New Donor Analysis
This dashboard-format analytic follows the new-donor journey from acquisition through the critical first, second, and third gifts.
How to use the New Donor Analysis
This is a dashboard-format analytic that follows the journey of your newest donors from acquisition through their critical early gifts. It brings eight new-donor analyses into one workbook, drawing on QX174 (last year's new donors), QX14 and QX78 (first-to-second gift conversion and speed), QX15 (second-to-third gift retention), QX26 and QX74 (first-time retention by month), QX57 (annual acquisition history), and QX3 (lapsing first-time donors).
Two visualization tabs carry the story. Acquisition Trends shows how many first-time donors you brought in by month and by year, revealing seasonality and the campaigns that work. Conversion and Retention shows the speed curve from first to second gift alongside a thirteen-month retention view, so you can see not just whether new donors come back but how quickly. Behind those, a set of detail tabs holds the full underlying data, one analysis per tab.
The conversion metrics matter most, because acquisition is wasted without follow-through. A donor who makes a second gift is far more likely to become a lasting supporter, and the speed curve tells you the window in which that second gift usually happens, which is exactly when an onboarding touch will do the most good. The lapsing first-time view flags the new donors already slipping away.
You should refresh this monthly and review it with your annual giving and marketing teams. Focus on improving second-gift conversion for your most recent acquisitions, time your onboarding outreach to the speed curve, and intervene early on first-time donors showing signs of lapse.
Measure success by rising first-to-second and second-to-third gift conversion rates, by a faster average time to the second gift, and by stronger thirteen-month retention of each new cohort.
Analytic ID: QX178
Analytic Name: New Donor Analysis
Focus: 0.1: Getting Started; 3.3: Dashboards
Type: Dashboard Style
Segments: New
Description: This Dashboard format analytic contains New Donor Analysis Data and visualizations.
Key Question: What does the journey of recent new donors thru their third gift look like?
Action: Optimize your processes for onboarding of new donors to improve these metrics.