12 Steps to Get Your Organization to Tomorrow

And of course, “every fundraiser worth his or her salt should know what the retention rate was five years ago, three years ago, now, and what it will be in the future — and what you’re going to do about it.”

2. Focus on share of wallet
Craver stressed that retention is not enough; you must be aware of what he calls “mission competition.” In other words, how much do your donors give to you compared to the other organizations they donate to? There are literally hundreds of thousands of nonprofits competing with you for your donors’ money. How do you fit in and compare? “Look to increase the share of giving to your organization,” Craver said. Use external tools such as merge/purge reports, wealth screening reports, and applications like TrueGivers to learn this important information.