At Knowit, we believe that real impact extends beyond delivering results for our clients – it means contributing to a better society. In line with this mission, we partnered with Sweden for UNHCR on a pro bono project to strengthen donor relationships by placing donors at the heart of all communication.
Photo: © UNHCR
Donors play a crucial role in supporting refugees worldwide, and ensuring they feel connected and valued is essential to achieving long-term impact. With this in mind, our mission was to find new ways of communicating with donors that better address their needs and strengthen their sense of connection. In close collaboration with the organization Sweden for UNHCR, we explored what donors perceive as meaningful communication, aiming to shape an engaging donor journey that fosters long-term loyalty and deeper engagement. In this blog post, we will walk you through our approach, highlight key insights, and share what we learned from this inspiring partnership.
The global refugee crisis is among the most pressing humanitarian challenges of our time, with over 122 million people forcibly displaced due to wars, conflict, persecution, and climate-related disasters. Many of these individuals face tough conditions, with limited access to essential resources such as food, clean water, and safe shelter. In this complex reality, international support is critical in delivering the aid and protection refugees urgently need.
The UN’s Refugee Agency, UNHCR, has been at the forefront of these efforts for over 70 years, offering life-saving emergency assistance, long-term protection, and a pathway to hope. Sweden for UNHCR, UNHCR's National Partner, plays a vital role in raising awareness and mobilizing resources to support refugees globally.
In response to the war in Ukraine, the organization experienced significant generosity from private sector. However, as the conflict is in its third year and global attention increasingly shifts to other news, sustaining donor engagement has become more challenging. Recognizing this, we set out to ensure that the organization's communication remains impactful through a donor-centred approach.
Behind every donation lies a unique story and a personal reason to engage. Recognizing and valuing this is crucial for building strong and lasting relationships between organizations and donors. The main focus should be on creating genuine connections with donors to develop long-term engagement and commitment.
With a never-ending flow of news and social media updates, there is an increasing competition for donors' attention spans. To succeed, organizations must focus on understanding and responding to donors’ preferences, motivations, and interests.
In a perfect world, communication would be personalized for every donor. However, since non-profit organizations need to use their resources as efficiently as possible to maximize the impact of donations, this approach is inefficient. With that in mind, we explored whether donor segmentation could be part of the solution. By segmenting donors in groups, we aimed to create communication that is both meaningful for the donor and efficient for the organization, ultimately helping to enhance its impact in supporting refugees.
To better understand Sweden for UNHCR's donors, we conducted in-depth interviews with donors exploring key areas such as donation behaviours, underlying motivations, and preferred communication methods. We put significant focus on understanding what different donors think and feel, including how they respond to different types of communication – what they want more of, what they prefer less of, and what strengthens their connection to the organization.
These qualitative insights were complemented by data analysis to identify patterns and highlight differences among donors. Based on this, we segmented donors into groups with similar communication needs, enabling the organization to tailor messages and engagement strategies more effectively, ensuring that each donor receives communication that feels relevant, personal, and impactful.
We now had a clearer understanding of what different groups of donors valued. Together with Sweden for UNHCR, we put these insights into action by developing testable hypotheses for them to incorporate into their daily work. Using a hypothesis-driven approach, organizations can evaluate communication efforts with smaller donor groups and compare them to a reference group. This method identifies solutions that truly work while minimizing the risk of failure, ultimately helping to find the communication strategies that foster stronger, long-term donor relationships.
Our partnership with Sweden for UNHCR highlighted the importance of putting donors at the centre of communication. By understanding what matters most to different donor groups and testing tailored communication efforts, it is possible to foster deeper connections, long-term loyalty, and sustained support.
This project also underscores a broader lesson for the non-profit sector: meaningful communication is not just about delivering information—it is about creating a relationship built on trust, relevance, and shared value. By continuously listening to donors and adapting communication strategies, organizations can not only strengthen their donor base but also increase their ability to provide critical aid where it is needed most.
Knowit is proud to have contributed to this important initiative, using our expertise to support a cause that helps displaced people globally and creates a lasting impact. Together, we are driving meaningful change by supporting Sweden for UNHCR in their mission to protect those forced to flee their homes.