Non-Profit Strategy
@lake-partners-strategy-consulting•General
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)
Record a video introducing yourself and presenting your recommendation for the donor retention problem.