Analytics for Fundraisers Using R: A Beginner's Course

From Exploratory Statistics to Regression

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Donors to nonprofits increasingly suffer from solicitation fatigue when charities canvass them several times a year asking for gifts. With the advent of more personalized web pages and online advertising targeting their audience, charities must rethink communication channels, prospect segmenting, and engagement efforts. Additionally, gift officers have a larger need to work with the best prospects for cultivation and solicitation in an era where travel is more expensive and gift officer portfolios are being reduced in size to afford deeper cultivation. The tools needed to address these trends are under the analytics umbrella.

In this online course, you'll be introduced to R, a free statistics and data processing package that has been developed by hundreds of programmers over time.

Using R, you will work several exercises to build skills in visualization, data exploration, donor modeling, and prospect identification modeling. You'll watch theory and demonstration videos, then complete analytics exercises on your own data. Once you finish the exercises and quizzes, you'll be able to estimate an ask amount for your prospect pool and identify prospects most likely to make a major gift.

Class outcomes include donor models that you will derive from your own prospect pool.


Your Instructor


Marianne Pelletier
Marianne Pelletier

Marianne Pelletier has 30 years of fundraising experience, with the majority in prospect research and prospecting. She is one of the first adopters of donor modeling and data mining techniques. Her professional experience includes prospect research, both as a research analyst for Harvard and Lesley Universities and as a department director for Carnegie Mellon University and Cornell University.

Pelletier’s multi-decade career also includes running an annual giving program with average increased revenues of 27% per year; and providing software consulting through the Datatel Corporation, teaching clients both how to use their new software and assisting them with better analysis and more efficient processing. She led the analytics division of the Helen Brown Group for over 10 years, and remains an associate.

A recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the New England Development Research Association and a Woman of the Year designation by the National Association of Professional Women, Pelletier has served as a volunteer for both election campaigns and social service agencies. She has served on the boards of the New England Development Research Association, the Upstate New York chapter of APRA, and ending as secretary for the APRA International board.

A prolific writer, she has published articles on management, prospect research, fundraising, and personal growth on a range of platforms. A sought-after speaker, she often speaks on how to start an analytics shop, along with a variety of other subjects related to prospecting.

Pelletier is a graduate of Rockford University, and earned her MBA at Southern New Hampshire University.


Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.

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