Analytics

Fundraiser Success Metrics

Successful fundraising is the result of an integrated process of relationship nurturing that requires understanding the marketplace, your organization, and donors themselves. It leads to customized messaging delivered at the right time, through the right channels to the right prospects.  

Developing these processes is difficult and requires continual monitoring and maintenance. That is why half of all fundraisers raise less than $500,000 annually. 

The process begins by employing a fundraising management system that uses data to set goals for visits, proposals, gifts, and other metrics that lead to donations. It is supplemented with national benchmarking to measure gift officers and determine whether new fundraisers are being provided with enough tools and coaching to succeed. 

Gift officers require clarity and consistency in their assignments so they can deliver optimal results. That requires right-sizing their portfolios, balancing their assignments according to donor value, and establishing a system with predictive capabilities that ensure prospects will be contacted at the right time with the right message. 

Fundraising analytics are critical to turning raw data into strategic action—the pathway to fundraising success. It can be divided into five elements: descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, prescriptive and proactive.