{"id":58728,"date":"2023-01-24T06:25:12","date_gmt":"2023-01-24T14:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/donorbox.org\/nonprofit-blog?p=58728"},"modified":"2023-10-26T06:52:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T13:52:59","slug":"donor-metrics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/donorbox.org\/nonprofit-blog\/donor-metrics","title":{"rendered":"8 Donor Metrics to Improve Donor Stewardship & Fundraising"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the nonprofit world, finding the key to fundraising success can be tricky. We try out new strategies, connect with new donors, exhaust our fundraising budgets, and whatnot. But what if the secret is just understanding the donor data we already have?<\/p>\n

In this article, we\u2019ll look at the 8 vital donor metrics when it comes to improving donor stewardship and fundraising<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>What are Donor Metrics?<\/h2>\n

Donor metrics are statistics or KPIs<\/a> that help measure your fundraising efforts, relationships with donors, and donor behavior. You\u2019ll find donor metrics primarily through the data you securely store in your donor management system.<\/p>\n

Ideally, with the right donor management, your donor data gets stored automatically the minute someone gives through your donation form.<\/p>\n

For example, Donorbox Donor Management<\/a> – it not just stores your donor data securely in its database but also lets you update information, add offline data, segment the donor records, as well as help you build reports for important donor metrics. You can also easily integrate with leading CRM solutions for better use of the data.<\/p>\n

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Manage Your Donor Data on Donorbox!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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<\/a>Why nonprofit donor metrics are so important<\/h3>\n

Understanding donor metrics is key to improving your fundraising efforts because you need to understand what\u2019s working and what isn\u2019t working with your supporters.<\/p>\n

For example, your lapsed donors. When you identify them, you also get an opportunity to dig further and discover what made them move away from your organization.<\/p>\n

These findings will help utilize your hard-won fundraising budget<\/a> in the best way possible to get these donors back to your nonprofit.<\/p>\n

Similarly, every metric has something to teach you about the effectiveness of your donor relationships<\/a> and fundraising. Let\u2019s go through each of them to learn more.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>8 Essential Donor Metrics for Nonprofits<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>1. Donor acquisition<\/h3>\n

This measures the number of new donors you\u2019ve acquired. Pretty obvious that this one is important, right?<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll want to measure this by year, but also by your campaigns. This helps you see which of your campaigns were most effective for acquiring<\/a> new donors.<\/p>\n

Donorbox lets you segment your supporters by campaign name as well as a number of other filters. To find out new donors you\u2019ve acquired for a campaign, simply go to your supporter database<\/a> on Donorbox, select the campaign, and add the time frame. You\u2019ll get your desired results.<\/p>\n

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On the Donorbox dashboard, you also get a Reports<\/a> section that helps you get a report on overall new donors to your organization during a specific interval.<\/p>\n

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Create Donor Reports on Donorbox<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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<\/a>2. Donor retention<\/h3>\n

The donor retention<\/a> metric or the number of donors who kept giving to your organization is an important component of your fundraising strategy.<\/p>\n

Find out how many donors gave to your nonprofit last year. Now, see how many of them gave again to your organization this year. If last year\u2019s amount was 100 and this year\u2019s 60, then your donor retention is 60\/100 = 60%.<\/p>\n

With Donorbox, you can easily pull data for measuring this metric. Segment donor records<\/a> based on last year and repeat the same for this year. Export both lists from Donorbox. Now, you will need to compare them to get the result.<\/p>\n

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For most nonprofits, donor retention stays at around 40-45%<\/a>. But you can improve this further by including better strategies like recurring donation campaigns, memberships<\/a>, etc. You must also cultivate your relationships throughout the year irrespective of the need for donations.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>3. Upgraded donors<\/h3>\n

These are donors who give more than they have in the past. So if a donor gives you $20 on their first donation and then ups it to $25, you have an upgraded donor.<\/p>\n

This metric can help you determine if your strategies for bringing in larger donations are effective. If you\u2019re accepting recurring donations<\/a> via Donorbox, your organization gets a triggered moment alert<\/a> when your recurring donors upgrade their donation amounts. This helps you reach out to them to show your gratitude.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>4. Reactivated donors<\/h3>\n

Reactivated donors are lapsed donors who have given to your nonprofit again after some time.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to know who your reactivated donors are so you can adequately re-engage<\/a>. Connect with them to rebuild that relationship so they don\u2019t lapse again. You can have a staff member or a volunteer make a call to them or send a survey to know what made them give to your campaign.<\/p>\n

You may find out this metric by comparing your latest donor data against that of the last few years. This is an important activity to also find out several other metrics related to your fundraising and donor behavior.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>5. Donations by campaign<\/h3>\n

Filtering your donations to see how one particular campaign performed is essential to understanding what your donors respond to. Your donor management system<\/a> should automatically store your donation data as it does with your donor data.<\/p>\n

For example, on Donorbox, you can easily access your donation data<\/a>. You can apply filters to this data according to the campaign name to find out how each campaign did. This will help create targeted marketing and communication pieces for your donors.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>6. Event conversion rate<\/h3>\n

This measures the number of people who attended your event and then became a donor. For example, if 100 people attended your event and 70 of them donated to your organization, your event conversion<\/a> rate would be 70\/100 = 70%.<\/p>\n

To easily calculate this, create a separate donation page<\/a> to accept donations at an event. Now, share ways like text-to-give, donation kiosks<\/a>, QR codes, etc. to direct people to that page. After the event, check your donor database to find donors who gave to this campaign against all those people who attended your event.<\/p>\n

Donorbox stores your event ticket purchasers as well as donors in a single place – the supporter database. It helps you effectively segment data to find out the details you need for such metric calculations.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>7. Donor lifetime value<\/h3>\n

Knowing how much a donor has given over their \u201clifetime\u201d is a powerful tool.<\/p>\n

This indicates donor loyalty<\/a> as well as a particular donor\u2019s giving ability. When you know how much they prefer to give, you have the chance to personalize your appeals to be able to get more from them.<\/p>\n

For example, you wouldn\u2019t want to send a generic $100 appeal to someone who has the ability to give in thousands of dollars. Similarly, you wouldn\u2019t want to scare someone who prefers to give $10 with an appeal of $100.<\/p>\n

On Donorbox, you can open a donor profile<\/a> to find all their donations listed under the \u201cDonations\u201d tab. This helps you find out their lifetime value.<\/p>\n

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Manage & Retain Supporters Like a Pro!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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<\/a>8. Lapsed donors<\/h3>\n

Even though this isn\u2019t a fun one to find, knowing how many donors stopped giving to your organization is important.<\/p>\n

Try to determine why they dropped off – was it during a period of lower engagement? This can help you avoid lapses in the future and turn lapsed donors<\/a> into reactivated donors!<\/p>\n

Donorbox\u2019s Reports module<\/a> helps you determine LYBUNT – Last Year But Unfortunately Not This Year. This means you get to find out which donors gave last year but they did not give this year. With this report, you can amp up your communication<\/a> with these lapsed donors to re-engage them through a better approach.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>Use Donorbox to Successfully Manage & Track Your Donor Data<\/h2>\n

Donorbox offers a powerful, data-driven donor management system to help maximize your donor data. Our easy-to-use tools all work together, letting you get a seamless look into your fundraising and donor stewardship efforts.<\/p>\n

The below list gives you an insight into the key features of Donorbox Donor Management<\/a> –<\/p>\n