The What & Hows of Fundraising Data: Post 4

For the past few weeks we've been exploring the what and hows of nonprofit fundraising data. You can find the previous posts in this series below.

• 👉 Post 1
• 👉 Post 2
• 👉 Post 3

After determining what data are most beneficial to collect, developing a plan for collection, and deciding how to store, you'll want to make sure you know how to use it. Put another way, how to analyze it. This how may just be the most challenging how for some of you. Let's break it down.

The first step to analyzing data in an efficient and meaningful way is to segment it. Segmentation is taking the whole of your data and breaking it down into smaller bites based on a common denominator or a series of common denominators. For example, perhaps you want to only see constituents who live in a certain zip code. The zip code is the common denominator around which your segment is built. As you work on segmenting your data you will start to notice some patterns in the data within different constituent segments. This is good.

Next we want to dive deeper into those identified patterns by looking for clues to a constituent's PAC. No, this isn't some dark-money political action committee. It's your constituents' giving propensity, affinity, and capacity.

• Propensity
  Propensity refers to an interest in supporting charitable organizations in general. It's not as specific as giving affinity which determines a prospect's interest in your organization. The greater the giving propensity, the greater the chance the donor may make a gift to any organization.
• Affinity
  Affinity helps to determine how much a prospect is connected to your organization and its mission. The greater a donor’s giving affinity, the greater the chance they may want to support your mission.
• Capacity
  Capacity describes how much the donor is capable of giving to your nonprofit. This is usually based on the donor’s wealth and financials. The greater the giving capacity, the greater the chance the donor can make a substantial gift.

Here are some handy free resources to help you begin to create a prospect's PAC picture. Use these to supplement the data you already have.

• GuideStar
• Federal Election Commision
• Marquis Biographies
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
• County Property Assessor - this will be specific to the county in which your prospect resides.

Remember as you analyze, you're creating an initial picture of your prospects. The picture will fill in as you build a relationship with them.