[Donor Participation] Put It to the Test: They Might Be Fundraisers with Kirk Schmidt, STARS

​We all know that you’re supposed to test. Most of us just don’t or do it in a way that doesn’t teach us much.

​Kirk Schmidt is a rigorous and innovative thinker in the area of fundraising analytics. Here is his message:

​“The test itself it simple. Implementing it, avoiding pitfalls, and knowing what the test told you (and, sometimes more importantly, what it didn’t tell you) are what we are going to discuss. The principles discussed here apply to all A/B testing, but will be discussed in terms of direct response campaigns.

​Instead of any pre-reading, I would like everyone to think about this question: what would you like to test? Then, I want you to write down what you think the result would be, how do you test that, and how could the test go sideways.”

​Kirk is the Director of Operations for the Foundation of STARS Air Ambulance, a helicopter EMS in the prairie provinces in Canada. In his current role he manages that teams that work on donations processing and systems, stewardship, annual giving, volunteer management, donor research, and data analysis. He has been in the nonprofit space for 14 years, focused on data and analytics, and advocates for better metrics and analysis in the sector.

​There will be a brief presentation followed by Q&A.

​About: The Donor Participation Project (DPP) convenes fundraising professionals who are concerned about the nationwide decline in donor participation (20 million US households lost between 2000-2016). 

​We believe this can be solved by changing our fundraising practices and want to learn from peers who are moving the participation needle.

​Discuss this Topic and Learn with Kirk Schmidt During our August 11 Lunch Analysis

• ​This event will take place over Zoom.

• ​The session will be recorded and accessible post-event for DPP members only.