Whatever fundraising software you're organization is using, you need the capability to effectively segment your database to more effectively appeal to your donors. Segmentation has come a long way since we started dividing our data by current donors, lapsed donors and non-donors!
This webinar will cover the three most important factors in segmentation; discuss how data should be structured to get you the results you want; and we'll share stories about segmentation successes and near-misses.
2. Synthesis Partnership works with nonprofit
organizations facing or creating change to
align strategy, identity, capacity and facilities
with vision, mission and values.
A Service
Of: Sponsored by:
4. Today’s Speaker
Cheryl J Weissman
President,
CJW Consulting & Services, Inc.
Assisting with chat questions: Hosting:
April Hunt, Nonprofit Webinars Sam Frank, Synthesis Partnership
A Service
Of: Sponsored by:
5. EFFECTIVE SEGMENTATION
Presented by:
Cheryl J. Weissman
CJW Consulting & Services, Inc.
8331 Central Avenue
Morton Grove, IL 60053
cheryl@cjwconsulting.com
www.cjwconsulting.com
6. What Works Best?
Always remember that solicitations are
about the donor, not about your
organization or need for support
Donors give for personal reasons, so
we need to find and appeal to those
reasons
7. Creating Your List of Prospects
Begin with those with the closest ties
to your organization.
◦ Your board and their families and friends.
◦ Your current and past donors.
◦ The people your organization serves, or
people connected to those you serve
◦ Mine your database!
8. Giving
Identify and appeal to the self-interest or
motivation of the donors
◦ Segment based on what you know about
what interests or motivates your donors
Ask – people don’t give unless they are
asked
◦ Segment based on past giving
Respect donor intent – accountability is
key
◦ Segment based on what they have given to
in the past
9. Appeal to Self-
Interest/Motivation
Relationships
◦ Constituents affiliated with organizations similar to yours, or
providing similar services
◦ Connections to people involved in your organization (friends of
Board, Staff, etc.)
Contact(s) Information
◦ If you are tracking things like committee meeting attendance,
participation in events, etc., you can segment based on the ways
constituents are connected to your organization.
Source(s)
◦ If you use Source(s) in a categorical way, this is a valuable
indicator of the reason they chose to connect to you.
Subscriptions
◦ Can be used to identify ways members connect
Board Member information, Volunteer newsletter, etc.
Cultivate
10. Ask
Segment based on past giving
◦ There’s more to a gift than a dollar amount
Use all the information you can
To what campaign did they respond?
Where did they direct their money to be used?
How often do they give?
People who give on their own more than once a year
are good candidates for a structured pledge or monthly
gift program
How do they give?
People who pay by credit card may be good candidates
for monthly giving or EFT giving.
Cultivate
11. Respect Donor Intent
Respect donor intent – accountability
is key
◦ Segment based on what they have given
to in the past
Cultivate
12. Moves Management
Segmentation changes for prospects
for larger gifts
◦ Involves strategizing contact for people
who are not ready for an ask
◦ You may want to segment using people
who have completed a specific move, not
just at a specific stage in the process.
13. Moves Management
Example
◦ In the qualification stage, you create three
moves:
A letter of introduction
A survey
A thank you postcard
◦ Rather than prepare a segment for
anyone currently in the qualification stage,
segment for anyone who has completed
the survey
14. Moves Management
Be sure that your system is set up in a
way that makes it easy to determine
where everyone is at any given point
in time.