The end of the year can raise several questions for directors of development. One of these questions is whether you will keep or rethink your current fundraising strategy for the coming year. With the year behind you, it can sometimes be difficult to remember exactly which solicitation strategies were successful, and which strategies should be left in the past.
This year, instead of overanalyzing how successful your fundraising was or wasn’t, let your donor management system do the analysis for you. While you may think your donor management system is primarily for storing and organizing information, you can also use it to track donor trends and analyze donor data to make you a more intentional and successful fundraiser.
One of the greatest benefits of a great donor management system is its ability to track data. The system can organize your donors into levels of donation, frequency of donation, and giving history over time. The system can also translate that data in a way that’s easily understandable for you and for your board.
For example, when you are able to see a snapshot of a donor’s history with your organization, it will give you a better idea of how they should be approached when you’re asking them to donate. You can also see the method of donation, which might allow you to restructure your solicitation approaches. For example, is a major donor giving online, or simply handing you checks? If it’s the former, you may want to look into bolstering your online fundraising campaigns, while the latter may mean that you need to increase your face-to-face meetings.
Once you understand a particular trend among your donors, you’ll be better equipped to create amazing fundraising campaigns. You’ll also be able to see if donations were clustered around a specific time of year or campaign, which will help you see which campaigns were most successful, and which needed more work (for example, a guided tour of your organization may have had more of an impact on your older donors than your email campaigns). Whatever the situation, leveraging available technology can help you get a better idea of how to achieve your fundraising goals, and how to lower your stress levels as the new year approaches.
While it’s impossible to create perfect solution to approaching fundraising, your donor management system can get you close. By tracking donor trends and analytics, you’ll be able to develop a holistic view of your organization’s fundraising, and also gain information on trends that are reflective of individual donors. With the knowledge gained from your system, you’ll be able to fundraise smarter, instead of harder.