Every year, nonprofits launch fundraising campaigns with high hopes. Whether it’s Giving Tuesday, a year-end appeal, or a major donor push, the energy is there—but too often, the strategy is reactive rather than data-informed.
What if you could enter your next campaign with real clarity—knowing what messages resonate, which donors are most engaged, and what timing works best?
You can. The answers are already in your hands.
Your past campaign data is a goldmine of insights that can shape a smarter, more successful fundraising strategy—if you take time to analyze it before your next ask. In this blog, we’ll explore why campaign analysis matters and share practical, easy-to-use tools that you can implement today.
Why Analyze Past Campaigns?
Too many nonprofits move from one fundraising cycle to the next without stopping to assess what worked—and what didn’t. Skipping this step can lead to missed opportunities, repeated mistakes, and flat results.
Analyzing last year’s campaign helps you:
- Avoid repeating ineffective tactics
- Refine your messaging and timing
- Focus on your most responsive donor segments
- Maximize your ROI with fewer resources
- Make confident, data-backed decisions
In short, analysis empowers you to work smarter, not harder.
What to Analyze (and How to Do It)
Let’s break down the most important elements of a fundraising campaign to review. Don’t worry—you don’t need fancy software. A spreadsheet and your donor database will do just fine.
1. Response Rate by Donor Segment
Did certain donor groups respond better than others?
What to Analyze:
- First-time vs. repeat donors
- Monthly vs. one-time donors
- Lapsed donors (those who didn’t give last year but had in the past)
- Major donors vs. small-dollar donors
What to Look For:
- Which groups gave the most?
- Which had the highest response rates?
- Did any key groups drop off compared to previous years?
🛠️ Tool You Can Use Today:
Create a simple spreadsheet with donor groups in one column and the following in others:
- of donors solicited
- of donors who gave
- Average gift amount
- Total revenue
Highlight where you saw growth, decline, or potential opportunity.
2. Timing and Frequency of Asks
When you asked matters just as much as what you asked.
What to Analyze:
- When were your emails or appeals sent?
- How many follow-ups did you send?
- What time of day or week did you get the highest engagement?
What to Look For:
- Open and click-through rates (for emails)
- Donation volume by day or week
- Optimal timing for social media posts or email blasts
🛠️ Tool You Can Use Today:
Look at your email platform’s analytics (Mailchimp, Constant Contact, etc.) for open and click rates by date/time. Create a calendar of “high-response” windows to repeat this year.
Pro Tip: Don’t forget about delays—if your best giving day was Dec. 29, maybe people were acting on an email sent Dec. 26. Track that too.
3. Top-Performing Messages and Appeals
Some stories connect. Some fall flat. Use your data to find out which is which.
What to Analyze:
- Which subject lines had the highest open rates?
- Which stories or appeals got the most clicks, shares, or donations?
- Which calls-to-action were most effective?
What to Look For:
- Messaging themes (urgency, hope, personal stories, statistics)
- Design and formatting (images, buttons, layout)
- Donor language (did you say “Join us” or “Help us”?)
🛠️ Tool You Can Use Today:
Create a content tracker:
| Campaign | Subject Line | Theme | Result | Notes |
| Year-End 2023 | “You Can Feed a Family Today” | Urgency + Impact | 29% Open, $5,430 raised | Strong donor response |
| Giving Tuesday 2023 | “Our Impact in 2023” | Summary/Impact | 12% Open, $860 raised | Less urgency |
Look for patterns that inform how you write this year’s campaigns.
4. Gift Size and Donor Retention
How much did people give—and did they give again?
What to Analyze:
- Average gift size for each campaign
- How many donors gave again after that campaign
- Year-over-year retention for key donor segments
What to Look For:
- Is your average gift growing or shrinking?
- Are first-time donors sticking around?
- Are your biggest donors giving more or less?
🛠️ Tool You Can Use Today:
Calculate your donor retention rate with this formula:
Retention Rate = (Number of donors who gave last year AND this year ÷ Number who gave last year) x 100
Set a goal to improve that rate by 5–10% this year by strengthening your follow-up strategy (see bonus tip below!).
5. Return on Investment (ROI)
Are your campaigns cost-effective?
What to Analyze:
- Total income from campaign
- Total cost (printing, postage, software, design, etc.)
What to Look For:
- High-cost campaigns that yielded poor results
- Low-cost campaigns that performed well
- Opportunities to shift resources for better ROI
🛠️ Tool You Can Use Today:
Use this simple formula to calculate ROI:
ROI = (Net revenue ÷ Cost of campaign) x 100
Example:
You raised $10,000, and it cost you $2,500
ROI = ($10,000 – $2,500) ÷ $2,500 x 100 = 300%
That’s a good campaign!
Putting Your Insights Into Action
Now that you’ve reviewed your data, turn your findings into strategy. Here’s how to put what you learned to work immediately:
✅ Segment Your Lists Based on Past Performance
- Re-engage lapsed donors with targeted messaging.
- Upgrade mid-level donors by showing them their long-term impact.
- Thank and retain top donors with personal updates.
✅ Replicate What Worked
- Use top-performing subject lines or themes again.
- Send emails or letters on the same high-response dates.
- Reuse design templates that had higher conversion rates.
✅ Adjust What Didn’t Work
- Revise messaging that had low open rates.
- Rethink donor segments that had low response.
- Eliminate wasteful spending on low-ROI tactics.
✅ Set New, Data-Driven Goals
- Increase retention by X%
- Raise average gift size by $Y
- Secure Z new recurring donors
Bonus Tip: Build a Campaign Dashboard
Don’t just analyze once—track your progress in real time. Create a simple campaign dashboard in Google Sheets or Excel that includes:
- Email performance
- Total raised
- Average gift size
- Donor retention
- Social media engagement
Update it weekly during your next campaign to stay agile and make quick improvements.
Final Thoughts
You already have the data. Now it’s time to use it.
By reviewing last year’s campaign results, you can avoid costly mistakes, double down on what works, and create more focused, compelling asks that lead to greater impact and more generous giving.
The best fundraising campaigns aren’t reactive—they’re reflective. So before you ask again, analyze. Because your next campaign’s success depends on what you learn from your last one.
Need help building a campaign analysis template or reviewing your past results? 3Raptor Consulting can help you transform last year’s numbers into this year’s winning strategy.