When it comes to raising funds for your school, collecting and using fundraising data is an invaluable tool. Not only can this information help motivate students, families and donors, but the data you collect can also be used to ensure future fundraising success. While this may seem like an overwhelming task to get started, with the right approach, you can actually save valuable time and raise even more!
In this blog you will learn:
From how much a donor gives to their geographic location to their profession, the more information you capture about each donor the better. Make sure to also collect contact information such as an email address and phone number.
During your fundraiser, track how engaged your students and families are. Collect key metrics such as how many emails or text are sent out to potential donors and how many donations are collected.
You, of course, should be tracking exactly how much money you raise as well as how much you spend. It is also helpful to collect more specific information about your donations such as did the majority of them come in at the beginning, middle or end of your fundraiser and what was the average size of each one. Equally important is tracking where you are successfully reaching your donors—social media, email or traditional marketing efforts such as flyers and posters.
Asking for feedback will provide you with crucial information about what did and did not work for your fundraiser as well as how the overall experience was for everyone involved.
This is a simple and free way to keep all of your fundraising data in one accessible place. Use shared spreadsheets and documents to take note of all the information you are collecting from each fundraiser. You can also create a master spreadsheet to compare data from multiple fundraising efforts.
An online fundraising platform is also an extremely cost effective option that can save you valuable time and actually helps you raise even more. Booster’s platform, MyBooster, has zero upfront costs and an option for donors to cover the platform fees as part of their donation. The platform includes up-to-the-minute fundraiser tracking, where you’ll be able to track daily pledge stats, the percentage of students that have pledged and registered, and pledges by sponsor type. It also keeps track of donor information.
This can allow you to plan out your emails, segment audiences and automate responses as well as track which emails are actually effective. This information can be extremely useful for future fundraisers!
Similarly, these resources can track your effectiveness on social media. These analytics allow you to measure the performance of your content and tweak your future content strategy.
Collecting and using fundraising data can take your fundraising efforts to the next level, helping you raise even more! By systematically collecting and utilizing data on donors, student engagement, campaign progress, and participant feedback, you empower yourself to make informed decisions that drive future success. Ultimately, the careful analysis of your fundraising data enables you to work smarter, identify strengths and weaknesses, and cultivate meaningful relationships with donors, fostering a culture of continued support for your school.