Channel Attribution is error-prone and incomplete, but it's not useless. How can nonprofits use it smarter? Read below.
Channel attribution is the process of assigning credit to marketing touchpoints that influence a conversion. For nonprofits, it attempts to answer: "Which marketing efforts led to this donation?"
It's important for two reasons.
First, attribution attempts to provide tactical data for campaign decisions. Second, nonprofits have limited resources and need to prove ROI to boards, funders, and stakeholders. We need data to justify every dollar spent.
But here's the fundamental problem: There's a massive disconnect between where people spend their time and where marketing budgets go. People spend hours consuming podcasts, scrolling TikTok, and reading Reddit threads. Yet most nonprofit budgets flow disproportionately to Google and Facebook. Why? Because those platforms have mastered the art of claiming credit through click-and-view-based attribution.
In an article published by NonProfit Pro, Natalie Stamer, co-owner and managing partner of Streetlight Digital, shares how nonprofit leaders can stretch their dollars and maximize impact by learning about this important issue. Read the full article here.
