Donor Data: The Secret to the Success of the John Muir Land Trust Fundraising Plan

John Muir Land Trust (JMLT) is on a mission to safeguard the biodiverse landscapes of California's Contra Costa and Alameda counties and preserve open spaces for both wildlife and people. By using Social Explorer’s demographic mapping software, JMLT Creative Strategy Director Jay Dean has been able to develop a highly successful land trust fundraising plan that promises a bright future for JMLT and can act as a model for other land trusts.

The Land Trust Movement

JMLT is one part of a larger movement of land trusts across the country, each dedicated to protecting and preserving land for future generations. Land trusts protect land by purchasing and setting it aside as wildlife habitat or as parks for human recreation. They leave ecosystems in a natural state and keep them from being developed residentially or commercially. 

“Development is needed and necessary, but in the right places,” says Dean. “There are some places that are much more appropriate for ecosystem protection, habitat, clean water, shoreline restoration, and things like that. It’s better for the environment for certain places to be protected and other places to be developed.” 

With more than 3,500 acres protected in California’s Contra Costa and Alameda counties, ridgelines to valleys in the East Bay are permanently preserved for the benefit of all through JMLT’s stewardship.

Using the Right Data to Identify Land Trust Donors

As with many land trusts, JMLT’s challenge lies not only in acquiring land but also in securing the necessary support to continue their mission. JMLT raises money from a variety of sources such as grants from state agencies and foundations but donations from individuals are also crucial to its land trust fundraising plan. "We need individual donor support so we can keep the lights on and do the things that state and agency funds don’t cover," Dean explains.

Dean’s always been a data analyst. He began his career in corporate marketing and advertising where he learned the value of data early on. Unsurprisingly, one of his central insights is that people who’ve made charitable donations of any kind are most likely to donate again. And if they have made past donations to causes related to JMLT’s mission, such as land conservation or animal welfare, they are even more relevant.

The challenge, though, is identifying people who fit this profile as the relevant data points are typically hard to find. For Dean, the collection of data Social Explorer provides access to is the perfect starting point. In preparing his land trust fundraising plan, Dean will look at giving patterns revealed by Social Explorer’s prospective donor dataset to craft JMLT’s mailing list.

Creating a Highly Targeted Land Trust Fundraising Plan

“If you were to mail a random sample of people you think have some likelihood of giving, the response rates are maybe 0.5 to 1%. If you can get it up to 2% or 3%, that’s amazing. I’ve managed to build models that can identify people who give at a 30% level,” says Dean. “Through modeling, I can very accurately predict the giving rates of various cohorts of prospects, so I’m always looking for new data to help me identify high giving cohorts.” 

The granular geospatial data Dean is able to access via Social Explorer helps him visualize and segment prospective donor types. In addition to donor data, Social Explorer’s demographic Census variables around number of households and income allow Dean to see relationships that aren’t as easily accessible in spreadsheets.

Dean notes, “Right now, we’re looking at who these interest groups are—who cares about wildlife, who cares about equestrian activities, who cares about mountain biking, who cares about the Bay and the delta water, etc. 

“We can develop different interest groups and work with them specifically. The Social Explorer data helps us get people in the door. And then we combine that with other kinds of communication and research that helps us really define our understanding of them.”

The varied data Dean is able to access via Social Explorer also helps JMLT manage its broad spectrum of funding projects. Some land trusts almost exclusively work with specific types of environments. JMLT, however, might protect a salt marsh, a wildlife corridor on top of a ridge, or a small park in a neighborhood so people can walk out their front door and go hiking. It’s an enormous diversity of projects. 

"I use a movie studio analogy for this," Dean explains. “Every time we do a new project, meaning we have a new 300-acre property we’re protecting, it’s like launching a different movie. For example, this year it’s a family movie, next year it’s an action thriller and the year after that it’s a romantic comedy. And those appeal to slightly different audiences, which is a challenge.”

With Social Explorer's prospective donor data, Dean is able to easily pinpoint specific interests and tailor JMLT's messaging accordingly.

Data Best Practices for Land Trust Fundraising

Dean understands that all land trusts need fundraising to be more efficient and effective. But, not every land trust has a large staff of data scientists to support their land trust fundraising plan. Some land trusts might be five people, some might be 300 people. Plus, the expertise varies dramatically. In other words, there is a decent number of land trusts that need help, which Dean sees as a great opportunity for knowledge sharing.

“Land trusts are all trying to do exactly the same thing and they’re all reinventing the wheel in exactly the same way,” says Dean. “I’m interested in how much more effective we can be if we share insights and best practices. What’s done in Minnesota is relevant to the people in Alabama. I see that as a giant opportunity.”

Through his involvement with the Land Trust Alliance, Dean is spreading the word to other land trusts about the best practices he has developed using Social Explorer to find donors. Dean hopes to develop practices that can be perfected and shared with other nonprofits.

“If I can help make JMLT better, that will make the East Bay better,” he says. “But if I come up with a really cool idea and 500 land trusts do it, that’s having a real impact. I research models, platforms, and practices that can be easily replicated by other groups of people. That’s why I’m excited about Social Explorer, because it’s easy to use, it’s got a lot of great data, and it’s something any land trust could use. That’s not always the case. Mapping is really a hard thing to do, but on Social Explorer’s platform, it’s really easy.”

Other Ways Social Explorer’s Datasets Can Benefit Land Trusts

In addition to using Social Explorer as a cornerstone of his land trust fundraising plan, Dean also uses the software to develop stories about JMLT’s impact and opportunities in Contra Costa and Alameda counties. “Let’s say we’re putting together a grant proposal and we want to describe the people who live near a property. With Social Explorer’s platform, it’s so easy to produce really compelling maps and charts. Especially if there are people who don’t have access to nature the way other neighborhoods do. We’re able to demonstrate that and make our case—it’s really compelling.”

In addition to supporting grantwriting, Social Explorer is also a great tool for planning activities in the communities where JMLT is active or wants to increase its footprint. “It’s useful when you’re moving into a new area,” says Dean. “Let’s say we’re going to a new city or town, and we plot where the data say the prospects will be. With the maps, we can see the neighborhoods very clearly. This is so useful when it comes to something like staging an event—where do you have the event, who do you invite to the event, and what people do you mail, etc.” 

A Tool Every Land Trust Fundraising Plan Needs to Scale

As JMLT continues its mission to protect and preserve California's natural beauty, Dean remains committed to leveraging data to drive positive change. And he continues to share his successes with the wider nonprofit land trust community. Dean believes that collaboration and knowledge-sharing are key to scaling impact. 

That's why he's been an advocate for adopting Social Explorer, which empower organizations of all sizes to harness the power of data-driven decision-making to improve the world we share.

With Social Explorer’s help, JMLT is able to support the entire East Bay and as many as 15% of the entire population of some towns and cities have donated to JMLT’s efforts. But there are still other towns where JMLT is entirely unknown. “We are constantly introducing and reintroducing ourselves and Social Explorer’s information—because it’s at a neighborhood level—is really powerful for me,” Dean notes.