Josh Birkholz

In recent months, we’ve received many questions from our great campaign fundraisers and institutional leaders about raising money in times of economic uncertainty. Certainly, anticipating the direction of the economy may be closer to predicting earthquakes than predicting shopping habits at Amazon. Nevertheless, the frequency of this question is approaching the scale of pre-recession 2008 enough to take notice. I am reminded of the carnival game of predicting gumballs in a jar. As we’ve seen in many experiments, the average of everyone’s guesses tends to be rather close to the actual count. Perhaps, the preponderance of questions about the economy should not be taken lightly.

Having gone through a very significant downturn a decade ago, we’ve seen a few trends and strategies worth considering in case the group-think proves significant. In the interest of sharing ideas and beginning a discussion, I would like to pass on some thoughts about how your nonprofit can maintain and even grow during uncertain times.

Our team at BWF compiled this research on trends in digital fundraising.  Whether you are in higher education, healthcare, human services, or the arts, this study is packed with relevant information.  I hope you enjoy it.

From the introduction:

Digital fundraising is a rapidly growing area. Most organizations have already begun investing, and most are seeing early fruits of those investments. 

The Bentz Whaley Flessner Digital Fundraising Survey seeks to gain a current snapshot of the health and trajectory of the digital fundraising practice. 

As you read this report, you will likely find areas of agreement. You may also find data that provides further evidence that you are on the right track, and a deeper investment is warranted. Finally, this report may uncover opportunities for improvement. 

We hope you enjoy the report. If you have comments or feedback, please reach out to Barett Christensen, Director of Digital Service at [email protected] or (952)921-0111.

Check out my latest whitepaper on 21st century giving. Digital and social giving are so much more than an annual giving channel or program novelty. We are on the sea and the waves of disruption are crashing into shore.

Project Associate, Systems and Operations team

As a Project Associate at BWF, you’ll use your expertise in in nonprofits and fundraising database management, and fundraising operations to help organizations across the country strengthen their development efforts and advance their missions. Working with the Systems Practice, you’ll partner with and learn from industry-leading consultants as they help clients to discover solutions to their operations challenges. This position reports to the Systems and Operations Practice Leader and works collaboratively with clients, consultants, and support staff.

Check out this paper written by my colleague Andy Schultz this past week.

Fundraisers throughout our industry have increasingly relied on  data-driven approaches such as predictive modeling to help identify  individuals who are most likely to support our missions. These same tools  have not been readily available for corporate and foundation fundraisers.    Over the past several months, BWF Insight has continued its tradition of  innovation by developing a set of data-driven strategies to assist corporate  and foundation fundraisers with their prospecting. In this month's Points  of Practice, Bentz Whaley Flessner Director of Analytics, Andrew Schultz,  offers methodologies on how to quantify and prioritize non-individual  constituents.

Calling All Nonprofit Analytics Professionals and Data Scientists!

 BWF Insight would like to invite you to participate in our 2018 Fundraising Analytics Survey.

 BWF Insight has conducted the Fundraising Analytics Survey since 2010. By covering compensation, professional development, methodology, software, and institutional culture, this survey provides a comprehensive snapshot of the fundraising analytics profession.

 Help us provide the community with important information to support, inform, and advance our field.

To participate, follow the link to our survey:  

The FREE Summary Report of the 2018 Fundraising Analytics Survey will be shared at Apra 2018 in Pittsburgh this summer, but highlights of the 2017 survey are available online here:

For more information about our analytics services, visit our website:

By Josh Birkholz

Check out my latest paper on building major gift fundraising programs. Here is an excerpt.

In this time of shifting economic realities, nonprofits throughout the globe realize the necessity of diversifying philanthropic revenue streams. Relief organizations dependent on unrestricted high-volume giving may fight the winds of stagnant middle-class incomes. Human services charities dependent on grant support may hit walls of service expansion beyond fundable opportunities. Arts organizations depending on aging cultural wealth may miss out on broadening to new wealth and corporate investment. 

In the past decade, the most prominent shift in fundraising business models is the expansion of major gift programs. For a long time higher education, academic medicine, and elite arts organizations have cornered the major gift market. But, nonprofits of all sectors are shifting up the pyramid. The unprecedented wealth increase at the top is certainly the driver of the shift. But business model changes are really hard. To succeed at major gift development, a nonprofit must do more than hire gift officers and hope they figure it out. 

In the last few years, my research has focused on the key distinguishing characteristics of high-performing major gift programs. In my consulting work across nonprofit sectors, I’ve focused on achievable strategies we can replicate while maintaining the cultural nuances of each organization. Through this research and field testing, I’ve arrived at the following 9 steps as ideal starting points for your walk into this organization-defining new reality.

Integrated Analytics Drives Success

BWF Insight launched our 8th annual survey of the fundraising analytics community in May 2017. We sought to discover the trends in analytics methodology, applications, and tools popular with today’s analysts, paying special attention to the impact across the industry. We received responses from across the United States, Canada, and Europe from data practitioners working at organizations representing every sector in the industry, and raising a wide spectrum of funds annually. From the responses it is clear that fundraising analytics continues to move from a niche segment to an integral component of all fundraising programs, and analytics practitioners serve as hubs of data-sharing and insight to an unprecedented degree. Download in the infographic and white paper to see what you had to say.

As I prepared speeches for the 2017 APRA Data Analytics Symposium and the Big Ten Fundraisers Institute, I took a look back on where we’ve come over the years.  As a now 20 year data science, I noticed a shift around 2007 in the adoption of analytics. Davenport predicted that year that the future market leaders of each sector would achieve this position through leveraging analytics.

After culling the top 20 companies by market capitalization (representing 7 sectors), I looked into evidence of this claim for the market leader in each sector.  Turns out Davenport was right.

I’m proud to say the fundraising sector is no exception.  Its been a great professional honor to help develop the analytics programs, and more importantly, comprehensive data-driven enterprises at the top Universities, Hospitals, and world-changing NGO’s throughout the globe.  Our sector is certainly, competing on analytics.

Check out Davenports 2007 book, Competing on Analytics

Amazon Completes New Suspension Tank To House Psychic Beings Who Foresee Customers’ Future Orders

Probably my favorite Onion of 2017.

SEATTLE—Explaining that the larger containment center was necessary to keep up with increased demand, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced Thursday the completion of a new suspension tank that will allow the online retailer to house even more of the psychic beings who foresee each shopper’s future orders.

Have you done it yet? Its quick and painless. Here is the link to our survey:  

Calling All Nonprofit Analytics Professionals and Data Scientists!

Bentz Whaley Flessner would like to invite you to participate in our 2017 Fundraising Analytics Survey.

Bentz Whaley Flessner has conducted the Fundraising Analytics Survey since 2010. This survey provides a comprehensive snapshot of the fundraising analytics profession and covers compensation, professional development, methodology, software, and institutional culture. Over 150 nonprofit professionals participated in the 2016 survey.

Help us provide the community with important information to support, inform, and advance our field.

To participate, follow the link to our survey:  

It’s amazing that doing what you said you would actually builds donor confidence!!  Congratulations to World Vision for being so darn good at it.  And thanks to Forbes for the inspiring story of the Dornsife’s work in clean water initiatives.

Barrett Christiansen’s post is right on target.  I’m proud to have him as a colleague at BWF. To read the entire post, click here.  Below is an excerpt.

In the last 18-24 months, most of the major social networks have begun to figure out a model to monetize. It seems the model all of them have chosen is to open up their user data for organizations to mine, build audiences, and engage in paid communications. Social networks have all been free. Their goal has been to grow as fast as they can, collect as much user data and then monetize the data. For a decade these networks have been collecting thousands and thousands of data points on each of their users. Further, they have been out purchasing data from the big data warehouses and appending that information to our social records.

While networks were focused on user growth, they allowed all content posted on their sites to reach all the followers of the posting organization. In preparation to monetize most networks have been introducing algorithms which have started filtering what content makes it to which individual. As an organization, you may have noticed that over the last 18 months your “organic” (non-paid) content has been dropping in reach. Most organizations today are lucky to have a 10% organic reach on their posts. Many have cried foul and missed seeing the value in the offering these networks are now providing in exchange for a little money.

With algorithms, throttling post reach, most of these networks have opened up their database of users to any organization willing to explore. Previously, you could only communicate on social with those who followed you. Now you can communicate with anyone.

So what kind of data can you now find inside these networks? In addition to tens of thousands of interest data points, you can target on liquid assets, annual income, net worth, home value, luxury spending, alma mater, and past charitable giving. Yep….you don’t need them in your database to build an audience of wealthy individuals to share your organization's message. And there are plenty of wealthy individuals to go around. On Facebook alone, there are over 2.8 million individuals with $3 million in liquid assets on hand.

Proud to be part of this Chronicle of Philanthropy Report

How fundraisers crunch numbers, sift Facebook chatter, and analyze their results to learn exactly what donors want.

By Nicole Wallace

Click here for a comprehensive and engaging article from the Chronicle of Philanthropy on using data for fundraising.  I am proud of our collaboration with the Alley Theatre and the success of our other clients also highlighted for their projects (Memorial Sloan-Kettering, MIT, NYU, University of South Dakota, Chicago Lyric Opera, Seattle Opera, Shedd Aquarium).

2016 BWF Insight Fundraising Analytics Survey results.

Full results

Infographic in pdf format

Thanks to the amazing prospect development and analytics consultant, Emma Hinke, for her analysis!

Summary

The Evolving Role of Analytics and the Analyst The 2016 BWF Fundraising Analytics Survey Results

BWF launched its 7th annual survey of the fundraising analytics community worldwide in April 2016, with respondents in the US, Canada, and Europe. We sought to discover patterns in methodology, applications, and tools popular with today’s analysts, paying special attention to the impact across the industry. Key findings from the survey include:

Impact grows with competency. The positive, measurable impact of data science on an organization’s success grows with the analyst’s level of competency. Shops with the most expert analysts report that, not only has their investment in data analytics produced positive results, but they can also quantify those results.

Skill development advances techniques. Analysts are branching out to different analytics techniques as they develop their skills and grow in experience. Cutting-edge analysts are more likely to use methods like forecasting, factor analysis, and decision trees than their more novice counterparts.

Leadership consumption increases with shop size. Shops that produce analyses and projects directly for organizational leadership, in addition to frontline officers and advancement services, tend to have more dedicated full-time employees. The most resourced shops count all three areas equally as consumers of analytics.

 What this Means for Your Program

Invest in your data scientists. The impact of analytics on an organization’s success increases with the analyst’s level of competency. Investing in data scientists and providing opportunities for them to increase their competencies will create measurable positive impact for your organization.

Promote skills development. Analytics is a competitive marketplace with constantly emerging new tools, methods, and techniques. Emphasize and support experimentation with new tools to advance your shop’s capabilities.

Show value to leadership. Inquire what leadership is looking for to determine how your shop can meet or exceed leadership’s needs. Raise the focus of analytics projects to inform organization-wide decision making, not just unit-specific initiatives.

What this Means for Analysts

Expand your knowledge base. Add value by staying up to date with cutting-edge analytics applications, networking with data science peers from other organizations, and seeking opportunities to improve efficiency and implementation at your organization.

Learn new tools and advanced methods. Expert analysts are always exploring new tools and methods for getting better results faster. This includes testing out software, innovating with new statistical techniques, or automating existing solutions.

Support leadership initiatives. Find common ground within a complex world of competing pressures. Leadership has pressures that analysts can help solve by using analytics to refocus an old question in a new light. Whether it’s setting goals or metrics, deploying resources, understanding the donor pipeline, or assessing performance, analytics can help.

Full results

My public radio interview this morning.

2015 was a record setting year for charitable giving.  Generous Americans gave an estimated $373.25 billion to a variety of causes, a 4.1 percent jump from the previous year.  This hour, we look at what’s behind the increase in charitable gifts, where the money is going, and how to make the best possible gift of your own.      

Listen here

Host(s):

Joy Cardin

Guest(s):

Josh Birkholz

Producer(s):