All First Time Donors by Month in Last Fiscal Year Analysis

All First Time Donors by Month in Last FY

How to use the All First Time Donors by Month in Last 5FY analysis

This analysis helps you identify and understand all new first-time donors acquired by your organization in each month over the last five completed fiscal years. Drawing on your Gifts data, it pinpoints the very first gift made by every constituent and groups new donors by the month and fiscal year of their initial contribution. For each new donor, it also calculates the total amount they gave during their acquisition fiscal year, allowing you to segment these donors into top, middle, and bottom tiers based on custom thresholds set by your team.

By breaking down new donor acquisition by month, you can spot seasonal trends-such as spikes in giving during year-end campaigns or lulls over the summer-that inform both forecasting and campaign planning. The segment breakdown reveals not just how many new donors you acquired, but also the quality of these acquisitions in financial terms. This is particularly valuable for prioritizing follow-up: top-tier new donors may warrant immediate cultivation by major gift officers, while middle- and bottom-tier donors can be funneled into more scalable stewardship programs. If you include additional columns (such as donor contact details or engagement history), you can quickly personalize outreach and tailor messaging based on each donor's giving pattern and potential.

The core metrics-monthly new donor counts and their segmentation by giving level-are essential for measuring the effectiveness of your acquisition efforts. They also enable you to benchmark the health of your donor pipeline and adjust your strategies in real-time. For example, if you notice a decline in top-tier donor acquisition in a particular month, you can investigate and address campaign or outreach gaps promptly.

Development directors, annual giving managers, and donor relations staff should review this analysis regularly, ideally as part of your Constituent Intelligence routines. Use the insights to time appeals, allocate stewardship resources, and set internal targets for both the quantity and quality of new donor acquisition. Consider assigning follow-up tasks based on the segment breakdown to ensure top prospects receive the appropriate attention.

To measure your success with this analysis, track improvements in retention and upgrade rates among each cohort of new donors, monitor the growth of each segment over time, and assess whether you are meeting strategic acquisition goals by month and by donor tier. Regular use will help you move from reactive to proactive donor engagement, strengthening your pipeline and enhancing long-term fundraising outcomes.