The Future of Identity Resolution: You Have The Power

By Niely Shams

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, the way nonprofits engage with their donors is fundamentally changing. At the heart of this transformation lies identity resolution—a powerful tool that allows you to create a unified view of your supporters across multiple touchpoints. With the deprecation of third-party cookies, the rise of privacy regulations, and the increasing complexity of donor interactions, the need to effectively harness identity resolution is more critical than ever. 

 But where do you go from here? How do you adapt to this shifting landscape while continuing to grow your donor base and deepen relationships? Here’s a closer look at the future of identity resolution and what it means for nonprofits like yours.

The Expanding Identity Ecosystem

Identity resolution isn’t new, but its role has grown dramatically in recent years as the donor journey has become more complex. Today, supporters interact with nonprofits through websites, emails, social media, mobile apps, and even in-person events. Each of these touchpoints generates valuable data that can be used to build a richer understanding of each individual. But the challenge is in stitching together all these disparate data points to create a unified donor profile.

The Current Landscape

To achieve this, nonprofits are increasingly relying on advanced identity resolution platforms, including Customer Data Platforms (CDPs), Data Management Platforms (DMPs), and other data integration solutions. These tools allow you to consolidate first-party data—your most valuable asset—into a single view that informs your outreach strategies. The leading identity resolution providers have made significant strides in creating solutions that cater to the unique needs of nonprofits, from large-scale global organizations to smaller community-based charities.

 When evaluating these solutions, it’s essential to understand not just what each provider offers, but how it integrates with your existing systems. Compatibility with your CRM, marketing automation platforms, and donation management systems is key to creating a cohesive donor experience.

Integrating Data Sources

The strength of your identity resolution efforts depends on the quality and diversity of the data you’re using. First-party data continues to be a powerful resource because it’s both accurate and consented. This includes donor history, email engagement, event participation, and volunteer activities. But you also need to consider the potential value of second-party data from trusted partners and the evolving role of third-party data.

 The challenge comes in integrating these data sources. Many nonprofits face issues with data silos, where information is stored in different systems that don’t communicate with each other. This not only leads to inefficiencies but also prevents you from seeing the full picture of your donor relationships. Overcoming this challenge requires investing in platforms that facilitate seamless integration, allowing you to unify donor data across all touchpoints and deliver personalized, relevant engagement.

The Impact of Privacy Regulations

The identity resolution landscape is also being shaped by stringent privacy regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and a growing list of state and global data protection laws. These regulations require you to be more transparent about how donor data is collected, stored, and used. While this may seem like a constraint, it’s actually an opportunity to build trust with your supporters.

Navigating GDPR, CCPA, and Beyond

Compliance with privacy regulations can be complex, but at its core, it’s about respecting the privacy of your supporters and being transparent in your data practices. Donors are increasingly aware of how their data is being used, and they expect organizations to handle it responsibly. This is where consent management tools come into play, allowing you to clearly communicate with donors about how their data will be used and providing them with options to manage their preferences.

 At the same time, these regulations highlight the need for nonprofits to shift their focus toward first-party data. With the uncertainty of third-party cookies, relying on them for donor targeting may not be a reliable option in the future. Identity resolution is about gathering and using data that is directly provided by your supporters—data that they willingly share with you in exchange for more personalized engagement.

Cookie-Resilient Channels

The ability to track potential donors across the web may be limited in the future; however, there are plenty of cookie-resilient channels where you can continue to reach and engage with your supporters. Email marketing, SMS, and mobile apps are all rich sources of first-party data that don’t rely on cookies for tracking.

 In addition, platforms like Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn are developing solutions to enable privacy-safe targeting using first-party data. These platforms offer opportunities to reach your supporters in more privacy-conscious ways, ensuring that you stay relevant even as the digital advertising landscape shifts.

Exploring Technological Alternatives

New technologies are emerging to fill the gap left by cookies. Unified IDs, for example, offer a way to track individuals across different platforms in a privacy-compliant manner. Contextual targeting is also gaining traction, where ads and content are served based on the context of the web page a user is viewing, rather than their previous browsing behavior.

For nonprofits, these alternatives represent an opportunity to shift toward more meaningful and personalized donor engagement. By investing in these technologies now, you can stay ahead of the curve and continue to build relationships with donors in a post-cookie environment.

Ensuring Data Ownership and Management

As the amount of data you collect grows, so does the need to ensure that data is clean, complete, and secure. Identity resolution is only as effective as the quality of the data you’re working with. If your data is incomplete or inaccurate, you risk alienating donors with irrelevant messaging or missed opportunities for engagement.

Data Cleanliness and Accuracy

Keeping donor data accurate and up to date is an ongoing challenge. Regular data audits, deduplication efforts, and ensuring that your data entry processes are standardized are all crucial steps to maintaining clean data. Data hygiene is particularly important when dealing with large donor lists, as errors in contact information or donation history can damage your donor’s trust in your organization.

Data Security and Governance

During a time when many are faced with increasing data breaches and cyberattacks, ensuring the security of your donor data is paramount. Robust encryption, access controls, and regular security audits should be standard practice. Additionally, implementing a data governance framework will help ensure that your data is not only secure but also used responsibly and in compliance with regulations.

Good data governance extends beyond security measures. It also involves establishing clear guidelines for how data is collected, shared, and used across your organization. This ensures that all departments are aligned on data usage, helping you maintain consistency across the board.

Future-Proofing Your Identity Resolution Strategy

The identity resolution landscape is continuously evolving, and nonprofits must be prepared to adapt, just as our for-profit counterparts. By investing in new technologies, prioritizing first-party data collection, and maintaining rigorous data management practices, you can ensure that your organization is well-positioned for success. 

Adapting to New Trends and Technologies

AI and machine learning are increasingly playing a role in identity resolution. These technologies allow for more sophisticated donor segmentation and targeting, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of your outreach efforts. Additionally, generative AI is opening new doors for personalized content creation, allowing nonprofits to tailor communications to individual donor preferences and behaviors on a scale never before possible. 

AI fosters an environment of innovation. And while nonprofits have more tools and technologies available to you than ever before, the importance of human oversight in all AI processes is essential for accountability, transparency and trust.

Measuring the ROI of Identity Resolution

Lastly, it’s essential to measure the success of your identity resolution efforts. While traditional metrics like donation revenue and donor retention are important, identity resolution opens the door to more nuanced measurements. These can include engagement rates across different channels, the effectiveness of personalized campaigns, and the overall improvement in donor lifetime value.

 Understanding the return on investment (ROI) of your identity resolution strategy will help guide future investments and demonstrate the value of these efforts to stakeholders within your organization.

 Looking Towards the Future 

The future of identity resolution offers exciting opportunities for nonprofits to build deeper, more meaningful relationships with donors. By focusing on data, adapting to privacy regulations, and embracing change, you can create a more personalized and impactful donor experience. Staying ahead of these trends will position your nonprofit to thrive in an increasingly data-driven world, where the ability to unify and understand donor identities is critical to success.

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Niely Shams is president of Data Axle, Nonprofit. Her email is niely.shams@data-axle.com