Fundraising Benchmarking Made Easy—with Just 3 Data Points

At the US Fundraising Congress, one insight stood out: benchmarking doesn’t need to be complex. In fact, you can diagnose the health of your program with just three fields.

The Only Data You Need

1. Donor ID
2. Donation Amount
3. Donation Date

With those basics, you can calculate donor retention rates—a crystal‑clear signal of engagement. Retention shows whether you’re keeping supporters or losing them faster than you acquire new ones.

Why Retention Matters

• Spot trends early—catch declines before they snowball.
• Focus resources on re‑engaging lapsed donors.
• Benchmark against sector standards to see where you stand.

Ready to Give It a Go?

I’m happy to share the full workflow for this ultra‑simple benchmark—and, for my European colleagues, how it compares to US numbers.

Special shout‑out to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP) for their free Fundraising Fitness Test. We’d be delighted to guide your organisation through the test—completely free of charge. Just let us know!

💡 Your Turn

Have you measured your donor retention yet? What’s holding you back from going more data‑driven?