Domain 1: Current & Prospective Donor Research

Question 1

Ability

Answer 1

A donor’s ability to give is an assessment of their financial capacity, stage of life, and the liquidity of their assets. Ability is often mistakenly tied to perceived income, which may not always be an accurate indicator of ability to give.

Question 2

Cultivation

Answer 2

Cultivation is a series of activities to maintain and deepen relationships and engagement with donors, prospective donors, and volunteers.

Question 3

Data Mining

Answer 3

Data mining is the process of collecting, researching, analyzing, and segmenting information about donors, prospective donors, and volunteers.

Question 4

Data Privacy

Answer 4

Data privacy is the responsibility of the nonprofit organization to maintain secure digital records and to fully disclose any sharing of information with third-party organizations upon the acceptance of an individual’s information.

Question 5

Demographics

Answer 5

Demographics refer to the statistical data of a population, including age, income, education, political affiliations, marital and family status, etc.

Question 6

Donor Profile

Answer 6

A donor profile is a concise record of an individual’s linkage, ability, and interest in an organization. It contains verified contact information, giving history, and wealth indicators.

Question 7

Donor Qualifying

Answer 7

Qualifying is the ongoing process of assessing linkage, ability, and interest of your donors in order to match them with the right program, appeal and amount.

Question 8

Donor Rating

Answer 8

Rating is the process by which current donors are evaluated by staff and volunteers (board members) for their capacity to make a gift of significance (major gift, planned gift, lead gift, etc)

Question 9

Engagement

Answer 9

Two definitions for “engage” in the dictionary are “to attract and hold fast,” and “to occupy the attention of efforts of a person or persons.” For the nonprofit, engagement means an ongoing effort to learn about your donors, communicate with them, and offer shared experiences (volunteering, events, etc.)

Question 10

Frequency

Answer 10

Frequency refers to how often a donor gives, and to which repeated appeals.

Question 10

Giving History

Answer 10

A donor’s giving history is the sum total of a donor’s giving records. This includes frequency, renewal rate, appeal responses, average gift, highest gift, most recent gift, etc.

Question 11

Interest

Answer 11

A donor or prospective donor’s level of interest correlates to their likelihood of making a gift, from the nonprofit’s viewpoint, is the combination of concerns, excitement, motivation, and engagement an individual has for you organization’s mission.

Question 12

Lifetime Donor Value

Answer 12

The lifetime projected value of a donor is an estimate of total current and future contributions to your organization. It is typically determined by multiplying lifespan times average donation amount times frequency of donation.

Value = Lifespan x Amount x Frequency

The lifetime actual value of a donor is simply the sum of all recorded gifts for that donor.

Question 13

Linkage

Answer 13

Linkage refers to the connections a donor or prospective donor has to your organization and/or its mission. These could be in the form of experience (former alum, program participant), connections with people (friend, relative, colleagues), shared values (advocacy, stage of life), and personal history.

Question 14

Market Research

Answer 14

Market research refers to the process of gathering, organizing, and interpreting data regarding donor and prospective donor preferences, attitude, interest, and giving ability.

Question 15

Prospect

Answer 15

A prospect or prospective donor is one who has been evaluated based on donor research and found to have a connection to the organization, the ability to give an appropriate level, and an interest in the organizations mission.

Question 16

Renewal Rates

Answer 16

An organization’s renewal rate is the percentage of donor’s who make a subsequent gift to the organization. Often tracked to a specific appeal (such as those who renew to an annual appeal) or tracked by giving in general (those who give any gift to any appeal after their initial gift). Renewal rates are often a reflection of how well the organization thanks its donor and keeps them informed of how gifts are used. Also known as attrition rates.

Question 17

Segmentation

Answer 17

Segmentation is the process of grouping donors and prospective donors into like categories in order to more efficiently allocate resources and target appeals. Donors can be segmented by giving levels, giving history, program interest, likely response format (email vs. mail appeal for example, and other groups.

Question 18

Solicitation History

Answer 18

The solicitation history of a donor is a record of all donation request made by the organization whether they are successful or not. It includes both mass appeals (email, direct mail, etc.) and in-person ask of any size. An accurate solicitation history allows the organization to make informed decisions about resource allocation and subsequent request.