Work Smarter

Expert help to refine your strategy

Fundraising strategy can be like driving a car. If it’s getting you from point A to point B, then you might not look under the hood that often.

But every fundraising strategy needs regular maintenance. This process can help you spot data trends, avoid costly detours, recharge messaging, and improve overall performance.

If you’re working on your first fundraising strategy, visit our Resources page.

If you’re ready to rev up your fundraising operations, read on.

Data Analysis

To confidently move your fundraising forward, it helps to know exactly where you are now and how you got here. Abeja can help you analyze the records in your donor database and calculate baseline fundraising effectiveness metrics for the last 3-5 years and campaign-level metrics, when available, for the last 1-2 years.

Gain clarity on common metrics like:

Donors

— Total # of donors
— Retention, recapture, and lapsed rates
— Average # of gifts
— Average gifts per year and over lifetime
Prospects

— Total # of warm prospects
— Availability of contact information
— Acquisition rate
— Retention rate of first-time donors
Donations

— Total amount given
— Total # of gifts
— Average gift size
— Gifts by category
Efficiency

— Comparisons to industry benchmarks
— Return on expenses
— Cost per dollar raised
— Trends and opportunity areas

Abeja will present you with a summary of the findings in charts and graphics in a virtual meeting. Studying the changes in these metrics over time can help you uncover and quantify areas of opportunity, while focusing more resources on priority areas.

“When I started working with Abeja, our agency was fragile and unstable. Abeja provided valuable insight and resources. Now, we are in a completely different situation with financial stability and a plan to significantly impact the community for years to come.”

— Kate Thoene, Executive Director

Fundraising Strategy

Need help documenting your data-informed strategy? Abeja can lead a focused discussion of how to leverage your data insights, so your team sets realistic objectives and measurable goals for your individual giving program.

Once we know your destination, Abeja will recommend specific strategies and initiatives to take you there — as well as key performance indicators to help you measure your progress along the way. You’ll receive a written summary of your finalized strategy in a virtual or in-person meeting.

Messaging Strategy

What will it take to convince more donors to get in and ride with you? Is your current messaging strategy powerful and personal enough to move them from their first gift to ultimate giving?

Too many nonprofits have broad talking points about how the nonprofit wants to appear to the general public. They don’t have a focused message template that speaks specifically to the different donor segments in their databases.

Abeja will lead you in a series of short exercises to document your ideal donor personas, understand your nonprofit’s unique value to them, and craft a robust, 1-page message template that can fuel all your donor communications.