IDEAS: Expanding Prospect Lists and Deepening Donor Engagement through New Giving Options
Client: Institute for Development, Evaluation, Assistance & Solutions (IDEAS)
Duration: 3 Months
Year: 2025
The Challenge
As year-end fundraising approached, IDEAS faced a challenge: a small donor base and limited internal capacity to scale outreach. With just a few hundred contacts and no clear donation tiers, potential supporters lacked compelling reasons or easy methods to give—jeopardizing IDEAS’ ability to meet a funding gap and its impact during a critical giving period.
Our Solution
Yaberra Consulting delivered a two-part strategy: expanding and segmenting the donor list and developing an enhanced and comprehensive giving pathway that improved on current donations methods and new ways of giving. By pairing targeted outreach with emotionally resonant donor education, we helped IDEAS clarify its value, streamline giving decisions, and build infrastructure for future fundraising success.
Project Scope
- Database audit and segmentation strategy
- Targeted email and social media campaigns
- Introduce new methods of giving for one-time, recurring, and legacy donations.
- Content creation: FAQs, infographics, and downloadable giving guides
- Platform integration on a new subdomain
Implementation Summary
We started by auditing IDEAS’ Outlook and LinkedIn contacts, segmenting them into three tiers based on engagement history. This enabled us to craft personalized campaigns, each tailored to a supporter’s familiarity with the organization. Simultaneously, we launched cost-effective brand-consistent outreach across email and social media, maximizing impact without taxing internal staff.
To facilitate giving, we built a digital Giving Hub on a new migrantbusinessmexico subdomain. It featured clearly labeled donation options—including DAFs, stocks, crypto, and recurring gifts—and introduced a “Sponsor a Business” model. Interactive FAQs and infographics explained the impact of each giving level, while downloadable guides provided step-by-step donation instructions and personal stories.
This unified experience aimed at boosting donor confidence, simplified decisions, and made giving feel both personal and meaningful.
Key Accomplishments
Expanded qualified prospect list from hundreds to over 2,000
Created three-tier donor segmentation for targeted engagement
Developed a comprehensive Giving Hub with new donation mechanisms
Increased clarity through FAQs, infographics, and giving guides
Delivered emotionally compelling messaging with consistent branding
Positioned IDEAS for larger gifts through education and transparency
Before Versus After Snapshot
| Element | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
|
Donor Database |
A few hundred names, unsegmented |
Over 2,000 segmented contacts across three tiers |
|
Donation Options |
Basic, with limited options |
DAFs, QCDs, securities, crypto, monthly giving |
|
Messaging |
One-size-fits-all |
Personalized content by donor tier |
|
Donor Education |
Sparse or nonexistent |
FAQs, infographics, and step-by-step guides |
|
Campaign Reach |
Limited and informal |
Multi-platform, branded outreach |
Key Takeaways For Future Projects
- Segmenting donors increases engagement and targeting precision
- Modern giving methods can attract new supporter demographics
- Education tools reduce friction and boost donor confidence
- Visual storytelling builds emotional resonance and clarity
- Brand consistency across channels drives trust and recognition
- Scalable frameworks prepare small teams for bigger campaigns
Conclusion
By combining strategic donor segmentation with a thoughtful, multi-channel Giving Hub, IDEAS transformed its year-end fundraising readiness. What began as a small donor list grew into a dynamic ecosystem of giving—one capable of sustaining and scaling the organization’s mission-driven work for years to come.