Event recap · Building fundraising resiliency: Using metrics as a tool for resiliency

The word ‘metrics’ sparks many feelings for fundraisers. For some, it evokes a sense of stability. Others associate it with frustrating, unattainable goals.

At their best, metrics create a practical roadmap to the aspirational goals we work toward as fundraisers. They keep our outreach consistent throughout the year, enabling us to reach a large community of supporters and form lasting relationships.  

In the third and final discussion on building fundraising resiliency, co-hosted by Aperio Philanthropy and the NYU SPS George H. Heyman, Jr. Program for Philanthropy and Fundraising, our panelists explored the importance of using metrics as a tool for resiliency. 

• Why are metrics so central to fundraising success and resiliency? 

• How can teams and individual fundraisers use them most effectively? 

• How can teams create a healthy culture around metrics and avoid common pitfalls? 

Moderator  

Beth Katznelson (she/her), NYU Adjunct Professor and Founder & Principal, Contributing Factor Consultancy 

Panelists

Melanie Buhrmaster (she/her), Vice President, Philanthropy, Food Bank for New York City 

Liz Fitzgerald (she/her), Director of Development, ACLU 

Michael Karg (he/him), Senior Executive Director of Development, California State University, Fullerton College of Engineering & Computer Science 

Leya Petrovani Miller (she/her), Managing Director, Aperio Philanthropy 

Why metrics matter 

Metrics set the tone and pace for an organization. They help nonprofit leaders and fundraisers plan for strategic growth, take calculated risks, and respond to external factors that impact the organization. They are the core elements needed to drive the program forward. Without them, we’d all be left to wonder how the work we’re doing is helping us meet our goals.

Metrics add value by creating a roadmap for the activities needed to meet fundraising growth goals. In this way, they are a tool for both time management and team management, providing a framework to hold ourselves and our teams accountable for carrying out the activities that get us closer to our goals.   

Liz Fitzgerald, Development Director at the ACLU, shared that the ACLU uses metrics as an indicator of file health. The data they review helps answer questions like, ‘Are we doing the right things to keep the file where it needs to be to meet the goals that we have?’ and ‘Are our inputs giving the results that we want?’. 

Metrics can be used as a teaching and training tool to assess what’s working and what’s not. Tracking the indicators that inform our progress to goal allows us to course-correct early and find ways to get back on track.  

Key metrics for fundraisers  

Our panelists recommended tracking metrics that help fundraisers break down their big goal into bite-sized chunks such as outreach, meetings, asks, and revenue.  

Breaking down annual metrics into monthly targets can help fundraisers make the best use of their time day to day. For example, if 50 percent of your job is fundraising, you know you have 20 hours per week to spend doing work related to driving revenue. We can then prioritize activities that will make most effective use of that time.

Revenue goals can inform monthly targets for the number of asks needed, which ladders up to the number of meetings needed, and the number of touchpoints recommended to build two-way relationships with donors. This helps fundraisers determine which activities are most meaningful to drive progress toward goals and positions teams for success.  

When we track these key metrics, they become a tool for demonstrating success. We can use them to celebrate achievements, tell a story to our organization’s leadership and board, and help make the case for additional investment in the team.  

Tracking these metrics also helps fundraisers and leadership connect the dots to understand which activities are motivating donor action.

Melanie Buhrmaster, VP of Philanthropy at the Food Bank For New York City, shared these guiding questions: “How long is it taking donors to increase their gifts, and what are the things that we did for that to happen? How can we expand that across the organization?” Answering these questions helps us make the best use of the insights we’ve gained from our metrics.

Using metrics effectively 

Data-driven fundraising is not one-size fits all; it blends the art and science of fundraising—and that requires being attuned to your organization and to the donors with whom you are cultivating relationships.

So, how can you be sure that you’re measuring what matters?  

Liz reminded us that the data itself and the interpretation of the data can be two very different things. It’s important to interpret metrics for the reader in a way they can understand—and be explicit about why it matters.

Using metrics effectively means ensuring there is a balance between industry standards and what you know to be true for your organization. Using your database effectively, including through weekly reviews as a team, is one mechanism for individual and team accountability. 

Effective metrics management is also about balancing metrics that inform growth, like donor retention, number of donors, acquisition and re-acquisition, with what Melanie called ‘soft metrics’: How do people feel? Are donors engaging with us more?

She noted that tracking key metrics means having a framework for enhanced accountability to donors: “If we’re doing this well, we’re giving our donors what they need.”  

When we use metrics effectively, we can trust that we’re building resilient donor relationships. Leya Petrovani Miller, Managing Director at Aperio Philanthropy, put it best when she reminded us that resilient relationships are authentic and stand the test of time. We build them through engagement—that is, working our way to two-way interactions. Metrics are a way for us to hold ourselves and each other accountable to make sure that activity is prioritized.

“Metrics can even help us move away from transactional fundraising by ensuring we engage with donors outside of just making an ask and reporting on the impact of that gift—ensuring we create holistic, robust relationships,” she said. “That’s when they become strong and resilient, metrics are a way to hold ourselves accountable in order to do that.” 

Metrics are only as effective as our activities. As proponents of relationship-based fundraising and taking a human-centered approach to this work, it’s also helpful to remember that the numbers are just one way of measuring success. Michael Karg, Senior Executive Director of Development at California State University, Fullerton College of Engineering & Computer Science described metrics as an expression of how we’re building community.

“Are we bringing people in, are they staying with us, are we maximizing the potential of that relationship?,” he asked. He noted the importance of taking a focus on data and translating it into something human. When we do this, we can create a culture where fundraisers want to be part of the team and take care of the people who are invested in this work.  

Toni Koch

Toni’s background is in public health, and she has built a career in relationship management and fundraising for international nonprofit organizations including Rise Against Hunger, Carolina for Kibera, and Renew Oceans.