Fundraising climate change

2023 FUNDRAISING REPORT CARD ANNUAL REVIEW

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001
greg new photo

Author
Engagement Fundraising

Greg Warner
CEO & Founder

logo-basic-300x451

Inventor

logo

DAFwidgetlogooption5

linkedin

 Introduction

What’s in a name?

In my book titled Engagement Fundraising (published back in 2018) I briefly described the changes affecting nonprofits and their fundraising staff. The label I applied to the trend was ‘Fundraising Climate Change.’

I had been monitoring the metrics for some time and, while many on the frontlines were aware of the problem, too many others weren’t noticing what was happening. 

So I built the Fundraising Report Card.

I decided to invest in building an application fundraisers could use to view and analyze their metrics quickly and easily, and I have been giving it away ever since. Thanks to the data fundraisers supply, we can provide this summary report to help you and your colleagues understand what’s happening — and how you can take action. I hope you find it useful. Of course, your feedback is always welcome.

Greg Signature 2023

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

Proof that it’s happening

2022 was a terrible year for fundraisers and the trend continued in 2023.

According to Giving USA (The Annual Report on Philanthropy), total giving in 2022 declined 3.4% in current dollars — down a whopping 10.5% after adjusting for inflation.

Additionally, although the Fundraising Effectiveness Project data lags behind ours, late last year they released their Q1 - Q3 findings reporting that total giving in 2023 so far had declined 1.1% in current dollars and the number of people giving declined by 7.6%.

Giving USA: The Annual Report on Philanthropy, is published by Giving USA Foundation, a public service initiative of The Giving Institute. It is researched and written by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI.

fundraiser

IMPORTANT NOTE: Total charitable giving has fallen only three other times in the last 40 years in current dollars: 1987, 2008, and 2009.


FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

Proof that it’s happening

The number of donors in the U.S. has been shrinking

Some researchers began studying this phenomenon back in 2003, concluding that nonprofit mergers were partially to blame. However, subsequent studies and articles have found that people are simply dropping out of giving altogether. The number of donors in the U.S. has fallen yearly by between 1% and 5%, depending on the source.

research

Donations on the decline

donation

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

Donor disappearance isn’t the only problem

Donor and revenue retention rates are dropping

According to MarketSmart’s Fundraising Report Card, a free application that analyzes over $145 billion in donation revenues for more than 15,000 nonprofits daily and provides sector benchmarks, both donor and revenue retention rates are on a downward trajectory.

metrics

More time fundraising, less time preparing.

Now staff can build reports for board meetings and other briefings with ease.

Donors Retained 2019 - 2023 graph
Revenue Retained 2019 - 2023 graph
logo

Daily analysis of $145 billion in charitable giving
using data from 15,000+ organizations 


FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

And there’s more...

Other metrics are declining too

First time, reactivated, and repeat donor retention rates are trending downward.

NOTE: You can view your metrics in seconds using our Fundraising Report Card.

benchmarks
1st time donor retention 2024
Reactivated donor retention 2024
Repeat donor retention 2024
logo

Daily analysis of $145 billion in charitable giving
using data from 15,000+ organizations 


FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

One bright spot is no more 

The average donation amount was growing 

The average donation amount had increased by 21.5% over the past few years thanks to larger gifts from wealthy donors. However, after reaching a peak of $357.58 in 2022 the average donation dropped 8.37% in 2023 to $327.66.

 

 

Note that the Blackbaud Institute’s research concluded that the average donation reached $737 in 2020 (although their data likely reflects data found in their customers’ CRMs which leaves out many smaller organizations).
https://institute.blackbaud.com/charitable-giving-report/overall-giving-trends/

Blackbaud_Institute_Logo_Stacked_CMYK_Std copy

Average donation amount declined in 2023

Avg donation amounts dollars 2024
logo

Daily analysis of $145 billion in charitable giving
using data from 15,000+ organizations 


FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

ALL SECTORS

Average lifetime value among low dollar 
donors in all sectors is only $46.02


A terrible return on your fundraising investment 

Although most fundraising shops spend the majority of their marketing dollars on generating low dollar (under $100) donations, the lifetime value (LTV) of those donors is meager ($46.02) — especially when compared with the LTV of over $5,000 donors ($77,672.69).

benchmarks
under $100

OVERALL Under $100 Giving Level

Low dollar, ‘mass market’ donors

arrow
over $5000

OVERALL Over $5,000 Giving Level 2024

High dollar ‘relational’ partners

January 2024

logo

Daily analysis of $145 billion in charitable giving
using data from 15,000+ organizations 


FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

BY SECTOR 

HUMAN SERVICES SECTOR lifetime value among low-dollar donors is only $45.38

Based on $12,281,299,952.60 analyzed.

benchmarks
under $100
HUMAN SERVICES Under $100 Giving Level 2024
arrow
over $5000
HUMAN SERVICES Over $5000 Giving Level 2024

January 2024

logo

Daily analysis of $145 billion in charitable giving
using data from 15,000+ organizations 


FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

BY SECTOR 

HEALTH SECTOR lifetime value among low-dollar donors is only $36.49

Based on $10,034,459,353.90 analyzed.

under $100
HEALTH Under $100 Giving Level 2024
arrow
over $5000
HEALTH Over $5000 Giving Level 2024

January 2024

logo

Daily analysis of $145 billion in charitable giving
using data from 15,000+ organizations 

benchmarks

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

BY SECTOR 

EDUCATION SECTOR lifetime value among low-dollar donors is only $52.75

Based on $10,601,630,803.15 analyzed.

under $100
EDUCATION Under $100 Giving Level 2024
arrow
over $5000
EDUCATION Over $5000 Giving Level 2024

January 2024

logo

Daily analysis of $145 billion in charitable giving
using data from 15,000+ organizations 

benchmarks

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

BY SECTOR 

RELIGION SECTOR lifetime value among 
low-dollar donors is only $50.78


Based on $10,601,630,803.15 analyzed. 

under $100
RELIGION Under $100 Giving Level 2024
arrow
over $5000
RELIGION Over $5000 Giving Level 2024

January 2024

logo

Daily analysis of $145 billion in charitable giving
using data from 15,000+ organizations 

benchmarks

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

BY SECTOR 

ENVIRONMENT & ANIMALS SECTOR lifetime value among low-dollar donors is only $44.97

Based on $8,726,138,539.40 analyzed.


benchmarks
under $100
ENVIRONMENT AND ANIMALS Under $100 Giving Level 2024
arrow
over $5000
ENVIRONMENT AND ANIMALS Over $5000 Giving Level 2024

January 2024

logo

Daily analysis of $145 billion in charitable giving
using data from 15,000+ organizations 


FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

BY SECTOR 

PUBLIC & SOCIETY BENEFIT SECTOR lifetime value among low-dollar donors is only $34.64

Based on $3,701,585,734.85 analyzed.


benchmarks
under $100
PUBLIC AND SOCIETY Under $100 Giving Level 2024
arrow
over $5000
PUBLIC AND SOCIETY Over $5000 Giving Level 2024

January 2024

logo

Daily analysis of $145 billion in charitable giving
using data from 15,000+ organizations 


FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

BY SECTOR 

INTERNATIONAL SECTOR lifetime value among low-dollar donors is only $46.05

Based on $2,770,376,749.37 analyzed.


benchmarks
under $100
INTERNATIONAL Under $100 Giving Level 2024
arrow
over $5000
INTERNATIONAL Over $5000 Giving Level 2024

January 2024

logo

Daily analysis of $145 billion in charitable giving
using data from 15,000+ organizations 


FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

BY SECTOR 

ARTS, CULTURE & HUMANITIES SECTOR lifetime value among low-dollar donors is only $37.73

Based on $1,953,589,416.93 analyzed.


benchmarks
under $100
ARTS CULTURE HUMANITIES Under $100 Giving Level 2024
arrow
over $5000
ARTS CULTURE HUMANITES Over $5000 Giving Level 2024

January 2024

logo

Daily analysis of $145 billion in charitable giving
using data from 15,000+ organizations 


FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

BY SECTOR 

OTHER SECTOR lifetime value among low dollar donors is only $47.98

Based on $36,071,533,536.57 analyzed and includes all the organizations that don’t fit neatly into the preceding categories.


benchmarks
under $100
OTHER Under $100 Giving Level 2024
arrow
over $5000
OTHER Over $5000 Giving Level 2024

January 2024

logo

Daily analysis of $145 billion in charitable giving
using data from 15,000+ organizations 


FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

DECODING

THE DATA


FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

The 80/20 Rule is dead

Fewer donors are supplying most of the revenue

Many in the sector used to say they would expect 80% of an organization’s revenue to come from 20% of its donors. But now it’s more like 68.43%/.77%.

Just .77% of donors (those giving more than $5,000) constitute more than two-thirds (68.43%) of total donation income, whereas nearly 76.12% of donors (giving less than $100) supply only 6.33% of the funds received.

Donors giving over $5,000
= .77% of an org’s donor base
but make up 68.43% (just over 2/3) 
of all donation revenue 

Vs.

Donors giving under $100
= 76.12% of an org’s donor base
but make up only 6.33% of all
donation revenue

logo

Daily analysis of $145 billion in charitable giving
using data from 15,000+ organizations 


FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

Something is out of whack!

Why is this happening?

One might wonder, “How can it be that donors are ‘disappearing’
when the population in the U.S. continues to increase by .6% to
1% each year?”


FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

It’s not that older donors are passing away

More people are moving into the prime giving ages

The number of people at or above age 65 is expected to jump quickly from 60 million to around 75 million in 2030, growing from approximately 15% of the U.S. population to 20% (and again to about 85 million or 23% of the U.S. population by 2050).

65+ population expected to continue climbing

populations

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

People are spending money

But they aren’t making donations

More and more people are dropping out of giving and spending 
their hard-earned dollars on products like coffee instead. 

donation-1

Starbucks’ revenues continue to climb 

starbucks

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

Your facing more competition

The number of charities in the U.S. continues to rise 

You are not only competing with businesses like Starbucks for your donors’ (consumers’) share-of-wallet. Charities can be launched almost instantly from anyone’s kitchen table. As a result, the number of charities in the U.S. doubled from 2001 – 2015 and it is likely that the figure will only to continue to grow.

Nonprofits have never been easier to launch.

legal zoom
public charity

https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-nonprofits-are-there-in-the-us/


FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

Donor-advised funds are detouring your donors

The number of DAFs in the U.S. continues to rise 

The National Philanthropic Trust Donor-Advised Fund Report stated that the number of individual accounts more than quadrupled over the past 5 years from 463,622 to 1.949 million while assets held more than doubled.

assets

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

What’s going on?

testi

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

Reason 1: Why donors are disappearing

Trust in nonprofits is sinking

In 2017 Give.org reported that trust in charities was waning with 32% of survey respondents stating that they trust charities less than they did 5 years ago. Then, in 2018 the Edelman Trust Barometer found that trust in non-government organizations (NGOs) dropped by 9% in the U.S. with a more pronounced decrease (-18%) among the ‘informed public’ which is more likely to be highly educated and, in turn, more philanthropic. This was the first time nonprofits were found to be trusted less than private sector businesses by the ‘informed public.’ Businesses are still trusted more than NGOs according to the 2023 trustbarometer report.

nonprofits
charity

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

Reason 1: Why donors are disappearing

Trust in nonprofits is sinking

Independent Sector released a report titled Trust in Civil Society. This quote from the authors says it all:

“After seeing years of small trust declines in line with other major institutions, nonprofit trust dropped by a statistically significant 4-points in 2023. This was the largest year-over-year change in trust of any institution tested.”

independent sector
nonprofit organization

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

Reason 2: Why donors are disappearing

Interest in and devotion to religion is declining— fast 

Many studies have found that religion is among the top 
influencers that inspire charitable giving. However, our society is 
becoming more secular and giving to religion as a share of total 
giving has been in decline.

Nevertheless, according to the National Philanthropic Trust, in 
2022 the majority of charitable dollars went to religion (27%), 
human services (14%), education (13%), grantmaking 
foundations (11%) and health (10%). 

report series
religion giving

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

Add this to your mix of challenges

Communication channels have been fragmenting

Of course, your supporters want their beloved nonprofits to communicate with them. However, communication requires money. And these days, as the number of channels keep multiplying, nonprofits are struggling to communicate with their supporters through the ever growing number of channels they use.

old channel
new channel

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

People are preferring autonomous decision-making

Donors have become much more resourceful and self-reliant

Penelope Burk, author of Donor Centered Fundraising, explained how donors are changing in an article in the Association of Fund￾raising Professionals flagship magazine (Advancing Philanthropy, April 2019) wherein she said that only 18% of bequest donors had a gift officer. And, among those donors, the majority hinted that they didn’t need much help from them.

bequest donor

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

And the biggest challenge of all

People are becoming less accepting of interruptive tactics

Most supporters don’t like getting overwhelmed by solicitations in their mailboxes. Many get annoyed by telemarketing when they are sitting down for dinner with their families. And spam is universally detested.

Interruptive tactics diminish trust.

Yet fundraising operations continue to deploy them, and the result is reduced retention rates and more donor defection.

NOTE: Just because nonprofits were excluded from the CAN-SPAM ACT (signed into law in 2004) doesn’t mean that it’s ok to send email to people who haven’t opted-in for it.

junk mail

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Hard copies available on Amazon. 
Free digital & audio versions 
available here. 

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

So what should you do?

More of everything isn’t the answer

The climate for fundraising has changed, so doing more of the same old, interruptive communications and arm-twisting efforts won’t solve your revenue problems. In fact these days, doing more is likely to drive even more donors and supporters further away

ladder
more

HOW TO

TAKE CONTROL


FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
button

Hard copies available on
Amazon. Free digital & audio
versions available here

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

Instead, try this!

Support your supporters — deliver value!

Stop spraying and praying; start providing value instead— especially when communicating with high capacity, philanthropic-minded supporters and donor prospects. Believe it or not, the more you give, the more you’ll get! So develop a giving mindset. Be fair and respectful.

Give your donors control over whether or not they receive messages from your organization by asking them to grant you permission to opt-them-in to communications. Then deliver non-solicitous opportunities for them to engage with your cause and self-navigate the education, involvement and gift consideration stages conveniently on their own with no pressure. If you do, they’ll reward your organization with larger donations, greater loyalty and even legacy giving.

value

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
button

Hard copies available on
Amazon. Free digital & audio
versions available here

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

How to give to your supporters

First, uncover their interests and needs

Stop worrying so much about your needs and case for support. Instead, consider discovering each of your supporters’ cases for giving. Uncover why they care along with their interests, desires, wants and needs.

Then, ask them in which stage of the consideration process (for giving) they reside. All of this (and more) can be uncovered with a donor survey. Believe it or not, the demand for this kind of outreach among your supporters is pent-up. They’re tired of being asked for money and they’d be thrilled if you’d ask them about them!

NOTE: MarketSmart developed the most powerful donor survey platform ever created and hundreds of organizations like yours use it to help their supporters self-qualify and, later, self-navigate the decision-making process after they’ve opted-in to automated cultivation communications. To learn more about how it works and how you can benefit, just go to www.imarketsmart.com or email us at info@imarketsmart.com.

advice

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
button

Hard copies available on
Amazon. Free digital & audio
versions available here

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

Next, deliver value in line with what they told you

Show ‘em that you know ‘em 

Everyone likes to feel that they’ve been heard. Yet, unfortunately, most organizations only engage in one-way communications with their supporters — solicitations!

When you send highly relevant, hyper-personalized, timely messages that provide value in line with each donor’s wants, needs, passions and interests (along with special attention paid to where each donor resides in the consideration continuum), donors engage and results skyrocket.

yellow flowers

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
button

Hard copies available on
Amazon. Free digital & audio
versions available here

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

Then let them take the wheel 

Give them control over the decision-making process 

Your supporters will feel respected and secure when you give them the opportunity to take command of the decision-making process. That’s why it’s important for you to ask for permission and allow them to opt-in before you engage with them on a deeper level.

Then, once they’ve opted-in, make information accessible so they can educate and immerse themselves in the value you can provide to them (in the way of good feelings and fulfilment they aim to derive from their involvement with your cause). And don’t forget to make it easy for them to opt-out too. That’s the fair way to treat people.

four self

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
button

Hard copies available on
Amazon. Free digital & audio
versions available here

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

Automate and scale one-to-one cultivation 

Leverage technology to make your supporters feel good

Marketing automation (or, fundraising automation) is a relatively new way to leverage technology to deliver 1-to-1, hyper-personalized, highly relevant communications to supporters. It’s a game-changer for overworked fundraisers because it lets technology do what’s time-consuming and tedious (researching donor interests, writing communications, and disseminating cultivation and stewardship messages) so fundraisers can do what they do best— build relationships with hi-value supporters and help them make navigate their individual decision-making processes.

It’s powerful and the organizations using it properly are already lowering costs and riding the wave to success. They are sidestepping fundraising climate change and delivering value in line with interests at scale.

costs

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
button

Hard copies available on
Amazon. Free digital & audio
versions available here

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

The decision is yours 

Make no mistake, there will be winners and losers

Amidst this turbulent and transformational era of fundraising climate change, now is the time! Will you leverage technology to increase revenues as you lower costs? Or, like encyclopedias, taxi cabs, and video stores, will you ignore it and put your organization or institution in peril?

technology

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
button

Hard copies available on
Amazon. Free digital & audio
versions available here

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

You can win

You can be the fundraiser you always wanted to be

You, your board, your leadership, your staff and your donors can be happy. But only if you take action.

Help your teams focus on what they do best at low cost — building personal relationships with high-value donors, facilitating their giving experiences, and ultimately helping them find meaning in their lives.

leadership

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
strat
buttons

Hard copies available on
Amazon. Free digital & audio
versions available here

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

Three strategies for success 

1. Invest more in what is now the 68.43/.77

Many nonprofits spend most of their fundraising budget on efforts focused on acquiring low-dollar donors (76.12% of an organization’s list). Yet those donors only make up 6.33% of all their donation revenue year after year. Meanwhile, 68.43% of their revenue (on average) comes from just .77% of their donor base.

We realize that you need to acquire new donors. But a bottom-heavy budgetary arrangement leaves big-dollar opportunities neglected. That’s why we recommend re-balancing your budget with greater focus on the 68.43/.77 to yield exponentially greater returns on your investment dollars. Don’t forget, high-dollar donors retain at a much higher rate compared to low dollar donors (37.75% vs. 17.88%) and their lifetime value is over $77,672 (vs. $46) on average.

no risk offer
rebalance

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
strat
buttons

Hard copies available on
Amazon. Free digital & audio
versions available here

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

Three strategies for success

2. Support your supporters

Keep in mind that marketing aimed at low dollar donors is different because those decisions are more transactional. They happen fast — impulsively.

Alternatively, high dollar decisions are cautiously considered. They require immense amounts of trust built over time thanks to non-solicitous messages that focus on why a donor would want to give (to benefit them!), not so much on how to give. Why always comes before how.

Therefore, your how messages should only be sent at the right time, when a supporter is in the “Action” stage of the consideration continuum. Support your donors as they self-navigate the decision-making journey and you’ll surely close more major and legacy gifts to support your organization’s mission for years to come.

decision

FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
strat
buttons

Hard copies available on
Amazon. Free digital & audio
versions available here

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

Three strategies for success

3. Give to your givers

The law of reciprocity is a powerful influencer, especially when it comes to highly-considered decisions (such as major gift and legacy gift decisions). This social convention makes supporters feel strongly that they have an obligation to repay when something is given to them first. Therefore, it is essential that you provide value to your supporters and major gift prospects over time, knowing that your gifts will likely inspire them to want to return the favor in the future.

So stop ambushing — soliciting before your prospects are ready to be asked. Instead, be nice and find highly relevant, personalized, value￾oriented ways to give to them. Seriously, it works!

we can help

About MarketSmart

The problem.

Fundraisers, nonprofit leaders and board members come to MarketSmart when they realize their traditional efforts will never move the needle enough. Sending more email or direct mail will never increase the returns on their fundraising investments as much as they’d like.

After all, according to the Fundraising Report Card’s benchmarks, new low-dollar donor gifts only average about $27 with fewer than 18% giving again—yielding a total lifetime value of just $46 per donor. Organizing more events won’t help either. They’re expensive and time-consuming.

Instead, fundraising operations need more major gifts from assets, not cash. However, the conventional, time-honored so-called best practices surrounding major gifts fundraising efforts no longer work so well.

Too often major gift officers are sent on wild goose chases. The identified prospects assigned to them lead to false positives because they are rarely truly qualified. Oftentimes the leads don’t have enough capacity, are not passionate enough about the cause, or are simply not ready for outreach. That’s because the research used to identify them is based on quantitative data such as past transactional giving, wealth screening or predictive models.

None of that provides fundraisers with what they really need—more meetings with qualified major gift donor prospects who are ready for someone to help guide them through the philanthropic decision-making process.

The solution. no risk offer

Qualitative data is better. That’s why we built a system that inspires supporters to lean in, engage and qualify themselves for your outreach. Through our approach supporters explain why they care, what kinds of assets they’d consider giving and when they’d be likely to accept your outreach. That’s the kind of information you need to position your team for success (so you reduce turnover).

Plus, we do it all for you. Our turnkey Engagement Fundraising System gives your staff the kind of automated qualification marketing support they desperately need and deserve.

After all, in-house marketing teams are usually too busy (or don’t know how) to deliver this support. In many cases they’re told to focus on generating low-dollar donations through direct response efforts or event attendance.

With our System you get a powerful 'done-for-you' software and service duo that helps you engage supporters, cultivate leads and land more meetings so you can do what you do best—build relationships with your wealthiest and most passionate supporters when they are ready.

Say goodbye to wild goose chases resulting from speculative donor identification methods. Say hello to much more meaningful meetings, more major gifts and happier staff. That’s what you get from qualitative data supplied by the very people who care most deeply about your cause—your supporters.


FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
strat
buttons

Hard copies available on
Amazon. Free digital & audio
versions available here

amazon-removebg-preview
Engagement Fundraising_page-0001

Testimonials

testimonials
reach out
ROI

MarketSmartLogo

imarketsmart.com

Donor-driven major, mid-level and legacy
gift marketing guaranteed to deliver.