First-Time Bottom Donors (10yr) Annual Analysis

First-Time Bottom Donors (10yr) Annual Analysis

How to use the First-Time Bottom Donors (10yr) Annual Analysis analysis

This analysis gives you a comprehensive year-by-year view of first-time donors who made gifts at or below your organization's bottom segment threshold over the past ten fiscal years. Leveraging key data from your Gifts and Thresholds tables, it identifies new donors in the lowest giving tier, tracks their subsequent giving over a three-year period, and measures how many continue their support in future fiscal years. The analysis applies your organization's custom segmentation, ensuring that only donors qualifying as bottom-based on your own thresholds are included.

You gain insight into critical metrics, such as the number of first-time bottom donors acquired each year, the total and average size of their first gifts, and the percentage retained in subsequent years. The analysis also calculates retention rates for the next fiscal year, the following three fiscal years, and any future year, providing a clear picture of your pipeline's health. Additionally, it measures the value of these donors' giving over the three years after their first gift, both as an average and a median, to help you forecast long-term revenue potential from this segment. The largest three-year donor value is also included, highlighting outliers who may be candidates for further cultivation.

By focusing on bottom-tier new donors, you can identify trends in acquisition and retention, assess the effectiveness of your introductory stewardship efforts, and spot fluctuations that may be linked to specific campaigns or external factors. This analysis is especially valuable for annual giving and Constituent Intelligence teams seeking to enhance the first-year experiences and long-term value of new, lower-level supporters.

You should schedule this analysis to be reviewed periodically as part of your Constituent Intelligence routines. Development directors, annual giving managers, and stewardship coordinators will benefit most from reviewing these insights together. Use the results to target at-risk new donors for additional outreach, refine your welcome and upgrade strategies, and benchmark performance over time. Consider personalizing follow-up with those who have increased their giving in the three-year window, as well as recognizing and re-engaging lapsed donors who once showed longer-term potential.

To measure success, track changes in first-year and three-year retention rates, growth in three-year donor value, and improvements in the number of first-time donors moving up from the bottom segment. Improved metrics in these areas will signal that your strategies are effectively nurturing and upgrading your entry-level supporters.