Using data science can increase the chances of crowdfunders raising the money they need to get their project off the ground, researchers at Stanford University have discovered.

The study revealed that some of the biggest crowdfunding platforms including Kickstarter and DonorsChoose.org are already using the techniques to increase the value of donations from investors. This includes asking for only small amounts, thanking those who invested and project reports, keeping investors up to date on how the campaign is progressing.

Stanford computer science graduate student Tim Althoff said: “Most people give once and never return. When you increase the number of repeat givers, you get a multiplier effect. The people who become repeat givers tend to give more with successive donations, and they also recruit others to give.”

Althoff worked with Stanford computer science Assistant Professor Jure Leskovec on the study, that involved looking into online donations collected by DonorsChoose.org over a period of 14 years. The platform collected $282m in the period from 3.9 million donations.

1.5 million donors were responsible for the funding, with three quarters of these people only donating once. 26 per cent invested twice and just one per cent gave five times.

Althoff and Leskovec then looked deeper into what motivated that tiny amount to donate so many times, including analysing whether the donor was giving money to a local project, whether the project succeeded and whether they received thank you notes or updates on the projects.

It revealed that increasing the number of repeat visitors by 10 per cent increased revenues by over 60 per cent over time and the likelihood of repeat donations was increased by using the tactics Kickstarter employs.

Leskovec said, “What excites me as a computer scientist is the unprecedented opportunity to learn about human behaviour by observing things on a large scale. In this case we had excellent data that enabled us to discover new tools and techniques for the fundraising community.”