Fundraising Metrics can be Your Friend.

A lot of your time and energy goes into fundraising: thank you calls to donors, sending fundraising appeals, event planning, hand-written thank you notes and so much more. Do you know the results of those efforts? Are you tracking metrics to determine what’s working and what’s not for your organization?

In an environment where giving was down considerably in 2022 and donor retention rates continue to suffer according to AFP’s, Fundraising Effectiveness Project, you need to know what’s working and what’s not.

Metrics can be your friend especially if you’re a small nonprofit with limited resources. In fact, the right metrics can elevate your nonprofit to the next level. There are a lot of metrics that can be tracked but identify 2 or 3 fundraising goals for your nonprofit. Then track those goals. Don’t rush the results and stay open to what the data reveals.

Below are a few metrics to consider tracking if you’re not sure where to begin:

Donor Retention Rate

Donor retention rate tells you how many donors your organization retains on a year-over-year basis. Most nonprofits have low retention rates. If you’re one of them then it’s critical you look to your stewardship practices.

Tracking your retention rate can uncover valuable insights about your organization’s performance:

· How successful various communication channels are.

· If your donor recognition efforts are sufficient.

· Which donation methods are preferred for returning donors.

Average Gift Size

Average gift size can be used to track the average donation amount in a variety of ways: donor group, campaign, or time period. This metric works best when tracked on a recurring basis. That way, you can see if your gift size is growing, staying the same, or decreasing.

You can use this metric for:

· Major Donor gifts.

· At all of your events for the year to determine which events draw the largest donations.

· Over a repeated, fixed time frame (like six months or a year) to track general changes.

Average gift size can be a big help in evaluating the success of your fundraising and major gift efforts.

These are only two of many metrics you can use to track your fundraising.

Again, identify your goals, and decide how to track those goals. Give yourself time to collect data over a longer period and be willing to make changes if needed.

If I can be of service in any way then let’s talk.