Donation data from end-of-year fundraising campaigns can guide giving requests all year long. There are five data points that are particularly important to track across any nonprofit data software. Learn how to track and utilize this important information, which may require an organization that uses both Blackbaud software and Salesforce for Nonprofits to integrate Salesforce and Raiser’s Edge.
General Fundraising Metrics to Track
Some fundraising metrics are more obvious than others. The cost per dollar raised, donor retention rate and return on investment are three types of data that are closely tracked by most nonprofits.
The CPDR of a nonprofit is calculated by dividing expense by revenue. The ROI is a related calculation that involves dividing revenue by expenses, with a number greater than one indicating that money has been raised.
Other fundraising metrics include other ways to assess giving-related activities and modes of engagement on the part of supporters. The means to track these indexes is built into Blackbaud donor management, making these some of the most accessible measures of performance.
Tracking the relationships between donors down to amounts given and calculations of giving potential can also be helpful for guiding future fundraising efforts. This extends from individual donations to involvement in corporate employee matching gift programs.
How to Implement Learnings From the Data You Have Collected
Tracking more types of donor data does not directly translate to implementation. Each metric lends itself to a particular organizational growth strategy. The CPDR and ROI of fundraising may lead to decisions regarding the donor management and operational software in use as well as the strategies an organization chooses to pursue.
Specialists tend to suggest that an organization focused on cutting costs and overhead prioritize the CDPR, while organizations pursuing strategic growth emphasize ROI calculations. For other types of metrics, the insight gained might pertain to the most effective donor relationship management platform is most effective for driving engagement or increasing gift amounts.
No matter which metrics an organization makes a priority, it is important to draw connections between performance and actionable measures that can be taken by staff and stakeholders. In many cases, the basis for these functions is included the leading fundraising software suites.
The Role of Integration in Implementation
Implementing findings from donor data analysis may call for integration across platforms to fine-tune the segmentation, targeting or tracking functions of Blackbaud or Salesforce software. In some cases, it may be necessary to import or export records across databases or systems.
Paying close attention to the growth of a donor pool, average gift sizes and giving capacities can empower stakeholders to make more informed asks that are likely to prove successful. Tracking donor data over time also makes it possible to fine-tune an organizational fundraising strategy year over year.
Integration tools play an essential part in ensuring the availability of the most accurate and current data across any nonprofit software in use, such as Salesforce NPSP and Raiser’s Edge. The availability of donor information correlates with the ability of organizational stakeholders to make more informed operational management and fundraising decisions.