The verdict is in from Agitator readers … 2009 fundraising for the first half of 2009 is, well, so-so!

First of all, thanks to the 130 readers (81% from nonprofits, 19% consultants/agencies) who completed our mid-year assessment survey.

Here’s the topline of how you are viewing 2009 to date:

1. Has your program performed better or worse in the first half of 2009 compared to the last half of 2008?

• Nonprofits say Better – 34%, Worse – 27%, About the same – 39%.

Not bad under the circumstances. Consultants (Often wrong; never in doubt!) say only 11% of their clients’ programs are performing "Worse."

2. Given your returns, are you feeling more optimistic or more pessimistic about likely performance over the rest of the year?

• Nonprofits say More Optimistic – 31%, More Pessimistic – 27%,
  About the same – 41%

So it looks like three-in-ten nonprofits have seen bad news so far this year … and expect more of the same. Only 11% of consultants are more pessimistic than when the year began.

3. How have nonprofits adjusted to the fundraising environment in the course of 2009?

• 78% of nonprofits have invested more in donor retention, 60% in online fundraising, and 59% in major gift solicitation. Consultants report more investment in targeting & segmentation (71%), as well as data hygiene, mining & analysis (62%).
• Cutbacks in investment have come in fundraising events (33%) and prospecting (21%).

Interestingly, 37% of nonprofits have increased their prospecting investments, probably overlapping with the 41% who expect to have more active donors/members at the end of 2009 than they had at year-end 2008.

I don’t know about you, but I expected the situation and mood to be worse. Keeping in mind that the comparison period — last half of 2008 — was despondent, still, on balance this survey brings welcome good news. Being an optimist, I would characterize the results as saying that seven-in-ten fundraisers believe their programs are holding their ground or improving.

Agree?

The real meat in the survey has been the response to open-ended questions about the  strategy changes nonprofits and their advisors have made so far this year. More on that tomorrow.

Tom