Audience Insights
for Personalized Persuasion.

SPIRE shows who supports your cause and how to engage
them to increase your reach, resources, and impact.

The logo of SPIRE by Hattaway Communications, featuring a stylized spiral shape in yellow, orange, purple, and black, with the company name beside it.

Every audience is made up of people with different reasons for caring about your cause. Treat them all the same, and you'll move some of them, some of the time. 

When you speak to the unique reasons that drive different people, the results can be powerful. One nonprofit tailored its fundraising appeals and saw revenues increase by 90% among a skeptical group of donors—and 1100% among its strongest supporters.

That’s the power of personalized persuasion. It’s proven to increase response rates for fundraising, advocacy, marketing, and more. 

SPIRE is audience research that explores why people give time and money to good causes, how they want to be engaged, and where you can find them—with data and insight for personalized persuasion.

SPIRE data is available to nonprofits at a fraction of the cost you'd pay for custom audience research. You can even add your own questions to our national survey.  

You'll get fresh ideas to create messaging, content, and experiences that engage your audiences in more meaningful ways, with real results.

SPIRE Personas

  • A smiling woman in a kitchen serving food to a man who is holding a plate with salad and other food items.

    ALTRUISTS

    Optimistic, Altruistic, Ready for Action

  • A woman with curly hair, wearing a beige blazer and patterned scarf, sitting in a modern, well-lit space with shelves and books, holding a pen near her chin and looking at a laptop.

    INSPECTORS

    Well-Intentioned, Cautious, Questioning

  • Smiling man with glasses and a blue cap standing with arms crossed at an outdoor community event, with a table of food and people in jackets and hoodies in the background.

    STRIVERS

    Ambitious, Confident, Seek Recognition

  • Three women in athletic pink tank tops with race numbers, smiling and talking outdoors during a running event.

    BUTTERFLIES

    Joyful, Interpersonal, Lifestyle-Driven

  • Two women sitting on a sofa, looking at a smartphone together. One woman is wearing a mustard-colored sweater, and the other has curly red hair, glasses, and is wearing a gray sweater, holding a yellow mug.

    WALLFLOWERS

    Altruistic, Loyal, Hesitant

  • An older man with glasses and a beard, wearing a green shirt, sits at a kitchen table working on a laptop. There is a black coffee mug and a notebook on the table, with a modern kitchen in the background.

    CRITICS

    Outspoken, Pessimistic, Deeply Skeptical

Find Your Opportunity Audience

Millions of Americans want to make a positive difference. Most aspire to give more time and money to good causes. SPIRE shows who cares about your issue and how to engage them.

Stylized purple owl logo on a black background.
Stylized purple owl logo on a black background.
Two purple theatre masks, one smiling and one frowning.
Two purple theatre masks, one smiling and one frowning.

Animal
rights and protection

Arts and culture

A simple purple line drawing of a smiling face with a hat.
A simple purple line drawing of a smiling face with a hat.
A purple line drawing of the earth.
A purple line drawing of the earth.

Children
and youth

Climate change

A purple line drawing depicting three interconnected people.
A purple line drawing depicting three interconnected people.
A purple graduation cap icon on a transparent background.
A purple graduation cap icon on a transparent background.

Diversity,
equity, and inclusion

Education

Stylized drawing of two purple pine trees with triangular shapes.
Stylized drawing of two purple pine trees with triangular shapes.
A purple symbol of a government capitol building.
A purple symbol of a government capitol building.
A shield emblem with a cross in the center, outlined in purple.
A shield emblem with a cross in the center, outlined in purple.
Purple outlined cross symbol.
Purple outlined cross symbol.
Icon of a house with three people inside, representing a family or group in a home.
Icon of a house with three people inside, representing a family or group in a home.
A purple icon of a house with a fork and knife inside.
A purple icon of a house with a fork and knife inside.

Housing and homelessness

Hunger and food access

Icon of a house with a person symbol in front of it
Icon of a house with a person symbol in front of it
A purple globe icon on a black background.
A purple globe icon on a black background.
Symbols of male, female, and transgender gender identities in purple.
Symbols of male, female, and transgender gender identities in purple.
A purple house partially submerged in water, representing flooding.
A purple house partially submerged in water, representing flooding.

LGBTQ+
rights

Natural disasters

Icon of a person holding a child, both depicted in purple outline style.
Icon of a person holding a child, both depicted in purple outline style.
Icon of a bag of money
Icon of a bag of money
Outline of two hands in a praying position
Outline of two hands in a praying position
A purple pill capsule split in half with a line through the middle.
A purple pill capsule split in half with a line through the middle.
Illustration of a purple ballot box with a ballot being inserted.
Illustration of a purple ballot box with a ballot being inserted.
Icon of multiple people in a crowd
Icon of multiple people in a crowd

Foreign policy and national security

Environmentalprotection

Health care and public health

Gun
safety

International affairs and foreign assistance

Immigrant rights and support

Poverty and income inequality

Paid leave and family leave

Reproductive health and abortion

Religion and spirituality

Women’s equality and gender issues

Voting
Rights and democracy

Icon of a person wearing a construction helmet, representing construction or safety worker
Icon of a person wearing a construction helmet, representing construction or safety worker

Workers’ Rights

Curious what SPIRE can tell you about supporters of your cause?
Reach out to us at spire@hattaway.com

How do your supporters want to engage?

People don't engage with every cause the same way.
Some donate. Others volunteer, attend events, or spread the word. 

As shown in this SPIRE data, animal welfare supporters, for example, are far more likely to give money than supporters of arts and culture or LGBTQ+ rights. 

SPIRE shows you how the people who care about your cause prefer to engage, so your call-to-action is more likely to land.

Bar chart showing engagement priorities for supporters different social issues: animal rights supporters are more likely to donate, arts and culture supporters are more likely to volunteer, and LGBTQ+ rights supporters vote and share information more

Learn more about how different people want to engage on different issues.

SPIRE Helps You Power Engagement with Any Audience

  • Strategic Planning

    Sharpen your focus on audiences and objectives

  • Program Design

    Ensure activities align with the interests of your supporters and people you serve

  • Message Development

    Tailor messaging to appeal to people’s unique interests

  • Creative Development & Content Testing

    Learn how different segments respond to words, images, stories, and activities

  • Evaluation

    Assess how people in different segments engage with your programs and communications work