Fundraising Research Lab
We are obsessed with understanding what inspires people to give.
That’s why we’ve constructed the first-of-its-kind digital fundraising research lab. In the lab, we study how nonprofit organizations engage with their donors, and then we test different approaches to understand what works (and what doesn’t) to grow generosity.
We approach this from two different angles:
From the perspective of the donor…
Through our many mystery donor research studies, we have given thousands of online donations to 1000+ different nonprofit organizations across 9 countries so that we can understand how nonprofits communicate and engage with their donors online.
From the perspective of market-tested data…
Based on what we learn from the mystery donor research studies, we then market-test different strategies designed to increase digital fundraising performance. Our online fundraising research library has recorded 6,000+ digital fundraising experiments that help evolve our understanding of what makes people give.
*Technically, you don’t need a lab coat for this kind of research like Kevin’s wearing in the picture. But you look cooler if you have one.
Digital Fundraising Agency
We take the learnings from our online fundraising research and implement them with innovative nonprofits to reach more people, acquire more donors, raise more money, and grow generosity.
A digital fundraising consulting engagement with NextAfter consists of 4 critical steps:
- Understanding your donors using data
We’ll stitch together all your data sources, map your donor experience, and show you exactly where your growth opportunities are. - Charting a path to revenue growth
Based on our data analysis, we’ll create your customized, 3-year online fundraising roadmap – complete with a design of experiments, projects, and projections for growth. - Implementing digital-first strategies
We’ll help you implement your 3-year roadmap using digital-first strategies that may include online donor acquisition, optimizing key metrics, cultivating and upgrading donors, and more. - Perpetual learning and optimization
Any engagement with NextAfter is packed full of testing, optimization, and research to help you learn more about your donors and prove what works to increase revenue.
*As evidenced by Paul dressed as the Cowardly Lion in the picture, we like to keep it loose and have a whole lot more fun than your typical nonprofit agency.
Institute for Online Fundraising
Our mission is to decode what works in online fundraising and make it accessible to as many organizations as possible.
The NextAfter Institute is our mission in action.
We work to equip nonprofit marketers and digital fundraisers with original research, evidence-based resources, and data-driven training. This can help you better understand your donors and why they give so that you can raise more money to fund your world-changing work.
Original Research
Benchmark your organization against others in key areas of online fundraising, including donation pages, email cultivation, multichannel fundraising, value proposition, and more.
Evidence-Based Resources
Get free online fundraising tools, tips, and tactics through our library of evidence-based resources. These include our online fundraising blog, tools & templates, “how-to” eBooks, and more.
Data-Driven Training
Build your skills as an online fundraiser using tested, proven, and research-backed training courses covering key topics, including email fundraising, donation pages, a/b testing, and more.
*Jeff will almost certainly be wearing shoes if you meet him in person – but he apparently likes to film training videos in his bare feet.
Accolades & Certifications
Vision, Mission, and Core Values
Although we are not a nonprofit organization, we are very much a cause-based organization. Our mission is to decode what works in digital fundraising and then equip nonprofits with that knowledge to fulfill our vision to unleash the most generous generation in the history of the world. This is what drives everything we do.
We execute against this mission by adhering to 6 core values:
We are undaunted by failure, we cheerfully refuse to give up, we don’t believe in “good enough”. This isn’t because we are stubborn, but because somewhere out there, there’s a donor who is one experiment away from saying “yes”.
We don’t believe we have all the answers, so we are willing to try anything to discover what works. Asking questions is how we’ve discovered almost everything worth knowing, and every experiment reinforces the fact that we have so much yet to learn.
We say the thing nobody wants to say, propose ideas that might get shot down, and name the problem while it’s still small. Not because we’re fearless, but because breakthroughs are rarely on this side of comfort.
We aim to live in such a way that we have nothing to hide.
Constraints are a virtue, not a hardship to endure. Scarcity has taught us things abundance never would have.
We hold what we have with open hands: our skills, our time, our credit, our learnings. We’ve learned two things from this practice: the mission of unleashing generosity is bigger than our slice of it, and generosity is more than a line item — it’s a way of living.
Looking to join the team?
At NextAfter, we’re always on the lookout for the next member of our team. We’re searching for people who have a passion for helping nonprofits.