What Donor Data Should I Be Tracking? (In Layman’s Terms, Please!)
The truth is, I am a total data nerd. I get excited seeing colorful dashboards and using data-filled reports to better understand past performance. It’s part of my DNA to want to learn everything I can from past results before moving forward with my next initiative. I consider myself a “data driven leader.” But there is such a thing as data paralysis (where you have so much data that you don’t know how to process it all and what to do next). It’s important to find a happy balance between using data to drive strategic plans, taking a radial chance, and following your gut or intuition.
I used to work for a boss that made nearly 100% of his decisions on his gut feeling. The two of us found a happy middle ground and kept each other in balance. It was frustrating at times, but mostly very beneficial for us to discuss strategies based on our different perspectives. I highly recommend building a fundraising/development team that is diverse in work style, asking style, approach and background – but more on that in a future blog.
So you’re probably thinking, “That’s great Stephanie, but what data should I be using my precious time to track?” Well, here are my top 7 data points I believe every fundraising/development professional should not only track, but should also review and understand the implications on at least a monthly basis:
1. Donations received and pledged by category. I know this is obvious, but not everyone is tracking how much they’ve raised by category (events, grants, appeals, monthly donors, matching gifts, donor advised funds, etc.) and not everyone is tracking pledges. How will you know how much is coming in over the next months or years if you’re not tracking pledges? And are you following up on those pledges to ensure they’re received?
2. Donations received to date vs. Goal vs. Prior year to date. When I worked on a statewide fundraising walk campaign I looked at these three numbers almost daily. I was constantly checking to gauge how close I was to hitting my goal and if I was falling behind the previous year’s results. Since the expectation was year-over-year growth, that comparison to prior year to date was huge in helping me know when to adjust my efforts.
3. Number of new donors. You should know how many new donors are coming into your organization annually to ensure you’re constantly filling your pipeline to make up for any donors lost over the prior year(s).
4. Donor retention rate. To calculate your donor retention rate, divide the number of repeat donors this year by those that donated last year. For example, if you have 275 donors who gave again this year, but had 500 who gave last year, your donor retention rate is 55%. That means you lost 45% of your donors year over year. It’s crucial to find out why donors are leaving and adjust your strategic plan to keep donors, as it’s a lot more work to find new donors! Another term to track retention is called LYBUNT – which means donors who gave “last year but unfortunately not this year.” If your LYBUNT donors are increasing, you need to find out why and adjust course. And yet another term used to describe donor retention is “lapsed donors.” This is the same as a LYBUNT, just another term used to describe loss of a donor.
5. Average gift amount. Track how much a donor supporting your organization is giving per gift, on average. This will help you determine what levels to list in your appeals, on your web site donation levels, and how much to ask for when trying to upgrade a donor. It will also help you set goals and budget when you’re estimating how many new and retained donors you expect/want/plan to engage next fiscal year.
6. Response rate. If you’re sending out annual appeals (via email or snail mail), which I certainly hope you are, you should be tracking your response rate. To calculate this, divide the number of gifts received as a direct response to the appeal by the number of letters or emails sent out. On average, your appeal to active donors should yield 6 – 12%. This isn’t an exact science, but a good measurement to track to know if your appeal is connecting with your audience.
7. Number of donors, percentages and dollar amounts. It’s important to track the data above by more than just one type of information. Be sure to look at the data points by number of individual donors (number of companies, foundations, board members who gave, etc.), look at percentages when appropriate, and of course, look at dollar amounts. By reviewing the various types of data, you will have a clearer picture of what’s working and what’s not. Also, be sure to look at trends over time!
There are many more metrics you can be tracking, but the ones listed above are the most important to give you an overview of the health of your fundraising and development activities on an annual basis. Schedule time in your calendar to review the data once a month, much like you review the budget/financials, and schedule time with the entire fundraising/development team to review on a quarterly basis. It is equally important that the entire team knows and understands what the data is showing so they can help make adjustments to the annual fundraising plan quarterly, mid-year and year-end, if necessary. And always remember that data is as good as the effectiveness of the person entering it into the system – so clean data is crucial!
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