As fundraisers increasingly look to deliver better supporter experiences which minimise lapsing and build donor loyalty, the key question remains ‘how do you know it’s working?’. Appeal response rates and income can only tell you so much, and they can’t tell how you should improve the supporter experience.

In 2024 the University of Bristol, along with the universities of Manchester and Kingston and Trinity College Dublin, took part in a pioneering pilot of Beautiful Insight’s SAFE Index. This allowed them to measure supporter engagement, via a supporter survey, and benchmark their own performance versus the sector and their peers.

This session will share the key results of the pilot and in particular Bristol’s experiences of the research and its implication for their stewardship programme, including:

• Audience insight data for Bristol’s supporters, including segment insight for four key supporter segments
• Measurable data on the importance of their alumni magazine
• Their 'future intention to give' score being above the sector benchmark but with significant competition for 'share of wallet'
• Direct debit donors leaning towards nostalgia and supporting today’s students.
• Leadership Giving donors leaning towards pride, maintaining quality of education and research, and more specific motivational statements when it comes to supporting students
• Active cash donors were more likely to say that 'I feel they understand why I support them' compared to DD donors, prompting tweaks in their programme programme.

The session will also cover:

• The SAFE Index approach to measuring the supporter experience
• Insights into which parts of the experience have the biggest impact on future giving intentions
• The link between positive supporter feedback and supporter ‘s future value and loyalty –the ‘ROI’ of better supporter experiences