Metrics: A Roadmap to Success
In our last blog, we highlighted the importance of reaffirming your commitment to fundraising basics. Sticking to these basics will ensure your success despite the challenges COVID has brought to the non-profit sector.
At times like this, non-profits are needed more than ever. So let’s focus on what we can control in major gifts and foundations, and create plans for success.
If you followed my recent post and you have updated your pipeline and table of gifts, you are ready to move on to the next steps, ensuring success in 2020!
Metrics Matter
Let’s assume you’ve updated your revenue goal, table of gifts & donor pipeline (if you haven’t, read how here). These will be your guiding lights to reach your financial goals. But how will you transform these into dollars?
Assigning achievable metrics, or Key Performance Indicators (KPI’S), will focus your efforts on the activities that are most important to closing large gifts. Narrow your focus to five or less to be sure you are managing your time right!
KPI’s differ for Major Gifts and Foundation work, so we’ve listed the most important ones for each channel. Consider assigning goals for the following:
Major Gifts: Track their metrics (for the whole organization, and by gift officer), and check-in each month to make sure you are on track.
Revenue Goal: If a gift officer has a revenue goal of $500,000 for the year, each month should average almost $42,000. We are five months into the year, so your gift officer should be close to $210,000. Are you on track? If not, how can you make that up between now and December? Does the goal need to be adjusted? When does your gift officer expect to solicit and close this year’s biggest donations?
Moves Goals: Most Major Gift teams track face-to-face visits. Adjust this to “Moves” in 2020, and keep the one-to-one relationship building on track. Even though you can’t do personal visits right now, there are plenty of ways to connect, cultivate and engage you donors. For creative ideas, read my April 7th post here.
Visit Attempts: Track each time you ask a donor to meet with you - either in person, or virtually. During this pandemic, schedule phone conversations as you would normal visits, and track each time you ask someone to schedule a phone conversation, too. This is an important metric, as you can’t control how many donors accept your invitations, but you can control the number of times you reach out. Tracking this metric will keep staff focused on what matters most: intentional donor relationship building.
Solicitations: You won’t close gifts if you don’t ask for them. Every portfolio donor in the Solicitation stage should be solicited within 12 months, or moved back to cultivation. Set a KPI for a number of solicitations equal to the number of donors in this stage. The challenges of COVID will encourage some donors to give more and sooner, while others may be facing financial hardship, so continually update your moves plans and donor stages as you connect with your donors and learn how they are weathering this pandemic.
Foundations. If your focus is foundation fundraising, track the following (for the whole organization, and by foundation officer), and check-in each month to make sure you on track.
Revenue Goal: If your 2020 foundation revenue goal is $400,000, each month should average almost $35,000. We are five months into the year, so you should be close to $167,000. Are you on track? If not, how can you make that up between now and December? Does the goal need to be adjusted? When do you expect your largest foundation prospects to make grant decisions?
Personal Outreach to A-Ranked Foundations: First, take some time to “match-score” your foundation prospect list. Do they fund in your geographic area? Do they fund work that closely matches yours? If so, you have a solid mission match. Give a match ranking to all foundations in your pipeline with this criteria: Perfect Match (A), Close Match (B), and Remote match (C). Next, through out the C’s. They aren’t worth your time or theirs. Now, sort your list to only look at those with an A match, and begin reaching out to those with the largest average grant size. Foundation leaders consistently report they want to hear from applicants throughout the year, not just at the time of an application. Call. Speak with the staff. Learn more about what they are looking for in their grantees. Track phone calls and visits like you would for major gifts. Amy Eisenstein has an excellent blog about this here if you want to learn more.
Average Proposal Ask Amount: Many organizations focus on the number of proposals sent to foundations. This can be counter—productive, as it rewards staff for sending a lot of proposals, as opposed to focusing on the foundations that are the best fit for your mission, and those that make the largest grants. To improve efficiency and overall revenue, prioritize those you ranked A for mission match, and those with the largest potential grant size! Identify a target average grant solicitation amount, and track this throughout the year to be sure you stay on track.
Fundraising is a combination of art and science. Tracking metrics falls on the science side of our work, and can be the most important way to ensure you and your staff stay focused on what matters most to overall revenue and relationship building!