Mar 28, 2019
Most nonprofits watch their overall growth in giving, but seldom pay attention to the gains and losses that make up those results. According to the 2018 Fundraising Effectiveness Survey Report, the average donor retention rate in 2017 was 45.5%. This means nonprofit organizations were only able to retain 4.5 out of every 10 donors in 2017.
Do you know what your nonprofit’s fundraising gains and losses in dollars and donors are from one year to the next?
According to this survey:
For every $100 gained in 2017 was offset by $96 in losses through gift attrition!
For every 100 donors gained in 2017 was offset by 99 in lost donors through attrition!
Good stewardship takes building greater connections with your donors. For smaller organizations, it is even more challenging to retain dollars raised and donors.
“Growth rate is a direct result of continuous investment in fundraising. Examples are timely renewal and upgrading solicitations, extra thank-you notes, invitations to special events, mailing quarterly newsletters and annual reports, and more. Smaller nonprofits with under $500,000 in annual revenues often do not have adequate resources to maintain such communications with current and past donors. The result of the lack of contact is high donor losses.”
~ Jim Greenfield, Growth in Giving Working Group member
What are some ways that you can engage with your donors more thoroughly to ensure that they will support your organization year after year?
What is your plan to provide excellent stewardship to those who support your organization financially?
Join us for The Secret of Raising More Money: Stewardship on Tuesday, April 30th, to understand the importance of stewardship and how you can retain both donors and dollars for your nonprofit organization. Patti Ward, CFRE, will share her expertise in fundraising and capacity building.