From Donors to Customers: What We’ve Learned About Personalized Marketing

April 11, 2025

< 1 minute read

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Fundraisers and marketers have something in common: the best results come from making people feel seen. Here’s what nonprofits, SMBs, and higher ed teams can learn from each other about personalization.

Colleen Cook

Colleen Cook

President

Blog Overview:

Great marketing isn’t about volume—it’s about relevance.

Whether you’re asking for a donation, offering a product, or inviting alumni to re-engage, the question is the same: Does this feel like it was made for me?

Why Personalization Works

  • In a Salesforce study, 73% of customers expect personalized experiences
  • Personalized email subject lines increase open rates by 26% (Campaign Monitor)
  • Donors who receive tailored updates are more likely to give again (NextAfter)

What This Looks Like

  • A donor receives campaign updates related to a cause they gave to last year
  • A prospective client gets a follow-up based on their industry
  • An alum sees a scholarship story related to their major

How to Personalize—Even Without Fancy Tech

  1. Tag and segment your contacts. Group by interest, behavior, or origin.
  2. Use merge fields smartly. Go beyond names—reference gift history or event attendance.
  3. Use conditional content. Show different sections of an email based on tag or field.
  4. Capture preferences. Ask your audience what matters to them.

Let Your Systems Do the Heavy Lifting

AI can help:

  • Write emails in your voice
  • Suggest next steps based on past actions
  • Analyze data and recommend segments

Start where you are. Build from there.

Personalization isn’t about being creepy. It’s about being considerate.

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Let’s get started.

We’re jazzed about the idea of partnering with purpose-driven organizations and people. The first step is getting to know each other and jiving with what wakes you up each morning. Reach out and let’s explore what that looks like.

Reach Out