Donor segmentation that updates itself
Every donor, already segmented. Gratefully is donor intelligence software that classifies every donor into a living segment based on the recency, frequency, and value of their giving. Grace, the AI development associate inside Gratefully, does this automatically from the gift history already in your CRM. Champions, Loyal, New, At-Risk, Lapsed, Lost. Scores refresh nightly and again after every import, so the picture is always current and nobody has to run a quarterly spreadsheet.
On this page
Why quarterly donor segmentation stops working
Segmentation shouldn't be a quarterly project.
Most nonprofits segment their donors once a quarter, if that. By the time the spreadsheet is done, the Champions have shifted, the At-Risk list has grown, and the person who built it is on to the next thing. Grace makes segmentation continuous, explainable, and everywhere - on the home page, on donor lists, on donor profiles.
What Gratefully's donor segmentation does
Built for the way development teams actually work.
Living donor segments
Champions, Loyal, New, At-Risk, Lapsed, Lost, and more - each donor placed based on their actual recency, frequency, and value pattern.
Refreshed nightly, and on import
Segments update every night on your organization's local time, and again the moment a new gift or import lands. The picture stays current without anyone re-running it.
Plain-English education built in
Every segment explains what it means and the recommended action to take. Anyone on the team can act on the labels without a data-science background.
Flags travel with the donor
Segment and action flags appear on donor lists, filters, and profiles - so the context follows the donor wherever your team meets them.
Segment insight cards
The home page shows each segment's size, movement, and what changed since the last refresh - so you catch the drift, not just the snapshot.
Segment transitions surfaced
See when a donor moves from Loyal to At-Risk, or from New to Champion - and act on the transition before the pattern hardens.
The segments, and how they stay current
Every donor is classified into a living segment: Champions, Loyal, New, At-Risk, Lapsed, Lost and more. Segments refresh nightly and again after every import, so a donor who lapses moves without anyone running a report.
Each move carries a plain-English explanation of what changed. Any selection can become a scoped AI working session, a bulk personalized letter run for the whole segment, or a saved durable segment you keep working.
Related reading: Donor analytics guide
What donor segmentation looks like in use
Ask Grace. Get answers grounded in your data.
Every response cites its source.
How Gratefully segments your donors
From your data to a real outcome.
What Gratefully's segmentation does not do
Segmentation here is built entirely from the giving record in your own data. It is worth being explicit about what that excludes, because several of these get bundled together under the word "segmentation" by other vendors.
- Not wealth screening. Gratefully does not estimate net worth, real estate holdings or securities.
- Not capacity ratings. No donor is assigned an estimated ability to give.
- Not prospect research. Gratefully does not append data about people from outside sources.
- Not a donation amount prediction. Segments describe the pattern in a donor's giving so far. They do not forecast what a specific donor will give next.
- Not a CRM. Gratefully reads your CRM. It does not replace it, and your records stay where they are.
If you need wealth screening or prospect research, those are a different category of tool and you will need one alongside this.
For the methodology behind recency, frequency and value scoring, including how to compute the scores yourself in a spreadsheet, see our guide to donor segmentation and RFM analysis.
Frequently asked questions
Does Gratefully do donor segmentation?
Yes. Every donor in your data is classified automatically into a segment based on the recency, frequency and value of their giving. There is no setup step and no configuration: the segment engine runs from the first import.
What donor segments does Gratefully use?
Champions, Loyal, New, At-Risk, Lapsed and Lost, among others. Each segment carries a plain-English explanation of what it means and the recommended action to take, so anyone on the team can act on the label without a data background.
Do I have to migrate my CRM to use Gratefully's segmentation?
No. Gratefully reads your existing CRM and leaves your records where they are. There are direct connections to Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud and NPSP, Bloomerang, Little Green Light and Mailchimp, plus CSV import with field mapping that recognises exports from any system.
How often do donor segments refresh?
Nightly, on your organization's local time, and again immediately after every data import. A donor who lapses moves segment without anyone running a report.
Is this wealth screening or a capacity rating?
No. Segments are built only from the giving record in your own data: how recently someone gave, how often, and how much. Gratefully does not estimate net worth, assign capacity ratings, or append data about donors from outside sources.
Can I export a donor segment?
Yes. Any filtered or selected list exports to CSV for mail merges, events or board packets, and every export is audit-logged.
Can I create my own segment?
Yes. Filter the donor directory to the cohort you want, stack filters if you need to, then save that selection as a durable segment you can come back to. Filters show live counts before you commit.
What is the difference between a segment and an action flag?
A segment describes the state of a donor relationship based on their giving pattern. An action flag is a recommended next step for that specific donor. Both appear on donor lists and on donor profiles, so the context travels with the donor wherever your team meets them.
What happens when a donor moves between segments?
The transition is surfaced rather than buried. You see when a donor moves from Loyal to At-Risk, or from New to Champion, it appears in the Action Center, and Gratefully can draft the outreach appropriate to the new state.
Stop segmenting once a quarter. Start living inside your data.
Start your free trial. Grace will classify every donor in your portfolio in the first session.
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