The 5 types of donors you must inspire with your year-end appeal
Camber Collective’s 2015 “Money for Good” report is a must-read if you’re considering new ways to engage your past donors and new friends this season.
The report identifies five donor segments—Contented Benefactors, Busy Idealists, Cautious Strivers, Unaware Potentials, and Unengaged Critics—and helps you understand what each group needs in order to be moved along a continuum of support. Camber claims that shifting or increasing their giving would unlock billions of new dollars for noprofits, and the report offers tools like behavioral segmentation to help you do so.
“Money for Good” highlights that donors are skeptical of nonprofits and overwhelmed by or frustrated with giving experiences. They manage these frustrations by maintaining loyalty to organizations they’ve previously supported and exhibiting preference for well-known nonprofits. This comes as no surprise to nonprofits who’ve consistently seen larger “name brand” organizations in their space eat their fundraising lunch, even when those orgs’ work is less comprehensive or effective.
The report underscores the importance of communicating clearly, consistently, and with an eye towards building your organization’s visibility. Donors won’t stop giving to something familiar in favor of something they’ve never heard of, so as nonprofit brand-builders, we have to help them connect in meaningful ways and inspire them to shift their giving over time.
After you’ve read the report (which you can download for free here), consider using the behavior segmentation tools it provides to analyze your own list and apply the insights to your year-end appeal plans. Telling a more compelling, audience-centric story will help donors in each mindset connect more deeply.
