KPIs for Nonprofits and Charities
These are the KPIs a nonprofit or charity tracks for donor retention, fundraising efficiency and spending on its mission. Retention is usually cheaper than acquisition.
The KPIs to track
Donor retention rate
Donors who gave in both the previous and the current period divided by donors who gave in the previous period.
Average gift size
Total donations divided by the number of gifts.
Cost per pound or dollar raised
Fundraising costs divided by funds raised.
Program expense ratio
Spending on programmes and services divided by total expenses.
Recurring donor share
Income from regular givers divided by total donation income.
Donor acquisition cost
Fundraising spend on finding new donors divided by the number of new donors.
Lapsed donor reactivation rate
Lapsed donors who gave again in the period divided by lapsed donors contacted.
Customer lifetime value estimates the total gross profit a customer brings before they leave.
Formula and SQL query on the Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) page.
Where the data usually lives
A donor database or CRM, the payment and direct debit processor, the finance system and campaign tools.
Measurement mistakes to avoid
- Gift Aid or tax reclaims should be treated the same way across campaigns.
- Restricted funds cannot be compared with unrestricted income without adjusting.
- A donor can appear under several records; deduplicate before counting donors.
Questions to ask your data
You can type these as plain questions. SchemaChat turns each one into SQL against your connected database or uploaded file, runs it, and shows the SQL and the figures it used so you can check the answer before you share it. Check that the result matches how your business defines each KPI.
- What is donor retention by acquisition channel?
- What share of income comes from regular givers?
- What is the cost per pound raised by campaign?
- How many lapsed donors gave again after our appeal?