Report: Challenges Remain for Higher Education Fundraisers

• Most KPIs experienced modest increases in fiscal year 2011. In some cases, this was a bounce-back year and in other metrics it was a second year in positive territory, which in general, indicates programs are recovering from the recession and benchmark lows experienced in fiscal year 2009.
• Revenue showed a median positive change of 6.1 percent and overall retention rates were up slightly as well, demonstrating a donor base that has stabilized.
• Some key measures have not rebounded, mostly notably reactivation, which continues to erode regardless of economic status, along with participation rates, which continue their decline.

"The Great Recession of the past few years dramatically impacted trends in higher education, and those trends are now, in general, reversing back to pre-recession levels," said Jenny Cooke, director of higher education benchmarking for Target Analytics, a Blackbaud company. "Although, when it comes to participation rates and the ability to inspire lapsed donors, the economy has much less impact, and the trends continue in negative territory despite better economic news."