How data makes fundraising more effective

There are non-negotiables in charity marketing that cannot be ignored: personalisation builds greater loyalty from supporters; digital channels reach wider audiences; good storytelling drives engagement. 

What underpins the success of these elements is data. Data ensures that charities meet their supporters at the right time in the donor cycle, using targeted messaging to inspire action whether they are at the awareness stage or ready to donate. Data helps charities determine which channels suit different groups of supporters and where different types of content resonate most.  

But charities historically have a complex relationship with data. The 2024 Charity Digital Skills report revealed that three in ten charities are poor at or not engaging with collecting, managing, and using data. Almost half (45%) say they need external support to help them better analyse and make sense of their data. And there appears to be a widening gap within the sector on data usage, with large charities more likely to give it priority than their smaller counterparts.  

But charities of all sizes can use data to support their marketing. And there are lots of digital tools that can make data more accessible to make marketing campaigns more effective. Marketing software can help you analyse data quickly, spot trends and patterns, identify issues in real-time and adapt accordingly. They can pull data together in one place, allowing marketers to have a full picture of their supporter base and what motivates them to create better, more inspiring campaigns.  

As marketing software provider Apteco points out, “By harnessing the power of supporter data, charities can enhance their fundraising efforts, improve programme outcomes and ultimately, better serve their causes.” 

In this article, we explore three ways that data can work with digital technology to unlock charity marketing and boost supporter engagement.  

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How can data unlock charity marketing? 

Creating better supporter journeys 

Attracting and retaining donors is a primary challenge charities are facing in 2025. Findings from the 2025 UK Giving Report reveal that the number of donations show that the number of people donating to charities has fallen to the lowest levels recorded since 2016, with just 50% of people saying they had given to charity in the previous 12 months.  

These concerning statistics should lead charities to consider their own data, to discover areas where donors might have lapsed in the donor cycle. Perhaps they fall off when they reach the donation form or they open emails but never click the donate button? Increasing the number of donations depends on charities being able to identify and remove these barriers. 

To achieve this, charities can use customer data platforms (CDPs), bringing all their data together and giving them crucial insight into how donors behave. “By unifying donor and supporter profiles, you can see all interactions in one place – emails, website visits, donations, and volunteer activity,” explains Apteco. “This helps you visualise what’s important to each supporter, giving you the insights to create powerful campaigns.” 

Predicting the future 

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the topic du jour since generative AI platform ChatGPT’s arrival on the scene in 2022. However, when it comes to charity marketing, organisations should turn their attention away from generative AI and instead towards predictive analytics and AI, which can help them analyse their data and forecast outcomes for the best chance of success.  

With a CDP, charities can unify data across many different areas, bringing together donation history, online engagement, social channels, and much more, to create specific supporter journeys. With this data all in one place, charities can then use predictive AI and analytics to make decisions about the best time to reach donors, automating communications and triggering real-time interactions to talk to supporters at precisely the right time, and increasing the likelihood of them pressing donate.  

Personalising campaigns 

Personalisation is something that consumers have come to expect in 2025, whether we’re shopping, banking, or reading the news. For charities, it is equally essential. It drives loyalty and trust between donors and the charities they support, making it far more likely that they will continue to do so in the future – addressing the current retention challenge that, as the UK Giving Report established, threatens the sector considerably.  

Whether it’s thanking donors promptly for their donation (research shows that donors are 400% more likely to give again if thanked within 48 hours of giving) or sending updates to those who have given to a specific appeal, personalisation shows supporters that their contribution is valued.  

CDPs make personalisation a much easier process for charities. They can send targeted appeals to supporters based on giving history and interests, making it more likely that the ask will engage them and motivate them to give again. 

As Apteco concludes, securing donations has never been more important. And digital tools, such as CDPs, support charities in finding creative ways to supercharge their fundraising, simply by helping them get to know their donor base better.  

Charities can find out more about how to use data to create better fundraising strategies with Apteco here.