How to Transform Your Major Gifts Program with Data

Building a Major Gifts Program with Data

Data can make all the difference for your major gifts program. It’s essential for personalizing outreach, predicting outcomes, and improving on previous successes. Yet, without a proper plan for gathering and storing data, data-driven fundraising approaches remain out of reach. In this article, we’ll share insights on developing a major gift fundraising program informed by data.

Explore strategies for securing more major gifts with enriched donor data: Securing More Major Gifts: Building Your Prospect Pipeline with Better Donor Data.

3 Steps for Building a More Data-Driven Major Gifts Program

Assess Your Current Major Gift Processes

Begin by examining all manual workflows that currently drive your engagement efforts. Many organizations rely on time-consuming, manual processes for tracking donor interactions, managing gift prospect lists, and sending follow-up communications. Spot inefficiencies you can streamline.

Next, take a close look at the gaps in your data that lead to missing data in donor profiles. Data gaps might include absent contact details, incomplete donation histories, or the loss of key engagement metrics, all of which limit your ability to effectively segment donors and tailor communications.

Finally, scrutinize the quality and freshness of your data. Outdated or inaccurate information can not only reduce the effectiveness of your outreach; it can reduce donor trust over time. Check if the donor information, communication logs, and giving histories are regularly updated. Consider how frequently these datapoints are refreshed.

Set Data Quality Goals for a More Metrics-Driven Major Gift Program

Based on the preliminary work of assessing your current data practices and identifying areas for improvement, you can set data quality goals. For instance, set a standard for data freshness by creating a goal for data to be refreshed no less than once each week. If there are gaps in donor profiles, say missing volunteering history or event attendance, figure out which systems store that information and make a plan for getting that data into your CRM on a regular basis.

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Use CRM Integration to Develop Your Major Gifts Program

There’s a way to unify all your organization’s third-party data into a single source of truth — typically a CRM like Raiser’s Edge NXT, Salesforce, or Virtuous. Data integration solutions have the ability to automatically gather, transfer, and transform data from different sources into your CRM. By integrating your organization’s data, you can have fresh, accurate, and complete donor profiles without the time-consuming, error-prone work of spreadsheet imports or manual data entry.

In today’s tech landscape, prioritizing integration means more than simplifying operations. It’s about ensuring that the tools meant to empower your mission actually work together to support it. By integrating your CRM with your organization’s tools for email marketing, ticketing, fundraising, and other tools you can experience the following benefits:

• No more manual data imports: Ditch the downloads. Integration allows you to automatically move biographic, philanthropic, and other data between systems on a regular basis.
• An end to time-consuming spreadsheet edits: A purpose-built integration tool will automatically edit, configure, and transform your data, so it matches your exact customization preferences — no manual edits required.
• Automated workflows can run more frequently: With fresher data, everyone wins. Run acknowledgment emails, campaign progress report communications, and other automated messages on a weekly or daily basis with confidence.
• Accurate supporter data: Enjoy having all the relevant supporter data you need, including giving histories, engagement activity, email history, event attendance, and more in your CRM, automatically.

Better segmentation for communications: Having accurate development data within your email marketing platform makes segmentation based on biographical data, donation history, and volunteering a snap.

Transforming your major gifts program with data is not just a strategic advantage; it’s a necessity in today’s competitive fundraising landscape. By systematically assessing your current processes, setting clear data quality goals, and integrating third-party data into your CRM, you lay a solid foundation for more informed and effective fundraising efforts.

Conclusion: Better Data, Better Major Gifts Program, Better Fundraising Results

Embracing a data-driven approach allows you to personalize donor interactions, accurately predict outcomes, and build stronger, trust-based relationships with your supporters. Better data also amplifies the effect of your organization’s investment in technology. Many nonprofit CRMs and fundraising platforms have sophisticated automation features that send pledge reminders, acknowledgements, and other key functions. Automation and integration reduce manual workloads and minimize errors, but they are only as effective as the data that powers them.

Ready to take a deeper dive into creating a data-driven fundraising strategy? Check out our new eBook, Securing More Major Gifts: Building Your Prospect Pipeline with Better Donor Data, for tips on spotting gaps in supporter data and using accurate, timely information to land more major gifts.