If your nonprofit organization uses a phone-a-thon vendor, your fundraisers likely receive summary reports with aggregate data on call outcomes for the year. But there is a trove of valuable data hidden within each individual call that most nonprofits never access. Before ending your contract with a vendor, make sure you request all historical phone-a-thon data—and not just the summary reports—before it’s gone for good.
Call-level data provides details on each conversation, including call duration, outcomes, and notes about the interaction.
This micro-data enables your team to build predictive models to gain insights into donor behavior and shape more targeted outreach. For example, two donors who received 10 calls each and did not make a gift could differ dramatically. One donor may have taken 3 short calls and 1 longer call, signaling higher interest, while another hung up quickly each time. Aggregate reports would not capture these nuances.
Unlocking call-level data requires effort, but the payoff can be huge.
Work with your vendor to download all available data, even if years old. This information has longevity and, combined with newer data, can uncover patterns that summaries alone would miss. You must store data in a secure yet accessible format, like a data lake. Then invest in individuals with the skills to query the data to serve your fundraising teams.
Some nonprofits hesitate to request call-level data due to lack of expertise or resources to use it. But failing to act means losing access to a potential goldmine of information as vendors purge old records. And as more peer organizations embrace predictive modeling, your nonprofit could fall behind without this data. Call-level information enables your team to work smarter by focusing efforts on the most promising prospects. The initial investment in obtaining and using this data could yield significant long-term benefits for your mission.
Take the first step now by contacting your phone-a-thon vendor and asking for all available call records before it’s too late. Your nonprofit’s future success depends on making data-driven decisions, so don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights into your donors. The time to act is now—or this data may be gone forever.
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