Nonprofit donor phone list calculator
For nonprofits and fundraising teams that call or text donors: estimate how much of a donor file is reachable, and what the dead numbers cost your volunteers and callers on every campaign. Every rate is editable; nothing is stored.
Why donor phone lists go bad
- Lapsed donors can sit on a file for years, and people change numbers between gifts.
- Event sign-ups and paper pledge cards can carry mistyped or illegible numbers.
- Files merged from events, online giving and older databases can overlap and carry stale contact data.
- Long-time donors often gave a home landline, which can take a call but cannot receive a text.
How to get your real numbers
- Pull a random sample of 500 to 1,000 numbers from your donor file.
- Validate it against live carrier data with TrueSearch for Business.
- Enter the dead, landline and VoIP percentages you get back above.
- Repeat per giving source or last-gift year to see which part of the file has aged the most.
Read about phone list cleaning, count text segments with the SMS character counter, remove repeats with the duplicate lead remover, or check single numbers with the carrier lookup.
Start 3-day free trialQuestions
Are the default rates typical for donor lists?
No. They are editable placeholders, not industry statistics. Bad-number rates depend on how the numbers were collected and how long ago the donor last gave. Validate a sample of your own file and enter what you find.
Can I clean a donor CRM export?
Yes. Upload the CSV to TrueSearch for Business and download it back with each number marked valid or dead, with its line type (mobile, landline, VoIP or toll-free) and carrier, so you can route landlines to phone banks and keep them out of a text campaign.
Do landlines matter on a donor list?
Yes, in a different way for calls and texts. A landline can still be a good number for a phone call, so do not delete it just for being a landline. Standard landlines cannot receive SMS, so they should come out of a text campaign.
Does Do Not Call apply to nonprofits?
Calls by or on behalf of a tax-exempt nonprofit fall outside the TCPA definition of telephone solicitation, so the National Do Not Call Registry rules for solicitations generally do not apply to them. Other rules can: TCPA consent for autodialed or prerecorded calls and texts to mobile numbers, the FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule for for-profit telefunders calling for a charity, and state charitable solicitation laws. Confirm your program with counsel.
Does a valid result mean a donor agreed to be contacted?
No. Validation checks the phone number, not consent. A live mobile number can still belong to someone who never opted in, who has asked you to stop, or who is no longer the donor on your file.
Does this check consent or Do Not Call lists?
No. The calculator only estimates reachability, and a validation check covers validity, line type and carrier. It does not verify consent or check a number against Do Not Call or litigator lists. Keep your own opt-out records and use the official National Do Not Call Registry (donotcall.gov) where it applies.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. TrueSearch for Business checks validity, line type and carrier from licensed telecom data. It does not check the National Do Not Call Registry, state DNC lists or the FCC Reassigned Numbers Database. Not a consumer reporting agency; not for FCRA purposes.