The Analytics Journey Throughout Your Campaign: Using R
Use data and R programming to guide your campaign from launch through close — and build stronger strategy for what comes next. A Three Part Series.
9 CFRE Credits
Many college development offices run campaigns with strong instincts but limited analytics — and end up missing the data-driven insights that could make each phase more effective.
Your shop is tracking donors, running models, and working hard to hit campaign goals. But without a structured framework for using analytics at each stage of the campaign cycle, you may be leaving key insights on the table — from initial prospect pool assessment to mid-campaign gap analysis to post-campaign forensics.
The result: decisions made on incomplete information, gift officers under- or over-assigned, and a harder time building strategy for the next campaign.
The Analytics Journey Throughout Your Campaign: Using R is a three-part course series that walks development operations teams through the full campaign lifecycle — using data and R programming at every step.
Instructor Marianne Pelletier guides analytics staff and program managers through practical exercises using your own data, with prewritten R scripts, workbooks, and visualizations that produce immediate, actionable insights.
Prerequisites:
You must already be familiar with using the R package, preparing data, and running models such as linear and logistic regression. This is not a beginner’s course — it is designed for data scientists to expand their skills and thoroughly support their organizations’ campaign efforts.
What you’ll learn across the full series:
- How to build a data-driven campaign table from past donor behavior
- How to determine gift officer staffing needs using modeling
- How to assess prospect pools and solicitation method effectiveness
- How to conduct gap analysis and forecasting mid-campaign
- How to identify last-minute and repeat donor segments to close strong
- How to perform post-campaign forensics while results are still fresh
- How to build a data-driven gift chart and apply findings to your next campaign
The Three-Part Series
This series is designed for a program manager and an analytics staff member to work through together. Each part is structured with concept videos for both roles, plus separate exercise videos for the analyst. All three parts are effective for multi-year campaigns, annual campaigns, and campaigns for specific projects.
$225.00
3 CFRE Credits
Part 1: Starting the Campaign
Focus: Pre-campaign analysis and launch preparation
Part 1 covers the techniques that help you successfully start a data-driven campaign — from building the campaign table based on past donor behavior to determining how many gift officers you’ll need. You’ll explore the campaign timeline through modeling, visualizations, dashboarding, and assessment, and walk through specific exercises using your own shop’s data.
Outcomes from Part 1 include: Immediate insights into your organization’s campaign results, assessments of your different prospect pools and solicitation method effectiveness, and a demonstrated data-driven gift chart.
Part 2: Mid-Campaign Work
Focus: Gap analysis, forecasting, and ongoing prospect management
Part 2 picks up while your campaign is in full swing, when analytics needs shift from prospecting to assessment to strategy adjustment. Without a daily handle on the right metrics, it’s difficult to improve strategy in time to matter. This section walks you through mid-campaign exercises using your own data to add the tools and business intelligence your team needs to make timely decisions.
Outcomes from Part 2 include: Clarity on where to go next to improve campaign results, updated assessments of prospect pools and solicitation effectiveness, and the business intelligence framework to support ongoing management decisions.
$225.00
3.25 CFRE Credits
$225.00
2.5 CFRE Credits
Part 3: Closing and Post-Campaign Analysis
Focus: Last-minute prospecting and post-campaign forensics
Part 3 covers the end-of-campaign prospecting and post-campaign analysis that sets up everything that comes next. Modeling last-minute and repeat donors helps ensure your campaign reaches its goal. And the end of a campaign is the best time to analyze results while outcomes are still fresh — building strategy for both your next campaign and your post-campaign major gifts program.
Outcomes from Part 3 include: Actionable last-minute donor segmentation, a post-campaign forensic analysis framework, and a clear path for applying insights to future campaign and major gifts strategy.
Who This Series Is For
This course series is designed for development operations teams at colleges and universities who are engaged in active campaigns or preparing for one. It’s best suited for:
- Fundraising analysts and data scientists with existing R skills who want to apply their work directly to campaign strategy
- Analytics directors looking to build a more systematic framework for campaign-cycle data work
- Program managers working alongside analytics staff to align data insights with gift officer strategy and campaign planning
- Development operations professionals at institutions of any size running multi-year, annual, or project-specific campaigns
Get the Complete Series
Take all three parts and follow your campaign from start to close — with the data tools and R-based exercises to support every phase.
The Analytics Journey Throughout Your Campaign: Using R — Three-Part Series
$625.00 (Save $50 vs. purchasing parts separately)
9 CFRE credits included
Your Instructor
Marianne Pelletier has over 35 years of fundraising experience, with the majority in prospect research and prospecting. She is one of the first adopters of donor modeling and data mining techniques. Her professional experience includes prospect research, both as a research analyst for Harvard and Lesley Universities and as a department director for Carnegie Mellon University and Cornell University.
Pelletier’s multi-decade career also includes running an annual giving program with average increased revenues of 27% per year; and providing software consulting through the Datatel Corporation, teaching clients both how to use their new software and assisting them with better analysis and more efficient processing. She led the analytics division of the Helen Brown Group for over 10 years, and remains an associate.
A recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the New England Development Research Association and a Woman of the Year designation by the National Association of Professional Women, Pelletier has served as a volunteer for both election campaigns and social service agencies. She has served on the boards of the New England Development Research Association, the Upstate New York chapter of APRA, and ending as secretary for the APRA International board.
A prolific writer, she has published articles on management, prospect research, fundraising, and personal growth on a range of platforms. A sought-after speaker, she often speaks on how to start an analytics shop, along with a variety of other subjects related to prospecting.
Course Curriculum
Part 1: Preparing for the Campaign
- Staffing Up for the Campaign
- Exploring the Campaign Path
- Defining the Campaign Table
- Feasibility: Pre-Campaign Analytics
- Preparing for the Campaign: Checklist & Wrap Up
Part 2: Mid-Campaign
- Gap Analysis
- Progress Toward Goals & Forecasting the Rest of the Campaign
- Mid-Campaign Analytics for Prospect Management
- Checklist & Wrap Up
Part 3: End of Campaign Analysis
- Last Minute Prospecting and Final Gap Analysis
- Identifying Re-Ask Prospects
- Post-Campaign Forensics
- Identifying What Worked and Who Gave
- Your Campaign Results vs. the World Climate
Get the Complete Series
Take all three parts and follow your campaign from start to close — with the data tools and R-based exercises to support every phase.
The Analytics Journey Throughout Your Campaign: Using R — Three-Part Series
$625.00 (Save $50 vs. purchasing parts separately)
9 CFRE credits included
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course – you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like – across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.