2 Data Trends Nonprofits Can't Afford to Ignore

At CrowdRise and GoFundMe, we're combing through huge amounts of social fundraising data and putting together a report that will help nonprofits better understand how people donate and share. (You'll be able to check out the full report in March.) Till then, we came across some early insights that were too important not to share right away... specifically two major data principles that every nonprofit looking to grow in 2018 should become familiar with.

Here's what we're seeing...

If you treat all supporters the same, you can expect how they support your organization to also be the same.

In today’s world, automation and the ability to reach large segments of your community at once is easier than ever. But that doesn’t mean you should overlook the fact that every supporter has a preferred way to support your cause. Giving, volunteering, storytelling, recruiting, fundraising and sharing are all valuable actions for your organization. By looking at data and cultivating those actions that drive your supporters the most, you’ll get bigger wins than simply pushing the same actions to your entire support community.

Tailor your services based on what supporters are telling you with their money and their voices.

There is a lot of choice these days in products and services, and consumers tend to vote for what they want by using their dollars and spreading the word. Nonprofit work is no different. There is a huge opportunity to make changes to the services a nonprofit offers based on the desires of supporters. With aggregated donor and social sharing data, you can look closer into the wants and needs of your community and listen and optimize the services you offer in order to unlock even more support (both monetarily and awareness based).

So, what should you take away from these two data principles? Long story short: Data is even more important than you thought it was. If thorough data collection and data ownership aren't already a priority for your organization this year, they should be.