Do Your Donors Work For Socially Responsible Companies

Do Your Donors Work For Socially Responsible Companies?

In today’s business landscape, more and more companies are prioritizing corporate social responsibility (or CSR) as a core part of their mission. From environmental sustainability to community outreach and charitable giving, socially responsible companies are making a meaningful impact on the world.

As a nonprofit, it’s crucial to recognize how this trend can benefit your organization. After all, your donors may already be working for companies that offer corporate giving programs, like matching gifts or volunteer grants, that can double or even triple their impact. But are you leveraging these opportunities to their fullest potential?

In this post, we’ll explore how nonprofits can tap into relationships with companies leading the way in CSR to maximize their support and engage donors in new and impactful ways. Specifically, we’ll cover the following:

Discovering which of your donors work for socially responsible companies could unlock significant support for your mission. Ready to find out how you can do so with ease? Let’s begin with the basics.

What Defines a Socially Responsible Company?

A socially responsible company is one that integrates ethical, sustainable, and community-focused practices into its core operations. These businesses recognize that their success is intertwined with the well-being of society, and they actively seek to make a positive impact on their employees, customers, communities, and the environment.

While there’s no one-size-fits-all model of social responsibility, check out a few characteristics that generally define a socially responsible company:

Characteristics of socially responsible companies

  1. Environmental Sustainability
    Companies strive to reduce their environmental impact by adopting eco-friendly practices. This may involve reducing waste, conserving energy, using renewable resources, and implementing sustainable supply chain management.
  2. Ethical Business Practices
    Socially responsible companies maintain high ethical standards in all areas of business, from fair labor practices and diversity initiatives to transparency in governance and decision-making.
  3. Economic Responsibility
    Rather than chasing short-term profits, socially responsible companies focus on long-term growth that benefits both the business and society. They aim to create a positive, lasting impact on their stakeholders, which includes employees, customers, shareholders, and the broader community.
  4. Philanthropic Engagement
    Many socially responsible companies actively invest in the communities where they operate. This includes supporting local charities, offering volunteer time off (VTO) for employees to participate in community service, and implementing corporate giving programs like matching gifts and volunteer grants.

By embracing these practices, socially responsible companies build trust with consumers and employees, foster loyalty, and contribute to a more sustainable and equitable world. Not to mention, these efforts not only benefit society but often lead to better business performance as well.

  • CLMA badge for socially responsible companiesTop tip: Keep an eye out for the Certified Leaders in Matching Automation badge to quickly identify socially responsible companies with matching gift auto-submission enabled. These employers are devoted to making matching gifts as easy as possible, demonstrating their commitment to CSR and beyond.

10 Socially Responsible Companies to Know

As a nonprofit, familiarity with leading companies practicing corporate social responsibility is a must. After all, understanding which companies make a point to give back allows nonprofits to better engage donors who work for these businesses. And, in doing so, they can more effectively tap into additional resources such as corporate matchesvolunteer support, and even broader partnership opportunities.

Check out these examples to get started:

NPO Info_Do Your Donors Work For Socially Responsible Companies _Chipotle

Chipotle Mexican Grill

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? No
Volunteer time off? Yes

CLMA badge for socially responsible companies

Chipotle Mexican Grill is a popular fast-casual restaurant chain known for its commitment to using responsibly sourced ingredients and offering fresh, customizable meals. As part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, Chipotle emphasizes environmental sustainability, humane animal practices, and ethical sourcing.

The company also gives back through community outreach and charitable initiatives, including its standout matching gifts program, which allows employees to double their contributions to nonprofits of their choice. In order to optimize the employee experience within its matching gift program, Chipotle has implemented matching gift auto-submission, too, earning it the CLMA designation for Certified Leaders in Matching Automation.

Furthermore, Chipotle promotes social responsibility through its volunteer time off (VTO) policy, enabling employees to take up to 8 hours of paid time to participate in volunteer work. These efforts reflect Chipotle’s dedication to making a positive impact both in the food industry and within local communities.

Learn more about Chipotle’s socially responsible giving programs here.

NPO Info_Do Your Donors Work For Socially Responsible Companies _Patagonia

Patagonia

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? No
Volunteer time off? Yes

Patagonia, a renowned outdoor apparel company, is deeply committed to environmental and social causes, with sustainability at the core of its mission. Patagonia’s CSR initiatives are broad, encompassing environmental activism, ethical labor practices, and sustainable product design.

The company also encourages employee engagement through its matching gifts program, doubling employee donations to environmental, social, and other nonprofits. Meanwhile, Patagonia supports employees in taking action through its volunteer time off (VTO) policy, allowing them to dedicate generous amounts of time to causes they care about, often with a focus on environmental restoration.

Patagonia’s commitment to CSR is rooted in its mission to preserve the planet, and it actively partners with organizations that align with this goal.

Learn more about Patagonia’s socially responsible giving programs here.

NPO Info_Do Your Donors Work For Socially Responsible Companies _Danone

Danone North America

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? No
Volunteer time off? Yes

CLMA badge for socially responsible companies

Danone North America is a multinational food and beverage company known for its dairy products, plant-based alternatives, and bottled water brands. The company is dedicated to promoting health through food while driving environmental sustainability and social equity. Danone North America’s CSR efforts include a strong emphasis on environmental stewardship, sustainable sourcing, and community involvement.

To encourage employee involvement in philanthropy, Danone North America offers a CLMA-designated matching gifts program, amplifying employees’ charitable donations to eligible nonprofits. Plus, the company supports community engagement through volunteer time off, allowing employees to contribute up to 16 hours each year to causes they are passionate about.

Learn more about Danone’s socially responsible giving programs here.

NPO Info_Do Your Donors Work For Socially Responsible Companies _CVS Health

CVS Health

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? Yes
Volunteer time off? Yes

CVS Health, a major pharmacy and healthcare provider, integrates social responsibility into its mission of promoting health and wellness. The company’s CSR efforts focus on expanding access to healthcare, addressing public health challenges, and supporting underserved communities.

CVS Health also enhances its social impact through matching gifts and volunteer grants, allowing employees to increase their donations and volunteer contributions to nonprofits. Additionally, CVS promotes employee involvement in community service through volunteer time off, providing paid time for employees to engage in volunteer work.

Learn more about CVS Health’s socially responsible giving programs here.

NPO Info_Do Your Donors Work For Socially Responsible Companies _Disney

Walt Disney Company

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? Yes
Volunteer time off? Yes

The Walt Disney Company is a global leader in entertainment, known for its iconic films, theme parks, and media networks. Beyond entertainment, Disney’s CSR efforts are comprehensive, with a focus on environmental sustainability, charitable giving, and promoting education.

Disney offers both matching gifts and volunteer grants to encourage employees to support causes they care about. The company also promotes community engagement through volunteer time off, allowing employees to give back during paid work hours.

Disney’s wide-reaching CSR initiatives include funding for children’s hospitals, environmental conservation programs, and educational outreach, all of which align with its mission to create positive change in communities worldwide.

Learn more about Disney’s socially responsible giving programs here.

NPO Info_Do Your Donors Work For Socially Responsible Companies _Warner Media

Warner Media

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? Yes
Volunteer time off? Yes

Warner Media is a leading media and entertainment company recognized for its extensive film, television, and digital content production. As part of its CSR strategy, Warner Media prioritizes diversity, inclusion, environmental responsibility, and community engagement.

The company also offers matching gifts and volunteer grants, empowering employees to increase their financial contributions and volunteer efforts to nonprofits. Warner Media also provides volunteer time off, encouraging employees to give back to their communities while receiving regular pay.

Through its CSR programs, Warner Media fosters a culture of giving, social responsibility, and sustainability, aligning its corporate values with the interests of its employees and society at large.

Learn more about Warner Media’s socially responsible giving programs here.

NPO Info_Do Your Donors Work For Socially Responsible Companies _ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? No
Volunteer time off? Yes

CLMA badge for socially responsible companies

ActiveCampaign, a marketing automation platform, is committed to making a positive impact through its CSR initiatives, which focus on community development and employee engagement.

The company encourages its employees to give back through a CLMA-designated matching gifts program, doubling charitable donations made to eligible nonprofits more easily than ever before. In addition, ActiveCampaign offers volunteer time off, allowing employees to dedicate paid time to volunteer with organizations that align with their values.

These programs reflect ActiveCampaign’s belief in the power of community and its desire to empower employees to contribute to causes that matter to them, both financially and through volunteer service.

Learn more about ActiveCampaign’s socially responsible giving programs here.

NPO Info_Do Your Donors Work For Socially Responsible Companies _Toyota Connected

Toyota Connected

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? No
Volunteer time off? No

CLMA badge for socially responsible companies

Toyota Connected is a division of Toyota that focuses on creating innovative connected technologies and data-driven solutions for the automotive industry. While Toyota Connected has a technological focus, it also embraces corporate social responsibility.

One way that it does so is through its matching gifts program, which doubles employee donations to qualifying nonprofits. This initiative has auto-submission enabled, allowing employees to complete their matching gift requests straight from their favorite organizations’ giving pages!

Learn more about Toyota Connected’s socially responsible giving programs here.

NPO Info_Do Your Donors Work For Socially Responsible Companies _Harvard

Harvard University Employees Credit Union

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? No
Volunteer time off? No

CLMA badge for socially responsible companies

Harvard University Employees Credit Union (HUECU) is a member-owned financial institution serving the Harvard University community and its affiliates. As part of its CSR efforts, HUECU focuses on financial education, community development, and charitable giving.

The credit union also supports employee philanthropy through a matching gifts program, enabling employees to increase their charitable donations through corporate matches. Its CLMA-designated matching gifts initiative demonstrates a commitment to supporting the causes that matter to its employees and fostering positive community impact through financial contributions.

Learn more about Harvard University’s socially responsible giving programs here.

NPO Info_Do Your Donors Work For Socially Responsible Companies _BerlinRosen

BerlinRosen

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? No
Volunteer time off? No

CLMA badge for socially responsible companies

BerlinRosen is a strategic communications firm known for its work in public affairs, advocacy, and social impact campaigns. The company’s CSR efforts are rooted in its dedication to promoting progressive causes, diversity, and social justice.

Additionally, BerlinRosen encourages employee giving through its matching gifts program, multiplying employee donations to a wide range of nonprofits and schools. And with auto-submission functionality enabled, it’s quick and easy for its employees to get involved!

Learn more about BerlinRosen’s socially responsible giving programs here.

Get support from socially responsible companies with 360MatchPro.

Identifying Socially Responsible Companies in Your Network

The above companies form a representative sample of socially responsible employers. But there are tens of thousands more businesses participating in CSR⁠—and it would be impossible to list them all.

That said, there are a few strategies that can be employed in order to uncover top companies devoted to CSR with existing connections to your donor base. These include the following:

Manual Research

The first step you might want to take is to perform a series of manual research tasks. For example:

  • Screening publicly available donor information to uncover employment insights (often using LinkedIn or other online resources).
  • Reaching out to donors directly to request employer information (e.g., sending an optional survey via email).
  • Visiting the websites of identified companies to explore their CSR or corporate philanthropy sections.
  • Engaging with donors to request information about their employers’ giving programs, community engagement efforts, and more.

While it requires significant investments of time and resources to conduct this research on your own, keep in mind that it’s possible to uncover some invaluable insights this way.

Workplace Giving Software

The next option involves automating the processes of collecting and leveraging employment information using the right tools in your tech stack. Specifically, by implementing (and integrating) a workplace giving platform like Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro, you can glean employment insights directly as donors give.

From there, the solution automatically screens against the industry’s leading corporate giving database to flag opportunities for matching gifts, volunteer grants, VTO programs, and other corporate giving initiatives.

Use workplace giving software to uncover socially responsible companies in your network

In order to drive supporter engagement with the tool, you can even embed the company search tool directly into your website, donation forms, volunteer registration pages, and more.

Employer Appends

Even after incorporating workplace giving software to collect employment information as supporters engage with your cause, there’s a good chance you’ll have some gaps in your records. For this, we recommend outsourcing your research process to a third-party data enhancement service provider like NPO Info by Double the Donation.

Here’s how it works:

  • You’ll provide the data enhancement company with the information you have about your donors (names, engagement histories, contact details, etc.).
  • The enhancement company will scan the information you provide against a series of publicly available and privately held data sources to uncover relevant information and fill in the gaps.
  • Your organization will receive the finalized employer append record, along with information about the uncovered companies’ matching gifts and other giving programs.

Use employer appends to uncover socially responsible companies in your network

Once you have the information, your team can use the uncovered insights to tailor your outreach efforts and grow your relationship with the appropriate donors and their employers alike.


Final Thoughts & Additional Resources

Partnering with socially responsible companies opens up a world of possibilities for your nonprofit or school. Whether through matching gifts, volunteer grants, or other corporate philanthropy initiatives, these opportunities allow your donors to do more with their contributions.

Don’t miss out on the potential for additional funding and support. Start building stronger relationships with your corporate partners⁠—and their employees⁠—today. Your donors are ready to amplify their impact, and with the right tools and strategies, your organization can thrive.

Interested in seeing how your team can benefit from socially responsible companies like these? Check out the following materials to learn more:

Get support from socially responsible companies with 360MatchPro.

Volunteer Time Off Programs- A Smart Nonprofit’s VTO Guide

Volunteer Time Off Programs: A Smart Nonprofit’s VTO Guide

In today’s socially conscious landscape, companies are increasingly embracing Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives that benefit both their employees and the communities they serve. One standout program that fits both criteria is Volunteer Time Off, which offers employees paid time to volunteer for causes they’re passionate about.

For nonprofits, understanding how to tap into these VTO programs can open doors to a vast pool of dedicated volunteers. This guide will help nonprofits navigate the world of volunteer time off, offering strategies to engage employees who are looking for meaningful ways to give back through their company-sponsored volunteerism. And we’ll do so by answering the following frequently asked questions:

To fully leverage Volunteer Time Off programs, nonprofits need a solid understanding of how they work, why companies offer them, and the benefits these programs bring. By exploring the answers to these key questions, organizations like yours can position themselves to attract more corporate volunteers, build lasting partnerships, and maximize the impact of VTO.

Without further ado, let’s start by addressing the fundamental question: What is Volunteer Time Off?

What is Volunteer Time Off?

Volunteer Time Off⁠—also known as VTO⁠—is a corporate benefit that allows employees to take paid time off from work to volunteer for charitable or community service activities. This time off is typically offered above and beyond any other forms of leave (like vacation or sick days), as it’s specifically designated for volunteerism.

Definition of Volunteer Time Off

VTO encourages employees to engage in community service, support nonprofits, and contribute to causes they care about⁠—without having to give up their pay or schedule around existing work commitments. This makes it easier for individuals to participate in volunteer activities, driving additional support for nonprofit causes.

Within the programs, companies generally establish policies regarding how much VTO is available per year (often between 8 and 40 hours) and may specify eligible nonprofits or activities.

Why do companies offer Volunteer Time Off?

Companies offer Volunteer Time Off for several reasons, often tied to their broader Corporate Social Responsibility (or CSR) goals and employee engagement strategies.

Here are key reasons why companies implement VTO programs:

  1. Enhance Corporate Social Responsibility: Offering VTO allows companies to demonstrate their commitment to giving back to the community. It aligns their business with charitable and social causes, enhancing their CSR profile and showing that they prioritize social impact.
  2. Boost Employee Engagement and Morale: VTO empowers employees to contribute to causes they care about without sacrificing their income. This not only increases job satisfaction but also boosts overall morale and fosters a sense of purpose in the workplace.
  3. Attract and Retain Talent: Many employees, particularly those in the younger generations, prioritize working for companies that are socially responsible. VTO programs are an attractive benefit that can help companies recruit socially conscious talent and improve employee retention overall.
  4. Enhance Company Reputation: VTO programs reflect positively on a company’s public image. By showing a commitment to community service, companies improve their reputation with customers, clients, and the public, ultimately driving brand loyalty.
  5. Strengthen Community Ties: Companies that support local volunteer efforts build stronger relationships with the communities where they operate. These ties can lead to a more supportive business environment and potential partnerships with community organizations.

Overall, VTO programs allow companies to align their business objectives with meaningful social contributions, benefiting both their workforce and the communities they serve.

How do nonprofits benefit from Volunteer Time Off?

Nonprofits gain several valuable benefits when their supporters participate in Volunteer Time Off programs. These corporate-sponsored initiatives bring new resources, energy, and opportunities for collaboration. This includes benefits such as…

  1. Access to Skilled Volunteers: Employees who participate in VTO often bring diverse skill sets from their professional backgrounds, providing nonprofits with access to talent that might otherwise be unaffordable. This expertise can help nonprofits improve their operations in areas like marketing, finance, IT, and project management.
  2. Enhanced Volunteer Engagement: VTO programs encourage participation from employees who might not typically volunteer on their own. By tapping into these corporate volunteers, nonprofits can significantly expand their volunteer base and complete larger or more complex projects.
  3. Increased Awareness and Visibility: When employees share their volunteer experiences with their colleagues, friends, or others in their networks, it increases awareness of the nonprofit’s mission and activities. This exposure can attract more volunteers, donors, and supporters to your cause overall.
  4. Strengthened Corporate Relationships: Collaborating with companies through VTO programs strengthens a nonprofit’s relationship with the business community. These relationships can lead to further corporate giving opportunities, such as matching gifts, sponsorships, or event collaborations.

Secure more support through volunteer time off programs with 360MatchPro.

How can nonprofits market VTO opportunities to volunteers?

Nonprofits can effectively market Volunteer Time Off opportunities by targeting corporate employees and companies in ways that highlight the mutual benefits of the program.

Here are a few leading strategies to attract volunteers through VTO:

1. Create a Dedicated Corporate Volunteering Page:

Create a section on your nonprofit’s website specifically for corporate volunteering opportunities. Highlight how employees can utilize their VTO to support your cause and make it easy for them to sign up for upcoming events and activities.

Plus, to make identifying VTO programs as quick and simple as possible, we recommend embedding a corporate giving database directly into the page.

Marketing Volunteer Time Off - website example

2. Promote VTO in Volunteer Registration Forms:

Ensure your volunteer registration forms prominently feature Volunteer Time Off (VTO) options for corporate employees. Include an optional form field that asks whether the individual is using VTO, and make sure to collect employment information as you do so. This not only helps you track corporate volunteers but also allows you to tailor communications and deepen relationships with their employers.

To streamline the process, consider integrating your sign-up forms with a tool like 360MatchPro Volunteer Hub, making it easy for volunteers to check if their company offers VTO or other charitable programs.

Step 1)

Marketing Volunteer Time Off - sign-up form example

Step 2)

Marketing Volunteer Time Off - sign-up form example

3. Leverage Social Media:

Spread the word about Volunteer Time Off using your organization’s social media profiles! Share stories, photos, testimonials, and more⁠—highlighting past corporate volunteer groups to increase visibility and attract new supporters. (P.S. Double the Donation clients can access free, customizable marketing templates to promote VTO programs, volunteer grants, and more!)

Marketing Volunteer Time Off - social media example

You can even encourage current volunteers to share your VTO content with their networks, amplifying your outreach and increasing the likelihood of reaching more eligible supporters.

4. Send a Follow-Up Email:

After a corporate volunteer event, it’s essential to maintain engagement by sending a follow-up email to participants. In this email, express your gratitude for their contributions and share the impact of their efforts on your nonprofit’s mission. Additionally, remind them about their company’s Volunteer Time Off program and encourage them to utilize it for future volunteer opportunities with your organization (or to submit their paperwork to get credit for their most recent activity).

5. Partner with Companies:

Build relationships with businesses that have existing VTO programs. Reach out to HR departments or CSR managers and present your nonprofit’s mission and available volunteer opportunities as key ways for their employees to get involved.

For the best results, you can even organize tailored volunteer activities that align with a company’s core values or industry. For example, a tech company may be interested in hosting a coding workshop for underprivileged students, while a healthcare company might prefer to sponsor a community health fair or organize volunteer shifts at a local clinic.

Regardless, by taking a proactive approach and positioning your organization as a valuable partner for VTO, nonprofits can attract more corporate volunteers and create lasting relationships with companies that support meaningful community engagement.


Final Thoughts & Additional Resources

Volunteer Time Off supplies a win-win-win situation for everyone involved. From the companies offering the programs to the employees who participate and the nonprofits receiving their support, everyone benefits.

For nonprofits, knowing how to leverage these programs can lead to stronger community partnerships, increased volunteer participation, and greater impact. By positioning your organization as a go-to option for corporate volunteers, you not only gain valuable resources but also build lasting relationships that could lead to future support.

Embrace the potential of VTO. Then, watch your nonprofit thrive with the help of motivated, passionate volunteers⁠—and the support of their employers!

Ready to learn more about Volunteer Time Off and how you can benefit from the programs? Check out these additional resources:

Secure more support through volunteer time off programs with 360MatchPro.

A Complete Look at Volunteer Grants For Fundraisers

A Complete Look at Volunteer Grants For Fundraisers

Picture this: A small community center faces the threat of closure due to dwindling funds. Just as all hope seems lost, a group of employees from a nearby tech company begins volunteering with the organization on a regular basis. These volunteers revamp the center’s facilities and organize programs for local youth. Taking things even further, the volunteers’ company matches their hours with generous volunteer grants, ultimately providing the funding needed to keep the center open and serving its community.

This heartwarming story exemplifies the power of volunteerism—and the impact of volunteer grant programs—setting the stage for a deeper exploration of how these initiatives drive social change. And that’s exactly what this guide is here for!

Specifically, we’ll cover the following:

Volunteer grants have the potential to transform volunteerism for organizations like yours. Ready to learn everything you need to know to target these opportunities effectively in your efforts? Let’s begin.

What Are Volunteer Grants? The Basics

Volunteer grants (also called “Dollars for Doers”) are financial contributions provided by companies to support nonprofit organizations where their employees volunteer.

These grants typically match the hours employees spend volunteering (i.e., $25 for each hour volunteered), offering a monetary donation to the organization based on the volunteer time an individual logged.

This benefit encourages employee engagement in community service and enhances the impact of their volunteer efforts overall.

The Value of Volunteer Grants for Nonprofits & Schools

Volunteer grant programs offer significant value to nonprofits and schools by providing essential funding that enhances their programs and services. These grants can help…

  • Offset operational costs
  • Support new initiatives
  • Fund special projects that might otherwise be unattainable

Additionally, they encourage employee engagement, fostering a culture of giving back while increasing volunteer participation through tangible incentives. This collaboration not only strengthens community ties but also amplifies the impact of the organization’s mission, allowing it to reach more beneficiaries and achieve greater outcomes overall.

Get more volunteer grants with 360MatchPro Volunteer Hub.

Essential Volunteer Grant Criteria to Know

Tons of companies offer volunteer grants—from the Fortune 500 to your local mom-and-pop shop down the street. However, each employer that implements a program is able to establish its own unique criteria for involvement.

While it can vary from one company to the next, most volunteer grant programs consider the following guidelines:

  • Employee eligibility — While some volunteer grant programs are exclusive to current, full-time employees, others are extended to part-time and retired individuals as well.
  • Cause eligibility — Many companies will provide grants to any registered 501(c)(3) organization. However, some select or exclude particular causes (often religious or political in nature) from qualifying for the programs.
  • Minimum volunteer hours — There’s generally a set number of hours an employee must reach in order to unlock a volunteer grant. Once they reach the minimum threshold, they can request a grant!
  • Grant amount — Some employers offer lump sum grant amounts (e.g., $500 after reaching 25 hours), while others pay out volunteer grants on an hourly basis (e.g., $25 per hour volunteered). According to 360MatchPro, 80% of companies with volunteer grant programs provide between $8 and $15 per hour!
  • Submission process and deadline — Most companies require volunteer grants to be requested within a certain time frame following the volunteer activity (often a few months to a year). The request process itself can also differ and may require the individual to submit a log of their time.

In order for a volunteer to qualify for and secure a grant on your organization’s behalf, their service should adhere to the above criteria. And the easiest way to uncover this information is with a volunteer grant database! All it takes is a quick search of a company name, and you (or your volunteers) can access employer-specific program guidelines and instructions in seconds.

Marketing Volunteer Grants to Your Supporters

Volunteer grants can have a significant impact on the organizations that receive them. However, they’re often an underutilized funding source, largely due to a lack of awareness among eligible volunteers.

As a result, nonprofits and schools are taking increasingly proactive steps to market these opportunities to their supporters. Here’s how we recommend doing so:

On your website

To effectively market volunteer grants to your nonprofit supporters, leveraging key marketing channels is essential. Starting with your website, create a dedicated page explaining what volunteer grants are, how they work, and how volunteers can apply for them.

This resource should also highlight companies that offer such grants (ideally by embedding a company search tool on the page), making it easier for volunteers to check if they’re eligible and to take the next steps outlined if so.

Within volunteer sign-up forms

Your volunteers are eager to support your cause⁠—especially while actively filling out a registration form for your organization. That said, it’s the perfect opportunity to promote corporate volunteer incentives such as volunteer grants and more.

Within your volunteer sign-up forms, begin integrating messaging about volunteer grants by asking for the volunteer’s employer information. You can even place a short note within the form that explains how their hours could unlock additional funding for your nonprofit. Then, after they sign up, follow up with each eligible supporter to encourage them to request the funds.

In your email communications

Your email communications are another powerful tool for promoting volunteer grants. Sending targeted emails to your volunteer base is an effective way to educate supporters about volunteer grant opportunities.

In these emails, explain how the programs work, the potential impact on your nonprofit, and how volunteers can apply for them through their employers.

Adding reminders about volunteer grants to your regular newsletters can also help maintain awareness. After volunteers complete their service, send them a personalized follow-up email thanking them and reminding them to check if their company offers a grant, making the process feel seamless and appreciative.

Through social media

Lastly, social media can expand your reach and engage a broader audience in the conversation about volunteer grant programs. Regularly post content on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn that highlights the availability of volunteer grants and the impact they can have. (Hint: Double the Donation users can access free, customizable marketing materials within the 360MatchPro platform to help you get started!)

Sharing success stories from volunteers who have secured grants can be especially compelling, driving traffic back to your dedicated webpage for more information.

By leveraging these marketing channels (and any others your organization is drawn to), your team can not only increase awareness of volunteer grant programs but also make it easier for supporters to take advantage of these opportunities. And in the end, it ultimately unlocks additional funding and deepens engagement.


Wrapping Up & Further Reading

As we’ve seen, volunteer grants can serve as a significant lifeline for nonprofits and schools, transforming hours of volunteer work into vital financial support. By understanding the eligibility criteria and effectively navigating the application process, organizations can harness these grants to enhance their programs and extend their reach within the community.

Whether you’re just starting your fundraising journey or looking to expand your efforts, tapping into the potential of volunteer grants can empower your organization to make a lasting difference. Embrace the opportunity to turn volunteer hours into impactful funding and watch your mission thrive.

Interested in learning more about how your organization can benefit from volunteer grants and beyond? Check out these recommended resources:

Get more volunteer grants with 360MatchPro Volunteer Hub.

The title of the article next to a photo of a man using a laptop.

Top Nonprofit Cloud Tools That Drive Data-Backed Decisions

Nonprofit Cloud offers an enormous breadth and depth of specialized tools for nonprofits and grantmaking organizations. Built on Salesforce core, It leverages the power of Salesforce CRM to help nonprofits effectively manage and analyze data.

As Fíonta explains, Nonprofit Cloud is ideal for measuring your impact, tracking program progress, and generating reports and visuals communicating your success to key stakeholders. Its tools allow nonprofits to forecast trends and campaign performance, providing the insights needed to make data-driven decisions.

We’ll explore some of the top ways Nonprofit Cloud helps nonprofits track and analyze data effectively. Let’s begin.

Benefits of Using Nonprofit Cloud Tools

Double the Donation’s guide to data collection highlights some of the key benefits of leveraging donor and campaign data, such as:

  • Providing an accurate impact measurement
  • Helping organizations effectively allocate resources
  • Promoting informed decision-making rather than guessing

Nonprofit Cloud empowers your organization to reap these benefits by managing each core part of your operations, including fundraising, program management, and case management.

Top Nonprofit Cloud Tools

The following tools and features are designed to help nonprofits easily and accurately track data, keep data clean and organized, and quickly gain useful insights that inspire wise decisions.

Fundraising Tools

The Nonprofit Cloud for Fundraising module unites fundraising teams on a single platform, offering purpose-built tools your team can use to strengthen donor relationships, improve efficiency, analyze data, and more. The module includes apps tailored to different roles, including fundraising strategy, donor engagement, philanthropy and partnerships, and general fundraising operations.

When it comes to fundraising data, these tools simplify and enhance tracking and analysis:

  • Flexible gift entry: Nonprofit Cloud offers your organization the flexibility to accurately track various types of donations. Enter standard one-time gifts made by individuals or set up recurring gift tracking. Your team can also create a batch to enter a large number of gifts at once, saving time and reducing the chance of human error.
  • Source codes: Source codes are unique codes included in specific links. The source code is activated when a supporter or participant clicks one of these links. Your team can then track campaign performance, understand donors’ communication preferences, calculate ROI, and personalize future communications. As a part of the Salesforce Summer ‘24 release, you can manage outreach source codes using the campaign flow in Marketing Cloud Growth Edition.
  • Custom donor scores: Build custom scores for your donors based on recency, frequency, and monetary (RFM) values. These scores provide a cumulative, at-a-glance RFM score for each donor. Donor scores can be viewed on the donor’s profile along with demographic data and other key insights to quickly gauge the supporter’s affinity and responsiveness to a certain cause or campaign.

These flexible tools ensure that your data reflects your nonprofit’s unique needs and practices, enhancing your data’s accuracy and clarity.

Program Management Tools

Nonprofit Cloud for Programs helps nonprofits plan, deliver, and track their programs. This module improves participant experiences, streamlines staff workflows, and yields the insights needed to improve offerings.

Some of the tools that offer these insights are:

  • Participant profiles: If your nonprofit works with individuals, you likely set goals for participants, assign them to programs, disburse benefits, and manage tasks related to that individual. These details and notes from your sessions are stored within a single participant profile. This gives anyone working with the participant a detailed overview of their history with your nonprofit, goals, and progress so your staff can make the best choices for that individual.
  • Program Management Home Page: This out-of-the-box home page is another product of the recent Summer ‘24 release. It is designed to give your team a comprehensive overview of your nonprofit’s program delivery and allow staff to monitor the status of your programs closely. From this single page, you can quickly assess whether programs are on track to meet organizational goals, get a simple overview of your programs and benefits, and track new referrals.
  • Cohort objects and fields: Group your program participants together using the new Program Cohort object. Then, move those participants through the program together and easily compare cohorts or measure an individual’s progress against their cohort. Nonprofit programs can vary widely and have unique needs, and this method of data collection helps your staff account for those needs and idiosyncrasies.

Managing programs is demanding and has many moving parts. Nonprofit Cloud’s unified platform provides comprehensive overviews of your programs’ health, promoting informed decision-making that drives long-term success.

Case Management Tools

Nonprofit Cloud for Case Management is housed within the Program Management module and emphasizes providing better participant outcomes. This solution remedies heavy case manager workloads, disjointed systems, and barriers to transparent communication and collaboration across your teams.

Additionally, Nonprofit Cloud’s case management tools offer the following features for enhanced data collection and management:

  • Easy, streamlined note-taking: Allow staff to quickly capture detailed notes from sessions with participants. Populate notes with additional information like attendance records, timestamps, and supporting documents for the most comprehensive records possible. These notes can be shared with other case managers, making participant transition simple and keeping data consolidated.
  • Dynamic assessments: Use these assessments during intake to ensure staff ask new participants the most relevant questions. Additionally, staff can easily add necessary documents to the assessment and allow participants to navigate the process at their own pace. This ensures the participant’s intake is efficient and pleasant and organizes all necessary information in a single location.
  • Adaptable data tracking: Your staff will use the Case object to plan care for the participant. Cases can span across multiple programs, and staff can loop in multiple individuals, such as caretakers or other team members at your organization. This flexible tool can conform to any program structure, making it easy to record and report your progress.

Accurate data collection is critical for case management. It influences quality of care, resource allocation, and long-term planning for your programs. In the context of fields like healthcare, your data collection methods must be secure and ethical to comply with regulations.

Other Salesforce Tools and Features

Remember to stay cognizant of and try out other options within Salesforce. With Nonprofit Cloud, your organization can access common features for Industries, apps from the AppExchange, and tools belonging to other Industry Clouds. These solutions can extend Nonprofit Cloud’s capabilities to assist with data hygiene, security, and efficiency.

Consider looking beyond Salesforce for additional assistance for larger organizations or those with very complex needs. Working with a Salesforce tech consultant can help you implement the solution, clean up and migrate data, and maximize your investment in this powerful CRM. If needed, research other services that can enhance your data quality to drive more accurate insights, like appending missing information or enriching your first-party data with third-party, market-level insights.

Collecting, managing, and cleaning your nonprofit’s data is key. After all, if your database is flawed or biased, the insights you glean from it will be, too. Nonprofit Cloud offers powerful, flexible tools that revolutionize how your nonprofit records and analyzes data about your donors, campaigns, and programs.

The article’s title, “How to Use Previous Auction Data to Inform Your Strategy,” beside someone typing on a laptop.

How to Use Previous Auction Data to Inform Your Strategy

Data is the secret weapon for unlocking success in fundraising events, from large nonprofit auction galas to online school auctions. And, with auction software that supports in-depth data reporting and visualization, your school can easily inform your auction strategy with past data.

In this guide, we’ll discuss three important areas of auction data and how you can use this information to boost your school’s fundraising results.

Audience Data

The success of your fundraising auction depends on how well you can appeal to your supporter base. Therefore, it is critical to plan according to your audience’s specific needs, interests, and preferences. Start by analyzing your attendees from previous years, paying close attention to the following categories:

  • Demographics: Understanding your target audience’s average age, gender, geographic location, and family status will give you insight into how to best structure your event and market it. For example, you might note that families in your community with preschool age children come to your auctions less frequently. To help these families, you might explore options for making your auction more family-oriented, such as hosting it earlier in the day or partnering with the local high school to offer babysitting services.
  • Previous engagement: Look into your audience’s previous event attendance and volunteer experience to get an idea of their familiarity with your school. As most of your guests will likely be the parents and family members of your students, consider how you can show off a different side of your school, such as by asking the school jazz band to perform or using student art projects as decorations.
  • Donation history: To set optimal fundraising goals, research your audience’s frequency and recency of donations. Additionally, pinpoint their average donation amount to set reasonable fundraising expectations. Your school can also take your community’s average tax bracket into account to ensure you set reasonable prices for auction items.
  • Interests and hobbies: What sort of activities or events does your audience enjoy? Use social media appending services to understand what types of auction items would appeal to your supporters. You can also get your students to help as kids often have more insight into their parents’ hobbies and interests.

With a clear picture of your audience, your school can improve its decision-making and put together an auction that maximizes attendance and engagement.

Auction Item Data

From gift baskets to sports memorabilia to concert tickets, how do you know which auction items will generate the most interest, bidding activity, and profitability? One very effective approach is to look at data from previous auctions.

Take special note of these pricing metrics from previous years’ bidding process:

  • Starting bids: In addition to researching market value, your school should pay attention to the starting bid amounts that generated interest and adjust your beginning price points accordingly.
  • Minimum bid increments: Typically, bid increments are set at 10% or 15% of an item’s fair market value (FMV), but if a similar item from last year performed better than expected, you might consider lowering the increment to closer to 10% FMV for this year’s auction to incite competitive bidding.
  • Buy-it-now data: For particularly high-value items like a weekend getaway you might offer a buy-it-now option. Buy-it-now options can ensure you will receive at least a certain high amount for these prizes. However, keep in mind that a bidding war may drive up the price even beyond your buy-it-now option. Refer to your past data to see how these types of items performed and whether a buy-it-now option has the potential to earn your school more.

Prior to your event, arrange a time to meet in person as a group with your high-impact school donors. List out auction items that your school is considering procuring and ask them which ones are most appealing or if they have any other suggestions. Thank supporters for their time and recommendations, and then update your item data with their choices.

Event Data

Your school can learn more about how engaging your past auctions were by collecting and assessing the following event data points:

  • Total funds raised: Don’t just focus on the number, focus on where in your auction the funds came from. Evaluate and track your silent auction, your live auction, special appeal, and raffles or games separately. When looking at your special appeal, note whether your school was raising funds for a specific initiative, since that can have a significant impact on participation at your auction.
  • Attendance: How has attendance been trending? Again, the absolute numbers are interesting, but you also want to break them down. Divide the participants of each of your past three or four events into tiers based on how much they contributed to the event’s success. Then, examine the attendance record of each tier.
  • Return on investment (ROI): Were your most successful auctions the most elaborate ones? Look at what your school spent money on in the past. Maybe you had live music for a few years, then stopped; was there a significant impact on the amount you raised?

Based on your school’s previous auction performance, you might identify new ways to save on event costs and generate more revenue going forward. For example, you might decide to focus on finding corporate partners to procure more one-of-a-kind, enticing auction items to engage attendees at your next event without straining your budget.

Bonus: Improving Your Auction Strategy

With past auction data at your disposal, your school can start brainstorming ways to improve your auction strategy. SchoolAuction.net’s silent auction guide shares these tried-and-true tips for boosting your auction success:

  • Promote your auction on a variety of communication channels to attract as many guests as possible.
  • Incorporate countdown clocks and text notifications to increase engagement.
  • Provide a self-check-out option to make your auction experience more convenient.

Finally, an effective and important way to invest in the success of future auctions is to make sure you thank guests after every auction. NXUnite by Nexus Marketing recommends retaining your donors by following up promptly about the impact of their contributions, so they know exactly how they made a difference in your school’s success.


Data is the key to informing your auction planning process. Reference previous audience, auction items, and campaign data points to discover your baseline metrics. From there, you can supplement your data with new insights to refine your strategy.

Remember to follow data hygiene best practices, such as standardizing data inputs and scheduling regular data back-ups to keep your auction information accurate, reliable, and useful in the long term.

The title of this piece on the left with a picture of students in a classroom on the right.

How Your School Can Leverage Donation Tracking: 4 Data Tips

As a school, charitable gifts from parents, students’ families, and other members of the community are what help you offer the best, most enriching educational experiences possible. This funding helps make things like fun field trips and school-wide events and celebrations possible.

But, are you doing all you can to secure as much funding as possible? In addition to choosing fundraising ideas that align with your audience’s preferences and promoting your campaigns, accurately tracking data can help make your fundraisers successful.

In this guide, we’ll explore a few tips your school can use to accurately track donations and gain insights to boost revenue.

Use the right fundraising software.

A key part of fundraising is accepting as many payment methods as possible, giving your supporters the flexibility and convenience to choose what works best for them. However, this can quickly become complicated from a financial and data-tracking standpoint.

For example, how can you consolidate data from multiple sources like the donation form embedded on your school website, third-party payment apps, and more? The answer is to select specialized school fundraising software that will track and aggregate your donation data. 

Solutions like 99Pledges offer reports that reveal highlights like total donations and number of participants as well as more granular, line-by-line details about individual donors. In addition to these reports, 99Pledges’ guide to kids’ fundraising ideas recommends using this fundraising tool because it:

  • Leverages digital fundraising, helping organizations offer more flexibility to how donors give.
  • Can expand your school’s fundraising potential by reaching geographically remote donors.
  • Allows for a lot of flexibility and creativity when choosing a fundraising idea.

Combined, these benefits mean that your school can launch creative, successful campaigns all while keeping a handle on its fundraising data.

Consider data appends.

Once you have the right solution in place and start seeing your donor data roll in, you might notice some gaps in the information. While you’ll be able to see basic details about donors, like their name and preferred giving method, you may not be privy to other information without performing a data append.

Data appending simply adds new information to your database, either by correcting and updating your existing file or supplementing it with information from external sources. Some of the most common types of data appends include:

  • Contact information appends: Collect donors’ contact information, including phone numbers, email addresses, and home addresses.
  • Employer appends: Learn who your donors’ employers are. This can be particularly helpful for securing matching gifts and other corporate gifts from their employers.
  • Demographic information appendsAppend information like donors’ age, gender, income, marital status, and more to build more targeted communication strategies.
  • Social media appends: Update and add information about donors’ social media usage. Then, you can use this information to learn more about them through their profiles, engage them via their preferred platform, and invite them to follow you.

So, what would using data appends look like for your school? Let’s say your school’s baseball team needs to fundraise to travel to an out-of-state baseball camp, and you decide to perform demographic and employer data appends. The former helps you choose the perfect baseball fundraising idea to excite and engage your target audience. The latter identifies donors who work for companies with matching gift programs so you can remind them to apply for a matched gift.

The best way to safely enrich your data—and keep it clean and organized—is to work with a professional service. Research and meet with candidates before selecting one to ensure you choose the right option for your school.

Keep data clean and organized.

“Garbage in, garbage out,” is a commonly used phrase in the computer science world that sums up the impact of using low-quality data. In other words, if your data is flawed, outdated, or poor quality, any insights or output from that data will be too. 

Proper data management and data hygiene practices can keep the garbage out of your database. Frequently audit your donation data to resolve issues like:

  • Duplicated entries for the same donor or donation
  • Incomplete information about donations
  • Outdated information (e.g., a donor moves and their address has changed)
  • Data formats not being standardized

Once you’ve corrected these issues, you can use your clean, accurate donation data in many ways. For example, use your average daily donation amount to make accurate predictions about whether you’ll reach your fundraising goal—and, if you’re not on track, make an effort to course correct. Or, follow Double the Donation’s advice and gamify the process by using a fundraising thermometer to publicly track your progress toward the goal.

Set up automated processes.

Finally, use your fundraising software and donation data to take some of the repetitive fundraising tasks off your plate. Automation can streamline repetitive, rote tasks like sending:

  • Donation receipts: These receipts are legally required for any cash gifts over $250, making them a pain point for many schools. However, automation ensures that donors receive accurate receipts immediately following their donation. Make sure the receipts include key information such as the donor’s name, the amount they donated, and whether the donor received anything in return for their gift.
  • Reminders to pay pledged donations: With pledged donations, donors pledge to give a certain amount at a later date. For example, you might hold a walk-a-thon and collect pledges based on how far participants walk. Automated reminders can prompt donors to donate the pledged amount or simply remind them that you’ll be billing the donation to them.
  • Thank-you messages: Cultivate long-term relationships with donors by sending them heartfelt thank-you messages. Choose an action, in this case donating, that will trigger a thank-you message within 24 to 72 hours. Don’t forget to make these messages genuine, personalized, and authentic. Greet the donor by name, mention their specific gift, and tell them how their individual donation will make a difference at your school.

When using automation, always remember to balance efficiency and convenience for your fundraising team with personalization. The last thing you want is for your school’s communications to feel cold or robotic.

While tracking your donations may seem like a minor step you could skip over, it’s critical to successful fundraising. To truly understand and efficiently engage with your supporters, make sure to choose a tool that will do the heavy lifting for you. Then, you’ll have easy access to data that reveals who your school’s supporters are, their giving habits and motivations, and ways to inspire them to give again and again.

Donor Segmentation 101: Tips for Better Nonprofit Analysis

Nonprofits looking to step into the world of fundraising data analysis often begin with donor segmentation. Segmenting donor data enables nonprofits to understand their audiences on a deeper level and form more meaningful relationships.

This guide will cover what you need to know to get started with donor segmentation, from common segmentation strategies to software tools that help streamline the process.

What is Donor Segmentation?

87% of businesses say at least some customers expect personalized content. However, developing personalized content for every single one of your supporters would be a major drain on time and resources, especially for large or growing nonprofits.

Donor segmentation is the process of grouping your nonprofit’s donors based on characteristics they have in common. Using segmentation, your nonprofit can develop personalized communications for specific audiences, rather than specific individuals. This can save time while still delivering the personalized experience today’s supporters are looking for.

Strategies for Segmenting Donors

You can group donors in any number of ways, but some categories are more helpful than others for your nonprofit’s strategic decision-making.

For example, recency, frequency, and monetary value (RFM) segmentation is a common tactic. RFM segmentation is a great place to start if you’re looking to explore ways to improve your fundraising outreach because it breaks donors down into categories based on their giving habits.

With this segmentation strategy, you’ll group donors based on the following donation criteria:

  • Recency: Recent or lapsed donors
  • Frequency: Monthly, quarterly, annually, sporadic, etc.
  • Monetary value: Small, mid-tier, or major donors

Of course, RFM segments aren’t the only donor groupings you could create. You may also choose other segmentation strategies, such as dividing donors according to their:

  • Donation type: In-kind or monetary donations
  • Preferred communication platform: Email, direct mail, social media, text, phone calls, or face-to-face meetings
  • Reason for giving: Experience as a volunteer or beneficiary, a family connection to your mission, having a job within the same field as your nonprofit, etc.
  • Preferred program or campaign type to support: Peer-to-peer fundraising, volunteer program, or other specific programs
  • Demographics: Age, gender, location, profession, etc.

 

Develop your segmentation strategy based on your fundraising goals. For example, if you want to increase donor retention, segmenting donors by recency can be a great way to identify those who are likely to be retained and those who are at risk of lapsing. Furthermore, if you want to develop personalized outreach ahead of a capital campaign, grouping donors by reason for giving will allow you to craft impactful messaging to drive your campaign.

What Kind of Tools Do You Need for Donor Segmentation?

You’ll need two things to start segmenting your donors: accurate data, and the tools needed to gather it. Let’s explore some common data-gathering tools and the types of information you can collect using these solutions.

Fundraising and Nonprofit CRM Software

Your fundraising platform and nonprofit CRM system can work together to gather information about donors’ giving patterns. Your fundraising tools are the solutions you use to accept online donations, such as your donation form or peer-to-peer fundraising pages. Your nonprofit CRM, also known as donor management software, is the platform you use to store donor data.

According to Bloomerang’s fundraising software guide, these software platforms help streamline the fundraising process by “[managing] all fundraising campaigns, communications, and reporting from one central system.” With these tools, you can collect data such as:

  • Average donation amount
  • Date of last donation
  • Donation type
  • Donation frequency
  • Past involvement in peer-to-peer fundraising
  • Past volunteer experience

Using this data, you can segment donors by donation amount, recency, frequency, and past involvement.

Wealth Screening Tools

Wealth screening solutions are tools or services that analyze donor data to pinpoint supporters who reflect the characteristics of a major donor. These solutions can help identify the following wealth and warmth indicators:

  • Giving capacity
  • Past donations to other organizations
  • Profession
  • Business affiliations

Wealth screening data will allow you to build a detailed profile of who your major donors are. This can help determine the best communication channels and strategies to use to recruit more major donors.

Donor Surveys

Donor surveys are an effective way to gather any data that is difficult to collect automatically using your software solutions. These surveys allow you to ask donors questions to fill any gaps in your database. With the help of donor surveys, you can gather data such as:

  • Demographics, including age, gender, geographic location, and level of education
  • Preferred communication platform
  • Giving motivations

Donor surveys can help provide more context and background information on each of your segments, helping you understand donors on a more individualized level.

To create donor segments, filter the data in your CRM based on your chosen criteria, and then save each grouping as a unique segment. Once you have several groupings, you can easily reach out to each segment using different marketing channels, like email, direct mail, or phone calls.

Tips to Make the Most of Donor Segmentation

Segmenting donors is just the first step of a larger data analytics process. After developing segments, you can leverage them in multiple ways to further your marketing and fundraising efforts. Use the following tips to make the most of your segmentation:

Create user personas

Personas are fictionalized representations of different segments within your donor base. As you build donor personas, you’ll give each one a unique name, overarching characteristics, unique motivations, and recommendations for how to engage with them.

Here’s a brief example of a persona for an environmental nonprofit that uses tech to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change:

  • Name: Daniel Vega
  • Age: 38 years old
  • Location: Seattle, Washington
  • Level of Education: Master’s Degree in Computer Science
  • Job: Senior Developer at a Tech Agency
  • Lifestyle: Daniel is a working professional with a deep interest in technology as well as the outdoors. He enjoys outdoor activities like hiking, mountain biking, and photography.
  • Reason for giving: Daniel wants to support organizations that use innovative tech solutions to solve environmental issues. He also wants to give to organizations that he knows for sure will make good use of his donation.
  • Communication preferences: As a tech-savvy individual, Daniel prefers digital communication platforms like email and social media over other platforms like phone calls or in-person meetings.

The purpose of developing personas is to make them as realistic and specific as possible. Develop between three and five personas to ensure you’re targeting your core audience groups.

Develop personalized messaging

Take your personas a step further by designing personalized messaging for each segment. Expanding on the previous example, here are a few types of messages that might resonate with Daniel:

  • Impact stories: Daniel wants to ensure his donation will be put to good use. Impact stories that include data and success stories from beneficiaries will be useful for showing Daniel that his gift made a real difference.
  • News about innovations: Daniel is also interested in advancements in the environmental tech sector. Sharing recent studies or innovative technology our nonprofit is using will pique his interest and show how our organization is on the cutting edge.
  • Opportunities to engage: As a tech professional himself, Daniel may be interested in using his skills to support your mission. Invite Daniel to engage more deeply with volunteer opportunities, pro-bono work opportunities, and educational events like webinars.

No matter which persona you’re communicating to, remember that compelling true stories tend to be the most impactful messages. According to nonprofit statistics gathered by NPOInfo, 42% of donors said personal stories from a nonprofit’s beneficiaries influenced their decision to give.

Use your donor research to determine the types of stories that will resonate with each segment. For example, monthly donors may be interested in how their regular donations help keep your volunteer program going, while major donors want to know how you used their gift to refurbish your volunteer supply room.

Update segments regularly

As your audience grows and changes over time, regularly update your audience segments to ensure they reflect your donor base. Review your segments at regular intervals, such as once a year, to check in and update personas as needed.

Use this time to ensure you’re following data management best practices to ensure that your segments are based on accurate, reliable data. Incorporate data hygiene measures like:

  • Regularly auditing your data
  • Identifying duplicate, outdated, or inaccurate information
  • Eliminating or merging data securely

Also, check in with your data collection tools, like your donation form or donor surveys, to verify they’re gathering only useful data. Too much information can clog up your database, so streamline these forms as much as possible by just asking the necessary questions. For example, knowing donors’ favorite local restaurants isn’t as essential as knowing their contact information, favorite program to support, and preferred payment method.

Track engagement metrics across segments

Review key metrics to understand the effectiveness of your segmentation and personalization efforts. For example, you can track relevant engagement metrics like:

  • Email open rate
  • Donation page conversion rate
  • Donor retention rate
  • Average gift size
  • New donor acquisition rate
  • Donor upgrade rate (how often donors increase their giving amount)

Analyzing these metrics will help you adjust your strategy over time to continue connecting with donors in ways that resonate. For instance, if you notice a drop in your email open rate, you can refresh your personas and targeted marketing messages to ensure your communications are tailored to your audience’s interests.


With the right tools and data strategy, donor segmentation can be a lot more straightforward than you might think. All you have to do is develop a smooth transition from your data collection tools to your nonprofit database and segmentation filters. Then, you can start grouping donors based on shared traits and reaching out to them on a more personal level to address their unique needs and motivations.

The title of the text over an image of someone typing on a computer with graphs next to them, representing data-driven fundraising.

4 Data-Driven Fundraising Trends: Staying Ahead in the Field

Staying on top of the latest and greatest in fundraising is essential for improving your nonprofit’s strategy and continuing to raise enough money to support your cause. In today’s fundraising climate, many of the hottest trends have one thing in common: data.

When you put data at the forefront of your strategy, you can dive deeper into your donor base’s specific preferences to create fundraising campaigns they’re likely to engage with. Check out some of the current data-driven fundraising trends and tips for how your nonprofit can stay ahead.

1. Predictive Analytics

Predictive analytics refers to the use of algorithms and machine learning to analyze data and make predictions based on that information. In the context of fundraising, predictive analytics can help you transform donor data into important insights that guide your fundraising decisions.

According to BWF’s guide to AI fundraising, there are three main types of predictive models nonprofits can use:

  • Giving behavior models. These models can predict factors like individual donors’ preferred giving channels, likelihood of renewal, and likely next gift amounts.
  • Predictive scoring. You may use predictive analytics to assign your donors engagement scores and categorize them based on recency, frequency, and monetary (RFM) value.
  • Giving program success models. Predictive analytics can also help you determine how successful different giving programs could be, such as annual giving, major giving, and planned giving.

Perhaps one of the most common use cases of predictive analytics for fundraising is donor prospecting. You can use predictive analytics tools to streamline the wealth screening process, identify potential major donors, find which donors are most likely to upgrade their giving, and more.

To successfully incorporate predictive analytics into your fundraising strategy, follow these tips:

  • Determine your goals. Before you dive into predictive analytics, choose fundraising goals to guide how you’ll use this technology. For example, the model you create will look very different based on whether you’re focusing on donor retention, prospecting, or planned giving.
  • Clean your data. The more accurate your data is, the better your predictions will be. Follow data hygiene best practices, such as auditing your database, appending missing data, and standardizing data entry, to prepare it for predictive analytics.
  • Choose the right tools. To implement predictive analytics, you’ll need to rely on the appropriate tools and technology to get the job done. Research your options, or outsource the process to an AI fundraising consultant for help.

2. Segmentation and Personalization

Donors crave personalized experiences. They want to feel special and know that your organization values their individual contributions to your cause and community.

The best way to personalize your communications is through segmentation. Segmentation is the process of grouping donors based on similar characteristics to better personalize your messaging to them. Nonprofits may segment their donors based on:

  • Average donation amount
  • Donation frequency
  • Donation recency
  • Donor lifecycle stage
  • Demographics
  • Communication preferences
  • Engagement level
  • Interests related to your cause

When segmenting your donors, it’s important that your nonprofit:

  • Defines its segmentation criteria. As you can see above, there are so many different ways you can segment your donors. Determine which segmentation criteria make the most sense based on your current goals, campaigns, and data.
  • Tailors its campaigns. Once you’ve successfully grouped your supporters, put your segments to use. Let’s say you’re running a discount card fundraiser. ABC Fundraising recommends this type of campaign because it allows you to gather support for local businesses and raise money for your cause. To maximize the success of your discount card fundraiser, you can use your donor demographic segments to help you choose businesses to partner with that reflect your target audience’s preferences. For instance, you could add a toy store to your discount cards if many of your supporters have children.
  • Updates its segments over time. As your donor base grows and changes, so should your segments. Reassess your segmentation strategy regularly to ensure it still reflects your supporters and their needs, and make adjustments where necessary.

3. Automation and Artificial Intelligence

AI can be a controversial topic, but when used correctly, it can help automate nonprofit fundraising processes and allow you to focus on more mission-critical tasks.

In addition to predictive analytics, your nonprofit can use AI for:

  • Donor segmentation. To more efficiently segment your donors, you can use AI to identify patterns in your donor base and group your donors accordingly.
  • Donor stewardship. Let’s say you’ve just wrapped up your school fundraiser and have a ton of tasks still on your plate but want to ensure you thank donors as soon as possible. You can use AI to automate thank-you messages to your donors before sending them more heartfelt notes once you have the time.
  • Donor support. If your inbox is full of donor questions, you may benefit from embedding an AI-powered chatbot on your website. This tool can help provide donor support by answering simple questions, guiding donors through the donation process, or giving them information about upcoming programs or events.

Using AI carefully and ethically is key. Follow these tips for responsible AI use:

  • Protect data privacy. You should store any donor data you’re collecting and using to power your AI fundraising efforts in a secure database or constituent relationship management (CRM) system. Make sure your platform has features like two-factor authentication, access controls, and SOC 2 Type II compliance.
  • Be transparent. Donors may be wary when they hear you’re using AI to process their data. Make it clear how exactly you’re leveraging their data to maintain donor trust, and let donors opt out of having their data used in your AI tools if they wish.
  • Hold your organization accountable. To keep your nonprofit accountable for responsible AI use, develop internal AI policies and guidelines for your team to follow. You should also have procedures for addressing any donor concerns about your AI use.

4. Impact Reporting

Donors want to know that you’re using their gifts responsibly. Many donors are happy to continue supporting your cause—under the unspoken caveat that you’re using their hard-earned funds to help those in need and drive your mission forward.

Keep donors updated on the facts and figures that demonstrate the outcomes of your fundraising efforts by:

  • Creating and sharing an annual report. An annual report is a document that summarizes your nonprofit’s activities for the past year. Include all important data points that illustrate the impact of donors’ contributions, and share the report with all stakeholders.
  • Using visualizations. Make the data in your annual report easy to digest by developing accompanying visualizations. Use a variety of charts and graphs to accurately depict your fundraising results and impact.
  • Incorporating storytelling. In addition to data, feature stories in your report that demonstrate exactly how your donors have allowed you to assist your beneficiaries. For example, an environmental conservation organization may explain that their flower fundraiser allowed them to move forward with their efforts to rescue endangered species like the Sumatran orangutan. They may highlight that one of the orangutans they rescued named Rue is now being rehabilitated at a local zoo thanks to donors’ generosity.

At the end of the day, your nonprofit aims to make a difference and help its beneficiaries as best it can. When you implement the most current data-driven fundraising trends, you can optimize your fundraising operations and maximize the support you gather for your mission.

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Top Metrics for Measuring Nonprofit Marketing Success

Donors want to hear about the story of your nonprofit, its beneficiaries, and its work. In fact, 42% of donors indicate that stories from beneficiaries influenced their decision to donate. The best way to tell your organization’s story is through cohesive, effective marketing campaigns—but how can you know that your campaigns are having the impact you intended?

In this guide, we’ll explore some of the top metrics you’ll need to track to accurately assess your marketing campaign’s success, whether your goals are to boost donor acquisition, grow your social media following, or drive revenue. Let’s get started!

Why Analyzing Marketing Data Is Important

As GivingDNA’s guide to data analytics for nonprofits explains, tracking your organization’s metrics involves “collecting data and analyzing it to uncover trends, patterns, and insights that will help guide fundraising strategies.” In other words, you’ll understand your donors and each campaign’s strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to create a roadmap to marketing success.

Tracking and analyzing your marketing metrics is a critically important step, since it allows you to:

  • Get a 360-degree view of your marketing efforts. Use your data to follow donor journeys, see which strategies are most effective, identify gaps that lead to abandoned donation forms, and more.
  • Refine your strategy to enhance campaign outcomes. By tracking progress during the campaign, you can alter your approach to yield better end results.
  • Establish benchmarks. This will help you accurately predict the results of future campaigns.
  • Efficiently allocate resources. For example, spend more on the channels that generate the most conversions.

As you collect this data, remember to effectively manage your donors’ information. Integrate your technology to eliminate data silos and house all information on one platform. Additionally, protect any sensitive donor data, such as payment information, by limiting access to your database, leveraging data encryption, and requiring two-factor authentication to log into the software.

4 Types of Marketing Data

There are many different types of key performance indicators (KPIs) that your nonprofit may choose to track to gauge its progress. Select these metrics based on your goals for the campaign and which communication channels you’re using. For example, if your goal is to increase donations, it’s more important to focus on conversion metrics and total fundraising dollars than social media follows.

Here are four common types of KPIs to help you get started:

Engagement Metrics

Engagement metrics indicate how and when users interacted with your campaign. They reveal how well-aligned your content is with the audience’s interests and preferences.

This category can encompass many different metrics across a variety of communication channels, but some common examples include:

  • Click-through rate, which indicates whether a supporter clicked on the link in your marketing messages. For example, if you use digital donation cards, you would track the number of clicks from the card to your donation form.
  • Time spent on page, which reveals how long a user engages with the campaign landing page after clicking through. The longer they spend, the more interested they are in your content.
  • Donation form abandonment rate, which shows what percentage of those who click through to your form abandoned the page before completing their donation. Ideally, this metric should be as low as possible to indicate that most of your supporters are donating once they land on the page.

Your nonprofit should carefully track these metrics as soon as your campaign launches. Just remember that high engagement does not always equate to more conversions (e.g., donating).

Audience Metrics

These metrics demonstrate who is interacting with your marketing messages and how far your campaign is spreading. Some of the key metrics related to your audience will include:

  • Reach, which refers to the total number of unique users who were exposed to your campaign in some way.
  • Frequency indicates how many times those users see your ad. For example, each person might see a post an average of three times, making your frequency three.
  • Impressions denote the number of times your campaign was displayed. Impressions are typically higher than reach because one user could have multiple impressions. If you reach 10 users and have a frequency of three, impressions would equal 300.

Tracking demographic data such as the user’s age, gender, location, occupation, and other socioeconomic factors can also be helpful, especially if your campaign taps into new audiences. Learning about these new audiences can help you cultivate deeper relationships with them by tailoring your communications from the very first thank-you message or welcome email.

Platform-Specific Metrics

While some marketing metrics are relatively general—or even considered to be universal across all communication channels—some are hyper-specific to certain platforms. As more digital and social media platforms are established, this list will likely grow.

For example, the following digital platforms each have unique metrics you’ll need to understand and analyze to chart your campaign’s performance:

  • Social media: Most social media platforms measure engagement through metrics like views, likes, comments, shares, saves, and follows. Some have unique actions that count toward engagement—think of TikTok’s Stitch feature or reposting on X (formerly Twitter).
  • Email: Measure your email campaign’s performance with metrics like delivery and open rates to see how many of your messages reach their intended recipients.
  • Website: See how many visitors your site receives from your campaign, as well as the quality of those visitors. Monitor total website traffic, number of sessions, page views, time spent on page, bounce rate, and more.

Additionally, confirm that your organization is tracking data from its fundraising tools. This important information can sometimes fall through the cracks, particularly if you’re using a more niche tool like silent auction software or a gift card fundraiser platform.

Conversion Metrics

A conversion happens when a user interacts with your campaign and takes the intended next action. The way you measure the number of conversions depends on your campaign’s goal. For example, a user might convert by:

  • Donating
  • Subscribing to your email newsletter or direct mail list
  • Following your social media accounts
  • Purchasing merchandise to support your mission
  • Joining your sustainer program
  • Apply to be a volunteer

Your conversion rate is then calculated by dividing the total number of conversions that occurred during the campaign by the number of clicks or visits to your website. Aim to boost conversions as much as you can, but don’t stress about reaching an unattainable number. For instance, the average online donation conversion rate for nonprofits in 2023 was 16% for desktop users and 10% for mobile. Using these figures as a benchmark, you can determine what’s feasible for your nonprofit and start there.

Remember that data insights will only be as accurate as the file you’re pulling them from. This is why it’s so important to practice data hygiene and ensure that your data attribution is correct and up-to-date. A nonprofit marketing agency can help you analyze, understand, and protect the quality of your data to promote continuous improvements and take your campaigns to the next level.

The title of the article, which reads “Strategies to Build a Culture of Data-Backed Decision-Making.”

Strategies to Build a Culture of Data-Backed Decision-Making

Anyone can see why adding data to the decision-making process is worthwhile. By establishing credibility and unifying collaborators, data informs you to take the next step with confidence, whatever that may be.

However, having data-backed decision-making become second nature in your organization can pose a challenge, especially if you’re unsure of which insights to prioritize. Not to mention, unorganized, missing, or dirty data can stall your progress or lead you down the wrong path.

To strengthen your organization’s informed decision-making, we’ve compiled a list of five strategies you can employ to back your ideas with solid evidence.

1. Lead by example

When your organization’s leaders set an example, the rest of the team will likely follow suit. Start at the top of your organization to explore ways your leadership can set the tone for following evidence-based strategies. A few leadership techniques could include:

  • Setting a regular cadence of reviewing organizational performance metrics to remind teams of what metrics to go after, what healthy results look like, and how to navigate any lacking or surprising results.
  • Sifting through case studies before finalizing decisions to allow previous insights to guide your strategy. This could mean diving into studies your organization has conducted or reviewing relevant ones within your industry.
  • Reviewing evidence-based action plans to ensure you have informed each step of your process with relevant data. For comprehensive action plans, this would mean citing multiple sources and proactively explaining any gaps.
  • Offering data research and presentation best practices from leadership’s expertise. Give tips and strategies for presenting data and research in a way that is both compelling and relevant for your audience.

These strategies should be unique to your company’s needs and objectives. For example, a healthcare organization may set expectations to review the risk adjustment process with new employees so that they understand the workflow and compliance requirements. According to Arcadia, this may mean breaking down each step to accurately suspect, engage, and assess patient needs while maintaining quality standards.

2. Provide data literacy training

While data is a useful tool for decision-making, it can sometimes be tricky to interpret, especially when gathering actionable insights from specific data points. Ensure everyone has the needed level of data literacy training to manage your organization’s data. Explore the following:

  • Hands-on data analysis projects related to team members’ roles, allowing them to explore and analyze data independently.
  • Peer-to-peer learning sessions where team members from various departments can collaborate and share their best practices.
  • External training opportunities, such as workshops or conferences, that provide team members with opportunities to learn more about data analysis.

By offering training and collaboration opportunities, your entire team will be on the same page when approaching various decisions. Additionally, you should avoid sequestering your data science team from the rest of the organization to ensure transparency across the team. Instead, make sure they are heavily involved in explaining any process or system updates and catching any new team members up to speed.

3. Offer secure data access and management

Although the majority of your team could benefit from data-backed decision-making, it’s important to safeguard sensitive information by ensuring it’s only viewed by authorized team members. Offer secure data access and management by employing the following strategies:

  • Leverage integration: Disorganized data lacks both efficiency and security, since it’s difficult to find and may be accessible by unauthorized parties. Convert your data to a digital format and aggregate it into a central location to keep it secure. For example, a healthcare organization might consolidate patient data by leveraging EHR integration.
  • Provide data security training: Set up a series of meetings or an official training program to cover basic security principles with your team. This may include tips on how to create strong passwords, identify phishing scams, and update software. You might also offer hands-on training through simulations to help your team put these tips into practice.
  • Use clear data access controls: Employ strict access controls to ensure only authorized users can access sensitive data. For example, you may use multi-factor authentication (MFA) or biometric authentication to verify a team member’s identity before allowing them access. You can also implement logging and monitoring mechanisms to keep an eye on who accesses this information.

Beyond implementing controls on which team members have access to specific data, you can also protect the organization’s information by determining which data sources are most relevant for certain team members. Consolidating data provides a comprehensive overview of your organization’s most important information.

This way, you’ll be able to build data-backed, team-based workflows so each department can access the data they need without sacrificing security. Just be sure to identify any incomplete or missing data before you finalize any workflows. If needed, request a data append to fill in any gaps.

4. Define clear objectives and KPIs

To reinforce a culture of data-backed decision-making, your organization must build its overall goals around relevant metrics. Double the Donation’s nonprofit marketing guide recommends using the SMART method to create specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goals. Then, you’ll have a clear plan for how and when you’ll achieve these goals.

Enforce a coordinated effort to leverage data in decision-making by aligning these data-backed goals across departments. A few ways you can do this include:

  • Encouraging collaboration: Enable teams to collaborate on projects by sharing relevant data and insights.
  • Establishing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Develop KPIs for each team that support the organization’s overarching goals. Track them regularly and share progress across the entire team.
  • Implementing data-backed performance reviews: Use KPIs to track team performance and acknowledge team members who go above and beyond.

A collective effort to achieve goals based on actionable data will not just enhance your organization’s culture. Equipped with clear goals and the support needed to accomplish them, your team can work cohesively toward the success of the organization.

5. Provide relevant resources and support

While you may have an organized approach to data collection, you should also leverage relevant resources to simplify decision-making for your team. Consider the following ways you can support data-backed decisions:

  • Leverage knowledge-sharing platforms: Enable team members to access tutorials, case studies, and best practices through internal knowledge-sharing platforms.
  • Use analytics: Allow your whole team to access analytics tools to collect data analysis from various perspectives.
  • Continually improve the process: Regularly evaluate and improve your organization’s data processes and practices. Ask for feedback from team members to determine data needs and address challenges.

An organization’s team can only employ data-backed decision-making when they’re equipped with the right resources and support. In addition to these tools and resources, provide data quality assurance so that team members can work with consistent and reliable information.


An organizational culture that encourages data-backed decision-making benefits not only your organization as a whole but also your individual team members. With enhanced collaboration and greater technical skills, your team will produce better organizational results.

Embrace data to drive innovation and growth relevant to your organization’s objectives, and establish clear expectations for team members to support this strategy. Where possible, explain the importance of data in team members’ roles to transparently implement data-driven processes. Prioritize data across your entire team for better results in every initiative.