Measuring Donor Loyalty

NPS rose to prominence off the back of the assertion that it was a good predictor of loyalty. But what do we mean by loyalty? Continuing to be a donor is not the same thing as increasing (or decreasing) the amount of one’s giving, or spending a bigger (or smaller) proportion of one’s charitable pot on a focal organization. All of these behaviors, in turn, are quite different from being willing to recommend the organization to a friend. Each one of these dimensions is associated with loyalty, but loyal donors need not exhibit all these behaviors — and most don’t.