When it comes down to money, numbers are everything. This is because if you want to efficiently reach your operational and future financial goals, you need to make sure there is a system to track where and when you can strengthen your plan. By determining this, you can objectively show exactly how well you and your organization is doing.
So what do you need to track?
Similar to a quarterly financial report, tracking numbers, donors, retention rates, expenses, and other various financial logistics will play a large role in how to strategize for the future. Oftentimes this can be tough to figure out exactly the overall measurements for your organization. That is why below, you will find seven fundraising metrics that goes over the finances, the donors, and the social media and marketing outlets you need to track in order for you to evaluate your business. Doing so can be the sole definer of being over your goal under. These overall fundraising metrics will highlight specific performance indicators that can directly demonstrate certain trends you and your team will want to capitalize on. In addition it will answer those hard hitting questions of how many donations your organization will receive this year, what channels they are coming from, and the overall average for each donor or donor packages.
1. Donation Growth
Tracking the overall growth from month-to-month and year-to-year will give you a holistic view on the development of your cause. In addition, these numbers will show you any stagnated dropped periods within the month that you can plan accordingly for the benefit of your cause.
2. Donation Growth
One of the biggest things you can do for your organization is to seek an increase in donations by either 5 to 25%, 25% being the ideal. Noting this type of average increase can net a larger number for you to reach your goal. In addition, increasing these average gift size can be leveraged later on in the future. If your company is not doing this tactic, try and incorporating it into the system. If they are, tally up the numbers and see what improve it has on the overall campaign.
3. Fundraising ROI
In every business and organization, the return of investment is incredibly important to note, especially for an organization with a limited budget. Know the type of resources you have and how the donations can effectively impact them and your organization. Keep track of these numbers and see what the financial funding will do for the company.
4. Donor Retention Metrics
By definition, donor retention rates are the amount of donors who resigned in donating to your cause from the previous year. Having a conceptual understanding of the amount of donors who resigned can benefit the overall increase for your support. If high, this number can be used and leveraged as a selling point to other future donors. If low, track what you and your team can do to gain their support again. This type of acquisition can be a huge stepping-stone in gaining that financial stability for future years.
5. Donor Growth
In addition to keeping your donor retention rates high, you also want to see an improvement in your numbers for growth in donors year-over-year. If you are losing donors, odds are, you are losing ground in other areas. This is a big red flag for you to reevaluate your plan so that you can get back on track for your future goal. If you are on track, try analyzing which methods you used to improve your donor pool. Read the data, learn from it, and understand it. Doing so will put you and your organization in the right place.
6. Number of Donations
This number reflects both the donors and the amount they have donated month-to-month. By having this monthly analysis, you will be able to see which months played a larger role and which groups you want to get in touch with in the future.
7. Marketing and Social Media Metrics
In the modern age of technology, online marketing has played a large role in fundraising. Compare those numbers to the numbers you get from various events or other tactics like phone calls or tabling fundraisers. These numbers can show where you can get the most traffic in gaining stronger donations for your cause.