Tagged as ‘data analysis’




05/01/23 What’s the Right Cost Per Donor for Your Organization?

Most nonprofits acquire new donors at an up-front loss. In direct marketing terms, this loss is measured as “cost per donor.” It’s an important value that represents an organization’s investment in new donors – what each new donor “costs.” Once acquired, the expectation is that the organization’s new donors will yield some return that exceeds […]

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03/07/10 Your March Strategic Planning Checklist: Part One

This month comes in like a lion in more ways than one. For organizations with July-June fiscal years, March is the most intensive month of the annual strategic planning calendar because, among other things, it’s when you’ll complete the analysis portion of your annual State of the Donor File evaluation. This means distilling the hundreds […]

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02/07/10 Your February Strategic Planning Checklist

Strategic planning isn’t a 3-week sprint before your budget is due. Done right, it’s a year-long cycle of self-evaluation and adaptation. If your organization’s new fiscal year begins in July, here are your strategic planning priorities this month: 1. Finish data collection for your State of the Donor File evaluation and start analyzing. You’ve given […]

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01/14/10 Measuring Statistical Validity in Direct Response Fundraising

Statisticians are equipped with a broad range of detailed tests and tightly controlled procedures to determine the probability of an outcome. But direct response testing isn’t done in laboratory. Our lab is the messy, busy, ever-changing world … which means it’s difficult to design a perfect test. In this climate, there are always variables beyond […]

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09/27/09 Taking the Pulse of Your Donors

The simplest things can escape us sometimes. We get so involved in the details of inspiring people to make donations to our organizations that we forget about our donors themselves. We can tell you how our programs our doing. We can tell you our average gift, percent response, open rate, cost to raise a dollar, […]

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