Beyond Fundraising: Mobile POS and Donor Data

Many nonprofit organizations are seeking ways to accelerate and simplify the donation process. Mobile point-of-sales (mPOS) solutions not only help streamline this process, they allow organizations to gather donor and donation data, which can provide insight into a donor’s motivation and capacity to give again.

Data analytics have become vital fundraising tools, helping nonprofits determine which donors are most likely to give multiple times and in the highest amounts. They also can help nonprofits figure out which donors are most likely to attend certain types of events or during different times of the year.

According to the fundraising services company Amergent, new donors that give large first-time gifts are more likely to give higher amounts in later gifts (and are more likely to continue giving for longer) than other first-time donors. By identifying the subset of new donors who give the largest first-time gifts, a nonprofit can ensure that it continues to reach out to the most generous donors.

Amergent also says nonprofits should keep track of the time of year when long-standing donors have traditionally made their gifts. The company recommends against sending mailings to donors during periods when these donors have not traditionally given. Instead, Amergent advises organizations to personalize request letters and send them when donors are most likely to give based on previous donations

To incorporate metrics like these, nonprofits must first collect, store and manage large amounts of donor data, a task made simpler by the automation of mPOS systems.

This piece was excerpted from CDW’s white paper “The Secrets of Mobile POS for Fundraising.” Download the full white paper.