As a fundraising professional, it is easy to feel like you are pulled in a million different directions. You visit with donors, prepare appeals, plan the annual golf outing, and are also supposed to update the website and get the planned giving program off the ground. Because of all the demands on your time, it is important to be mindful that the time you are spending is the most valuable for your organization. That’s where the chart below from the Association of Fundraising Professionals illustrating the ROI of fundraising activities can come in handy.
It is important to note that none of these activities occur in a vacuum. They all have a role to play in a comprehensive fundraising strategy.
Major gifts -- Far and away, the best return for your money and time is building relationships with your major gift (or potential major gift) donors. Major gifts should be defined within the context of your organization and fundraising operation.
Grant writing – This can vary dramatically from grant to grant. Applications and reporting structures will be different for every organization. When considering a grant application, weigh the size of the grant, the time it will take (pre and post-application), and the likelihood of being awarded. This likelihood of being awarded will often be dependent on relationships you have built with members of the grant-making organization.
Direct mail acquisition – On the face of it, this looks like easily the worst fundraising activity an organization could undertake. While true that breaking even on an acquisition program is typically seen as a win, it fills an important role by replenishing the donor pool. Then the return on these donors is seen in the next group, direct mail renewal.
Direct mail renewal – This is where you will see the return on your direct mail acquisition efforts—getting donors to make a second, third, and fourth gift. This group also provides a pool of potential major and planned gift donors.
Planned giving – Measuring return with this group can be a bit difficult because of the timing of the dollars coming (often many years in the future) and the variability of gift size. Due to this, the return is generally considered a bit lower than major gift fundraising.
Special events – While events can serve a purpose in engaging and stewarding major and planned gift donors, the time, energy, and money spent putting them together means the net dollars raised are frequently lower.
The point of this post is not to advocate for ONLY investing in those activities with the highest return, but rather examining your activities and making sure you are not spending a disproportionate amount of time on lower return activities, such as events. A comprehensive fundraising plan should include all of these elements, allocated in proportion to their returns.