• AI for nonprofits: FAQs
• AI prompts for nonprofits
• A simple three-step framework for getting started with nonprofit AI
• Launch an AI-powered fundraising strategy with Bloomerang

Wrapping up

AI is moving fast—but you don’t need to start sprinting right away. Your first step is simple: open a browser, try one prompt, and see how much time you can reclaim.

Used mindfully and with purpose, AI can help you strengthen donor relationships, raise more, and pour your energy back into your purpose-driven work.

Looking to go deeper? Explore these free nonprofit-focused AI resources:

• AI fundraising explained: boost donor engagement & ROI.
• AI tools for nonprofits: a complete guide in 2025.
• The 12 best donor management software options for 2025.

The post AI for Nonprofits: Helpful Prompts & Next-level Tips appeared first on Bloomerang.

By remembering some simple techniques and incorporating them into your data reporting, you can make a major investment in your nonprofit’s ability to make smarter fundraising decisions. Try these seven key ways to maximize the usefulness of your donor data:

1. Automate data input to your CRM.
2. Integrate your donation and data software.
3. Set clear policies for donor data.
4. Segment your donor data.
5. Refine your marketing strategies.
6. Look for underutilized donor metrics.
7. Conduct an employer append.

Remember, strong data creates stronger financial, marketing, and fundraising strategies!

Use these tips and the linked resources in this article to begin strengthening your CRM and bolstering your organization’s data infrastructure.

1.  Automate data input to your CRM

Automated data input for any interactions with donors is essential for maintaining a truly useful database.

A comprehensive database of donor information and records, or CRM system, will reveal important propensity trends, enabling your organization to better anticipate giving potential and habits in both existing and future donors. This kind of insight is key to making smarter marketing and fundraising decisions!

Having more data lets you identify more trends, but another main benefit of data input automation is simply the fact that your staff’s time will be freed up to better analyze this data. Rather than manually entering or formatting it for hours at a time, good software will offer a way to fully customize your automatic input settings.

Automatically archiving email records of donor interactions is another smart data move. Not only does this enable you to develop stronger relationships, it also makes it easier to reference your past donor relations and engagement strategies.

The main point: Use online donation tools and email platforms that can automatically populate your database software.

2. Integrate your donation + data software

The wealth of digital tools available today make it easier than ever to collect, organize, refine, and use your data in new ways. In addition to automatic input features, CRM integration capabilities are a crucial element to look for in any nonprofit software solution.

Regardless of the exact work your nonprofit does or the types of donors you most often target, there are CRM apps perfectly suited to help you and your data work smarter. With tools integrated directly into your database and management system, you can more easily track and record every important metric from your:

• Fundraising events of any size
• Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns
• Charity auctions and mobile bidding events

The main point: Always make sure that your fundraising software solutions can integrate with your CRM. This makes them doubly useful as both fundraising and data collection tools.

3. Set clear data policies for donor data

No matter how much donor data you have or how effective your collection methods are, your CRM can become useless without some overarching guidelines in place!

Set some clear policies for data input. This is the only way to ensure that your CRM is organized, but most importantly, useful. Include clearly labeled sections for any type of information that might be added to an entry.

Setting up a regularly scheduled time once or twice a week to check newer entries and updates for formatting correctness is a great way to stay on top of your donor database upkeep.

Additionally, if your organization is looking to improve its database in the context of a wider capital campaign, a fundraising consultant can help you establish some data guidelines and connect you with essential donor research resources.

The main point: An organized database is a useful database. Set some concrete policies to ensure your data remains tidy as it grows.

4. Segment your donor data

Data segmentation is an essential part of maintaining an organized and useful donor database. In fact, one of the main purposes of your donor database should be to make the data segmentation process easier!

Analyzing the data of your existing donors is key to directing meaningful growth. Instead, too many nonprofits make the common data mistake of focusing too heavily on the growth itself, forgetting to look for insights in the data already at hand.

Data segmentation is generally the best way to identify important donation trends, and it’s also a crucial technique for:

• Understanding your existing base.
• Targeting your marketing efforts.
• Developing effective fundraising strategies.
• Identifying weak spots in your data collection.

The main point: Segmenting your donor information by donor level, giving history, giving potential, preferred communication methods, or any other metric is an extremely important part of using your database to its full potential.

5. Refine your marketing strategies

If it doesn’t already do so, your nonprofit should focus heavily on its marketing strategies. This is not only because it’s important to attract new donors, but also because a strong marketing strategy can work wonders for your data collection and upkeep.

Great marketing and up-to-date reporting tools will create a feedback loop of data refinement in a process like this:

1. Use your segmented database to refine and target your marketing strategies, focusing on specific sectors of your donor base.
2. Collect some critical metrics from your targeted marketing campaigns. For instance, how many recipients opened your email? What kind of email marketing does this sector of your donors best respond to?
3. Add this marketing data to your database and improve your understanding of that sector of your donors.
4. Use your data to constantly target your marketing and refine your database.

The main point: Don’t think of your marketing and donor data analytics as completely separate tasks. Use each to continually support and refine the other!

6. Look for underutilized donor metrics

When collecting data or looking for ways to expand or refine your entries for important donors, be sure to identify some metrics that are extremely useful but often overlooked.

For example, political contribution history is a valuable metric to have for any donor, existing or prospective, since it can serve as a very accurate indicator of commitment and giving potential.

Top prospect research resources should provide you access to this kind of information, but there are plenty of ways to conduct your own research, too. For political contribution history, for instance, you can search official contributions through the FEC, or even find online databases specific to your locale.

Get creative when working on growing your donor database. It’s important to learn as much about your donors and their giving habits, but don’t forget to consider metrics that can more indirectly provide these insights.

The main point: Valuable but often overlooked metrics like employer information can be extremely effective additions to your donor database, especially when it comes to fundraising strategies regarding corporate gift matching. Need more help taking advantage of corporate gift matching revenue? Check out Double the Donation’s matching gift tool, which integrates seamlessly into your favorite fundraising platforms (like Bloomerang!).

7. Conduct an employer append.

Speaking of employer information, one of the easiest ways to unlock more value from your donor database is by running an employer append.

This process generally involves working with a third-party data enrichment service to fill in your donor records with current employment information—like the company they work for, their job title, and whether they qualify for workplace giving programs. While this data might not seem essential at first glance, it can dramatically increase the effectiveness of your fundraising strategies, especially when it comes to corporate engagement. Without this information, you’re likely leaving free money on the table.

The main point: Knowing where your donors work doesn’t just give you a fuller picture of who they are—it opens the door to corporate gift matching, broader workplace giving campaigns, and potential sponsorship opportunities.

Conclusion

If you’re unsure if your organization’s CRM is providing as much value to your work as it can, read through each of these techniques listed above. Which of them has your organization already implemented into its data practices?

Strong donor databases require constant maintenance and cultivation, but the rewards for doing so can be immense!

The post 7 Simple (but Effective) Ways to Maximize Your Donor Data appeared first on Bloomerang.

Too often, organizations get stuck here. A CRM is just a tool—it won’t magically transform your fundraising unless you put it to work. But with a little effort upfront, you can make your CRM a game-changer for your donor relationships and fundraising strategy. Here’s how to set up your CRM to make sure it actually works for you.

1. Import your historical data (but keep it manageable)

The first step is getting your donor history into your CRM. But before you panic at the sight of years of spreadsheets, take a deep breath. You do not need to import everything. Start with the last five years of donation data. That’s usually enough to give you a solid picture of donor trends without drowning in unnecessary records.

If your data is already tidy and you want to go further back, great. But don’t let perfect be the enemy of done. Get the core information in and move forward.

2. Organize your data with the end in mind

Your CRM is only as useful as the data you put into it. If you don’t organize your data intentionally, you’ll find yourself struggling to pull the reports you need later.

To understand what you need, think about the questions you get asked frequently (especially if they currently feel hard to answer). E.g. how much did “X” campaign bring in last year? What percentage of our revenue comes from corporations? How many of our donors live in a certain area? This exercise will help you to understand what needs to be tracked and categorized and what doesn’t.

At a minimum, every donation record should clearly show where the money came from, where it’s going, and who gave it. Was it an individual gift, an event sponsorship, or a grant? Is it unrestricted, or is it designated for a specific program? Taking the time to define these categories early will save you endless frustration down the road.

3. Make your CRM the one-stop shop for all donation information

Your CRM is the home for all your donation data, whether those donations come via checks, through your website, from cash left at your doorstep, wherever. It all needs to land in your CRM so you have a full view of your donor base.

When those checks and bags of cash hit your doorstep, record them in your CRM right away and issue a tax receipt. Hopefully, you’ve picked a CRM with a donation form that integrates with your website, so any online donations will be automatically issued a tax receipt and get entered in your database (please say you did!).

Even if you have a website integration feature, you’ll likely get money from other online sources like Benevity or Paypal that will need to be recorded. Set a recurring reminder for yourself once a month to check all the platforms you receive money from and add those donations to your CRM. This may need to be done manually, or some platforms will provide you with a template that can be exported from the platform and imported into your CRM.

4. Make your CRM data and financial data match

Your CRM isn’t just for donor stewardship—it’s also a financial record, and it needs to align with your accounting system. That means working closely with your bookkeeper or finance team to reconcile CRM entries with your bank deposits on a regular basis. If the numbers don’t match, something’s off, and it’s better to catch errors sooner rather than later.

5. Create instructions others can actually follow

You can’t use your new CRM alone! Other people in your organization will need to use it, and they’ll need clear guidance on how to do it correctly. Instead of writing long-winded manuals no one will read, try recording short screen-share videos using a tool like Loom. Show people how to enter data, pull reports, and follow your organization’s processes. Videos are faster to create, easier for others to follow, and ensure consistency in how the system is used.

6. Adapt as you learn

You’re not going to get everything right the first time, and that’s okay. As you start using the system, you’ll discover better ways to categorize information, streamline processes, and pull useful reports. If something isn’t working, change it. Most CRMs have a bulk edit feature, so you won’t have to fix things one record at a time. The key is to stay flexible and let your CRM evolve with your organization’s needs.

7. Get comfortable experimenting

Test things out in your database and play around! Make a dummy record for you to test on, add fake donations (don’t forget to delete them when you’re done) and send test emails. Don’t be afraid to poke around and explore what this new tool can do for you.

A well-set-up CRM can be one of your most powerful tools for building donor relationships and strengthening your fundraising efforts. But like any tool, its value comes from how you use it. Taking the time to organize your data, keep your financial records aligned, and train your team will ensure that your CRM works for you—not the other way around.

And remember, no system is set in stone. Stay flexible, adjust as you go, and don’t be afraid to explore new features. The more comfortable you get with your CRM, the more it will support your organization’s growth for years to come.

The post 7 Tips For Setting Up Your First Donor CRM appeared first on Bloomerang.

Tax summaries have long been a compliance tool for nonprofits, but Bloomerang refined them as an opportunity to engage donors and highlight their generosity. Bloomerang takes this further with Giving Statements, offering a more holistic and personalized way to celebrate donor support.

This isn’t just about year-end documentation. It’s about transforming essential communications into a meaningful way to build trust and inspire future generosity.

From Tax Summaries to Giving Statements: What’s new?

While tax summaries focus on financial information, Giving Statements expand the picture. They let you:

• Show a holistic view of giving: Recognize non-financial contributions like volunteer hours, in-kind gifts, and soft credits, giving donors a complete picture of their impact.
• Strengthen donor relationships: Use Giving Statements as a touchpoint to thank donors for their yearly contributions and keep them connected to your mission.
• Highlight tax benefits: Provide donors with a clear visual representation of tax deductions to show the value of their giving and encourage continued generosity.

This evolution reflects a shift in donor expectations—people want communications that feel personal and meaningful, not just transactional. Giving Statements delivers on that expectation.

A holistic view of donor support

Giving Statements bring all types of donor contributions together in one place.

• Financial gifts: Previous year totals and detailed breakdowns of contributions.
• In-kind donations: Descriptions and dates of non-monetary gifts.
• Volunteer hours: Recognize the time donors dedicate to your mission.
• Soft credits: Acknowledge indirect donations separately from tax-deductible gifts, ensuring clarity and reflecting every form of generosity.

By showing all types of contributions together, donors can clearly see the impact of their support.

Seamless integration into your workflow

Giving Statements is simple, making the most of tools you already use in Bloomerang:

• Customize branding by adding your organization’s logo and EIN to ensure your statements accurately reflect your organization’s branding and donor contributions.
• Generate on-demand by creating statements directly from a donor’s profile with just a few clicks—or send a link via email for higher volume needs.
• Tailor features to your needs by turning off settings like volunteer hours or soft credits if the data isn’t ready, ensuring a smooth rollout.

These enhancements save time and make it easier to focus on connecting with your donors.

Why Giving Statements matter to donors

Donors want to see the impact of their generosity. Giving Statements makes that possible.

1. Clarity and connection: Provide a clear overview of contributions, financial and beyond.
2. Celebrate past support: Highlight the full breadth of donor contributions—from financial gifts to volunteer hours, in-kind donations, and soft credits—showing them how much their generosity matters.
3. Future inspiration: Reinforce their connection to your mission by showing donors the difference they’ve made and inviting them to continue their support.

For donors, these are more than year-end summaries—they’re proof of the difference donors make and reminders of the mission you share.

Ready to see Giving Statements in action?

Bloomerang Giving Statements build on the strengths of traditional tax summaries, offering a better way to recognize donor impact. By combining financial details with insights tailored to each donor, they turn year-end communications into an opportunity to deepen relationships.

See how easy it can be to make donors feel like a vital part of your mission. Schedule a demo today and explore how Giving Statements can elevate your donor stewardship.

The post Transform Tax Summaries Into Giving Statements appeared first on Bloomerang.

What’s impact measurement all about?

In the past, nonprofits mainly focused on counting things like the number of people they helped or the amount of money they collected. Now, they’re digging deeper. They want to measure the long-term changes that happen because of their work. This could be anything from a student improving their grades thanks to a tutoring program to a family finding a safe home because of a housing charity.

Impact measurement helps nonprofits see what’s working and what’s not. It helps them improve their programs, show their supporters how their donations are making a difference, and ultimately raise more money to do even more good.

How technology is helping

Nonprofits have a secret weapon in their quest to market impact: technology. Special software called CRM (Customer Relationship Management) can help them track and analyze all sorts of data, from how often a donor gives money to telling donors how a person’s life has changed because of the nonprofit’s work.

Think of it like a super-organized notebook where nonprofits can keep track of everything they do. They can use this data to see what’s working, what needs to be changed, and how they can make the biggest difference possible. Bloomerang is one example of a CRM that nonprofits can use to do this. It has features that help track donor information, donor communication preferences, and volunteer contributions. It even has special tools to create reports and see how everything connects.

Real-life examples

• A summer camp for kids with special needs tracked how kids’ confidence and social skills improved over the summer. This data helped the camp show donors the real impact of its program and raise more money for scholarships. This nonprofit was able to segment its donors based on their interests in this program and tell them how their donations changed lives.
• An organization that helps people find jobs tracked to see which job training programs were most successful. This helped it improve its services and find jobs for even more people. Since they tracked their impact, they were able to raise more money from donors and grantors and expand their program.

The building blocks of impact measurement: Theory of change and needs assessment

Nonprofits are increasingly recognizing the value of a Theory of Change (ToC) approach to guide their work. A ToC is like a roadmap that shows how a nonprofit’s actions lead to the changes they want to see in the world. It helps them understand the steps they need to take and what assumptions they’re making along the way. By having a clear ToC, nonprofits can work more effectively and also show their supporters exactly how their donations are making a difference.

But before creating a Theory of Change, nonprofits need to do their homework. They need to understand the real needs of the people and communities they serve. This is where a Needs Assessment comes in. By carefully studying the problems they want to solve, nonprofits can ensure that their programs are actually helping. This also strengthens and makes their Theory of Change more convincing to potential donors.

For nonprofits who need help with all of this, there are experts called social impact consultants. They can help organizations figure out their goals, decide what to measure, and create a solid plan for showing their impact. It’s like having a guide to help them navigate the sometimes tricky world of impact measurement.

The bottom line

Impact measurement isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a game-changer for nonprofits. It’s about using data to understand how their work is changing lives and making the world a better place. By embracing impact measurement and using the right tools, nonprofits can do more good than ever before.

At Social Impact Solutions, we’re experts at helping nonprofits measure and market their impact. Our team of social impact consultants can help you figure out what to track, create plans to collect the right data, and use technology to make sense of it all. If you’re ready to take your nonprofit’s impact to the next level, we’re here to help!

Learn more about how Social Impact Solutions can help you measure and maximize your impact by taking our fundraising quiz!

The post How Nonprofits Are Using Data To Do More Good appeared first on Bloomerang.

Streamline data collection and integration with AI

Nonprofit organizations often struggle with the manual and time-consuming process of collecting and integrating data from various sources. AI-powered tools, such as data integration platforms and robotic process automation (RPA) software, can automate these tasks, extracting data from multiple sources, standardizing it, and integrating it into a centralized database. By streamlining data collection and integration processes, nonprofits can save time and resources, allowing staff to focus on strategic initiatives and decision making.

At our nonprofit firm, we have implemented AI-driven data integration solutions to streamline our data management processes. By automating the collection and integration of donor data, program metrics, and financial information, we have gained real-time insights into our operations, improved reporting capabilities, and optimized resource allocation. This has empowered us to make data-driven decisions that have enhanced our impact in the communities we serve.

Enhance data quality and governance using AI

Maintaining data quality and ensuring compliance with data governance standards are critical for nonprofit organizations. AI technologies, such as machine learning algorithms and natural language processing (NLP) tools, can help improve data quality by detecting errors and inconsistencies, as well as ensuring compliance with data governance regulations. By leveraging AI for data quality and governance, nonprofits can enhance the accuracy and reliability of their data assets while mitigating risks associated with poor data quality and non-compliance.

At our nonprofit firm, we have utilized AI-driven data quality tools to enhance the accuracy of our donor records, program metrics, and financial data. By leveraging machine learning algorithms to identify and correct data errors, we have strengthened the integrity of our data assets and improved our decision-making processes. Additionally, AI-powered data governance solutions have enabled us to enforce data privacy regulations, monitor data access, and enhance security protocols to protect our data assets.

Drive strategic decision making with predictive analytics

Predictive analytics powered by AI can provide nonprofits with valuable insights into donor behavior, program outcomes, and operational performance. By analyzing historical data and generating predictive models, nonprofits can forecast future outcomes and make data-driven decisions to optimize fundraising efforts, improve program effectiveness, and enhance organizational sustainability. Predictive analytics can help nonprofits tailor fundraising strategies, allocate resources effectively, and identify areas for improvement to maximize impact.

At our nonprofit firm, we have embraced predictive analytics to drive strategic decision-making and enhance our impact. By leveraging AI algorithms to analyze donor data and predict giving patterns, we have personalized fundraising campaigns and optimized resource allocation. Additionally, predictive analytics has enabled us to forecast program outcomes, identify cost-saving opportunities, and drive continuous improvement in our programs to achieve greater impact.

Conclusion

In conclusion, when you leverage AI for nonprofit data management, it’s not just beneficial—it’s the best approach for achieving success and maximizing impact. By automating data collection and integration, enhancing data quality and governance, and driving strategic decision-making with predictive analytics, nonprofits can unlock the full potential of their data assets and drive better outcomes for their missions.

As nonprofits navigate the challenges of managing data effectively, embracing AI technologies can provide a competitive advantage and unlock new opportunities for growth and impact. By investing in AI-powered solutions and fostering a data-driven culture, nonprofits can position themselves for long-term success and sustainability in an increasingly data-driven world. Together, let us harness the power of AI to drive positive change, make informed decisions, and create lasting impact in the communities we serve. When you leverage AI for nonprofit data management you’re making the best choice for achieving your mission and driving meaningful change.

The post Why You Should Leverage AI For Nonprofit Data Management appeared first on Bloomerang.

Living in uncertain times

Recent events have led to uncertainty in today’s world. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced organizations to pivot to survive. Suddenly, there was no clear path forward, and we did not know if things would return to normal. We still face uncertainty today, given inflation, rising costs, high employee turnover, and political unrest. Do you find yourself asking how to pivot during uncertain times? Will you have the capacity to achieve your missions? Will you bring in enough money to survive during these uncertain times?

Why data should drive your decisions

Many key industries, including retailers, manufacturers, and healthcare organizations, use data to inform decisions. Each of these industries needs to study an aspect of their output to see how it performs and decide if they need to change. For example, a clothing store puts out a new line of clothing; they want to know how that line is performing. If it does well, it may produce more items like it. If it does poorly, it can quickly pivot and put out something different to please their audience and boost their profits. Unfortunately, 50% of nonprofits do not know how data can support their work, and 31% do not know what to do with this information. Does this sound familiar to you? Leveraging data during uncertain times will help you lead more confidently and succeed no matter what happens. To be successful despite uncertainty, you must let data drive your decisions.

Using data to help your organization thrive

Here are four strategies to help data drive your decisions so your organization can thrive!

1. Know your goals

You need to know your goals to let your data drive your decisions. What does your organization want to accomplish? How will you identify these goals? Some organizations utilize Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure their goals. Donorbox defines KPIs as “a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a nonprofit (or another type of organization) is achieving its key organizational objectives.” KPIs should be clear, quantifiable, and adaptable. An example of a KPI could be the number of surveys completed after an event. This is a measurable number that could be adapted if the survey needed to be given in different formats. Please talk with your staff and board members about what goals would best serve your organization and prioritize them. Recognize that your organization may need to pivot, and doing things the same way may no longer work.

One question you can ask is: “What impact do you want your organization to make?” Consider additional questions such as “What programs and services are most effective?” and “What products and services are most viable?” Answering such questions will help leverage your staff, time, and resources. Identify your goals first, or you will waste time on data that will not support your organization’s success. Include your employees and enable frontline action when identifying and prioritizing your goals. This will build buy in, and you will likely learn something essential to inform your goals.

2. Identify what data you’re already collecting

After identifying your goals, you need to look at what your organization is already collecting. As the First Republic Bank reported, 90% of nonprofits are already collecting data! Unsurprisingly, most organizations collect data through forms, questionnaires, surveys, databases, and customer relationship management systems. You are likely already collecting data about how many people you serve or your income. The problem is that fewer organizations examine patterns and trends from their existing data.

This step can differentiate organizations that are merely surviving from those that are thriving. Analyzing your data may require pulling information from multiple sources and seeing what can be learned using descriptive and inferential statistics. Another consideration is that various people may be collecting data. Talk with your staff to see who is involved and what data is being collected. If possible, avoid situations in which multiple people are collecting the same information.

Now that you know what you are collecting, revisit your goals and highlight what you are missing. What information is vital and helpful? Does the information you have not align with your goals? Are you collecting data that is not important? You may be tracking the number of likes on a Facebook post. How does this information support your organization? If such data does not serve your organization, stop collecting it. Sometimes, less is more, especially when your organization needs to streamline its processes to save time, money, and resources. Identifying your critical data sets will help your organization in the long run.

3. Choose new metrics

Once you have identified the data you already have, it may be time to select new metrics that better align with your goals. Think about what metrics you will use. Ask yourself what information is relevant, timely, and actionable. Metrics are defined as the “Parameters your organization will use to measure performance.” What kind of performance matters to your organization? Some possible metrics could include the number of unique people served, retention rate, customer satisfaction rating, net promoter score, total amount from fundraising, graduation rate, turnover rate, and so on. The more specific the metrics, the better you can measure whether they were completed.

For example, imagine you employ 100 workers, and one of your goals for the year is to reduce turnover. You implement a new training program and offer additional benefits. Your new metric may be a 20% reduction in employee turnover. You could compare how many employees left during the previous year to the current year and see if you achieved your goal. Choosing new metrics and determining whether they were completed is essential in letting data drive your decisions.

Fundraising effectiveness is a critical metric for many nonprofits, especially in times of uncertainty when inflation and federally funded grants could affect yearly budgets. A recent Bloomerang article mentioned three metrics for measuring fundraising effectiveness:

1. Total fundraising net focuses on whether a nonprofit made enough money to fund its mission. Total amount raised minus total fundraising expenses
2. Dependency quotient encourages nonprofits to diversify their funding streams. It examines whether your organization depends on a small number of large-scale donations. The sum of contributions from “X” largest funders divided by total organization expenditures
3. Cost of fundraising reflects what it costs to raise money: total fundraising expenses divided by total fundraising net
   

Both examples provide important metrics to measure. However, there are infinite metrics you could consider that may be about something other than employee retention or fundraising. Some of these could be simple, such as whether you receive engagement on your social media posts and what type of engagement. Did people like your post, or did they share it? Other metrics could be more complex and require pooling multiple data points. For example, suppose you wanted to calculate how many family members were served through your program. In that case, you may need to examine who attended this program and how many people comprised their household to get to the metric of family members. These are all things you will need to consider when collecting your data. If you need help figuring out where to start, work with an expert to help!

4. Collect quality data

Lastly, when you are ready to let data drive your decisions, ensure you have quality data. What is quality data, you may wonder.

Bad data will not help your organization because you cannot make a good decision. There are many ways your data could be bad. One way is simply having too much data. Too much data can be hard to process and manage, leading to less certainty in your decisions. Additionally, your data could be incorrect. Bad data can also come from bad questions. Simply put, you will get bad responses if you ask bad questions. Ensure that you are asking what you want to study. Lastly, if you do not properly input your data, then your data-informed decisions could be compromised. When you record your data, errors are more likely to happen if it is messy or unorganized, and incorrect data will be reported. To avoid inaccurate or bad data:

• Train your staff. They should collect data in a neutral way that is consistent and systematic. There must be little to no room for interpretation when working with your data to keep it as accurate as possible. Thomas Montvilas, a Forbes Council member, states that having clear company data policies from strong leadership will help prevent errors in your data and ensure data privacy and security. Additionally, building up your employees to work with data will foster continuous improvement in customer and employee experiences as future innovations occur, which is ultimately an investment in your organization.
• Have a secure place to store your data. Ensure it is accessible only to those trained to use it adequately and can see the information, especially if it is confidential, such as names and addresses. Something as simple as using a password-protected file can add security to your data to help ensure confidentiality. The CITI Program offers training covering the APA Code of Ethics. It can help train your leaders and staff to collect quality data and keep sensitive content confidential.

Seek help as needed

Again, if this sounds overwhelming, work with a professional! Collecting bad data will not help your organization, and your organization will waste resources. Implementing these four strategies will help your organization thrive!

The post Let Data Drive Your Decisions appeared first on Bloomerang.

Analyzing your campaigns can help you:

• Track how the campaigns are performing so that you can adjust and improve them along the way
• Understand how well the campaigns performed compared with your goals
• Identify trends and opportunities that you can use to improve future fundraising campaigns

So, let’s look at some top tips to help you evaluate your nonprofit’s online fundraising campaigns.

1. Access your data.

Of course, analyzing your fundraising campaigns starts with accessing data from your online fundraising software. It can be helpful to set up dashboards that give you a daily overview of key performance metrics and trends for each of your campaigns.

Also, be sure to set up more detailed reports for deeper analysis. The way you set up your dashboards and reports will depend on multiple factors, including your data analysis goals and what data you need to inform your analysis.

A good place to start is to think about the metrics that are most important to each campaign. Some metrics might include:

• Total funds raised
• Number of donors
• Average donation size
• For events: number of registrants/attendees
• For peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns or events: number of participants, number of returning participants, number of teams, average team size, average number of donations per participant

Then, set up your dashboards and reports to track year-over-year results for those metrics based on the number of weeks out from the event or campaign start/end. This will allow you to compare your progress at each point in this year’s campaign to the same point in last year’s campaign so that you can make needed adjustments.

BONUS TIP: While analyzing your fundraising campaign data is important, you can spend weeks (or months!) doing so without accomplishing anything. So, be sure to focus only on metrics that are most relevant to your campaign goals.

2. Analyze during the campaign.

Reviewing your campaign daily, weekly, and monthly allows you to adjust the campaign for optimal results.

For example, suppose your campaign is an online peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, and you see that the number of registered participants is down one week compared with the same point in your previous campaign. In that case, you might offer an incentive to encourage participants to register. If total funds raised by participants are down from the last campaign, you might increase participant engagement by offering tips and examples from your top fundraisers.

BONUS TIP: If you identify specific changes you should make, try making just one or two at a time to get an accurate idea of their impact.

3. Evaluate post-campaign data.

Run final reports after your campaign has ended, and all donations have been entered. Consider high-level factors, such as:

• How did the overall fundraising campaign results compare with the goals you set?
• For results that were higher or lower than your goals, what factors do you think impacted those outcomes?
• How effective were your various marketing channels and efforts?

Then, dig deeper to look at trends that might give you more insights. For example, did your marketing channels or activities have less/more impact than they’ve had in previous campaigns? If so, what might have changed? Your messaging? Your branding/images? The frequency of messages?

4. Consider success factors other than numbers.

It’s hard to argue with hard numbers, but qualitative aspects of a fundraising campaign are just as important as numbers. Listen and respond to feedback from your participants, attendees, sponsors, donors, and staff throughout your campaign. Also, send a post-campaign survey to various audiences involved in the campaign to better understand things like:

• How much staff effort did the campaign take? Were there any process bottlenecks that could be improved?
• What did various audiences like/dislike about the campaign in terms of registration, fundraising, donating, and the overall campaign?
• How easy was using the campaign website, fundraising tools, and donation process?

5. Debrief with your fundraising team.

Meet with everyone on your staff involved with the fundraising campaign to review your campaign goals, discuss the campaign results, and talk through lessons learned. Be sure to take detailed notes to refer to later as you plan the next campaign.

6. Think about the next campaign.

Once you’ve evaluated your campaign, start thinking strategically about your next campaign. Here are some things to consider:

• If your last campaign wasn’t as successful as you’d like, consider changing the next campaign’s timing, messaging, theme, or structure.
• If your campaign met most of your goals, maybe you should focus on making sure your next fundraising campaign doesn’t leave money on the table.
• If the fundraising campaign exceeded your goals, maybe your strategy should be to focus on a specific area of the campaign, such as providing sponsors with greater value to keep them coming back, giving peer-to-peer fundraising participants the tools and encouragement they need to raise more, or encouraging past donors to give again by showing them the impact of their donations.

You can also use your fundraising campaign data for specific insights into how to improve your future campaigns. For example:

• When to start – Look into your past campaigns to understand the best time to launch various aspects of your campaign. For example, for a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, look at when your top performers registered. Then, consider timing a multi-channel recruitment approach that coincides with when your biggest supporters typically register. That way, you can use their enthusiasm as a launching point for registration.
• Where to focus your resources – Whenever you can, use source codes in your online fundraising efforts to attribute registrants and donors to specific marketing channels. Then, you can use this information to decide which channels are worth keeping, which should have more resources, and which you should leave behind.
• When to offer incentives – For example, if you’re running a peer-to-peer campaign and offer fundraising milestone badges, look up your levels to see how many participants reached them. If participants fall short of your lowest tier, you might want to lower it for the next campaign or adjust your communications to encourage participants to reach their goals. On the flip side, if too many people are quickly reaching your lowest tier, consider raising it.

Analyzing your fundraising campaigns goes a long way toward making them the best they can be. Take time to gather and study fundraising campaign data, and you’ll have the insights you need to take your future campaigns to the next level.

Author: Mark Becker, Founding Partner, Cathexis Partners

Mark founded Cathexis Partners in 2008, providing technical and consultative services to nonprofits of all sizes and types. He previously served as director of IT consulting at a fundraising event production company focused on nonprofits. For more than 20 years, Mark has supported hundreds of nonprofit online fundraising efforts.

The post 6 Tips for Analyzing Online Fundraising Campaigns appeared first on Bloomerang.

Dear Charity Clairity,

A donor advised in early December a $20,000 check was mailed to us. We informed her in the 3rd week of December we had not received it. She then advised she cancelled the first check and sent a new one. We received the new check dated 1/12/24 and deposited it.

The question is whether any type of amends can be made to credit the donation to 2023, if the check was dated 2024? This was a personal check, but we were also given notice by an investment advisor. We want to know whether we, as the nonprofit, need to make remedies with the donor or does the responsibility lie with the donor if a postdate correction needs to be made?

— Want to keep donor happy

Dear Want to keep donor happy,

Of course you do! But you don’t write the law, and you must stay within it.

For starters, please allow me to refer you to a previous question I answered on this topic. SEE In Which Year Are Gifts Made On Or Before December 31, But Received In January, Counted?

You may be familiar with the expression “possession is 9/10ths of the law.” Well, when it comes to donations, possession is all of the law!

Generally, possession is determined by who has control of the money at any point in time. Whenever the gift leaves the donor’s possession – and they can’t get it back – that’s when the gift is considered made. But it’s a bit tricky.

Delivered when mailed

Clearly, if the donor had mailed cash, she wouldn’t be able to get the money back once she’d dropped the envelope stuffed with bills into the mailbox. So, the gift would be made at that time. However, evidence of when the gift is mailed via USPS is whenever the envelope is postmarked. This is known as the Treasury Department’s “delivered when mailed” rule. So, if an envelope sits in a mailbox over a weekend, and it isn’t postmarked until after the 1st of the year, that’s when the donation is technically deemed made. The postmark rules.

NOTE: You might reasonably think when a donor mails a check (not cash) they still have agency to cancel that check up until the time the charity deposits or cashes that check. In fact, that’s what happened in your situation. Nonetheless, for purposes of gift substantiation, the “delivered when mailed” rule applies to checks sent via USPS as well.

With gifts (cash or check) sent by a private mail service (e.g., UPS or FedEx), the “delivered as mailed” rule does not apply. This is because it is presumed, up until the date the gift appears on your doorstop, the donor still has possession as evidenced by the fact they can still contact the third party and cancel the transaction. Once the charity receives the mail, even though the donor might technically still be able to cancel a check, it is presumed the charity had the right to immediately cash or deposit it (whether they did or not is immaterial). If the check sent via private carrier arrived before December 31st, the donor’s deduction would fall in that calendar year. If it arrived after that date, the deduction would properly belong in the year the charity assumed possession.

Payable when dated

In your case, you neither received nor was the check dated in the calendar year ending December 31st. You note when you received the replacement check it was postdated for January 12th of the current (not previous) calendar year. The date of mailing will not make any difference if the check is postdated. A postdated check is not an immediately payable contribution, but is a promise to pay on the date shown.

Since you could not take possession until mid-January, the gift is considered made in the new calendar year.

Impact of third-party advice

Finally, the fact the donor’s investment advisor merely informed you a gift would be made at some future time has no bearing on when the gift came into your possession. It’s useful in that you’ve got somebody else to connect with in order to try to effect your donor’s wishes, but the fact a donor tells an advisor to do something is not dispositive. The gift must still be delivered into your possession for the gift to be deemed made.

What should you do?

If in the future a donor or advisor notifies you a gift has been mailed, and you notice it has not been received, you might:

1. Suggest the donor hand deliver the check to you prior to December 31st.
2. Suggest the donor send the check via registered or certified mail, return receipt requested.
3. Offer to personally pick the check up at the donor’s place of work or residence.

For now, hopefully this helps you explain to your donor why this gift must be credited to the current tax year, both for their tax purposes and for your charity’s recordkeeping purposes and financials. It may not be what they had hoped for, but sometimes these things happen. By explaining you’ve done your due diligence, and are sorry you don’t have better news this time, hopefully you’ll be able to maintain a good relationship with your generous supporter.

— Charity Clairity (Please use a pseudonym if you prefer to be anonymous when you submit your own question, like “Want to keep donor happy” did.)

This is not intended as professional legal or tax advice. Please consult your own advisors!

The post Can you credit a check in a different year for tax purposes? appeared first on Bloomerang.

Bloomerang refers to them as tax summaries—which they are—but they also summarize each donor’s cumulative giving. They form a powerful document informing donors about their total annual giving—a rare moment in the fundraising process.

Cumulative giving statements

Donors rarely know or keep track of their cumulative giving, so when you point out the total, they’re usually quite pleasantly surprised.

Sending annual tax summaries to your donors provides an opportunity to make them feel good about how generous they have been. We strongly encourage you to make the most of this opportunity.

While tax summaries might seem like just another administrative task, savvy nonprofits use them as powerful cultivation moments to deepen relationships with donors.

Major gift officers often prepare TOTAL GIVING statements before meeting with their major donors because they, too, lose track of their cumulative generosity.

A donor who sees the history of their contributions is more likely to feel a sense of loyalty to your organization—a crucial factor in retaining donors over the long term. When donors feel a solid connection to your cause and understand the impact they’ve had, they’re more likely to stay committed.

Understanding a donor’s cumulative giving also helps your organization to build and nurture relationships strategically. You can identify donors who’ve consistently supported your cause and tailor your engagement strategies to deepen those relationships—potentially involving them in higher-level giving or leadership roles.

Further, high cumulative giving offers opportunities for special recognition. You can create giving societies or exclusive events for donors who’ve reached specific cumulative giving milestones. These events offer an excellent opportunity to acknowledge their generosity and provide incentives for continued support.

It’s a home run to show donors their cumulative annual or total giving because it goes beyond individual transactions and builds a narrative of shared impact, recognition, and trust. This lays the foundation for a lasting and mutually beneficial relationship between the donor and your nonprofit organization.

What are tax summaries?

In the nonprofit world, tax summaries are the golden tickets that encapsulate a donor’s generosity throughout the preceding calendar year. The statement itemizes each donation and shows the total donated.

Using the Bloomerang platform, you can effortlessly email year-end tax summaries to your entire database in just a few minutes. The email contains a secure link for recipients to download a PDF containing a comprehensive listing of their tax-deductible contributions from the preceding calendar year.

Pre-built templates make the process of running a list of donors easy. You can use them as is or edit them to suit specific audiences or needs:

• Year-end Tax Report (Revenue)
• Year-end Tax Report (In-Kind)

The IRS requires nonprofits that receive more than $250,000 in annual contributions to send year-end tax documents to donors. They’ll assess penalties if you don’t.

It’s important to understand the specific rules and regulations surrounding charitable donations and tax deductions, as they can vary based on your donors’ particular circumstances and the type of organization they donate to.

For a comprehensive overview from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, see How Do Charitable Donations Impact Your Taxes? You can share this link with your donors.

Why should nonprofits care?

Beyond the apparent legal and accountability aspects, tax summaries offer nonprofits like yours a unique opportunity to express gratitude and reinforce the impact of your donors’ contributions. It’s not just about numbers; it’s about recognizing the individuals who make a difference.

The cultivation moment: Turning receipts into relationships

Issuing tax summaries is more than just a paperwork drill. It’s a chance for you to turn a transactional moment into a cultivation opportunity. Here’s how:

• Express gratitude: Include a heartfelt thank-you message in the email accompanying the tax summary. Let donors know the measure of their impact is more than dollars and cents.
• Highlight impact: Take the chance to showcase a tangible outcome of the donors’ contributions. Share a success story, donor testimonial, or an update on projects funded by their generosity.
• Invite engagement: Encourage donors to ask questions, make suggestions, or share their thoughts. Use this as a segue to deepen the connection and understanding between the nonprofit and its supporters. Offering a donor survey would be advised.
• Make it personal: If your platform allows, customize the tax summaries to reflect each donor’s unique journey with your organization. Acknowledge milestones, anniversaries, or any unique connections that make them an integral part of your community.
• Encourage social sharing: Include social sharing buttons or pre-drafted messages in your email. Gift your donors the ability to become ambassadors by sharing their contributions and support with their networks, potentially expanding your reach.

Key takeaways

Sending year-end tax summaries is a great way to help donors get the tax credits they deserve while thanking them for their impact on your organization.

Tax summaries are not just about numbers but about nurturing a sense of belonging and appreciation among donors.

Here’s a list of best practices for sending year-end tax statements to donors.

What are your thoughts about tax summaries? Please share them in the comment section below.

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