Why Segmentation is Still the Future of Fundraising
Part 1 - Theory
Why Segmentation Is Important, Now More Than Ever
Why Multi-Channel Is Important, Now More Than Ever
Segmentation strategies
Why Segmentation Is Important
More Noise Than Ever
Donors are being bombarded from every direction — by the world at large, and by the nonprofit sector itself.
The Volume of Messages is Surging.
Donors are increasingly being solicited for attention from within the non-profit space.
Increase in email volume from
2023 to 2024, with orgs sending 62 messages per subscriber.
Only this many nonprofits regularly remove unengaged subscribers, actively contributing to the noise.
Explosion in mobile and text messaging volume in 2023.
[Source: M+R Benchmarks / Nonprofit Tech for Good Report]
Personalization Cuts Through the Noise
In a world of mass communication, relevance is the only real differentiator.
Consumers who engage exclusively with messages tailored to their specific interests
[Source: 2026 Email Marketing Statistics for Nonprofits]
53%
of donors stop giving because the nonprofit doesn't understand them.
Irrelevance isn't neutral. It has a price tag.
Relationship Context Is Everything
Fundraising success hinges on understanding and nurturing donor relationships. Your communication must reflect the unique stage and history of each connection to effectively build on it.
Relationship Context Is Everything
"Happy birthday, all the best."
— Jane from Accounting
"Happy birthday, all the best."
— Mom
"Happy birthday, I love you more than words can say!"
— Jane from Accounting
"Happy birthday, I love you more than words can say!"
— Mom
Same words. Completely different feeling. Relationship changes everything.
Why Multi-Channel Is Important
Multi-Channel Donors Are Worth Double.
Reaching donors across both physical and digital channels drastically increases their value compared to relying on just one channel alone.
Higher Revenue
vs online-only
Median revenue for multi-channel donors is double that of online-only.
Increased Value
vs offline-only
Offline-only donors who receive emails have 90% higher annual value than those that don't receive emails.
[Source: Blackbaud / NextAfter via The Agitator]
Increase Your Chances of Reaching Donors
No single channel reaches everyone. Each touchpoint is a new opportunity to connect — and a missed channel is a missed donor.
Email Open Rate
Direct Mail Open Rate
*statistics vary between 35% and 90%
THE DIGITAL-ONLY TRAP
Cutting Mail Costs You Online Revenue.
Eliminating direct mail for online donors often removes the primary trigger for their giving. Direct mail acts as a crucial prompt for digital engagement.
Cutting direct mail by 75% for donors who transitioned to online-only caused total net revenue to actively decline.
Even though these donors were unlikely to return a physical check, the control group receiving full direct mail won on overall net revenue.
[Source: Masterworks Agency]
Donors have a single relationship with your mission - not per channel.
A personalized letter Monday. A generic blast email Tuesday. The illusion of relationship is broken instantly.
One story, every channel. When your mail, email, and SMS echo the same message, the donor relationship becomes authentic, intentional, and powerful.
Common Donor Profiles to Segment
Lifecycle and Retention Rates
Each step in a lifecycle has a dramatically different retention rate — and demands a different strategy.
[Source: Fundraising Effectiveness Project - September 2025]
The New Donor
The Math of New Donors
New donors represent the second largest share of your donor base — but have the worst retention.
Of the Donor Base
An important portion of your donor database. When adding New Donors who gave a second gift, this number jumps to 47%, the largest segment.
Retention Rate
Only about 14% of new donors make a second gift.
Acquisition Cost
It costs 10 times more to acquire a new donor than to retain an existing one.
[Source: Fundraising Effectiveness Project - September 2025]
In many cases, they didn't give to your organization.
They Gave to Their Friend.
Peer-to-peer and memorial gifts are driven by personal affinity, not organizational connection.
The Affinity Gap
Not all new donors have the same connection to your cause. Where they started shapes how you must engage them.
Low Affinity
P2P and In Memory donors — their connection is to an individual, not your mission.
Medium Affinity
Grateful patient donors — their connection is to care received, not your broader mission.
High Affinity
Repeat donors deeply invested in your mission — giving regularly and advocating for your cause.
Important: segment new donors with specific messaging and strategy based on what motivated the gift. Their journey to loyalty starts here.
Common Sources of New Donors
Understanding what motivated the gift is the foundation of every new donor journey.
P2P Donor
Gives to support a friend's fundraising, not the org directly.
Tribute & In Memory Donor
Donates to honour a loved one, tied to a personal milestone or loss.
Event Donor
Gives through a gala, golf tournament, or similar hosted event.
Grateful Patient
Gives out of gratitude for care received, a deeply personal and high-affinity connection.
Rented Lists
No prior relationship, gives to support the mission or because of a premium (gift).
Digital Advertising
Converts through an ad or social campaign, motivated by your message.
The P2P trap
Peer-to-Peer can be a great way to acquire new supporters. The ultimate goal is not to keep them as P2P donors, but rather to convert them into loyal supporters who give directly to your mission.
P2P Donor
Convert
Loyal Donor
The Myth
Many organizations default to a do not contact policy due to the fear that reaching out will burn the donor or the participant they supported, risking alienation.
The Reality
Communicating with P2P donors can build a genuine relationship for future asks, especially if the original participant steps away.
The Challenge
Embrace P2P donors and participants within your ongoing communication strategy and including them in thoughtful ask campaigns to convert them into direct supporters.
The Tribute Trap
In Memory donations are a deeply personal entry point for many first-time donors, driven by a desire to honor a loved one. The goal is to convert new in-memory donors to loyal donors, but treating them like everyone else can be a costly mistake.
Tribute Donor
Convert
Loyal Donor
The Myth
These donors should be carried along in your standard outreach for 5 years, treated just like any other active or lapsed supporter.
The Reality
The majority of In Memory donors give out of duty or to pay respects. A significant portion may never develop true affinity for your cause.
The Challenge
Actively try to convert new donors within the first 12 to 18 months, and intentionally drop those who do not convert in that time frame.
Repeat Donors
The Math on Repeat Donors
Repeat donors are your most reliable, cost-effective segment. The data makes the case unmistakably.
Of the Donor Base
Repeat retained donors account for roughly 40% of your donor base, and over 60% of total dollars raised.
Retention Rate
Nearly half of repeat donors give again, compared to just 14% of new donors.
Acquisition Cost
Retaining a repeat donor costs a fraction of what it takes to find a new one.
[Source: FEP Report]
Retention Rates by Donation Amount
Retention increases with donation amount. The more a donor gives, the more likely they are to give again. Understanding these segments is crucial for targeted engagement.
[Source: Fundraising Report Card]
Giving Circles & Categories
Repeat donors are not all equal. Segment them by giving approach to tailor your communications and asks.
Regular / Annual Donors
Monthly / Recurring Donors
Mid-Level Donors
Major Donors
Include Major and Mid-Level donors as segments (instead of excluding them) to see your full donor universe.
Build on the Existing Relationship
Speak to what brought them to your organization in the first place. Their path to your door shapes your message.
Patient / Person Affected
The deepest personal connection to your cause
Staff / Industry Professional
Mission-aligned insiders with professional pride
P2P Participant
Once a supporter's supporter — now a direct mission advocate in the making
Volunteer
Time-invested advocates ready to deepen their commitment
...and everyone else. The point is to speak to their lived experience — not just their wallet.
Let the Donor Decide to Give or Not to Give
If you don't solicit a donor at year end because they gave earlier in the year — look around the room. Someone sitting next to you will solicit them, and get a donation.
Don't Self-Select on Behalf of Your Donors
Withholding an ask isn't stewardship — it's leaving revenue on the table. Let your donors decide. Give them the opportunity.
The Lapsed Donors Trap
Lapsed donors are very different from active repeat donors. Treating them as a subset of repeat donors skews your data and blindsides opportunities.
The 2-Year Rule
Donors who haven't given in the last two years are approximately 98% likely to never give again. Including them in your Repeat donor numbers distorts your retention rates and conversion focus.
Who's Worth Soliciting
At 43% retention, just about every repeat donor within the last 2 years is worth soliciting. Beyond 2 years, you need to be picky.
Recaptured Donors
The Math on Recaptured Donors
Recaptured donors are a smaller, harder-to-reach segment, but not all are worth the same investment.
Of the Donor Base
Recaptured donors make up roughly 13% of your donor file.
Recapture Rate
Only 2% of lapsed donors are successfully reactivated — making selectivity critical.
Cost of Acquisition
Reactivating a lapsed donor costs roughly half of acquiring a brand new one.
[Source: FEP Report]
Who Is Worth Reactivating?
Not all lapsed donors deserve equal investment. Focus your reactivation efforts strategically.
Original Motivation
Look at how they originally came to your file. Were they memorial/tribute donors or P2P supporters who gave to support a friend? If their gift was highly situational, standard reactivation appeals will likely fail.
Likelihood to Return
Donors who gave sporadically and in very low amounts may not be the best investment. Focus on those who showed long-term commitment — given consistently over 10+ years, or whose last gift was $100 or more.
Donor Before Dollars
Set your metrics on recapture above dollars raised. Your recaptured donors will be worth more in the long run than their initial recaptured donation. Measure reactivation success, not just immediate revenue.
Bringing It All Together
What can a comprehensive segmentation strategy look like?
Grouping is the First Step.
Segmentation can feel overwhelming—distinct messages, multiple channels, different languages. But you don't have to do it all at once. Start with the segments; the rest follows.
Segment Your Audience
Group donors by behavior, relationship, or potential
Reveal the Insights
Understand where your biggest opportunities and gaps live
Prioritize Messaging
Invest your writing time where it moves the needle most
Strategic Segmentation, Not Complexity.
Each new segment requires tailored content and operational effort. The focus remains on strategic segmentation that adds real value, rather than complexity for its own sake.
Sylvie Riendeau
Vice-President, Communications & Marketing
Up next, Part 2: How to segment
First, a word from our sponsor: Blackbaud
Grab a Coffee.
The "How" is Next.
When we come back: how to put a comprehensive segmentation strategy into practice.
Part 2: How to Segment in Raiser's Edge NXT
Hands-on execution: queries, exports, and multi-channel campaign segmentation.
By the End of Today, You'll Be Able To...
Segment a Multi-Channel Campaign
Build and assign donor segments for mail, email, and more
Export Your Segmented Data
Prepare files for your mail house or any downstream need
Work Confidently in RE NXT
Gain better understanding of Query and how to use it in segmentation
Tools We'll Be Using
Query
Build donor lists with powerful filters
Quick Letters
Native functionality sor segmentation and appeal assigment
AmpliPhi.app
Modern platform for advanced segmentation and appeal assignment
Export
Pull constituent data out of RE NXT for external use
Quick Letters
The Segment tab in Quick Letters combines multiple queries into one mailing — automatically eliminating duplicates, enforcing hierarchy, and applying specific appeals or packages to each segment so every constituent is included only once.
AmpliPhi is a nonprofit-focused segmentation platform that integrates with RE NXT to deliver Clarity, Control, and Confidence in your campaigns. Today we'll focus on AmpliPhi Lite — built for advanced segmentation, it segments donor audiences up to 10x faster than traditional methods, with hierarchical organization and automatic deduplication across omnichannel campaigns.
What We'll Cover
Macro Steps & Important Concepts
Query How-To, Tips and Tricks
Simple Segmentation: First-Time, Active, Lapsed
Export
Complex Segmentation
Macro Steps & Concepts
The Three Macro Steps
Every segmentation project in RE NXT should follow this same sequence.
What Is a Constituent Appeal?
A Constituent Appeal is a record on the constituent that tracks each solicitation (Appeal) they received — including segment (Package) and date, giving you a clear history of how often a constituent was solicited and ultimately how effective each appeal was.
Segments Have Hierarchy
A donor can qualify for multiple segments. Hierarchy determines which segment wins. Your priority order will determine which segment each donor lands in.
First-Time Donors
Highest priority — always wins
Active Annual Donors
Second priority
Lapsed Donors
Lowest priority in this example
Build Segments and Channels Separately
Who someone is (segment) is a separate decision from how you reach them (channel).
Segments
Cut up your donor universe into smaller audiences based on donor source, interactions, relationship etc. Do this regardless of whether you can communicate with them or not.
Channels
Create separate lists of everyone you can reach on each channel, regardless of if you want to communicate with them or not.
Campaign
Combine Segments and Channels together for each Campaign (Appeal in RE NXT).
Query Tips & Tricks
Use Dynamic Queries
❌ Static Query
Results don't change unless manually refreshed. Can easily blindside you to errors and wasted time figuring out what the issue is.
✅ Dynamic Query
Re-runs criteria live each time. Results update automatically.
Avoid Merge Queries
Merge queries combine results from multiple queries — however the results create static queries (remember previous slide).
❌ Merge Query Risk
Creates a static query with no criteria, becomes difficult to understand the logic of the merged queries.
✅ Better Approach
Use subqueries (Select from query) to reference other queries as criteria within a single query. This mimics an "AND" merge query.
Work the numbers — not the output
Before exporting or assigning appeals, validate your counts at each query stage. Check that the numbers make sense before moving on.
Run your query and check the count
Does the number match your expectation?
Add output for validation
If you want to validate the results, add some basic output like name to see the list.
Remove output before proceeding
Don't forget to remove your output before moving on to the next query.
Gift instead of Last Gift
RE NXT's "last gift" field reflects the most recent gift on the constituent record — which may not be the gift relevant to your campaign.
The Risk
A donor's last gift may be a ticket purchase or a 0$ refund and cause errors in your logic
The Fix
In most cases, we are looking for donors who made a (last) gift in a certain time period. Just look for any gift within that time period that matches your gift criteria and leverage segment hierarchy take care of the ordering the time periods.
Gift Summaries
Gift Summary fields aggregate giving history on the constituent record — useful counting gifts or summing amounts.
Total Given This Year / Last Year
Great for giving levels
Number of Gifts
Distinguish first-time from multi-year donors quickly
Simple Segmentation
The Three Segments
🌱 First-Time Donors
Has a gift in last 2 years
AND Total number of gifts in the last 5 years = 1
✅ Active Annual Donors
Has a gift in last 2 years
AND Total number of gifts in the last 5 years > 1
⏳ Lapsed Donors
Total number of gifts in last 2 years = 0
AND Total number of gifts in the last 5 years > 1
Export
How Export Works
Export is the most efficient way to extract your segmented data from Raiser's Edge NXT.
Single Row per Constituent
Each constituent gets a single, comprehensive row, eliminating the risk of accidental duplicates.
Include Assigned Appeal
Add each constituent's assigned appeal (segment) so your mail house can match up segment and letter.
Save and Re-Use
Send your mail house consistent file formats by re-using the same export every time.
Moving to NXT Web View
Export will migrate to NXT Web View by end of this year. The new version uses a Query with Single Row Output option — one row per constituent, even with multiple gifts.
Complex Segmentation
What Makes It Complex?
Complex segmentation goes beyond three basic groups. It layers multiple dimensions — giving level, recency, channel preference, geography, ask amounts — into a matrix of segments.
More Segments
Mid-level, major donor, monthly, reactivation tracks
More Channels
Mail + email + digital + phone in one campaign
Complex Segmentation: The Matrix
Map out your full segment × channel matrix on paper before building a single query or use AmpliPhi's segmentation designer and build as you go. Each cell = one Constituent Appeal to assign.
Key Takeaways
Segment → Assign → Export
Every campaign follows this three-step macro flow
Build segments and channels independently
Combine them in the Constituent Appeal — not in your query logic
Hierarchy prevents overlap
Always exclude higher-priority segments from lower-priority queries
Query at the Gift level for precision
Don't rely on "last gift" constituent fields alone
Always export the Assigned Appeal
It's what connects your segmentation work to the mail house
Questions?
Segmentation Workshop