“I wish I could clone my best donors!” With database modeling you can!
How does it work? Step one is to identify a trusted vendor who specializes in data modeling services, and send them the donor list. These services are offered both online and typically by local vendors. Since existing donor information is extremely sensitive, interested parties should always ask for several references before engaging a vendor.
What can I expect in return?
Reports: Reports aggregate commonalities in the existing donor list-so why is this important? Because a savvy fundraiser can use information about donor backgrounds, interests and passions to craft better appeal letters or to create an event that fits the interest of their donors.
Additional data about specific members of the original mailing list: This is extremely useful for executing a fundraising campaign that resonates with a specific subset of your audience.
Example 1: A group of specific donors could be targeted to launch a new children’s program or add a children’s exhibit. Members of the existing donor audience who were flagged with the “presence of children” would certainly be more interested in these kid-oriented projects. Grandparents can often be identified when lists are analyzed, and they are another huge source of support for campaigns that benefit children.
Example 2: Age could be used as a variable to send a special solicitation about legacy giving and estate planning.
There are many other valuable pieces of information that can be compiled from an existing donor list including marital status, income, assessed property value, favorite pastimes, etc. Knowledge is power and this information can be used to further segment donors, and to craft campaigns that resonate with the appropriate segments.
Other mailing lists that match the profile of the list that was supplied: One of the best ways to leverage information from a donor list is to have a modeled list created. A modeled list is a new list of prospect donors who share characteristics with members of an existing donor list. This is as close to “cloning” existing donors as possible, and is widely recognized as one of the most effective ways to grow a donor base of passionate supporters.
What are the additional benefits? You get to “clean up” your list. Donors on the existing list who have relocated or passed away are identified. Relocation information can be used to either update address information in the main donor database, or to remove donors from a list completely for charities with strictly locally based missions.
In any mailing campaign, the database is by far the most critical indicator of success. In fact, research from Mal Warwick’s book Revolution in the Mailbox: Your Guide to Successful Direct Mail Fundraising indicates that 50% of the success of a mailing campaign is based on the mailing list. Use this information to assure the profitability of future fundraising & acquisition campaigns.
Blase Ciabaton
http://www.thedirectmailman.com/
Please think of Blase as your nonprofit Direct Mail, Mailing List, and Printing Guru.
