Strategy Budget Planner

Cadence × Identity × Trait — Where Strategy Becomes Real

20,000
6.0%
12.0%
30.0%
$100
$125
$80
3.0:1
DonorVoice Framework — Layer 1
Cadence: When to Ask
Budget built around the person, not the calendar. Each segment receives contacts calibrated to their giving pattern — solicitation when they are ready, stewardship when they are not.

⚠ Traditional Budget vs. DonorVoice Budget — What’s Different?

▼ Expand
Traditional Budget — Campaign × Channel Grid
AppealDMEmailDigitalTotal
Spring Appeal$X$X$X$X
Summer Appeal$X$X$X$X
Fall Appeal$X$X$X$X
Year End$X$X$X$X
Total$X$X$X$X
Unit of strategy = campaign. Everyone gets everything. Personalization = versioning copy.
DonorVoice Budget — Audience × Cadence Grid
SegmentQ1Q2Q3Q4
New DonorsJourneyJourneyJourneyJourney
Mode of 1 — Q13x AskStewStewStew
Mode of 1 — Q4StewStewStew3x Ask
Resp. MultiplesModelModelModelModel
TotalFewer pieces. Better timing. Higher return.
Unit of strategy = person. Asks aligned to readiness. Stewardship protects retention between peaks.
Mintzberg’s test: Strategy is revealed in patterns of action. If your budget still reads as a calendar of appeals and a channel allocation grid, campaigns remain the primary unit of strategy. If it shows allocation by audience and cadence class — something has changed at the operating level, not just in the rhetoric.
Mail Revenue
--
Check + Matchback
Digital Revenue
--
Ads + Email
Mail Cost
--
Appeals + Stewardship
Ad Spend
--
DR + Brand
Active Donors
--
Across 3 segments
Channels:
Mail (DM)
Digital Ads
Email
SMS
Telefundraising
Stewardship
Yellow = solicitation  |  Teal = stewardship (spend, no revenue target)
Segment
Q1 Jan–Mar
Q2 Apr–Jun
Q3 Jul–Sep
Q4 Oct–Dec
Year Total
New Donors
4,000 · 20%
12-month onboarding journey — see timeline below
MailSMSAdsTF Call
Re-give Revenue
--
--
Mode of 1 i Donors who give exactly once per year. DonorVoice models their individual peak giving month, then solicits 3x around that window only. All other quarters = stewardship. Fewer asks, better timing, higher response rates.
8,000 · 40%
Peak giving month modeled per donor · Solicited 3x around that window · Stewardship in all other quarters
Total Revenue
--
--
Q1 Cohort
800 · 10%
Solicitation
3x MailAds
--
--
Stewardship
1x MailAds
--
Stewardship
1x MailAds
--
Stewardship
1x MailAds
--
--
--
Q2 Cohort
1,600 · 20%
Stewardship
1x MailAds
--
Solicitation
3x MailAds
--
--
Stewardship
1x MailAds
--
Stewardship
1x MailAds
--
--
--
Q3 Cohort
1,600 · 20%
Stewardship
1x MailAds
--
Stewardship
1x MailAds
--
Solicitation
3x MailAds
--
--
Stewardship
1x MailAds
--
--
--
Q4 Cohort
4,000 · 50%
Stewardship
1x MailAds
--
Stewardship
1x MailAds
--
Stewardship
1x MailAds
--
Solicitation
3x MailAds
--
--
--
--
Responsive Multiples i Donors who give more than once per year. Each person receives an individual predictive model (0 or 1) for each potential contact across the year. Mail only when the model says yes. Max 7 touches, min 4, averaging 5.5.
8,000 · 40%
Model-Driven
MailAds
--
--
Model-Driven
MailAds
--
--
Model-Driven
MailAds
--
--
Model-Driven
MailAds
--
--
Avg 5.5 touches
--
--
Digital (All Segments)
Ads + Email across file
Ads 70%
--
--
Ads 70%
--
--
Ads 70%
--
--
Ads 70%
--
--
Digital Total
--
--

📈 Volume Delta: DonorVoice vs. Traditional Approach

The most powerful sales point in this budget is invisible unless you show it: DonorVoice mails less to Mode of 1 donors — not more. Fewer pieces, better timing, higher revenue. Here is what the math looks like.

Traditional Approach (7 touches to everyone)
Mode of 1 — pieces mailed--
Resp. Multiples — pieces mailed--
Total pieces--
Total mail cost--
DonorVoice Approach (right touch, right time)
Mode of 1 — pieces mailed--
Resp. Multiples — pieces mailed--
Total pieces--
Total mail cost--
--
Digital Ad Spend: Direct Response vs. Brand
The 60/40 DR/Brand split is a teachable moment. Brand investment builds the conditions under which direct response works. Most organizations underspend on brand.
Direct Response (60%) — Conversion-Focused
--
Brand / Awareness (40%) — Long-Term
--

New Donor Journey: Day 1 → Month 12  (4,000 donors)

▲ Collapse
Day 1
Welcome DM
Social Ads
Day 3
Day 7
Options SMS
TF Welcome Call
Week 2
Take Action Ads
Welcome SMS 2
Month 1
Gift Ask DM
Sustainer TF Call
Month 3
Staying in Touch DM
Ads
Month 6
Anniversary DM
Anniversary SMS
Month 9
Gift Ask DM
Gift Ads
Month 12
Upgrade SMS
Upgrade Ads
Data Capture throughout: Intention to give again · Identity & commitment · Communication preferences. P&I tags appended. If 2nd gift → moves to Responsive Multiples. If sustainer → moves to Recurring.
DonorVoice Framework — Layers 2 & 3
Identity & Trait: What to Say
Cadence tells you when to reach your donor. Identity and Trait tell you what to say when you do. Same ask. Different story. Measurably different result.
🧩

The DonorVoice Difference

Most budgets are built around campaigns and channels. DonorVoice builds around people. Cadence = when to ask. Identity = who they are. Trait = how they think. The same dollar, touched by all three lenses, performs differently. That performance difference is the strategy.

Donor Identity Segments
Each donor carries one or more identities. DonorVoice validates which is most giving-relevant, then builds all messaging around it. Revenue below is full-year (mail + digital) apportioned by file composition.
30%
👪 Parent Identity
Donors for whom parenthood is a core giving-relevant identity. Messaging connects to children, family, next generation, protection of futures.
Apportioned Revenue
--
-- donors
50%
🏠 Community Identity
Donors for whom place is deeply salient. Messaging connects to local impact, belonging, geographic pride and responsibility.
Apportioned Revenue
--
-- donors
20%
○ Unknown / Untagged
Identity not yet identified. Receives best-available messaging. Share declines over time via data appends, surveys, and behavioral signals.
Apportioned Revenue
--
-- donors
Big Five Personality Trait Layer
Trait nests underneath Identity. Once we know who someone is, the Big Five tells us how they process information and make decisions. Click any card to see how messaging shifts.
O
Openness
Curious · Imaginative
Drawn to novelty and pioneering approaches. Generic impact bores them.
"A different kind of giving no one else has tried."
Click to see messaging shifts →
C
Conscientiousness
Organized · Accountable
Values measurable outcomes and transparency. Needs proof and accountability.
"Every dollar tracked. Every outcome reported."
Click to see messaging shifts →
E
Extraversion
Social · Energetic
Motivated by belonging and collective action. Social proof is powerful.
"Join 12,000 supporters making this happen."
Click to see messaging shifts →
A
Agreeableness
Empathetic · Warm
Relationship-driven. Responds to warmth and personal connection.
"Because every child deserves what yours has."
Click to see messaging shifts →
N
Neuroticism
Sensitive · Risk-Aware
Responsive to urgency, reassurance, and protection themes.
"Be the steady hand when everything feels uncertain."
Click to see messaging shifts →
How it works in practice: A Parent donor with high Conscientiousness receives messaging about how their child-focused giving is tracked and accountable. The same donor with high Extraversion becomes part of a community of parents acting together. Same identity. Same cadence. Entirely different resonance.
Full-Year Picture
Budget Summary
Strategy is revealed in patterns of action. If personalization is truly the strategy, the budget will reveal it. Read this closely and you will see which strategy won.
Total Revenue
--
Total Cost
--
Net Revenue
--
Revenue per Donor
--

3-Year Lifetime Value Projection by Segment

The case for person-level cadence is a retention argument as much as a revenue argument. Donors contacted at the wrong time or too often churn faster. The projections below apply conservative retention rates by segment and show why restraint in Year 1 pays in Years 2 and 3. Assumes 5pt retention lift for Mode of 1 from optimized cadence vs. standard volume.
New Donors
Year 1 Revenue--
Retention Rate (Yr 1→2)30%
Year 2 Revenue--
Retention Rate (Yr 2→3)55%
Year 3 Revenue--
3-Year LTV--
Mode of 1
Year 1 Revenue--
Retention (optimized cadence)68%
Year 2 Revenue--
Retention Rate (Yr 2→3)72%
Year 3 Revenue--
3-Year LTV--
Responsive Multiples
Year 1 Revenue--
Retention Rate (Yr 1→2)75%
Year 2 Revenue--
Retention Rate (Yr 2→3)80%
Year 3 Revenue--
3-Year LTV--
🤝

Why Stewardship Spend Has No Revenue Target — and That Is the Point

Stewardship pieces for Mode of 1 donors cost money with no direct ask. But a 5-point retention lift on 8,000 donors at $125 avg gift = -- in protected Year 2 revenue. The budget line that looks like overhead is actually the highest-ROI investment in the plan.

--

Revenue Breakdown

RM — Check (62%)iDonors who mail a physical check in response to a direct mail appeal.--
RM — Matchback (38%)iDonors who received a mail piece but gave online. Revenue is attributed back to mail via a matchback process comparing mail files to online gift records.--
Mode of 1 — Check (58%)--
Mode of 1 — Matchback (42%)--
New Donors — Check (48%)--
New Donors — Matchback (52%)--
Digital Ads Revenue (70%)--
Email Revenue (30%)--
Total Revenue--

Cost Breakdown

Mode of 1 — Solicitation Mail--
Mode of 1 — Stewardship Mail--
Responsive Multiples — Mail--
New Donors — Mail--
Digital Ads — Direct Response (60%)--
Digital Ads — Brand / Awareness (40%)--
Email Cost$0
Total Cost--

Segment Performance (Mail Revenue)

SegmentDonorsRevenueRev/Donor$/Ask
New Donors--------
Mode of 1--------
Resp. Multiples--------
Total--------
New Donors--
Mode of 1--
Resp. Multiples--

Digital Revenue & Spend by Quarter

QuarterDig RevAd SpendDR 60%Brand 40%
Q1 (15%)--------
Q2 (22.5%)--------
Q3 (22.5%)--------
Q4 (40%)--------
Total--------
Q4 weighting (40%): Year-end and Giving Tuesday. Q1 lighter (15%). Q2/Q3 balanced at 22.5% each.