AI-Enabled Donor Segmentation Yields Valuable Data
Nonprofits are using AI-enabled donor segmentation and moving away from static lists and “gut feel,” according to Brue.
“They now use dynamic models that flag who is likely to upgrade, lapse or become a monthly donor,” she says. “This directly addresses the reality that most teams do not have the time or staffing to handcraft segments.”
Nonprofits segment their databases based on the regulatory landscape and what they know about their donor base, Lall says. AI-enabled segmentation enables nonprofits to know who might give $5 or $10 a month and who to ask to give $2,000 a year.
“Being able to segment and understand your own donor landscape has been a huge boon as an indirect result of this regulatory impetus that led to some of the tech stack modernization,” Lall says.
Generative AI helps donors with outreach on promotions and targeted messages to donors that could include mentions of a donor’s last three pledges, he says.
Lall notes that nonprofits must have a refined message for donors they are targeting. To comply with privacy laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act in the U.S. and the General Data Protection Regulation in Europe, nonprofits must be thoughtful in their outreach to donors, he says.
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How Nonprofits Unify Their Data Strategies
Nonprofits may have their donor records scattered across Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, Google Sheets and tools such as Race Roster, Lall notes. CRM systems provide donation histories, so if a donor has already pledged $2,000, nonprofits will not approach them for smaller amounts, Lall says. And if they can only donate $20, donors will not ask for $2,000.
“It’s really a refined understanding of who your donors are, not just based on their history, but based even on external factors that we can pull into a CRM system — local demographics, geographic information, things of that nature,” Lall says.
Prioritizing and unifying a data strategy is important for nonprofits, and that includes fixing a siloed donor program.
“The ability to centralize that information into one tool allows the nonprofit organization to get a better understanding of who their donors are and how to how to best engage them,” Lull says.
In addition, a unified data strategy can deepen donor relationships.
“Nonprofits are getting much smarter about using donor data to connect dollars to outcomes, not just campaigns,” Brue says.
Nonprofits are combining CRM, analytics and AI, which can automate stewardship, the management of a nonprofit’s funds and relationships. These capabilities also help nonprofits decide the next action to take with donors. Platforms such as Salesforce enable better integration of data as well as tools such as Box, marketing automation and online giving.
“They also help activate AI and analytics in ways that match organizational maturity, so leadership can see in black and white where process improvements are reducing manual work and improving the donor experience,” Brue says.
