From Data Silos to Donor Insights: How Ministries Can Drive Deeper Engagement
At the Digital Ministry Conference, Josh Kashorek, Marketing Director at Five Q, led a transformative session titled “How to Get a 360° View of Your Audience.” This session offered ministry and nonprofit leaders a roadmap to overcome data challenges, connect with their audiences more effectively, and leverage data-driven insights to amplify their mission’s impact.
In today’s digital landscape, ministries often gather data from multiple sources—website analytics, CRM systems, email platforms, and social media channels. But without integrating this information, it’s difficult to piece together a full picture of audience behavior. Josh Kashorek highlighted how unifying data sources, tracking user journeys, and applying AI models can help ministries better understand their audience and predict donor behavior.
The outcome? Ministries that successfully break down data silos and embrace predictive analytics can create more personalized experiences, increase retention, and identify key touch points that drive deeper engagement. Below, we explore the top 5 takeaways from Josh’s session and how your ministry can apply them to strengthen relationships and maximize impact.
Top 5 Key Takeaways
1. Break Down Data Silos to Get a Full View of Your Audience
Many ministries operate with their data locked in isolated systems—email platforms, CRM tools, website forms, and even e-commerce platforms. While each system provides valuable insights, these isolated data sets create a fragmented view of the audience.
Josh emphasized that unifying data sources is critical to understanding the full scope of audience behavior. By integrating data across platforms, ministries can track how supporters move through different touch points, allowing for more personalized communication and engagement. When data is connected, ministries can see how interactions in one channel influence actions in another, leading to a more holistic understanding of audience motivations.
2. Track User Journeys Effectively Across Platforms
User journeys are rarely linear. A donor may engage with your website, download a free resource, receive email follow-ups, and engage on social media—all before making a donation. However, 66% of organizations struggle to track these complex user journeys effectively.
Josh underscored the importance of mapping audience journeys across multiple platforms to identify key moments of influence. By consolidating cross-channel data and using AI tools, ministries can visualize the entire journey, uncover high-impact touch points, and optimize content or campaigns based on actual user behavior. Understanding these journeys helps ministries better nurture supporters and guide them toward deeper engagement.
3. Identify the Key Influencers that Drive Donations and Engagement
One of the most surprising insights from the session was that users who engage with multiple lead magnets (such as free devotionals, eBooks, or Bible studies) are significantly more likely to take deeper actions—like purchasing resources, enrolling in discipleship courses, or making donations.
Josh demonstrated how ministries can use machine learning models to identify these high-value touch points. By analyzing audience behavior and measuring which actions correlate with increased engagement and donations, ministries can strategically focus on nurturing these engaged users. Understanding which interactions matter most equips ministries to tailor their content and outreach to maximize donor impact.
4. Leverage Lead Magnets for Both Acquisition and Retention
Lead magnets are typically viewed as tools for acquiring new subscribers. However, Josh’s data analysis revealed that lead magnets can play a significant role in retaining and deepening engagement with existing supporters.
Josh highlighted that 23% of users downloaded more than one lead magnet, with some accessing over 50 resources over five years! This behavior indicates a high level of interest and commitment. Ministries can leverage this insight by repurposing lead magnets to maintain engagement over time, offering exclusive gated content, or inviting highly engaged users to explore deeper discipleship opportunities. This approach ensures that ministries are not just acquiring new subscribers but also retaining and nurturing long-term relationships.
5. Apply AI and Machine Learning to Predict Donor Behavior
AI and machine learning are no longer futuristic tools—they’re accessible and can deliver real-time insights that help ministries make data-driven decisions. Josh showcased how a random forest algorithm can predict donor behavior with 48% accuracy using just three data points:
1. Number of lead magnets downloaded
2. Store purchases
3. Course completions
With even higher accuracy possible by adding more touch points, ministries can leverage these insights to prioritize high-value relationships and allocate resources where they’re most likely to drive long-term engagement. AI not only uncovers hidden patterns, but also empowers ministries to proactively identify and nurture future donors.
The next step? Start by asking critical questions about your data and identifying where silos exist. Once you’ve identified the key touch points, explore how AI models can help predict behavior and refine your engagement strategies.
📢 P.S. Want to explore more sessions from the Digital Ministry Conference? Subscribe to the Five Q YouTube channel to catch all the session recordings as they are released!