Fundraising is a complex puzzle where everything must go right. For instance, you can't be successful without the right culture or sufficient investments. Another crucial prerequisite is the systems used. The data infrastructure greatly determines the efficiency of your fundraising program. What is the ideal data infrastructure for a nonprofit? I asked expert Jeroen Beelen, and he provided the following blueprint.

Data must be fully and carefully stored and accessible to various linked systems so that it can be verified, selected, and analyzed. It's a complex task, but it provides you with great insights, more donors, and increased revenue. In the 20+ years I've been in this sector, I've encountered problems in this area more often than not. If it's so important, why not handle it properly?

Jeroen Beelen: "In the marketing infrastructure, data and data flows are central. The foundation consists of the black clouds, to which the orange clouds can be added step by step. The order and specific implementation vary for each organization and depend on strategy, budget, capacity, quality, data-driven approach, and the existing marketing infrastructure.

The CRM is the hub, where online forms and marketing automation are connected in real-time. Data from the offline world (TM, DM, F2F) is processed in the CRM. From the CRM (and later perhaps via the Data Warehouse), the (campaign) selections are made.

The Data Warehouse provides storage of historical data, computing power for the CRM, and linkage of various systems/data flows.

The LTPM (Long Term Planning Model) helps the organization translate the fundraising strategy into tangible targets and budgets and teaches fundraisers the necessary data-driven mindset. Reports and dashboards provide management information and insight into results. Step by step, insights and various models can be added here.

To personalize content on the organization's website and synchronize audiences on social media, CRM and a CDP (Customer Data Platform) are connected.

AI/Machine Learning can be used in any cloud, where the quality and availability of data have a significant impact on the results. Garbage in, garbage out."

Everyone is talking about data-driven fundraising these days, and that's fantastic, but this topic can also be a bit overwhelming. Always focus on translating data into information, information into insights, and insights into added value for your organization's mission. What are you trying to achieve with it? All those beautiful marketing automations are not an end in themselves. They are a means to achieve long-term gains.

Data-driven fundraising means you try to predict results in advance (via the LTPM) and explain them afterward (via the reporting environment). Decisions are made very consciously based on data. Investments are made for a good reason. The investment dynamics of fundraising hold no secrets for you.

And for that, you need the ideal data infrastructure. How many of the above clouds can your organization check off?

As pointed out above “the Long Term Planning Model helps the organization translate the fundraising strategy into tangible targets and budgets and teaches fundraisers the necessary data-driven mindset”.

Do you also want to boost your fundraising with the long term planning model ‘Forward for change’?

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