Fundraising Effectiveness Project Releases Q4 Report

The final Q4 report for 2023 fundraising was just released from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project. Find the full report here.

Topline, the year-over-year change in donors was down 3.4%. Dollars was down 2.8%. Retention was down 2.5%, which mirrors LKA’s analytics. Even with average gifts stable or increasing, larger contributions and major donor participation is not enough to overcome the declines in donors and retention.

On the positive side, the economic outlook and some people’s perception of it is improving. However, it’s important to remember that nonprofit giving is often the last sector to improve coming out of an economic downturn.

What should you do now?

1)       Keep your current donors close. Place strong effort on donor engagement with a robust communications calendar.

2)       Focus intently on reactivation of monthly donors and lapsed donors.

3)       Invest time and resources in developing a pipeline of new prospects by finding ways to engage new people, then bring them closer through interesting and compelling tactics to help them see the value and power of your work.