Hey Reader,

Picture two donors opening your year-end appeal at the same time. One has given to your organization at least five times in the last two years. She knows your programs, follows your social posts, and probably talks about you at dinner parties.

The other donor gave once, three years ago, and hasn't engaged since. They're reading the exact same words. Only one of them feels known.

I remember when I first started out as a fundraiser, everyone received the same cringy story and the same invitation to give. That’s exactly how we did it. One letter, one ask, sent to everyone in the database. It felt efficient and easy!

Can I tell you how quickly I learned that easy and effective aren't always the same thing? 😜

That letter addressed loyal donors as if they were strangers, completely ignoring their years of support. And those who had given once or years earlier received the same letter, assuming they remembered us and still cared about what we were doing.

We were talking to everyone, which meant we weren't talking to anyone.

Once we started splitting the list, even in simple ways, the appeals changed. Loyal donors heard "thank you for acknowledging us" before the ask. Lapsed donors heard "we miss you" and a reminder of why they gave in the first place.

Same campaign, same goal, but each group finally got a message that matched their relationship with us.

Here's the lesson. Donor segmentation isn't some fancy data project. It's what a good host does instinctively. When you walk into a party, you don't greet your oldest friend and someone you interacted with once three years ago with the same words.

You adjust. Your appeal should too.

The data backs this up. Figures from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, shared by Bloomerang, show that donors who have given once return at about 7.4%, while those with two gifts return at about 19.4%. Donors with three to six gifts return at 44.6%, and those with seven or more gifts return at 88.1%. Every gift strengthens the relationship, so each stage needs its own message.

And, no, you don't need 10 segments for year-end. Start with three.

Those loyal donors, who have given more than once and recently, need gratitude first, followed by an invitation to keep going. First-time donors need to feel welcomed and see what their first gift made possible, so the second gift feels like a natural next step. Your lapsed donors, who gave last year or earlier but not this year, need a warm reconnection and a reminder of why they cared.

Three groups, one campaign. It’s manageable for a small team and makes the difference between a ‘spray-and-pray’ appeal and a donor conversation.

Don’t wait until late November to think about these segments. You'll end up defaulting to one letter for everyone because there's no time left. The work of sorting your donors, cleaning your data, and writing three versions of your opening paragraph happens now, in October, while you still have time to think.

Find an hour this week to pull three lists from your database: donors who have given two or more times and gave in the past 12 months, donors who made their first gift this year, and donors who gave last year but not yet this year.

Don't write anything yet. Look at how many people are in each group and notice which one is biggest. That number will tell you where your year-end appeal needs the most care.

If you're not sure how to set up these segments in your database, or you'd like a second set of eyes on your year-end plan, click reply. Let’s get you started together.

Here's to a year-end season where every donor feels seen.

Link 🔗

Check out this practical five-step donor segmentation framework from Donor Perfect. It includes a year-end example that ranks donor groups by priority.

Use your CRM data to share better stories. Neon One shares how to turn your data into segments that reflect your supporters.

Prompt of the Week ✨

Want a head start on creating segments? Copy this prompt into your favourite AI assistant. It starts with a few questions first, so the plan fits your organization instead of being one-size-fits-all.

Thanks for reading this far! See you in two weeks ✌🏼