Lapsed or Dormant? Leveraging Statistical Analysis in Fundraising

Once again, informal heuristics are unable to sort out these intertwined patterns, but a carefully crafted statistical model is able to do so. Schweidel and Knox show how an organization can gain specific understanding of how soliciting donors can not only influence the decision to make a contribution in response to a particular piece of direct mail, but also how it impacts their tendency to lapse. On one hand, fundraising efforts may deepen a donor’s attachment to an organization, but such activities may also irritate donors and trigger a premature end to the relationship. Striking the right balance here is obviously critical to any nonprofit, but it has not been examined very carefully on a regular basis.