{"id":55038,"date":"2022-07-11T16:42:27","date_gmt":"2022-07-11T20:42:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.canadahelps.org\/?p=55038"},"modified":"2025-06-12T16:43:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T20:43:18","slug":"understanding-donors-using-segments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.canadahelps.org\/en\/charity-life\/understanding-donors-using-segments\/","title":{"rendered":"What Motivates Donors to Give? Segment and Better Understand Your Donors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Understanding your donors means knowing them well enough to provide tailored experiences and steward them into becoming lifelong supporters of your charity. Remember, personal experiences are often the most memorable ones.<\/p>\n

Even the simplest gestures of kindness leave lasting impressions and help create loyal supporters, just like this Leafs player did.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

And as much as charities strive to make each experience for donors as special as the one above, charities simply don\u2019t have the capacity or resources to do so.<\/p>\n

Instead, successful charities use software to identify donors with shared interests, preferences, and habits to develop personalized experiences for groups of like-minded donors. These types of groups are known as\u00a0segments\u00a0<\/em>in the marketing world.<\/p>\n

\u200d<\/p>\n

In this blog:<\/h2>\n

We will start with broad strokes by helping you segment donors by giving behaviour. Then we\u2019ll cover more specific segments, including communications, interests, and participation that provides insights into what motivates a donor to give.<\/p>\n

By segmenting, charities learn how donors\u2019 interaction with your charity and content affects their behaviour. With these insights, charities can then develop concrete answers to questions such as, \u201cwhy did a donor give to our charity?\u201d or, \u201chow long does it take to convert one-time donors into repeat donors?\u201d Answers that will ultimately help define your charity\u2019s donor stewardship strategy.<\/p>\n

\u200d\u200d\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What motivates our donors to give?<\/h2>\n

Think about purchasing behaviour for a moment. Before we get a new TV, phone, or almost any other product, we go through a process of consideration and research before making the purchase. Similarly, your supporters will do the same.<\/p>\n

For example, before a potential donor gives to your organization, they\u2019ll likely take the time to research and learn more about your organization for the peace of mind that they\u2019re making the right decision.<\/p>\n

So don\u2019t expect all of your supporters will be ready to give monthly or in more significant amounts right off the bat. And if you send too many communications requesting these types of gifts, you risk upsetting or annoying them. That can lead to email unsubscribes, fewer gifts, or they may lose interest in your organization altogether.<\/p>\n

Charities need to take the time to steward their donors and meet them where they are. And the first step to accomplishing that is segmenting your donors by their giving behaviour. Lets dive in.<\/p>\n

\u200d<\/p>\n

I want to understand\u00a0how often my donors give<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Common problems:<\/strong><\/h4>\n