Important Terms to Understand About Donor Acquisition

Attracting new donors can be complicated. Here are some key terms to understand as you get started.

Return on investment (ROI): How much a group receives in donations compared to how much it spends on a campaign.

Response rate: The percentage of people who respond to a solicitation or survey. Response rates for direct-mail solicitations generally hover between one and four percent, depending on the composition of the list.

List rental: The purchase of a list of names and contact information from another nonprofit or a marketing company, to use in a mailing or other campaign. These purchases may take place through brokers and are typically approved for one-time use only.

List exchange: An arrangement by which two nonprofits trade lists of donor names and contact information. Typically a broker arranges the swap for a fee, but the cost is far less than renting a list.

Data cooperatives: Databases shared among nonprofits; each organization enters its donor information and in return can withdraw other names of potential donors. Proprietary analytics firms run these databases and typically charge from $65 to $85 per 1,000 names. That’s less than it would cost to rent a list, but more than it costs to exchange lists.

Data modeling: The use of algorithms to determine which donors on a direct-mail list are most likely to give.

Direct response television (DRTV): Advertisements that ask viewers to give, usually by calling a toll-free number.

Housefile: The list of contacts an organization already has. Contacting people from a list other than the housefile is called “prospecting.”

Welcome series: The series of messages an organization sends after a potential donor provides his or her email address.

Behavioral targeting: The analysis of online behavior to target those users most likely to become donors.