How to use the Linchpin Individual Donors -Analysis Year

The Linchpin Individual Donors - Analysis Year is designed to help you identify and understand the behavior of key individual donors by segmenting them based on their donation patterns over two fiscal years. This analysis uses donation data, including the amounts and dates of gifts, to categorize donors into segments such as Top, Middle, and Bottom based on their contribution levels. It also tracks changes in their giving patterns, identifying whether donors have increased, decreased, or maintained their support, or if they are new, recaptured, or lapsed donors.

The analysis focuses on several important metrics: the total amount donated by each constituent in the current and prior fiscal years, and the movement category that highlights changes in donor behavior. These metrics are critical because they enable you to see not just the amount of revenue generated by a donor, but also how their giving is evolving. Such insights help in identifying potential risks, like donors who may lapse, as well as opportunities to strengthen relationships with those who are increasing their contributions.

This analysis is strategically valuable because it allows you to tailor your engagement strategies based on donor behavior. For instance, you can prioritize outreach to top donors who have decreased their giving to understand the cause and potentially reverse the trend. Similarly, recognizing new or recaptured donors allows you to nurture these relationships early on, potentially increasing their lifetime value.

You should run this analysis annually, ideally at the end of your fiscal year, to review donor performance and plan engagement strategies for the upcoming year. Fundraising directors and development officers should review the results to ensure that engagement strategies are aligned with donor behavior. The insights can be applied by developing targeted communication strategies for each donor segment, such as personalized thank-you notes for increased donors or special recognition for top donors.

To measure the success of using this analysis, track the retention rate of donors identified as at-risk of lapsing and the increase in donations from new and recaptured donors. Additionally, monitor changes in donor segment sizes over time to evaluate if your engagement strategies are effectively moving donors up the giving ladder. This will help ensure that your strategic adjustments are positively impacting donor relationships and overall fundraising performance.