Tending the Lawn of Measurement
Tuesday, 17 May 2011 00:00
by Mark Warner
As summer quickly approaches, think of measurement as tending that great lawn. Now is the time to weave the many areas of that lawn into a seamless masterpiece symbolizing all of your fundraising efforts. Regardless of how your development operations are structured, measurement of all kinds helps build a thicker and stronger lawn. That means you have the quantitative data to support your management decisions and ultimately increase the organization’s investment in development.
While most organizations measure the impact of direct marketing initiatives, many overlook that ALL areas of development need to be tracked. For example, how many phone calls and meetings did the CEO and director of development accomplish last month? How many of your direct marketing donors upgraded to your major giving society?
While it does take an investment in time, good measurement can have a big impact when budgeting season comes along and you have the quantitative data that illustrates return on investment (ROI) from fundraising. Most importantly, it provides critical information to your leadership (both staff and volunteers) that helps guide their decisions regarding your fundraising budget and plans. You now have the data to back up your decisions.
There is an important but subtle message that accompanies thoughtful measurement and reporting. You are broadcasting that development as being ably managed and every effort is being made to maximize return on investment and spend wisely. This is doubly important during a challenging year when every decision is being scrutinized. The conversation is more about the strategy itself rather than your decisions and leadership.
Here a few data points to consider while measuring:
1. New, renewing and upgrading donors within your donor societies
• Number of donors at all levels
• Incremental revenue gains
2. Major gift activity of both staff and colunteer leadership
• Number of solicitations each month
• Amount solicited
• Amount raised
3. Board giving
• Percentage of Board who give (this should be 100%)
• Funds raised by Board members
• Amount given by Board members
4. Event fundraising ( going beyond the event itself)
• Attendees tagged for further cultivation and solicitation
• Attendees solicited that year for an additional gift
Mark Warner, President of MDW Consulting, launched his company in 2009 with more than 15 years of development experience that focused on capital campaigns, major giving and society membership programs. The firm serves the breadth of the not-for-profit sector with highly customized projects that empower clients to increase their fundraising revenue. Mark gives back to the community and the sector as a board member and development committee chair of Strawdog Theatre and as a volunteer docent at the Chicago Architecture Foundation where he leads tours of Millennium Park, Pilsen and the Loop.
