Breakthrough T1D is the leading global organisation advancing research, advocacy, and education for people affected by type 1 diabetes.

In the UK, Breakthrough T1D relies on strong annual fundraising results to drive its mission. However, rising targets and increasing competition for donor support meant the team required a more precise, scalable method to increase income from existing supporters - without risking donor fatigue or weakening the donor experience. Traditional segmentation and static ask strings simply weren’t accurate enough.

To meet this challenge, Breakthrough T1D partnered with Dataro to introduce an AI-powered personalisation strategy that would help them engage donors more strategically and inspire greater generosity.

Using Dataro’s machine-learning models to estimate each donor’s likely giving capacity and recommend a personalised ask amount, the charity tailored its appeal in a way that respected donor preferences while maximising revenue opportunities.

This resulted in 71% of donors increasing their gift, with upgraded amounts averaging 257% higher than before.

Key results

Using Dataro’s personalised ask amounts and AI-driven donor insights, Breakthrough T1D achieved:

• £2,396 in additional income

• 71% of donors increased their gift

• Upgrading donors gave an average of 257% more
  
  

How we did it

Dataro helps nonprofits run smarter, higher-performing appeals by using machine learning to answer essential fundraising questions: Who should we contact? How much should we ask? When should we engage them?

By placing donor behaviour and giving potential at the centre of campaign planning, this audience-first approach delivers more personalised supporter experiences and stronger results.

For Breakthrough T1D, Dataro integrated directly with the charity's Donorfy CRM. Each week, Dataro’s Direct Mail Appeal model generated propensity scores for every active cash donor, predicting who was most likely to give in the next three months. 

Dataro also produced a personalised recommended ask amount for every donor, calculated using their giving history and predicted capacity. With these predictions surfaced directly in the charity’s Donorfy CRM, the fundraising team could quickly identify high-potential donors and build tailored ask ladders without manual analysis.

Breakthrough T1D implemented a dynamic three-step ask structure for each supporter:

• Ask 1: Dataro’s recommended amount

• Ask 2: Ask 1 × 1.5

• Ask 3: Ask 1 × 2

This replaced their previous static ask strings, which were based on broad segmentation and often misaligned with donor capacity which left valuable revenue on the table.

Analysing the results

Using Dataro’s AI-powered ask amounts transformed Breakthrough T1D annual direct mail appeal, helping them streamline their campaign planning and motivate greater generosity from the donors most likely to respond. 

The dynamic, data-driven ask structure replaced their previous static approach, enabling the team to confidently introduce higher ask amounts that still felt appropriate to each supporter.

Most donors who responded (71% of the file) increased their gift beyond their previous average, showing strong alignment between the recommended ask amounts and donor capacity. Among those who upgraded, gifts rose by an average of 257%, highlighting the effectiveness of personalised ask ladders. 

Altogether, the uplift generated nearly £2,400 in additional campaign revenue, directly attributable to the machine-learning-powered ask amounts.

A standout example illustrates the power of the AI ask strategy: A donor who had previously given a generous average gift over the years was prompted with a higher personalised ask, taking into account other factors the team hadn’t been able to calculate without Dataro. This donor went on to make a three-figure gift in response to the campaign, three times their previous average.

Crucially, this level of personalisation required no additional manual effort. The team delivered more relevant, appropriate asks while reducing administrative workload.

This campaign demonstrates how AI-powered ask amounts personalise donor experiences at scale and support higher gift requests without harming engagement. By matching asks to each donor’s capacity, even modest mailings can generate significant gains. With tools like Dataro handling the complexity of targeting and ask amounts, fundraisers can unlock incremental income while investing more time in meaningful donor stewardship.