This Is NOT an April Fool’s Joke: Numbers Look Good for 2014 Fundraising

The team at Eleventy Marketing Group has put together a list of the nine nonprofit numbers that predict a positive fundraising forecast for this year. Eleventy had a little help — Nonprofit Research Collaborative (NRC) studies charitable fundraising at nonprofit organizations and the factors that drive success and growth. The organization conducts surveys twice a year, and each survey covers changes in charitable gift amounts received.

Published in March 2014, the report Nonprofit Fundraising Study: Covering Charitable Receipts at Nonprofit Organizations in the United States and Canada in 2013 highlights results from the Nonprofit Fundraising Survey conducted in February 2014. Reported results are based on survey responses from 538 nonprofit organizations across sectors.

The introduction of the NRC report states, “In 2013, the economy continued to grow as signaled by the return of big gifts from the nation’s wealthiest philanthropists. The outlook for nonprofit organizations to hire more staff is positive. Philanthropic growth seems to be trending in the right direction. “

This is good news. Eleventy has summarized some key stats from the report and has also provided some additional thoughts about how to spur growth in your nonprofit. As always, you should read the full Nonprofit Fundraising Study to view more detailed information and in-depth results.

To kick things off, let’s talk about growth: 70 percent of nonprofits expect donations to increase in 2014. This stat shows nonprofit organizations have a very optimistic outlook, the likes of which have not been seen since the Great Recession began in 2007. So what’s the reason for such unbridled optimism? Much of it can be attributed to the fact that the majority of nonprofits met their fundraising goals in 2013 and saw their numbers rise over the previous year.

• 67 percent of nonprofits said they met their fundraising goals in 2013, compared to 63 percent in 2012, 59 percent in 2011
• 62 percent of nonprofits said they raised more money in 2013 than in 2012, compared to 58 percent in 2012, 53 percent in 2011 and 43 percent in 2010
• 62 percent of nonprofits saw an increase in major gifts in 2013
• 62 percent of nonprofits saw an increase in online gifts in 2013, compared to 37 percent in 2011
• Nonprofits based in all regions of the U.S. saw similar growth in 2013:
  • 68 percent increase in the South
  • 64 percent increase in the Northeast
  • 63 percent increase in the Midwest
  • 63 percent increase in the West

• Besides art and religion, all other nonprofit subsectors saw growth of at least 60 percent
• 70 percent of nonprofits expect an increase in fundraising results in 2014
• 57 percent of nonprofits anticipate a fundraising increase between 1 percent and 15 percent in 2014
• 13 percent of nonprofits expect to see substantial (15 percent or more) giving gains in 2014

Despite the collective optimism for fundraising success, nonprofits must overcome a number of hurdles to get there. In response to a survey question about the fundraising challenges they face in 2014, some of the most common nonprofit responses included: