Personalization is the expectation. It's time for nonprofits to catch up.

I spent the first 25 years of my career in digital marketing, working across marketing technology, email, SMS, websites, loyalty programs, and customer data platforms. I worked with organizations across industries, including Fortune 100 global brands, and eventually specialized in retail.

Over that time, I watched digital marketing evolve from sending everyone the same message to using data and behavior to understand what interested people, what motivated them, and when they were most likely to engage.

Today, personalization is everywhere. From the ads we see to the emails we receive and the websites we visit, we expect organizations to understand our interests.

In fact, one global customer study found that 81% of consumers actively ignore irrelevant or generic marketing messages, while 96% are likely to make a purchase when brands use personalized messaging. (Source:  Attentive, 2025 Consumer Trends Report)

What surprised me when I joined Delve Deeper to work with mission-driven organizations was how little behavioral personalization was happening across nonprofit digital communications.

Segmentation? Absolutely. But largely based on how the organization values the donor: recency, frequency, monetary value, lifetime value, and giving history.

All important information. But it misses something very important: what matters to the donor?

What motivates them? Which causes resonate? What content do they engage with? 

When I’ve brought up behavioral personalization, I’ve sometimes seen eyes widen.

We don’t have the people, creative, or technology to support behavioral personalization. 

I get it. Resources are scarce. But personalization doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. And you don’t have to do everything at once.

Here are three ways to get started.

1. Start with what you already know

Most nonprofits have valuable donor information sitting in their CRM. There’s a big opportunity to use that information to make communications more relevant.

For example, you can identify one-time donors who have supported a particular program. Rather than send your next general appeal, you can test messaging specific to that cause.

Or identify repeat donors who haven’t become sustainers, then test messaging that demonstrates the impact of monthly giving.

Start here: Choose one donor segment, develop a relevant message, and test it against your current approach. Measure engagement, conversion, and revenue.

Technology needed: Your existing CRM and email platform may already have the capabilities to get started.

2. Let behavior guide your messaging

A prospect may not have donated yet, but that doesn’t mean you know nothing about them.

What content are they engaging with? Are they interested in emergency relief, education, or healthcare? What messaging motivates them to act?

Instead of showing everyone the same creative, test 2 or 3 messages based on different interests or motivations.

You don’t need 50 versions of an ad. Start with 3.

Start here: Test two or three creative approaches across digital media, each focused on a different donor motivation. Understand which messages resonate and use those insights to inform future communications.

Technology needed: Start with your existing media platforms and website analytics. As you advance, you’ll want the ability to connect behavioral data across channels and activate audiences appropriately.

3. Connect your data to understand the full donor journey

This is where technology becomes especially important.

Today, many media platforms can see when someone makes a donation. But what happens afterward?

Was that person a new donor? Did they give again? Did they become a sustainer? Are they still giving three months later?

That information typically lives in your CRM, disconnected from the platforms driving donor acquisition.

If your media platforms don’t know which campaigns drive high-value donors, how can they optimize to acquire more?

This doesn’t mean every nonprofit needs a sophisticated CDP tomorrow. But you do need to understand how your data flows between your website, CRM, donation platform, email platform, and media channels.

Start here: Identify one important donor outcome, such as a new-to-file sustainer. Determine whether you can connect that outcome back to the campaign that acquired the donor. If not, identify what’s missing.

Technology needed: Reliable donor data, consistent identifiers, and secure integrations between your systems. Depending on your existing infrastructure, this may involve native integrations, a data warehouse, or eventually a CDP.

The goal isn’t more technology. It’s making your data and technology work together.

You don’t have to do everything. But you do have to start.

I recognize the challenges nonprofits face. Limited resources, competing priorities, and teams already stretched thin.

But personalization doesn’t need to be a massive undertaking.

Start with one audience. One insight. One test.

Learn what works, then build on it.

Because ultimately, personalization isn’t about technology or creating more content. It’s about better understanding the people who believe in your mission and connecting with them in ways that matter.

If we want to grow our donor bases, increase retention, and build long-term donor value, we need to shift from focusing solely on the value of the donor to the organization. Personalization starts with understanding the organization’s value to the donor.