It’s fashionable these days for many nonprofit fundraisers and their consultants to claim they’re ‘data-driven’. Problem is, most focus on the ‘data’ part of the slogan; few understand the requirements of the second word — ‘driven’.

I’m making this observation again at the start of the year because if you haven’t already done so, now is the time you should have some Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from 2013 in hand to drive your 2014 actions.

Here are my candidates for a basic set of 2013 KPIs every fundraiser needs.

• Lifetime Value of Your Donors. You’ll need this fundamental and critically important metric both for setting goals for 2014, and again, for measuring how well you did in lifting value in 2014.

[Tip: If you or your consultants want to be rewarded on performance, this is the metric that ultimately matters. It’s a mystery to me why most organizations don’t set this as the basic performance standard. Almost anyone with electricity can figure out what to print and mail, sign a purchase order or run a spreadsheet. Few understand that improving value is the ultimate test … to say nothing of how to do it.]

• New Donor and Existing Donor Retention Rates. No use pouring in all those acquisition dollars only to have them flow out the bottom of a leaky retention bucket.

[Of course The Agitator will continue to ride the retention horse in 2014. So you might as well get those numbers for your organization in hand so you can better saddle up and ride with us.]

• Second Gift Conversion. How long did it take and how many first-time givers make that all-important 2^nd gift — a sure-fire harbinger of retention and, ultimately, Lifetime Value. What steps did you take in 2013 and what are you going to do differently in 2014 to up the number of new donors making a 2^nd gift?

• Upgrading/Downgrading/Revenue Trends. How did you do in 2013 compared to 2012, and what different or additional actions will you take in 2014 to drive the trend lines up?

• Lapsed Donor Reactivation. Every organization has some leaks in their retention bucket, but few pay as much sophisticated attention to re-capturing/restoring donors to active and continuing involvement and commitment. Here’s a great KPI for perhaps thinking about how better spend some of your acquisition budget.

Of course you need these numbers “yesterday” so you can start driving action tomorrow. But many folks I talk to tell me “they won’t be ready”, “we can’t get the numbers”, for another month or two. Others report that, since they’re already paying for it, they have to wait for Blackbaud’s 4^th quarter donorCentrics numbers; but they won’t be out until March or April. Penny wise….

If you can’t brow beat your consultants or in-house analysts into getting you these numbers STAT, I have a quick, inexpensive solution for your urgent need, offered by our sister organization DonorTrends.

In 5 business days the folks at DonorTrends will audit your donor file and produce two pieces of analysis. First, a Masterfile Audit with all the vital KPIs. Next they’ll help you turn the insights from the Audit into 2014 action with a walk through on “how to move the metrics” using a Fundraising Action Plan they custom-prepare for your organization.

All the KPI’s I’ve outlined above are included, plus 5 or so additional detailed insights into such areas as mid-level giving, major gift identification, monthly giving, planned giving and appeal optimization.

You can get an overview of how the DonorTrends team approaches all this here.

No matter how you get the essential performance indicators for 2013, please get them ASAP. Then, go to work immediately using this information to help plan, steer and drive your 2014 results and make it the best year ever.

Roger

P.S. What steps are you taking to steer your way to greater success in 2014?  We’d love to hear about them.