How FeedMore WNY Strengthens Donor Segmentation and Engagement

FeedMore WNY was formed through the merger of two established nonprofit organizations dedicated to fighting hunger in Western New York, bringing with it a complex set of data challenges. Combining records from separate systems introduced inconsistencies that made it difficult for the development team to fully understand donors, segment them effectively, and report with confidence.

At the same time, the team uncovered a critical gap in how it was engaging mid-level donors. Supporters giving between $1,200 and $5,000 were not receiving differentiated outreach, falling between broad annual fund communications and the highly personalized attention reserved for major gift prospects. As Annual Fund Director Judy Christian explained, the analysis showed the team wasn’t treating one level of donor in a way that’s really critical for nonprofit growth—being able to move mid-level donors up to major.

These internal challenges were compounded by a series of back-to-back community crises, including COVID, the horrific mass shooting in Buffalo, and severe blizzards. Each event created an urgent need to quickly launch campaigns and accurately track surges in giving. While Western New York’s generosity brought in waves of new supporters, the organization risked losing those donors without the systems and donation tools needed to respond in real time and sustain engagement beyond the moment.

Turning Insight into Action

With Raiser’s Edge NXT, FeedMore WNY has built differentiated outreach strategies across giving tiers—crafting targeted appeal language for mid-level and major donors, ensuring smooth handoffs as donors move between tiers, tailoring communication frequency, and limiting mailings to donor-advised fund contributors who typically give once a year. With greater visibility into donor data, the team can engage each group more intentionally. As Database Manager TammyJo Powley explained, “With Raiser’s Edge NXT, being able to actually use the data to understand how different groups of donors are engaging makes a huge difference in how we communicate with them.”

Raiser’s Edge NXT’s robust segmentation tools allow the team to build evergreen donor pathways designed to retain the waves of supporters who gave during recent crises. Welcome campaigns encourage ongoing engagement rather than treating them as one-time donors. A recent targeted appeal to monthly donors deemed Hunger Heroes has already led to several increased commitments.

Blackbaud Donation Forms and the Complete Cover® feature have been central to this growth—driving a 28 increase increase in online revenue and a 19 percent increase in donors over two years. The forms also give the team greater flexibility to create targeted donation experiences and better understand where online support is coming from.

That growth is more than a metric—it directly supports FeedMore WNY’s ability to meet rising demand across the region. As the organization expands its operations to keep pace with community needs, stronger digital fundraising ensures it can respond quickly to crises, retain new supporters, and sustain long-term impact. In fact, last year, FeedMore WNY served nearly 171,000 community members —a 51 percent growth in five years.

Building for Sustained Growth

FeedMore WNY continues to expand its use of Raiser’s Edge NXT to support a more efficient, self-service fundraising operation. Stronger internal reporting capabilities and reduced reliance on manual processes have empowered the team to build a more agile foundation for future growth. “Raiser’s Edge NXT tools are more intuitive, making it easier for the team to access what they need and actually put that data to work,” said Powley.

The organization also plans to activate additional Blackbaud solutions across its technology ecosystem, including wealth analytics to support major gift prospecting and integrated tools to streamline event and fundraising efforts—positioning the team to sustain growth, deepen donor engagement, and extend its impact across the communities it serves.

“We need the capability to respond rapidly to changing circumstances. With Raiser’s Edge NXT, we have the right tools in place to respond much more easily—and to start building more intentional, long-term relationships with our supporters,” said Cait Evans, chief development officer.