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As a nonprofit leader, you make significant efforts to advance your mission through various initiatives. Every aspect takes careful attention, from strategic planning and donor cultivation to marketing and engagement. But how do you know if these efforts truly move the needle?
Key performance indicators (KPIs) help you measure success—whether it's strengthening donor relationships or increasing contributions. By tracking these metrics, you can better understand your impact and make data-driven decisions to refine your approach.
In this guide, we'll explore essential fundraising KPIs to monitor to improve your efforts and maximize your results.
23 essential fundraising metrics for nonprofits to watch over time
Why is it important to track nonprofit fundraising metrics?
Nonprofit fundraising metrics, or KPIs, measure an organization's progress toward its goals and the impact of its overall fundraising efforts.
Tracking KPIs gives your organization clear insights into performance and helps validate the effectiveness of your strategies. By monitoring nonprofit metrics, you can:
Make informed data-driven decisions about where to allocate resources for maximum results
Identify which strategies are working and where there is a need for improvement
Show impact to your stakeholders and donors to win their trust and establish credibility
Set realistic goals for your organization based on historical performance
Adjust and optimize your fundraising campaigns and engagement efforts
Understand what resonates with your target donors, their giving preferences, and motivations
Donation metrics
1. Gifts secured
Gifts secured is the measure of how many donations your nonprofit received over a given time - month, year, or week. Choose any time frame that works for you - one year is usually considered the standard one.
You can also segment these donations by type, such as:
Major gifts
Planned gifts
Mid-level gifts
Small gifts
Monthly donations
Breaking down donations by type helps you check what kinds of gifts are more common and where you need to improve outreach to raise more funds.
How to measure?
Calculate by adding all gifts received within a chosen period.
Example
If you received 800 donations in 2024, your gifts secured would be 800.
The average donation size calculates the typical donation amount received from a specific donor group, fundraising campaign, or during a specific time period.
This metric reveals trends in your average donation size over time, helping you evaluate fundraising effectiveness.
How to measure?
Average donation size = Total amount of donations/number of donations
Example
If you got 90 donations that added up to $3,000, your average donation size would be:
$3,000/90 = 33.3
3. Donation growth rate
This metric measures how your nonprofit's donation revenue changes year-on-year.
Changes in total donation volume over time indicate the health of your donor relationships and highlight when engagement strategies need adjustment.
How to measure?
(Total donations this year - total donations last year)/ last year donations x 100
Example
If your nonprofit total donations last year were $10,000, it is $15,000 this year. To calculate your donation growth rate:
The metric tracks how often donors contribute to your nonprofit over a specific timeframe. It helps understand supporters' giving patterns and reveals trends in their donation behavior.
With these insights, you can better plan and time your engagement activities to encourage more frequent giving.
How to measure?
Total number of donations/number of unique donors
Example
If you had 400 donations from 200 unique donors in a year, the donation frequency would be 400/200 = 2.
5. Average giving capacity
Average giving capacity measures a donor's financial ability to give based on wealth indicators and past giving history. This metric helps establish realistic fundraising targets and match donors with appropriate gift requests.
To determine individual donor giving capacity, take a look at these three key elements for each donor:
Connection to your cause
History of charitable giving
Financial ability
Wealth screening tools like donor management systems, public research, etc., can also provide accurate information on an individual donor's giving capacity. Zeffy offers 100% free donor management software to help you organize all your donor information, including donation capability, in one place.
How to measure?
Add the giving capacities of all donors and divide by the total number of prospects to find the average donor giving capacity.
Donor relationship and engagement metrics
6. Donor retention rate
The donor retention rate measures the percentage of your donors who continue to give to your cause annually. This helps recognize sustainable streams of revenue from recurring donors.
Tracking retention rate reveals valuable insights into your nonprofit's performance, including:
Impact of your donor communication strategies
Effectiveness of your messaging and impact reporting
Strength of your relationship with donors
How to measure?
Number of donors who gave in both periods (current year and past year) / Number of donors who gave past year x 100
Example
If you had 70 donors last year, and 20 of them gave again this year, your donor retention rate is:
The donor growth rate measures the percentage increase in your donor base over a specific period. This metric helps measure your success in expanding your nonprofit's supporter base through various acquisition channels.
A positive growth rate indicates successful outreach efforts and a growing support network for your mission.
How to measure?
(Number of donors in current year - number of donors in past year) / past year donors x 100
Example
If your organization had 200 donors last year and 250 donors this year, your donor growth rate would be:
250-200 = 50
(50/200) x 100 = 25% growth rate
8. Donor lifetime value (LTV)
Donor lifetime value predicts the total amount a donor will contribute during their active relationship with your nonprofit. It identifies high-value and major donors, helping determine the right investment for donor retention strategies.
To learn about your donor's LTV, you must focus on average donor lifetime, donation frequency, and donation amount metrics.
How to measure?
Average donor lifetime X average donation frequency X average donation amount
9. Conversion rate
The conversion rate metric measures how successfully your campaign motivates donors to take a specific action, such as donating online, attending events, or participating in fundraising activities.
This metric evaluates the effectiveness of your communication channels, outreach strategies, messaging, and calls to action.
How to measure?
Number of completed actions/Number of opportunities x 100
Example
Donation page: If 1,000 people visit your donation page and 80 complete a donation: 8% conversion rate
Event registration: If 500 people view your event page and 100 register: 20% conversion rate
Volunteer sign-up: If 300 people visit your volunteer form and 60 sign up: 20% conversion rate
10. Donor acquisition cost
Donor acquisition cost is the amount you spend to acquire a donor. By tracking acquisition costs, you can identify the most cost-effective outreach strategies for attracting new donors to your organization.
How to measure?
Calculate per acquisition channel:
Total acquisition expenses per channel/Number of new donors from that channel
Example
If you spent $1,000 on social media ads acquiring 50 donors and $2,000 on direct mail acquiring 40 donors:
The donor attrition rate assesses the percentage of donors who stop contributing to your nonprofit over a specific period. This metric helps understand whether you're keeping donors engaged and building lasting connections.
How to measure?
Number of lapsed donors/total number of donors in the previous period x 100
Example
If your nonprofit had 600 donors last year and 100 of them stopped giving this year, the donor attrition rate will be:
100/600 x 100 = 16.6% donor attrition rate
A 16.6% donor attrition rate means you've lost about one-sixth of your donors, which suggests you should work on your donor engagement strategies.
12. Lapsed donor rate
Also known as donor churn rate, it tells you the percentage of donors who have stopped contributing to your nonprofit after a certain period.
To identify them, compare your current year's donor list against the previous year's – those who haven't contributed are your lapsed donors. This key metric helps evaluate the effectiveness of your donor retention strategies, from recognition programs to engagement campaigns.
How to measure?
(Number of lapsed donors/ total number of donors who contributed in the last year) x 100
Example
Say you have a total of 500 donors and 100 of them did not make a donation this year; the lapsed rate would be calculated by:
100/500 x 100 = 20% lapsed donors
Event and fundraising performance metrics
13. Revenue by strategy
Revenue by strategy is one of the important nonprofit fundraising metrics that track the money earned from each fundraising strategy, such as events, peer-to-peer, or online donations.
It helps nonprofits understand the most effective strategies, guiding smarter resource allocation for maximum impact.
How to measure?
Sum the revenue from each strategy individually over a specific period, then compare the totals to identify top-performing methods.
14. Fundraising ROI (Return on Investment)
Fundraising ROI evaluates the effectiveness of your organization’s fundraising efforts. It calculates the amount of money raised per dollar spent on fundraising activities. If the value is more than one, you made a profit, but if it is less than one, it means you have faced a loss.
How to measure?
Total revenue/total fundraising expenses
Example
If your organization spends $200 on a fundraiser and raises $10,000, your return on investment would be:
$10,000/$200 = $50
15. Cost per dollar raised (CPDR)
The cost per dollar raised measures the fundraising expenses required to generate each donated dollar.
How to measure?
Calculate CPDR for each fundraising channel:
Total expenses per channel/Total revenue per channel
This breakdown helps identify which fundraising methods are most cost-effective.
Example
If your nonprofit spent $4,000 to run a fundraising event and made $40,000, your cost to raise a dollar would be
$4,000/$40,000 = 0.1
Comparing CPDR between your direct mail campaign, online fundraising, and events helps optimize resource allocation.
16. Online gift percentage
The online gift percentage tracks how many donations come through online channels. It helps evaluate the success of your digital fundraising strategies and whether your donation page effectively supports the giving process.
How to measure?
Total online donations / total donations x 100
Example
If your organization received $15,000 in total donations, with $4,500 coming from online channels, the online gift percentage would be:
4,500/15,000 x 100 = 30% are online gifts
17. Event follow-up conversion rate
This metric tracks how successfully you convert event attendees into ongoing supporters through post-event engagement. It measures the effectiveness of your follow-up strategy in building lasting relationships beyond the event itself.
How to measure?
Number of attendees who take desired action (joining monthly giving, volunteering, etc.) / total number of event attendees x 100
Example
If you hosted a trivia night with 80 attendees, and 60 of them donated afterwards, your conversion rate is:
60/80 x 100 = 75% event follow-up conversion rate
18. Event attendance rate
This metric compares the number of event attendees to the number of invites sent out, highlighting the effectiveness of your event planning and marketing.
A higher attendance rate indicates successful event promotion and marketing efforts, while a lower rate may suggest needs for improvement in areas like event timing, promotional messaging, or ticket pricing strategy.
How to measure?
Total number of attendees/number of invites sent x 100
Example
If 500 people were invited to your nonprofit fundraising gala and 350 attended, the event attendance rate would be:
Revenue per attendee calculates the average contribution from each event participant to determine overall cost-effectiveness and return on investment.
How to measure?
Total revenue from the event/number of attendees
Example
If your nonprofit event generated $20,000 in total revenue and had 200 attendees, the revenue per attendee would be:
$20,000/200 = $100
Digital marketing performance metrics
While these KPIs don't directly measure the effectiveness of your fundraising efforts, they reflect the success of your marketing strategies, which play a crucial role in motivating donors to contribute.
20. Email open rate
Email open rate measures how many recipients open your nonprofit's emails. It gauges the effectiveness of your subject lines and email timing strategies.
By monitoring open rates, you can also evaluate the health of your email list and determine if you need to remove inactive contacts.
How to measure?
Number of emails opened / number of emails shared x 100
Example
Say you send around 200 emails to a segment informing them about your upcoming fundraiser. If only 120 recipients opened your email, the open rate would be calculated as:
200/800 x 100 = 25% email open rate
21. Email click-through rate
The click-through rate measures how many email recipients who opened your email clicked on links within it. This metric indicates how compelling your content and calls-to-action are to engaged readers.
How to measure?
Number of clicks/number of emails opened x 100
Example
If 120 people opened your email newsletter and 40 clicked on links:
40/120 x 100 = 33.3% CTR
22. Website sessions
Website sessions measure the number of unique visits to your website within a specific timeframe. This metric provides deeper insight into your actual traffic levels than page views, as it tracks distinct visitor interactions.
Track this using Google Analytics 4, which offers comprehensive nonprofit website analytics, including user behavior, traffic sources, and conversion tracking.
Social media engagement measures how actively your audience interacts with your content across social channels through likes, shares, comments, and clicks.
It shows whether your content resonates with supporters or needs more personalization. You can track it using social media management tools that gather engagement data automatically across platforms.
4 best practices for evaluating metrics for your nonprofit
1. Choose the right KPIs
Tracking many KPIs may seem attractive, but it's best to select metrics that are aligned with your nonprofit's specific goals and initiatives.
Too much data can create confusion, making it harder to locate areas for improvement. Instead, focus on leading and lagging KPIs to get a well-rounded view of your nonprofit performance.
Leading KPIs predict future outcomes through metrics like donor engagement rate, retention rate, donation growth, and social media engagement. Lagging KPIs measure past performance through metrics like the nonprofit's average gift size, event attendance, and fundraising ROI.
2. Track and analyze metrics regularly
Consistently tracking and analyzing KPIs reveals how your strategies perform over time.
Compare your different fundraising campaigns or strategies against each other and the engagement or donations you receive from different channels. This will help identify donor profiles and understand which tactics deliver the highest results.
With these insights, you can make better decisions about where to allocate resources for greater impact.
3. Share data with your team
Regularly sharing key metrics with your team keeps everyone aligned toward your organization's goals.
By sharing data in simple visual formats and discussing insights in team meetings, everyone can make informed decisions in their roles. To build this data-driven approach:
Create easy-to-read dashboards that highlight important metrics
Schedule monthly data review sessions to spot opportunities
Develop basic data analysis skills within your team
4. Take action based on your nonprofit KPIs
Don't just collect data - act on it. After analyzing your information, implement changes based on your findings and track results over time. If you cannot make any major changes to your strategy, start with smaller adjustments.
For example, if your fundraising event attendance is dropping, start with analyzing your data to pinpoint potential causes. Are similar events happening in your community around the same time? Is your pricing aligned with your audience's giving capacity?
Test small changes like tiered pricing options or special rates for early registrations before making major format changes.
Pro tip: Use Zeffy’s 100% free event ticketing platform to experiment with different pricing models without losing funds to processing or platform fees.
Tools and resources for tracking metrics
Tracking, analyzing, and effectively using nonprofit metrics is challenging, especially when doing it manually.
CRM for nonprofits
CRM systems track donor interactions, manage relationships, and analyze giving patterns all in one place. Zeffy's 100% free donor management system helps you organize supporter data and measure engagement without complex setup or hidden costs.
Fundraising platforms
Zeffy's 100% free fundraising platform streamlines campaign management with powerful analytics and reporting tools. Launch multiple campaigns, track real-time results, and manage donations - all completely free.
Email marketing platforms
Connect with donors through targeted email campaigns using Zeffy's 100% free donor management software. Schedule updates, automate thank-you messages, and track engagement metrics without paying for additional software.
Social media management platforms
This makes it easy to monitor how people engage with your social media content and schedule your posts. Buffer, HubSpot, and Hootsuite are great options.
Accounting software
This system tracks and manages your revenue, donations, and all financial data. QuickBooks Nonprofit and Sage Intacct are two good options for nonprofit accounting software.
Final words on nonprofit metrics
To choose the right KPIs for your nonprofit, start with your organization's core objectives and strategic vision. Instead of tracking every possible metric, select a few meaningful KPIs for each key area – from donors to fundraising and donations.
They nudge your strategies towards organizational goals and help raise higher funds. Once they are set, consistently measure your metrics, analyze your data, and, most importantly, use your findings to refine fundraising campaigns.
Your KPIs aren't just numbers – they're tools that help shape your nonprofit's impact and define future success.
Zeffy's 100% free platform offers strong fundraising tools and clear performance insights - making it simple to measure your impact while keeping every dollar in your mission.
For smaller nonprofits, tracking these essentials will provide valuable insights to attract more donors, raise more funds, and boost overall growth:
Donor retention rate: Measures the percentage of donors giving to your nonprofit; calculating this is important because keeping existing donors is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones
Average gift Size: Tracks the average donation amount, giving you insights into donor capacity and campaign effectiveness
Conversion rate: Evaluates the percentage of potential donors who become actual donors, helping you determine the success of marketing and outreach strategies
Recurring donation rate: Shows how many donors give regularly, indicating long-term engagement and revenue growth
Fundraising ROI: Analyzes the return on investment by comparing funds raised against campaign costs, which is critical for dividing resources effectively
Nonprofit fundraising KPIs should ideally be reviewed monthly to track progress, identify trends, and make timely adjustments. You can do quarterly reviews to analyze long-term strategies and yearly to check the overall performance of your fundraising.
Regular monitoring ensures you're on the right track toward achieving your goals, quickly addressing challenges, and improving your strategies in real-time for better results.
Nonprofits can boost their fundraising ROI by learning about their ideal donor's preferences and testing different approaches to find what works best. Here are effective strategies to try:
Personalize communications to better connect with donors and build stronger relationships
Test various fundraising channels to discover which ones resonate most with supporters
Use donor segmentation to reach the right donors with relevant messages
Develop stewardship programs to improve donor retention and long-term engagement
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