Donor Segmentation in Nonprofit Fundraising: Creating Something Just For Them

Nonprofit GrowthDevelopment
Written By Sherry Quam Taylor

What does donor segmentation have to do with my world-famous enchiladas? Ok, not world famous…but famous in my house!

Stay with me a moment on this analogy…Here’s what I mean…

All 4 people in my family love enchiladas, but we have different likes and  levels of spice and ingredients.
🐄 + 🧀Hubs is meat + cheese
🐄 + 🧀 + 🫑I’m meat + cheese + bell peppers
🐄 + 🧀 + 🫑 +🌶️Daughter #1 meat + cheese + bell peppers + chilis
🫑 +🌶️🌶️🌶️ Daughter #2 is no meat + bell peppers and a triple shot of chilis

So, left to right I graduate my enchilada pan so that everyone gets exactly what they want and need. In essence, I customize everyone’s dinner in one pan.

I’m so impressed with myself. And only I would think that this applies to my job!

This is exactly what donor segmentation is and should look like!

One comprehensive pan of enchiladas that is not one-size fits all. Everyone feels like you customized what they got. 

I find that this feels really overwhelming to fundraisers. It’s not their fault. They are typically doing all.the.things.

But, you want every one of your donor segments to feel like you created something just for them. That’s donor segmentation.

That’s my enchiladas, too.

Honestly, this is why major donors in your donor file AREN'T giving their best gift to your mission. If everyone is giving as a result of events and appeals, you're leaving money on the table. Their enchiladas? They need to be served during a one-on-one meeting. Customized conversation. Exclusive information.

I find very few fundraisers do this. My clients that do? They're blown away at the results.

This FEELS like so much work, but it's critical. It's empowering your team to align hours with dollars.

Whenever you’re ready, here are THREE things you can do next:

👣 Follow me on LinkedIn where I give away insider info every week - the same lessons I teach my clients about attracting larger gen-ops dollars and adding 7-figures + to their bottom line. 

🍎 Read my NEW GUIDE! THE TRUTH ABOUT GIVE/GETS :: Top 5 Reasons Your Board’s Give/Get Is Leaving Thousands (Sometimes Millions) on the Table. See how limiting board members to the Give/Get model restricts gifts in so many ways and keeps your staff from reaching their full fundraising potential. Here to get it. 

📈 Work with me to fund your organization’s Strategic Plan and scale your budget by 2 - 5X // If you’re a business-minded CEO already raising MILLIONS but still need more general-operating revenue from individuals and family foundations to invest in growth, just send me an email (Sherry@QuamTaylor.com) with the subject line “grow.” Tell me your budget next year and why you need to scale.

Sherry Quam Taylor

Sherry Quam Taylor works with business-minded Nonprofit CEOs whose Strategic Plans require expansive budgets and larger amounts of general-operating revenue for growth. To become investment-level ready, Sherry helps leaders see their revenue potential and helps them see what may be blocking donors from giving in this way. Sherry’s clients know how to attract larger donors by solving the funding challenges at the root of the issue.

As a result of learning her methodology, Sherry’s clients become sustainable, diversify revenue, and know how to add significant amounts gen-ops revenue to their budgets. But mostly, their development departments and board have transformed into high-ROI revenue generators – aligning their hours with relational dollars and set free from the limitations of transactional fundraising.

Sherry attributes the success of her business to her passion for modeling radical confidence to the future CEOs in her house - her two college-aged daughters.

https://www.QuamTaylor.com
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