Understanding the Fundraising Power of Your Email Data: Grassroots Analytics Click Collective

By Dylan Rosenthal, Deputy Digital Director at GA

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: “Email fundraising is dying!” It’s a familiar claim in the digital industry, and we get where it comes from. Email fundraising is drastically different than it was even a few years ago.

But we have a different take: Email isn’t dead. It’s evolving. Constantly. 

Changing authentication and spam standards, AI-powered personalization, and competing acquisition sources can push and pull at the metrics of a successful email program.

Still, email remains one of the highest ROI and most effective retention channels for campaigns and nonprofits. 

So, when the digital landscape is always changing, where do you turn for guidance?  

Right back where you began: the donor data you already have!  

Even with plenty of names and addresses, it’s harder than ever to make sure your message actually lands in the right inboxes (and out of spam traps). Between managing platforms, tracking metrics, and keeping pace with digital best practices, many campaigns and organizations are stretched thin, unsure how to make the most of it all without wasting time and energy. What use is it to email thousands of contacts if they may never see your message? 

Our solution? The GA Click Collective. 

We created Click Collective specifically for email campaigners, to help you cut through the noise, make sense of your data, and connect with the people who really care about your cause. It’s not about sending more emails or acquiring bigger lists. It’s about making your data smarter and your outreach more intentional. 

Click Collective is the first step toward more trustworthy targeting, and stronger fundraising. With quarterly data cleaning and re-engagement analysis, Click Collective can identify the names that are dragging down your performance with hard bounces, correct misspelled domain addresses (what’s a gnail?), and show you the best prospects for higher ask amounts. 

It empowers you to raise the most with data you have, and to grow your cause effectively – without spending a single dollar.

That’s right: Click Collective is free to join, and it’s free to use. 

In fact, you’ll eventually save money: When you’re ready to grow, Click Collective includes discounted email acquisition, providing high quality, custom-tailored lists designed to help you expand for the long haul. 

What’s the risk of the status quo?

If you’ve ever looked at your email list and realized some contacts are just sitting there, inactive with little engagement for months or years at a time, you’re not alone.

Contact lists can get messy fast, and holding onto inactive addresses can weigh down performance. If you’re not using the data you already have to revive those relationships, you could be leaving meaningful engagements on the table. 

From the data side to content targeting, reactivation is never simple. It takes more than guesswork and volume. But Click Collective helps unravel the details from start to finish, so you can guess less and connect more through powerful, data-driven insights.

In an ideal world, organizations and campaigns would only be contacting the supporters who genuinely connect with their cause and are ready to donate. With Click Collective, we’re taking one major step toward that goal. 

We know email fundraising isn't dead – but outdated data analysis and a one-size-fits-all approach should be. GA Click Collective members are building deeper, data-informed relationships with supporters who are ready to take action – and you could be next!