Because It Matters: Avoiding the Not-So-Fab Four

Higher donor loyalty is the engine that will drive your net revenue to higher levels. Higher donor loyalty will make your job more productive and help you win those never-ending arguments about allocation of limited resources for fundraising.

Second, you should clearly understand your cost to acquire a new donor by each of the various acquisition media you use and the long-term value of each new donor. For example, if you use direct mail to acquire new donors, you might have a gross cost of acquisition of $31 and a long-term value of $380 per donor. Right away, you can see the value of using direct mail to acquire new donors. Develop these metrics for each method of acquisition you use, such as print, free-standing newspaper or magazine inserts, radio or television, or the Internet, to name a few. You’ll be armed with valuable information that will help convince your manager and CEO that investing in acquisition will propel your organization forward.