Your Donors Are Telling You Who Needs Attention. Are You Seeing It?

Every donor database has a story to tell.

Some of your best donors are giving less. Others may be ready to give more but haven't been asked. Some are showing early signs of disengagement, while others who stopped giving could be ready to reconnect.

The information may already be in your donor data. The challenge is knowing where to look — and what to do next.

That's why new research from Bloomerang deserves the attention of every fundraising leader.

What Are Donors Telling You?

Bloomerang's 2026 Giving Signals Report, conducted with The Harris Poll, surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. donors and 400 nonprofit fundraising leaders.

The findings point to an encouraging reality: donors still want to give, but their expectations for engagement, communication, and impact are evolving.

Consider these findings:

• 75% of Millennials expect to give more in 2026, compared with 49% of Gen X and 36% of Baby Boomers and older.
• 94% of donors say they're motivated to give when an organization explains exactly where their money will go.
• 90% of donors are motivated by a clear explanation of the intended impact of their gift.
• 79% of donors are motivated when organizations communicate through their preferred channels.

These findings reinforce the importance of understanding donors and building meaningful relationships.

But they also raise a more immediate question for fundraising teams:

What are the donors in your own database telling you?

Understanding broad donor trends is valuable. Understanding which of your donors need attention today is where that knowledge can become action.

Your Donor Data May Be Revealing Opportunities You're Missing

Most nonprofits have years of donor information: giving histories, gift amounts, dates, frequency, and engagement records.

Yet having that information doesn't automatically tell a fundraiser where to focus.

A donor who has given consistently for five years may suddenly reduce their annual gift. A mid-level donor may be steadily increasing their support. Another may have missed their usual giving cycle.

These changes don't necessarily tell you why someone is behaving differently. But they can help you recognize when a relationship deserves closer attention.

Rather than treating every donor the same, fundraising teams can use constituent intelligence to identify patterns, prioritize outreach, and make more informed decisions.

Here are four questions every fundraising team should be asking.

1. Which of Your Best Donors Are Pulling Back?

Your most valuable donors don't always stop giving all at once.

Sometimes the change is gradual.

A donor who regularly contributed $5,000 begins giving $3,000. A longtime supporter who gave several times a year makes only one gift. Another misses an expected renewal.

Individually, these changes may seem small. Across hundreds or thousands of donor relationships, they can represent meaningful revenue at risk.

What to look for: Declining gift amounts, reduced giving frequency, missed expected gifts, or changes from a donor's established giving pattern.

What to do next: Prioritize personal outreach, review the relationship history, and determine whether the donor needs stewardship, renewed engagement, or a different giving opportunity.

The goal isn't simply to flag a declining donor. It's to recognize the change early enough to respond.

2. Who's Ready to Give More, but Hasn't Been Asked?

One of the most encouraging findings in Bloomerang's research is that 75% of Millennial donors expect to increase their giving in 2026.

That doesn't mean every Millennial donor in your database is ready for a larger ask. But it does challenge the assumption that your greatest fundraising opportunities must come from finding new supporters.

Some of your existing donors may have the interest and potential to do more.

A donor who has increased their gift several years in a row may deserve a conversation about deeper involvement. A consistent mid-level donor may be ready for a more personal relationship.

What to look for: Increasing gift amounts, consistent giving, sustained engagement, and other indicators of growing commitment.

What to do next: Review these relationships for potential upgrades, recurring gifts, or more personalized cultivation.

A donor's giving history alone cannot establish their financial capacity or willingness to make a larger gift. But it can help you decide which relationships are worth exploring.

Your next major giving opportunity may already be in your database.

3. Which Donors Are You at Risk of Losing?

Donor retention is about more than recognizing someone after they've stopped giving.

It's about noticing changes while there's still an opportunity to strengthen the relationship.

Bloomerang's research highlights the importance of showing donors the impact of their generosity. In fact, 94% say knowing exactly where their money goes motivates them to give.

That matters when a donor begins disengaging.

A generic renewal message may not be enough. A personal conversation, a specific impact update, or a more relevant giving opportunity may be more appropriate.

What to look for: Missed renewals, longer intervals between gifts, declining participation, and changes in established giving behavior.

What to do next: Identify at-risk relationships, review their history, and prioritize thoughtful stewardship before another giving cycle passes.

The objective isn't to contact every donor more often.

It's to know which donors need attention and make that attention meaningful.

4. Who Could Be Ready to Give Again?

Not every donor who stops giving has permanently lost interest in your mission.

Circumstances change. Priorities shift. Sometimes a donor simply loses touch with an organization.

Your historical donor data can help you identify supporters who may be worth reconnecting with.

A former consistent donor who stopped giving recently may warrant a different approach from someone who made one small gift many years ago.

What to look for: Previously consistent donors who have lapsed, past giving levels, length of the relationship, and historical patterns of support.

What to do next: Prioritize reactivation opportunities based on relationship history and develop outreach that acknowledges the donor's previous involvement.

Rather than sending every lapsed donor the same appeal, focus on the relationships with the strongest reasons to reconnect.

The Real Opportunity: Knowing Where to Focus

Bloomerang's report makes a compelling case for understanding donor motivations and expectations.

But for fundraising teams managing hundreds or thousands of relationships, understanding donors is only part of the challenge.

The other part is deciding where to spend limited time and attention.

Which donor deserves a call today? Which relationship needs stewardship? Where might a larger gift be possible? Which former supporter should you reconnect with?

These decisions become easier when donor data is transformed into clear, usable intelligence.

That's the purpose of RaiseTell, the Constituent Intelligence Platform.

RaiseTell helps fundraising teams see patterns in their existing donor data, uncover potential revenue opportunities, and identify where to focus their efforts.

Because every donor database has unique patterns — just like every zebra.

And those patterns can help guide more proactive fundraising decisions.

Your donors are telling you something. The question is whether you're seeing it.

Frequently Asked Questions About Donor Data and Fundraising Opportunities

What are donors telling you?

Donors communicate through both their stated preferences and their giving behavior. Changes in gift amounts, giving frequency, renewal patterns, and engagement can help nonprofits identify relationships that may need attention.

Research such as Bloomerang's 2026 Giving Signals Report explains what motivates donors broadly. Constituent intelligence helps organizations examine what is happening within their own donor relationships.

How can nonprofits identify which donors need attention?

Start by analyzing changes in giving behavior rather than looking only at total donations. Identify donors whose gifts are declining, supporters with increasing giving patterns, donors approaching or missing expected renewals, and previously active donors who have stopped giving.

Constituent intelligence can help turn these patterns into more focused outreach priorities.

Which of your best donors are pulling back?

Look for donors who historically contributed consistently or at higher levels but have recently reduced their gift amounts, giving frequency, or overall participation.

Compare each donor's recent activity with their own history. A meaningful change may indicate a need for personal outreach, although it does not establish the reason for the change.

How do you identify donors who may be ready to give more?

Review donors with consistent giving histories, increasing contributions, or sustained engagement. These patterns can indicate relationships worth exploring for potential upgrades.

Bloomerang's 2026 Giving Signals Report found that 75% of Millennial donors expect to give more in 2026, reinforcing the importance of evaluating growth opportunities among existing supporters.

Giving behavior can help prioritize cultivation, but conversations and additional information are needed to confirm readiness for a larger gift.

How can you tell which donors are at risk of being lost?

Warning signs may include missed expected gifts, declining giving frequency, smaller donations, or reduced engagement.

Comparing current behavior with historical giving patterns can help fundraising teams recognize changes and prioritize retention efforts before a donor fully lapses.

How can nonprofits identify lapsed donors who might give again?

Analyze historical giving consistency, previous gift amounts, length of donor relationships, and time since the last contribution.

Formerly committed supporters may be good candidates for personalized reactivation outreach. Prior giving patterns can help identify promising relationships, but they cannot guarantee a donor will return.

How can donor data help nonprofits raise more money?

Donor data helps fundraising teams identify potential upgrade opportunities, recognize revenue at risk, prioritize retention, and find former supporters worth reconnecting with.

The value comes from using that information to make better decisions about who to contact, when to engage, and how to approach each relationship.

What is constituent intelligence?

Constituent intelligence is the use of donor and constituent data to identify meaningful patterns, understand changes in behavior, and support more informed fundraising decisions.

Rather than simply reporting historical fundraising activity, constituent intelligence helps teams recognize opportunities and decide where to focus their attention.

How is RaiseTell different from traditional donor reporting?

Traditional donor reports often show what has already happened, such as total giving, donor counts, and campaign performance.

RaiseTell focuses on helping fundraising teams identify patterns and potential opportunities within their existing donor data, making it easier to prioritize relationships and take action.

Research source: Bloomerang, 2026 Giving Signals Report, conducted with The Harris Poll, March 13–24, 2026. The research describes donor attitudes and intentions; it does not establish the results of using RaiseTell.