Will Bigger & Better Data Help Deliver More Major Donors?

Ben Rymer & Azadi Sheridan

Blackbaud Higher Education Summit

June/July 2016

A Huge Opportunity

Value of 2016 ST Rich List:£575bn

What bigger & better data can do● Uncover patterns of behaviour● Help us be timely, relevant & responsive● Identify competitive advantages ● Say who will give

What bigger & better data cannot do

● Maintain or analyse itself● Describe anything but the past ● Make decisions ● Say why donors give (yet!)“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the

attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention” Professor Herbert Simon

End of Part One!

Data in Philanthropy Vertical:Identifying ‘missing’ wealth Targeting communications & activities across the quantum of wealth

Internal: Tracking performance Pipeline managementImproving conversion ratios Measuring donor engagement Increasing donor retention

ExternalBenchmarking against leadersScoping opportunitiesInnovative products

Horizontal: Choosing frequency & channel of communicationBeing relevant, responsive & timely

Data’s role:Identify other George Soros’s sooner!Plan strategically once identifiedBoost value by targeting asks

A Relationship Case Study

Summary● Significant potential for growth in philanthropy ● Data integrity key to finding more major donors.

Bigger data a distraction?● Data-driven Philanthropy is innovative. Try it, test

it, improve it● Above all, inspire and earn the respect of your

alumni & donors

Thanks & Q&AFurther reading:

http://customerinsightleader.com/opinion/whats-matter-metadata/http://www.datasciencecentral.com/profiles/blog/show?id=6448529%3ABlogPost%3A379084

http://read.nxtbook.com/1to1media/customerstrategist/winter2015/perspectives_marketingdata.htmlhttps://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/know-your-geography-quantitative-skills-arent-just-about-maths

http://afpfep.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Forget-About-BIG-Data-AFP-Journal-Winter-2015.pdfhttp://npengage.com/nonprofit-news/5-troubling-nonprofit-statistics/

@martin_squires@EdwardTufte

https://fundraisingvoices.wordpress.com/