As a fundraising organizer, you know that you can follow every industry best practice and spend weeks optimizing your appeals, but you won’t truly get through to donors unless you understand their motivations. Struggling to determine the most effective ways to promote your cause or the best time to host a fundraiser? The answers are in your donor motivation data.
There are several ways to analyze donor data to learn what drives your supporters. Let’s explore seven metrics that offer valuable insight.
1. Giving Level & Frequency
The amount donors typically give and how often they contribute to your organization tells you a lot about them. Giving levels and frequencies can help you estimate someone’s capacity to give, understand their philanthropic habits, and predict their next contributions. These metrics are essential for segmentation, and they can also point to broader motivations.
For instance, donors who contribute small amounts of money at a high frequency are likely motivated by habit and their ability to make an everyday impact. Inspire these donors to maintain or increase their support by joining your monthly giving program.
On the other hand, high-capacity donors who give large gifts less often are more likely to be driven by their investment in your cause. They want to see long-term impact and leave a personal legacy. Provide these supporters with detailed updates about how your organization uses their gifts.
2. Campaign Participation
How do donors participate in your fundraising campaigns, and which ones see the highest participation rates? More importantly, which appeals or fundraising pushes inspire your support base to act?
Analyze campaign participation at a high level first. For example, look at fundraising totals and engagement rates to determine whether the bulk of your donations typically come from fundraising auctions or program-specific appeals. Then, examine individual campaign participation for insight into the motivations of different donor segments.
In particular, note which donors give to:
- Emergency appeals
- Peer-to-peer campaigns
- Fundraisers to support a specific program
- Capital campaigns
- Year-end or annual fundraisers
- Event-based fundraisers
From here, you can go deeper and analyze giving behavior on a per-communication level to identify the appeals or stories that inspired the most donations. For instance, Meyer Partners’ donor communications guide explains that you might track direct mail response rates, conversion rates, and click-through rates to pinpoint the specific messages that drove the most action.
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3. Contribution Type
How donors give might provide hints about their reasons for donating. According to Infinite Giving, for example, donors who make contributions from donor-advised funds (DAFs) are typically high-capacity donors who are committed to long-term giving. If you know someone who regularly gives from a DAF, you can assume that they’re motivated to create a major impact and leave a personal philanthropic legacy.
Other contribution types you can gain insight from include:
- Mailed check donations: These donors are motivated by tangible, personal communications and might appreciate more direct mail communication.
- Donations via text: Inspire these donors to act with easy, quick giving opportunities.
- Stocks or crypto: These donors are likely high-wealth individuals concerned about the most tax-efficient ways to give.
- In-kind gifts: Supporters who donate goods or services, such as professional marketing support, may want to be more personally involved in your cause.
4. Event Attendance
General event participation indicates how motivated your donors are by community, networking, and face-to-face interaction. Attendance rates by event type tell you even more. If your most popular events are raffles and auctions, for instance, your donor base is likely motivated by gamification and prize incentives.
Additionally, analyzing event attendance can help you identify other kinds of fundraisers or appeals that tap into those same motivations. If one segment of donors only attends challenge-based events like walk-a-thons and golf tournaments, you might target them during other gamified fundraisers, like matching gift challenges.
5. Volunteer Participation
Frequent volunteers are likely motivated by seeing their personal impact firsthand. They may also prioritize community-building and making connections with other supporters. When you identify donors who frequently participate in volunteer opportunities, share impact data and tangible outcomes with them to deepen their engagement.
Beyond tracking volunteer participation on an individual level, you can also analyze:
- Conversion rates for specific volunteer recruitment campaigns
- Demographic data for volunteers
- Individuals’ volunteering frequency
- Participation rates for different types of volunteer events
- Volunteer retention rates
- Percentage of volunteers who secure corporate volunteer grants
This data can help you understand how and why donors volunteer, which opportunities are most engaging, and who your most loyal advocates are.
6. Employer Data
If you’ve collected employer data through an append or prospect research, you can identify donors with extra motivation to give.
Donors’ employer data can help you understand their giving capacity and whether they’re motivated by corporate giving programs like matching gifts, volunteer grants, or charitable spending accounts (CSAs). Employers who offer these programs tend to incentivize participation in nonprofit causes, providing additional motivation for eligible donors.
If a large portion of your donor base works for companies with these programs, consider promoting corporate giving opportunities more heavily. Emphasize the benefits of participation and send personalized reminders and thank-you emails to eligible donors.
7. Survey Responses
Qualitative data is one of your best sources for understanding donor motivations. In particular, survey responses uniquely provide direct insight into donors’ preferences, interests, priorities, and reasons for supporting your organization.
Survey your donors often, especially at the end of campaigns and after fundraising events. Ask directly why they chose to support your organization, and ask other open-ended questions that encourage them to elaborate on their personal motivations. Store this data in your CRM and refer back to it often when evaluating the best ways to steward individual donors.
With these metrics, you’ll get a better picture of why donors give to your nonprofit and what tactics will inspire them to stay involved. Remember that donor motivations can change, so be sure to reevaluate your data periodically and avoid outdated assumptions.
