Fundraising perspectives: Donor segmentation & Money for Good UK

This publication reflects on our Money for Good UK research and includes a collection of essays from organisations and individuals who have been most engaged with the research to date. The essays focus on the role of attitudinal segmentation and also incorporate some broader themes from donor insight.

Our Money for Good UK research conducted in 2013 explores the habits and attitudes of donors, as we believe it’s important for the future of the charity sector to understand better what motivates them, how they give and their attitudes towards charities. Central to the research, and drawing on the wealth of information included, is a segmentation of donors into seven donor types who have different motivations for giving and want to engage with charities in differing ways.

We have spoken about Money for Good UK with a variety of audiences and heard a fascinating range of responses. Rather than lose these insights, we commissioned these essays to share further how the research can be used and to help those who want to engage with it in the future.

In section 1, segmentation experts give their views on the role of attitudinal segmentation:

  • Approaches to segmentation Jon Kelly, Director of Analysis at Wood for Trees
  • Why and when to look beyond demographics Anne Benoist, Head of TGI Insights and Integration at Kantar Media

Section 2 covers experiences from the frontline, with charities reflecting on the research and explaining how it could be incorporated into their work:

  • Putting the theory into practice Mark Langdon, Fundraising Insight Manager at RNIB
  • Inside-out and outside-in approaches Santanu Chakrabarti, Head of Insights at Oxfam GB
  • Beyond return on investment Richard Turner, Chief Fundraiser at SolarAid
  • The major donor perspective Eliza Tomlinson, Philanthropy Manager at Samaritans

In section 3, we take a step back and get a sector wide view from various experts who share their responses to Money for Good UK:

  • Donor segmentation: useful heuristic or grossly reductionist? Dr Beth Breeze, Centre for Philanthropy at the University of Kent
  • Attitudinal segmentation is idiosyncratic to every charity Joe Saxton, Driver of Ideas at nfpSynergy
  • Challenges of putting attitudinal segmentation into practice Rhodri Davies, Policy Manager at the Charities Aid Foundation
  • Stated preference versus revealed behaviours Michael Sanders, Principal Advisor and Head of Research at the Behavioural Insights Team

We think that attitudinal segmentation is an important issue in the future of fundraising, and hope that by sharing these responses to our Money for Good UK research we can prompt further debate in the sector about where its future lies. We also hope that the publication is useful for those charities who found the original research interesting and are looking for ways to implement it.

Join the discussions on Twitter using the hashtags #money4goodUK and #m4gUK.

 

 

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