Bottom Donor Early Warning Summary Analysis

Bottom Donor Early Warning Summary

How to use the Bottom Donor Early Warning Summary analysis

This analysis helps you proactively identify and address retention risks among your newest and most modest donors-those whose first gift falls within your organization's lower giving threshold. Drawing on recent gift activity from the past 18 months, the analysis evaluates each donor's giving history, calculates the time since their first and most recent gifts, and segments their risk of lapsing into clear categories such as High Risk, Medium Risk, or Low Risk. It layers in a value dimension, showing whether a donor is a high, medium, or low value contributor within the bottom segment, based on how their first gift compares to your bottom donor threshold.

You'll see aggregated insights, such as the number of donors in each risk and value group, their average and median giving amounts, the average number of gifts, and the time elapsed since their first and last donations. This not only flags donors at risk of lapsing but also pinpoints those who may be undervalued or overlooked, allowing you to prioritize outreach. By combining risk level with value, you can tailor engagement strategies—such as prioritizing personal outreach for high-value, high-risk individuals, or automating campaigns for those showing early warning signs.

The analysis is especially useful for front-line fundraisers and development managers. You should use it to inform segmentation for targeted stewardship, identify which lapsed or near-lapsed bottom-tier donors to prioritize for re-engagement, and refine your donor journey strategies. For example, you might assign high-risk, high-value donors to a personalized call campaign, while medium-risk groups can be nurtured through automated email touchpoints. Team leads can incorporate these results into regular Constituent Intelligence reviews to ensure your retention efforts are data-driven and responsive.

To evaluate the impact, measure improvements in second gift rates among bottom-tier donors, reductions in donor lapse rates, and increased reactivation of those previously flagged as high risk. Over time, you should see stronger retention, higher lifetime value, and more efficient use of your engagement resources as a result of integrating this analysis into your Constituent Intelligence routines.