Christmas in November?! Yep - Here's a Gift You Can Really Use!

• Organizations raising $500,000 or more had an average 10.4 percent rate of growth.
• Organizations raising $100,000 to $500,000 had an average 3.1 percent rate of growth.
• Organizations in the under $100,000 groups had an average loss of -7.8 percent.
• The largest growth in gift dollars/donors came from new gifts/donors, and the pattern was most pronounced in the organizations with the highest growth-in-giving ratios.
• The greatest losses in gift dollars came from lapsed repeat and downgraded gifts, particularly in the organizations with the lowest growth-in-giving ratios. The greatest losses in donors came from lapsed new donors in all growth-in-giving categories.
• The median donor retention rate in 2014 was 43 percent; no change from 2013’s rate. The gift or dollar retention rate increased from 46 percent in 2013 to 47 percent in 2014. Over the last nine years, donor and gift or dollar retention rates have consistently been weak -- averaging below 50 percent.
• The donor retention rate was 43 percent in 2014 (Median). That is, only 43 percent of 2013 donors made repeat gifts to participating nonprofits in 2014.
• The gift retention rate was 47 percent in 2014 (Median). That is, only 47 percent of 2013 dollars raised were raised again by participating nonprofits in 2014.

The most exciting news is that you don't just have to just read the report, you can participate!  The Raiser's Edge provides a plug-in feature that allows user-organizations to summarize their data and share it.

If you're a Target Analytics customer as well, the reports you output may help in using your modeling or research screening results more effectively.  For instance, if you've found that, similar to the report, you have a low retention rate for your annual fund, your Annual Giving Likelihood and Target Gift Range scores can help you to focus your efforts on the individuals in your database who are most likely to make gifts to your organization.  You've got options!

Here's a few of my thoughts:

• Grouping donors with AGL 501-1000 and TGR ranges 1-5 you could create a "don't lapse away" mailing or telephone list
• Non-donors with the same scores can help bring likely new donors into your giving rolls
• Find ways to reduce your cost to raise a dollar with records that scored low (AGL 0-500 and TGR 1-5)
• Those with higher giving level scores, say TGR 6-12, provide a concentrated segment of donors likley to make larger gifts - spending added time and effort on their "care and feeding" pays off by increasing your average gift amount.

The report, as you can see, is a wonderful gift!  Take time this Holiday Season to read it and make plans to use the plug-in reports so that, come 2016, you'll be ready to tackle the new year with added confidence in your fundraising program.

P.S. Don't forget, the Target Analytics Professional Services team has several Solution Expertise consulting packages to assist you as well.  Check with your Account Executive on specifics and pricing. 

Happy Holidays!