Apteco Learn Mission Schedule Time with an Apteco Architect Play with a Live System

Bands: putting people in groups

Stop 11 of 58 · about 10 minutes

Why does Mission keep putting supporters into groups?* A spreadsheet with four thousand rows has never once moved anyone to action. Five groups of people can.

Do this stop in the courseRead the lesson
Donor Status on Donation Analysis: Active (last gift within a year), Lapsing (one to two years), Lapsed and Deeply Lapsed, counted in donors.
Donor Status on Donation Analysis: Active (last gift within a year), Lapsing (one to two years), Lapsed and Deeply Lapsed, counted in donors. Open full size

Sample charity: the people and numbers in these screens are made up, so the picture shows the tool, not a result.

The lesson

A band is a set of ranges. Every supporter lands in exactly one. Three you will see often:

  • Donor Status sorts by time since the last gift: Active (within a year), Lapsing (1 to 2 years), Lapsed (2 to 3), Deeply Lapsed (3 or more) and Never Given.
  • Donor Median Interval Band sorts by how often someone gives: monthly (every 1 to 45 days), quarterly (46 to 100), twice a year (101 to 200) or annual (201 or more).
  • Lifetime Value Banded and First Gift Banded sort by dollar ranges.

Some bands use fixed cut-offs. Others, like Donor Value Movement, split your supporters into five equal groups, so the bands fit an organization your size.

Watch this stop · about a minute

More of it in Orbit

First Gift Banded: five equal groups by the size of the first gift. Band 1 is the top fifth of first gifts.
First Gift Banded: five equal groups by the size of the first gift. Band 1 is the top fifth of first gifts. Open full size

Your turn, in Field Guide, then Orbit

  1. In the Field Guide, look up Donor Status and Donor Median Interval Band.
  2. In Orbit, open Donation Analysis and find a banded tile, like First Gift Banded.
  3. Note which band holds the most supporters.

Quick check

Someone last gave 18 months ago. What's their Donor Status?
  • Active
  • Lapsing
  • Lapsed

Answer: Lapsing

Someone usually gives every 60 days. What's their cadence?
  • Monthly
  • Quarterly
  • Annual

Answer: Quarterly

Need a hint?

Lapsing is 1 to 2 years since the last gift. Quarterly is every 46 to 100 days.

Why it matters

Bands turn rows into people you can thank, invite and plan for.

* Standard definition. Your Orbit Admin or Apteco can change it to fit you.

Read on

Read more in the Apteco Help Hub

Learn Mission is a free course. You read a little, do it yourself, then answer one quick check. Orin, the assistant in Orbit, walks with you. Your progress stays in your browser.

Do this stop yourself

It is stop 11 of 58. Open it in the course, or start from the beginning.

Open this stop in the course

All of Part 2: Analyze

The whole course, stop by stop