Study Helps You Better Understand Donor Behaviors

Today’s nonprofits are not just focused on getting the donation; they are now more focused on understanding donor behaviors, so that they can understand how they can resonate with their donors and connect with them in an authentic way. Classy recently released a new report, “The State of Modern Philanthropy 2019,” where it analyzed trends in return donor behavior. 

One important finding is that there is a large opportunity to re-engage donors earlier. A typical return donor makes a second donation around 349 days after the first donation. However, 19% of return donors make a second donation within three months.

In an exclusive interview with NonProfit PRO, Dr. Ben Cipollini, director of data science at Classy said:

“Nonprofits should encourage one-time donors to become recurring donors immediately or soon after a one-time donation.” Presenting thoughtful content and a variety of next steps to donors earlier can close the gap between the first and second donations, and build more meaningful relationships with donors.

Another important finding from the report is that strong relationships with fundraisers pays off. There’s a opportunity for nonprofits to build strong relationships with fundraisers to get them to become recurring fundraisers. Classy found that recurring fundraisers raised 126% more than one-time fundraisers.

I asked Dr. Cipollini what some key strategies are, and he said it all starts with a great first impression. It’s critical to make sure you are nurturing and re-engaging these fundraisers—letting them know that the product that they’re working on is amazing. Fundraisers are supporters, so using diversity and contact to retain donors works for fundraisers, too.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published in the "Pulse" section of the 2019 May/June edition of NonProfit PRO.