What Donor Information Do We Need?
Every successful organization needs to track information. While large corporations track sales data and demographics, nonprofits manage donor information. What information do you really need? More importantly, how will you effectively manage this information to help your organization in the future?
Each organization will probably answer those questions differently. Put simply, all the data you collect should have a purpose. Most of the data you collect will help you with donor retention. Here’s a few simple questions to help you determine the information you need:
Who?
This question is probably the first piece of information you will want to remember. Who is donating? But with that question you will want to know where they live, and how to contact them again in the future. You might also ask “who within your organization asked the donor for their gift?”
Why?
Why did this donor give? Their donation may be because they care about your cause or because they care about your specific programs. Maybe they were motivated by a campaign that your organization ran. If you remember why this donor gave in the first place, you will be able to remind them of that reason when asking for a future donation.
When?
There are several ways we can ask “when?” that could be beneficial to remember. For example, “when did this donor first give?,” would be helpful when recognizing a donor for their long-term support. You may also want to know “when did this donor make their most recent donation?” This would be helpful in determining when to reach out to ask for another gift.
How?
“How was the donor first contacted?” is a great question to help you target your future communications with them. If you remember “how” you reached them in the first place, you can use the same methods in the future. This information will also help you to see which communication efforts are really paying off for your organization.
Donor Information Management Success!
Of course, there may be additional information that makes sense for your organization to track. Your questions will ultimately be specific to your organization’s goals. With all this information comes the necessary task of managing this information effectively.
Donor Wrangler can organize and track the answers to your questions with ease. When you need to find the specific data you have already made note of, simply generate a report. Donor Wrangler’s reports are fully customizable and easy to filter so you can find the information you need with just a few easy clicks.
Start your free trial below or schedule a Guided Walkthrough and see how easy it is to manage your donor information.
Read more on this topic in The NonProfit Times article: Looking For Gems In Your Donor Database