Contributor Development Partnership

What Contributor Development Partnership does

Contributor Development Partnership (CDP) is an independent public benefit corporation, founded in 2011 within WGBH, that operates a collaborative fundraising and data platform for U.S. public media stations. CDP serves 240+ member public radio and television stations across all 50 states, including PBS and NPR affiliates, providing managed fundraising services (Member Services Bureau), CRM and marketing automation (notably Revolution Online from ROI Solutions, deployed across 40+ stations), the National Reference File (the industry's first and only national donor dataset covering 75% of all public media donors and $1.4 billion in annual membership revenue), CDP Labs for testing new fundraising approaches, and the newly launched Audience Activation Platform built on the first-ever Public Media Common Data Model.

The underlying technology stack integrates donor CRM data, PBS Passport viewership analytics (covering 83 stations), canvassing and direct mail execution, and a predictive activation layer for personalized outreach. CDP's revenue model combines managed services (the MSB handling transactional and analytic work for 780,000 active donors and 289,000 sustainers), CRM and technology subscriptions, professional services and consulting, and execution channels such as direct mail (CDP Direct) and vehicle donation processing.

Go-to-market is sales-led, executed through direct station engagement, partner co-marketing with PBS, NPR, and Greater Public, and a long-running Public Media Giving Days program. CDP has helped member stations generate $210 million in new net revenue, with MSB stations outperforming non-MSB peers on revenue growth (6.9% vs 4.1%), donor retention, lapsed-donor reduction, and Passport revenue growth.

Name

Contributor Development Partnership

Legal name

Contributor Development Partnership

Website

https://cdpcommunity.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Contributor Development Partnership is a public benefit corporation that operates a collaborative fundraising and data platform serving 240+ U.S. public media stations, providing managed services, CRM, donor benchmarking, and a new Audience Activation Platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Media Fundraising Services

akta.pro primary industry

Customer Data Platform (CDP) & First-Party Data Enablement Services (MPAAAIAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Customer Data Platforms (CDP) & Identity Resolution (BPAFAFAD), CRM Data Quality, Enrichment & CDP-Adjacent CRM (HDAEAFAJ)

Keywords

• Public media fundraising
• Donor management software
• Nonprofit CRM services
• Membership fundraising
• Fundraising analytics

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Member Services Bureau: Full-service fundraising collaborative providing transactional and analytic work for member stations, managing 780,000 active donors and 289,000 sustainers
2. CRM and Technology Services: Providing CRM platforms and technology solutions to public media stations including Revolution Online implementation
3. Fundraising Services and Consulting: Best practice insights, data analytics, campaign development, and fundraising strategy services for stations
4. Canvassing Programs: Door-to-door fundraising programs that have generated nearly half a million new donors within the last 5 years

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Contributor Development Partnership (CDP) provides collaborative fundraising services, CRM platform support, donor data analytics, and benchmarking to 240+ U.S. public radio and television stations. Its Member Services Bureau (MSB) handles transactional and analytic fundraising work on behalf of member stations, while the National Reference File and the Audience Activation Platform deliver industry benchmarking and unified donor, audience, and content engagement analytics. CDP also runs CDP Labs to test new fundraising innovations, plus direct mail, vehicle donation, and canvassing programs.

Product overview

Contributor Development Partnership operates as a collaborative fundraising platform for public media, offering a unified ecosystem of services and technology products. The core offerings include the Member Services Bureau (MSB), which handles transactional and analytic fundraising work for over 240 stations, and the National Reference File (NRF), representing 75% of all public media donors. CDP supports CRM platforms including Revolution Online from ROI Solutions, PBS Passport integration for video-on-demand donor engagement, and the Audience Activation Platform (AAP) - a data unification system featuring Donor Prospecting Tool, Donor 360 One-Pager, Event Attendee Analysis, and Integrated Viewing Dashboard built on the first-ever Public Media Common Data Model. Additional services include CDP Labs for testing new fundraising innovations, CDP Direct for tested direct mail, the Vehicle Donation Program with flat-fee structure, Canvassing Programs with mobile app technology, and Prompli for drive planning. The platform collectively manages nearly 40% of all public broadcasting donors and has helped stations raise $210 million in new net revenue.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Member Services Bureau (MSB) A full-service collaborative offering for public media stations in which CDP handles transactional and analytic fundraising work, freeing stations to focus on community engagement, major donor development, and local services. MSB stations collectively manage 780,000 active donors and 289,000 sustainers and raise over $110 million in annual membership revenue.
• MSB Co-op A cooperative program within the Member Services Bureau that enables public media stations to share resources, costs, and best practices for collaborative fundraising.
• CRM Services (Revolution Online) CDP-supported CRM and marketing automation services built on the Revolution Online platform from ROI Solutions, implemented across 40+ public media partner stations. Used by nearly 40% of all public broadcasting donors managed through CDP-supported platforms.
• National Reference File (NRF) The industry's first and only national reference dataset tracking public media fundraising practices and performance, covering 75% of all public media donors and $1.4 billion in annual membership revenue, used daily for benchmarking, research, and identifying new revenue opportunities.
• Audience Activation Platform (AAP) A unified systemwide ecosystem combining audience, donor, content engagement, digital behavior, and third-party data, with a built-in activation layer for personalized outreach and campaigns. Phase 1 features the Donor Prospecting Tool, Donor 360 One-Pager, Event Attendee Analysis, and Integrated Viewing Dashboard.
• CDP Analytics Engine (PBS Passport) Data analytics engine that processes PBS Passport viewership data from 83 stations, allowing stations to connect streaming behavior insights to their CRM systems to engage donors based on viewing insights.
• CDP Labs CDP's mission accelerator that scans the nonprofit and for-profit landscapes for new fundraising technologies and approaches, testing them through case studies and producing services that add value across the public media system.
• Prompli Drive planning tool that enables stations to experiment with messaging and break structure, share successful techniques, and test new ways to design fundraising drives as listener behavior shifts toward digital.
• Epiphany Benchmarking CDP's fundraising benchmarking service that tracks performance metrics across member stations and enables comparative analysis of fundraising effectiveness.
• CDP Direct (Direct Mail) Direct mail service that obsessively tests letter and email copy, with per-piece pricing and complementary e-solicitations; stations save 20-30% on average compared to traditional direct mail agencies.
• Vehicle Donation Program A flat-fee structured vehicle donation program that returns a larger share of the auction price back to the station compared to percentage-based alternatives; processed in partnership with CARS (Charitable Adult Rides & Services).
• Canvassing Program Door-to-door fundraising program that CDP helped build and manages, with an industry-only mobile app for canvassers. The program has generated nearly half a million new donors for public media stations within the last 5 years.
• Partner Services Scaled vendor management and partner services offering that negotiates and manages relationships with technology and service providers (e.g., ROI Solutions, DonorSearch, Gravyty, Blackbaud, Merkle, WorldPay) on behalf of member stations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Stations working with CDP raise $0.18 of every membership dollar in public media, generating $210 million in new net revenue total
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers40 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability7 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ROI SolutionscoreTechnology or Integration · 1 June 2022Strategic partnership announced June 2022 for CRM platform Revolution Online. The CRM replaced NGO Connect (being retired by Salesforce) and was implemented across CDP's 40+ public media partner stations. Revolution Online was already established at stations including WETA, WHYY, KQED, WEDU, Maine Public, Wisconsin Public, Vermont Public, and WAMU.
• PBScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner in public media system. PBS Passport video-on-demand service was introduced with CDP involvement, and CDP built the data analytics engine enabling stations to understand and measure Passport usage.
• NPRcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner in public media system. CDP works with NPR on various initiatives including Public Media Giving Days.
• Greater PubliccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for public media fundraising initiatives. Collaborated on Reading the Tea Leaves analysis and Public Media Giving Days events.
• Public Television Major Market Group (PTMMG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCDP was born from initiative by Major Market Group of Public Television. The group represents 40 largest PBS member stations serving 70% of nation's audience.
• Donor Development Strategies LLCminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartner that helped build and manage canvassing organization that generated nearly half a million new donors within the last 5 years.
• FeathrminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital advertising partner featured in CDP Labs case study.
• Virtual Events PlatformminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for National Virtual Events initiative. Case study published through CDP Labs.
• CARS (Charitable Adult Rides & Services)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVehicle donation processing partner referenced in vehicle donor blog series. CARS helps stations process vehicle donations.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Greater Public: Direct peer within US public media, providing fundraising, leadership development, and membership support services to public radio and TV stations. Operates in the same customer base as CDP with overlapping service lines including fundraising strategy and Public Media Giving Days collaboration.
• ROI Solutions: Strategic technology partner and CRM provider (Revolution Online) serving public media stations and other nonprofits. Powers CDP's CRM backbone across 40+ stations, making it both a partner and a directly comparable CRM platform peer.

Broad incumbents

• Blackbaud: Largest incumbent provider of CRM, fundraising, and financial management software to the broader nonprofit sector. Blackbaud's Raiser's Edge/NXT and CRM offerings overlap with CDP's CRM services for public media, and CDP's board member Chuck Longfield is Blackbaud's retired Chief Scientist.
• Salesforce.org / Nonprofit Cloud: Major incumbent CRM platform for nonprofits globally. Salesforce's retirement of NGO Connect forced CDP's migration to Revolution Online, but Salesforce.org remains a broad competitor for nonprofit CRM and donor management contracts across the wider sector.
• Bonterra (Network for Good / Kindful): Suite of nonprofit fundraising and CRM products (Network for Good, Kindful, Give.org) targeting small-to-mid nonprofits. Competes for donor management and online fundraising budget across the broader nonprofit market that CDP addresses through its public media specialization.
• DonorPerfect: Established nonprofit CRM and donor management software serving thousands of nonprofits across verticals. Comparable to CDP's CRM platform offering with similar donor database, fundraising, and reporting functionality, though broader in vertical reach than public media.

Emerging players

• Funraise: Modern nonprofit fundraising and CRM platform emphasizing donor experience and online giving workflows. Overlaps with CDP's CRM and digital fundraising services for nonprofits, particularly around online donation forms, sustainer programs, and donor portals.
• Bloomerang: Donor management and CRM platform purpose-built for small-to-mid nonprofits with focus on donor retention analytics. Shares CDP's retention-centric value proposition and competes for nonprofit CRM budgets with comparable fundraising automation features.
• Keela: Cloud-based CRM and fundraising platform for small and mid-sized nonprofits with strong automation and email marketing features. Competes in the same nonprofit CRM/fundraising automation category as CDP, though typically serving smaller organizations.

Others

• iWave: Provider of wealth screening, prospect research, and donor demographic data to nonprofits. Comparable to CDP's partner DonorSearch and relevant to CDP's major donor and prospect research workflows as an adjacent data/enablement provider rather than a direct CRM competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cdpcommunity
• Facebookfacebook.com/cdpcommunity

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Contributor Development Partnership