“There are many similar [fundraising] events making it more cluttered.”

Steve Merker, Vice President of Business Development, The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation

“I have at least seven databases that I have to work with, and that is really the time-consuming challenge.”

John Andresen, Director of Annual Giving, Alzheimer Society of Canada

“How much money to invest in having the operation up to speed with new technology, and trying to integrate everything, is the biggest challenge.”

Daniella Sretenovic, Associate Director of Individual Gifts, March of Dimes Canada

“Peoples’ expectations are huge when it comes to what you’re doing operationally.” Mary Lynne Stewart, National Director of Fund Development and Communications, March of Dimes Canada

“We send out surveys and we try to get their stories, engage them more, so there’s this really personal touch. ... It’s a challenge, doing everything with everybody in different channels.” Daniella Sretenovic, Associate Director of Individual Gifts, March of Dimes Canada

“We have donors who are 75 years old, and they have a certain expectation about turnaround time. ... We also have younger generations who go online and expect a different type of communication. Daniella Sretenovic, Associate Director of Individual Gifts, March of Dimes Canada

“One of our biggest challenges is the speediness of getting the donations into our system, to be able to effectively receipt.”

Ericka Tovey, Director of Donor Marketing and Relations, Canadian Diabetes Association

“We have the tools in place to do donations processing at any frequency. Speed ends up being a balance between the cost of faster execution and the desired turnaround time.”

Patrick Durbano, Director of Business Development, CDS Global

“Our challenge with online donors is retention. Our second-gift rate with direct mail is about 30 percent. With online, it’s less than 4 percent.”Ericka Tovey, Director of Donor Marketingand Relations, Canadian Diabetes Association

“Social media is a really good channel. I think it needs to be integrated, and that’s what we try to do, but it’s another chance to tell your story.” Mary Lynne Stewart, National Director of Fund Development and Communications, March of Dimes Canada

68% DONATED TO A CHARITY IN THE PRECEDING MONTH 44% DID VOLUNTEER

WORK DURING THE SAME PERIOD

72%

8%

5%

15%

$335 BillionDONATIONS TRACKED

$241.2 BILLION

$50.2 BILLION

$26.8 BILLION

$16.8 BILLION

IND

IVID

UA

LS

CORPORA

TIO

NS

BEQ

UES

TS

FOUNDATIONS

Americans believe people have a personal responsibility to make the world a better place by being involved with various causes.

ONE IN FOUR

THE FUNDRAISING LANDSCAPE IS GETTING CROWDED

AMERICANS ARE LEADERS IN GENEROSITY

FUNDRAISERS STRUGGLE WITH MANAGING DATA AND KEEPING UP WITH TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES

12%

18%

12%

6%

3%

7%

7%

AMERICA’S FAVORITE CHARITABLE CAUSES

IN A STUDY OF 200 NONPROFITS

MORE THAN

11%

YOUTH/FAMILIES

ANIMALS

MEDICAL RESEARCH

EDUCATION

DISASTER RELIEF

HUMAN RIGHTS

ENVIRONMENT

GLOBAL HEALTH 1.5 MillionNONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS ARE REGISTERED IN THE U.S.

30%

80%

25%20%20%

SAY THEY ARE APPROACHED “FAR TOO MUCH”

26%

OF BUDGET SPENT ON PROGRAM

65%OF BUDGET SPENT ON PROGRAM

75%

SAY “A LITTLE TOO MUCH”

29%SAY “JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT”

38%ARE DONORS HAPPY WITH THE VOLUME OF CONTACT?

DIRECT MAIL STILL ROCKS

IMPROVING OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY IS A CONSTANT AND CHALLENGING GOAL

$ $

75%

50%

75% OF DONORS SAY THEY ARE MORE LIKELY THAN THEY WERE FIVE YEARS AGO TO STOP GIVING OR REDUCE SUPPORT TO ORGANIZATIONS WHOSE COSTOF FUNDRAISING IS TOO HIGH.

GENERATIONAL AND OTHER DIFFERENCES AMONG DONORS REQUIRE DIFFERENT APPROACHES

80% acknowledge inefficienciessuch as time-consuming methods and isolated data sets.

30% still rely on spreadsheetsor other documents to manage donors.

25% of those using a CRM*system have problems linking to other systems.

20% say outdated and inefficientdonor tracking and engagement methods are big pain points.

20% classify their donormanagement processes as "highly efficient.”

Minimum requirement for accreditation of a nonprofit by the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance.

Minimum requirement for “Top Rated” classification by charity watchdog group CharityWatch.

MILLENNIALS

60%DONATE

AVERAGE OF $481

82%

MATURES

70%

BABY BOOMERS

65%

GEN X’ERS

58%

MILLENNIALS

DIFFERENCESAMONG GROUPS DONATING MONEY TO CHARITIES

OF DONORS SAY PERSONALIZATION OF THANK-YOU IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN SPEED

THANKYOU

WOULD DEFINITELY OR PROBABLY RENEW THEIR GIVING.

67%WOULD MAKE A LARGER GIFT.

52%WOULD CONTINUE TO GIVE INDEFINITELY ASSUMING THEY RECEIVED THESE CONSIDERATIONS EACH TIME THEY GAVE.

What would donors do if the nonprofit acknowledged their first gift promptly and in ameaningful way, and reported their progress in measurable terms before asking for another gift?

67%

30%RETENTION IS A STRUGGLE FOR FUNDRAISERS

A PROMPT THANK-YOUOF DONORS WANT

IN A HIGH-SPEED WORLD, DON’T KEEP DONORS WAITING

BLOGS AND SOCIAL MEDIA: WHERE YOUR STORY IS SPREAD

“Blogs from volunteers, blogs from students who go on missions and the donor stories – that’s like gold, because it can make a potential donor feel like they’re really connected to what we do.” Patricia Vidov, Director of Operations,Operation Smile Canada

96%

CHARITABLE CAUSESEACH YEAR

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

INSTAGRAM

TOP COMMUNICATIONS PRIORITIES FOR NONPROFITS

27.3%

ACQUISITION (53% RANKED AS TOP 3 GOAL)

#1

RETENTION (30% RANKED AS TOP 3 GOAL)

#4

RETENTION (53% RANKED AS TOP 3 GOAL)

#2ACQUISITION(50% RANKED AS TOP 3 GOAL)

#4

20152014

NONPROFIT INDUSTRY’S OVERALL RETENTION RATE OF FIRST-YEAR DONORS

76%

46%32%

20%

96%TOP SOCIAL MEDIA

62% OF NONPROFIT COMMUNICATORS LIST SOCIAL MEDIA AMONG THEIR TOP 4 COMMUNICATIONS TOOLS 55% OF THOSE WHO ENGAGE

WITH CAUSES VIA SOCIAL MEDIA ARE MOTIVATED TO TAKE FURTHER ACTION

SOC

IAL

MED

IA

SOURCE: THE GIVING USA FOUNDATION REPORT, “GIVING USA 2014”

SOURCE: HARRIS POLL, 2014

SOURCE: WORLD GIVING INDEX

SOURCE: HARRIS POLL

SOURCE: NATIONAL CENTER FOR CHARITABLE STATISTICS, 2015

SOURCE: GUIDESTAR, “TRUSTING TECHNOLOGY TO OVERCOME MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES IN YOUR NONPROFIT”

“There’s nothing else like the mail to tell your story.”Patricia Vidov, Director of Operations, Operation Smile Canada

“Direct mail is certainly one of our largest acquisition channels; at least it’s our most viable.” Ericka Tovey, Director of Donor Marketingand Relations, Canadian Diabetes Association36%

OF NONPROFITS WILL SEND DIRECT MAIL APPEALS AT LEAST QUARTERLY.

32%OF ONLINE DONORS RENEWED THEIR GIVING OFFLINE.

SOURCE: NONPROFIT COMMUNICATIONS TRENDS REPORT SOURCE: DONORCENTRICS INTERNET AND MULTICHANNEL GIVING REPORT

SOURCE: ASSOCIATION OF FUNDRAISING PROFESSIONALS 2013 SURVEY

SOURCE: CHARITYWATCHSOURCE: BBB WISE GIVING ALLIANCE

SOURCE: PENELOPE BURK, “THE BURK DONOR SURVEY,” 2014

SOURCE: HAPPIFY

SOURCE: DONOR VOICE, “THE SEVEN KEY DRIVERS

OF DONOR COMMITMENT IDEA BANK”

SOURCE: HARRIS POLL, 2014

SOURCE: PENELOPE BURK, “THE BURK DONOR SURVEY,” 2014

SOURCE: NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NONPROFITS

SOURCE: DONOR VOICE, “THE SEVEN KEY DRIVERS OF DONOR COMMITMENT IDEA BANK”

SOURCE: NONPROFIT COMMUNICATIONS TRENDS, 2015 REPORT

SOURCE: TARGET ANALYTICS, “REACTIVATING LAPSED DONORS”

SOURCE: NONPROFIT COMMUNICATIONS TRENDS, 2015 REPORT

SOURCE: WAGGENER EDSTROM

SOURCE: NONPROFIT COMMUNICATIONS TRENDS, 2015 REPORT

FUNDRAISING OPERATIONS:

FACTS, FIGURES & INSIGHTS

U.S.A.

Several nonprofit executives gathered for a lively discussion about challenges, best practices and efficiencies in fundraising operations. Here are some visual highlights of their conversation from our report, “Fundraising Operations: Making Every Dollar Count.”

RETENTION HAS OVERTAKEN ACQUISITION AS A TOP PRIORITY FOR NONPROFIT FUNDRAISERS

NONPROFIT COMMUNICATIONS PROFESSIONALS LIST THESE AMONG THEIR FAVORITE THREE

In this dynamic fundraising era, fundraising operations professionals must be ready for change and stay on top of trends in the donor landscape. Follow the conversation of our panel of professionals in the CDS Global white paper, “Fundraising Operations: Making Every Dollar Count,” and see how top nonprofit executives are structuring their operations for fundraising success.

visit us at www.cds-global.com/nonprofits

“Sending the acknowledgment within a short period of time of the gift reassures the donor that the donation was received and solidifies donor relations.”

*Customer Relationship Management