How predictive analytics can help you. Case 2: Fundraising
Donors rarely explicitly reveal their preferences on what non-profit to support. They usually do so implicitly in their events attendance and membership participation. Analysing their behavioral, demographics, geographic, and previous giving data, we can gain insights on what donors want to support, how much they can or are willing to donate, and how they choose between non-profits.
Consider the following example: Suppose a person donates to a children charity. Would this indicate that the person would likely support an educational non-profit? What if the person donates only to one charity consistently? Would this indicate loyalty to that charity? Predictive analytics can help answer those questions by “figuring out” what is on the donors’ mind.
Some Canadian organizations that are using analytics to gain insight on their potential donors and target their fundraising efforts more effectively are Queen’s University, Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, University of Toronto, and Doctors Without Borders.
Predictive analytics allows organizations to “figure out” what is on the donors’ mind. Using this knowledge to optimize the performance of the fundraising programs is key to raise more revenue for their mission.
To learn more:
Wikipedia’s entry on predictive analytics
Wikipedia’s entry on fundraising
