What the aging US veteran population means for military fundraising

The numbers are poignantly real. Just in the last few years, the total number of WWII veterans in the United States decreased by almost 50%. The numbers of Korean and Vietnam War veterans are beginning to decrease quickly, too.

Those trends don’t bode well for nonprofits focused on military causes, issues and affairs. After all, it’s the veterans who are most likely to contribute to these organizations.

Or is it?

In fact, our nonprofit clients are seeing significant increases in donations to veteran causes in recent years – but those donations are not coming from the veterans themselves. Instead, they’re coming from their families, friends and neighbors.

So the question is: As a nonprofit, do you know who your real donors are? Are you sure?

Yes, your assumptions may make perfect sense – but they could also be perfectly wrong. It’s always better to rely on actual statistical analysis rather than intuition.

One way to do this is by statistical cluster analysis. A cluster analysis uses deep data cross purchase, demographic, brand and social behaviors to identify the unique subgroups of personas within your donor base. You’ll gain rich new insights about who your donor personas really are – plus, be able to build stronger, more targeted models for each persona and deliver personalized messaging to help meet fundraising or advocacy goals faster.