Non-Profit Strategy

The Business Problem

The Pacific Northwest Environmental Alliance recently completed a donor campaign that saw a 20% drop in repeat contributions. Leadership wants to understand why donors are lapsing and potentially improve retention, but with the ultimate goal to continue to increase donation dollars.

Data Provided by Client

Recent data on campaign performance, not including restricted grants (usually larger donations that must be used for a specific purpose) which are evaluated separately, but still a part of the overall fund:

• Donor retention dropped from 65% to 45% year over year
• Average donation size remained stable at $75 (up 3% from $73)
• Total donors: 2,500 (down from 3,100 previous year) - assume one donation per donor
• Campaign channels: Email (70%), direct mail (20%), social media (10%)
• Median donation decreased 12% (gift mix skewed toward a smaller set of higher givers)
• Mid/low-value donor count down 28%; high-value donor count up 7%

Other metrics identified from the most recent campaign:

• Email: Open rates declined 15% (now 31%), click rates remain stable at 8%, unsubscribe rates up 12%
• Direct mail: Response rate dropped to 2.1% (from 3.8%), but dollar amount per response increased 22%
• Currently no donor segmentation, but system is capable (requires 40 hours setup)
• Deliverability: 18% of list now greylisted or sent to promotions folder after a domain change; warming requires 3-4 weeks—email volume cannot increase during that period
• Attribution shift: 22% of online gifts show "direct/none" after a CRM migration, reducing channel clarity

Results from the most recent donor survey, with a 12% response rate:

• Top responses: "Didn't see the impact of donations" (35%), "Too many emails" (28%), "Prefer supporting local causes" (22%), "Personal finances changed" (15%)
• Demographics: Average age 42; 60% female; 85% hold a bachelor's degree or higher
• Giving history: 70% donated via email links, average relationship length 3.2 years
• Location data is missing for 30% of donor records

Campaign focus areas:

• Forest preservation (40% of funds). Results: High-profile legal victory, 12,000 acres protected
• Marine protection (35%). Results: Partnership with local aquarium, salmon run restoration underway
• Climate education (25%). Results: School program reached 15,000 students, teacher training expanded

Contextual data points:

• Economic environment: Inflation affecting discretionary spending, unemployment low at 3.2%
• Competition: Two new local environmental groups launched, national organizations increased Pacific Northwest presence
• Staff changes: Development director left (6 months ago), replaced with recent graduate
• Social media growth: Facebook engagement up 25%, Instagram followers grew 18%
• There was one restricted grant of $100k that required at least 40% of outward communications to highlight Climate Education

Constraints for further research:

• Customers are having survey fatigue, so no more than 3 questions for any sort of exit survey
• Budget allows for one follow-up method (phone calls, focus groups, social media outreach, etc.)
• Must deliver actionable insights within 30 days (i.e., short-term recommendations)

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