Understanding the donor journey is essential for optimizing nonprofit fundraising. However, it’s important to recognize that the donor journey is not a singular path that each supporter follows. Instead, it can vary drastically from one individual to another, often relying on things like donation method, engagement history, and more.
Going a step further, it’s common that each donor’s journey is impacted by information such as donor demographics. In this guide, we’ll provide a foundation of knowledge regarding donor demographics and what nonprofit fundraisers should know. This will include vital topics, such as:
- What Are Donor Demographics?
- Key Demographics (and Their Impact on Fundraising)
- What You Can Do to Improve the Donor Journey
Ready to dive in and explore the various ways in which donor demographics can impact nonprofit fundraising strategies? Be sure to note ways that you can improve your organization’s efforts along the way.
What Are Donor Demographics?
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, demographics are “the statistical characteristics of human populations used especially to identify markets.” In terms of marketing, this information allows groups to best target their audiences with the most relevant content possible. And the same goes for fundraising and donor relations!
Specifically, donor demographics are particular attributes of a nonprofit’s supporter network that tend to impact the ways in which individuals interact with the organization. For example, a donor’s age (or, more broadly, their generation) and geographic location can play a huge role in the opportunities they take part in a nonprofit’s giving initiatives.
Key Demographics (and Their Impact on Fundraising)
Now that you have a broad understanding of donor demographics concepts, you’re likely wondering which types of information play into this idea. We’ve put together a list of some of the most common and impactful types of demographic data, and we’ll discuss the ways in which they can affect an organization’s strategies. These include;
Age
According to fundraising statistics from Double the Donation, the average donor in the United States is 64 years old. Yet donors of all ages and generations exist across the globe to support their favorite causes. Though, individuals’ age groups can have a significant impact on charitable giving tendencies.
For example, the same studies report that Millennial and Generation X donors are most likely to give through social media marketing. In contrast, Baby Boomer donors are more likely to give in response to email messages.
This chart provides additional insights into the various giving methods and inspirations behind nonprofit giving of donors across multiple generations:
While online giving ranks highly among Millennial, Gen X, and Baby Boomer donors alike, more traditional direct mail fundraising is only reported as a top-giving preference for Baby Boomers.
Gender
Gender is another key demographic that can be used to adjust communications efforts and best target individual audiences. In fact, Forbes reports that men tend to donate more when it comes to workplace giving campaigns, while women often donate directly to nonprofit charities.
At the same time, according to the aforementioned Double the Donation study, the inspiration behind giving can vary by gender as well. Female donors are more likely to donate in response to social media marketing, while male donors are more likely inspired to give because of email messages.
Income
An individual’s income can play a huge role in their ability to donate to charitable causes. So it makes sense that this piece of data is essential when it comes to donor demographics. For example, understanding a donor’s estimated income will allow the organization to craft personalized suggested donation asks, identify opportunities for major gifts, and more.
It’s also important to note that while higher-earning individuals tend to give more in terms of dollar amounts, lower and middle-earning individuals tend to give more often and proportionally to income.
Location
Especially with the rise of online giving, nonprofit fundraising is no longer limited to individuals within a certain geographic area. In fact, 31 percent of worldwide donors have reported giving to organizations outside their country of residence, while tons of others are giving across city, state, and regional lines as well.
However, keeping records of individuals’ general location can allow organizations to adjust their strategies accordingly. For example, studies indicate that over 67 percent of worldwide donors also choose to volunteer locally and attend nonprofit events in their communities. This means that organizations should make a point to engage with local supporters in ways beyond their typical donations. While simultaneously providing new and unique ways for long-distance donors to get involved.
Employment
An individual’s employment is the final piece of donor demographic information we’ll discuss here, and it’s one of critical importance for fundraising organizations. For one thing, employment can go hand-in-hand with wealth data.
Not to mention, knowing which companies a donor works for, as well as their employment status (i.e., full-time, part-time, retired), allows nonprofits to easily identify the potential for matching gifts and other employer-giving programs. Double the Donation reports over 26 million individuals working for companies that offer employee matching programs. This means it’s a lucrative opportunity for organizations to pursue.
What You Can Do to Improve the Donor Journey
The donor journey is an overarching look at the ways an individual engages with an organization they’re involved with—from the identification process to the first donation to the securing of the person’s long-term, ongoing support. There are several ways a nonprofit can improve the donor journey, many of which rely on smart donor data tactics.
Here are a few key ways an organization can elevate its donor experiences based on donor demographics;
Segment and personalize your communications.
Sending identical mass messages to an entire network of donors is no longer an effective fundraising strategy for nonprofits. Instead, segmentation and personalization can make a big difference when it comes to producing impactful results.
Keeping the above findings in mind (relating to a donor’s age group, gender, location, employment, and more) can help nonprofit fundraisers to best appeal to their audiences and maximize the results of said fundraising efforts. This empowers you to adjust your messaging to send the most relevant content possible.
Plus, you can modify your communication channels as well! While you may send a handwritten appeal to an older, long-term supporter, you can use text messaging to engage with a younger audience.
Invest in donor data management strategies.
Selecting the right tools is an essential part of ensuring your organization maintains an effective and data-driven strategy. That’s why we recommend equipping your team with a nonprofit CRM!
Not only will an innovative CRM, or constituent relationship management system, allow you to collect and keep track of invaluable donor data points, but it can also offer customizable outreach functionality to establish impactful communication with ease.
The more you know about your nonprofit supporters, the more effectively you can craft your organization’s fundraising strategy. And donor demographics are an excellent place to start
Keep these data points in mind as you reach out to donors and offer new and engaging ways for them to get involved. Then, watch new funding opportunities become available through individual support, corporate matching programs, and more.
This is a guest blog post contributed by Giveffect’s partner, Double the Donation. To learn more about Giveffect integrations such as with Double the Donation, schedule your demo today!