Article Fundraising 2 min read

Thursday Buzz: Collecting Donor Data

Gathering information from your donors doesn’t have to be aggravating. Here are a few unobtrusive tactics to try. Also: social media marketing hacks worth experimenting with in 2018.

Raegan Johnson

March 8, 2018

Heads up: this content is over 5 years old, so some information may be out of date.

Donor data is vital to creating and optimizing a robust fundraising strategy, but collecting personal information from donors can be a nuisance to them. So what are some less annoying ways to solicit donor data?

Leverage your thank-you page as a collection point, suggests a recent post on Kivi’s Nonprofit Communications Blog  (opens in a new tab). Try asking questions that reveal your donors’ motivations for giving or that tell you the best ways to reach them.

If you prefer to use a survey, send it in the donation confirmation email and make sure it’s short—only three to five questions. “Using this strategy, the survey is not a cumbersome initiative for your nonprofit,” writes Rachel Clemens. “It simply rolls out on a continual basis whenever a donation is made. And with a seamless integration of your donor database, you can ask different questions each time the donor gives.”

Get Tactical

https://twitter.com/socialfish/status/971717477364314112

Are you nervous about declining social media metrics? SocialFish shares eight hacks to try to boost your social media game  (opens in a new tab) this year.

Some of the tips may seem obvious, but they’re easy to overlook. For instance, are you using hashtags as strategically as you could? “Each social media platform has its own culture that includes how best to use hashtags within the network,” says the post.

Also try using more polls to increase your engagement numbers and learn about your audience. “Polls will give you insights into your fan base that you would have otherwise never received had you not conducted one.”

Other Links of Note

You can slice and dice your members into lots of segments. But Amanda Kaiser says to pay special attention to the innovators  (opens in a new tab).

Daylight saving time starts Sunday. NBC News shares a few tips and tricks to prepare  (opens in a new tab).

Do you know your board’s values? If you don’t, MultiBriefs provides an exercise for coming up with them  (opens in a new tab).

(MicroStockHub/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Raegan Johnson

Raegan Johnson is a contributor to Associations Now.