You Are Only as Old as You Think You Are

What drives propensity to give in direct mail donor acquisition?  If you had asked me that question a month ago, I would have said prior giving history and age.

If you asked me again today, I would say the same thing.  And here’s why.

We recently applied an age overlay to post-merge acquisition data to determine the total extent age plays in driving response rate and average gift.

We found average gift held pretty steady across all age groups and was largely a function of list and market, but age was a major factor in response rate across the board.  Donors over the age of 60 were 60% more likely to respond than their younger counter parts.  Donors over the age 60 were nearly three times more likely to give than the highly coveted donors aged 19 – 40.

While we agree it is important to have a diverse base of donors (which means some outreach to younger donors), it is more important to have a robust base of donors, which you will find at the higher end of the age spectrum

Our best advice?  Stop thinking like a hip 25-year-old and start thinking like a hip 60-year-old.

Join the conversation on Facebook.