Staupell RFM Tool Basic:
Overall RFM Calculator for Nonprofits
In minutes, score your entire constituency by recency, frequency, and giving level right inside Excel.
Are you sitting on a database full of giving histories that you can’t actually use?
Without a clear and easy way to segment, development offices tend to lean on the same short list of large-gift donors — draining the well — while mid-level donors get lumped into the lowest-touch outreach and overlooked entirely. You may have a report of your $1,000+ donors, but no real way to segment your entire pool, or to know your top-of-the-class threshold. And major gifts prospects don’t look like planned giving prospects on paper — one gives at a high dollar amount, the other gives recently and frequently — so most reports lump them together.
RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary) scoring shows you the giving patterns that a single gift report or capacity rating can’t.
The Staupell RFM Tool Basic is an Excel add-in that calculates an overall RFM score for every constituent in your database — donors and non-donors alike — so no one gets left out of the picture.
How it works:
- Install the add-in — it runs right inside Excel, using its own ribbon.
- Load your gift data — full gift history or a gift summary, your choice.
- Press the button — the tool scores every constituent, assigning a 0-0-0 baseline to non-donors.
- Append and segment — scores layer onto your existing worksheet alongside demographic data, ready to filter and act on.
Your Tool Developer
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.
Tool includes:
- Written installation and usage instructions.
- Step-by-step video walkthroughs, available any time to subscribers.
- Option to add author coaching hours for hands-on implementation support.
Licensing Options
First 25 purchasers: $249 intro year (offer ends Labor Day). Then renews at the regular $299/yr.
Individual (1) license
$299/year
Enterprise (10) licenses
$999/year
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a data or analytics background to use this?
No. If you can open Excel and load a spreadsheet, you can run this tool.
Does it work with Raiser’s Edge or Salesforce exports?
Yes — load a gift or gift summary export and the tool takes it from there.
What happens to non-donors in my database?
They’re scored too, with a 0-0-0 baseline, so your whole constituency is visible in one view — not just current donors.
Is this the same as a rating or capacity screening?
No. Screening tells you capacity. This tool shows behavior — recency, frequency, and giving level — which separates, for example, a loyal annual donor from a one-time credit card giver.
What if I want more hands-on help?
Coaching hours with the author are available separately for organizations that want implementation support.