<\/em><\/p>\nHelps you know how many gifts you can expect your donors to make so you can budget appropriately<\/p>\n
Donation Retention<\/strong><\/p>\n$ year two from returning donors\/$ year one<\/em><\/p>\nHelps you determine how much income is new versus coming from retained donors<\/p>\n
Types Of Gifts<\/strong><\/p>\nmonthly, one-time, major, etc.<\/em><\/p>\nHelps you see how the majority of your donors are giving and where to put your future efforts<\/p>\n
Return On Investment (ROI)<\/strong><\/p>\nFundraising revenue\/expenses<\/em><\/p>\nHelps you see how much you\u2019re spending to raise funds and which expenditures yielded the most donations<\/p>\n
Monthly Donations<\/strong><\/p>\nTotal raised per month<\/em><\/p>\nHelps you learn the months you\u2019re more likely to receive donations and see trends in donations compared to campaigns and seasonal influences<\/p>\n
Donor Lifetime Value<\/strong><\/p>\nAverage total donation per donor\/churn rate<\/em><\/p>\nHelps you determine how much to expect over the course of your relationship per donor<\/p>\n
Donation Management Systems + 5 Criteria To Look For In One<\/h2>\n
Donation management isn\u2019t possible without a system to organize all your data. However, there is no one-size-fits-all system for all nonprofits and charities. When looking for a donation management system, consider the following criteria:<\/p>\n
\n- Functionality<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Choose a donation management system that has the functions you need to track donations and any other pertinent donor and administration-related data. Some common functions for software and cloud-based systems include donor management, donation and pledge tracking, and event management.<\/p>\n
\n- Integrations<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
In our tech-rich world, you\u2019re using many different systems to run your nonprofit, including email services, accounting, analytics trackers, etc. If you find these systems invaluable (hint-you probably do!) then look for a system that allows for multiple app and platform integrations.<\/p>\n
\n- Reporting<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Data reports help you analyze your information and adapt your donation processes to meet the needs of your donors. Systems should have a user-friendly and secure way to pull data (also known as \u201cdata mining\u201d) onto spreadsheets or documents.<\/p>\n
\n- Room for Expansion<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Although you may process 1,000 donations a year right now, there\u2019s always a chance that number will increase. When choosing a system, look for one that allows for expansion as your donation transactions increase.<\/p>\n
\n- Support<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Learning a new system is difficult and takes time. Find a donation management system that offers a resource center and live support system to help ease any pressure and guarantee an easy transition.<\/p>\n
Best Practices<\/h2>\n
Finally, always follow best practices when attempting to manage your donations.<\/p>\n
Use One Dedicated Place: <\/strong>Scattered data is inefficient and unhelpful, so always keep your donation information in one secure place where anyone who needs to can access it.<\/p>\nDesignate A Staff Person: <\/strong>Donation management systems are helpful, but they also require frequent updates and reviews. To ensure the right data is going to the correct places and that everything is up-to-date, designate a staff person responsible for its management.<\/p>\nCreate A Plan (& Stick To It): <\/strong>Decide what data you want to track, where you plan to track it, and what you want to do with it once it\u2019s been captured. Just like you\u2019d set goals and create plans around a fundraising campaign, use the same techniques to manage your donations.<\/p>\nReview Your Management Practices On A Regular Basis: <\/strong>Over time, you may find that some donation data is more important or helpful than others, which is why frequent reviews of your donation management process and system are vital. Set a schedule for review and follow it.<\/p>\nManaging your donations helps organize your donation data, streamline your processes, and provide an optimized donor experience. So instead of just tracking your donations without a plan or purpose, find one system that works for you and use it religiously. Over time, what was once just a bit of data can turn into a gold mine to help you create a more efficient and effective donation experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Take a moment to think about all the ways donations funnel into your nonprofit. Chances are, you\u2019re collecting donations both online and offline at fundraising events, through your website\u2019s donation page, peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, and so on. Someone may drop off a check at your office one day, and the next, you get an electronic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":51313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/rawpixel-com-561404-unsplash-1-e1527708401379-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/rawpixel-com-561404-unsplash-1-e1527708401379-600x413.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Candace Cody","author_link":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/author\/candace\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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