The Annual Giving Exchange

Barack Obama’s recent fundraising campaign received accolades for securing large numbers of donors and encouraging gifts of all sizes.  But was their participation rate something your organization would brag about?

Three million donors out of 300 million U.S. citizens would mean that the Obama campaign’s donor participation rate was 1%.  If that math sounds too conservative then change the denominator to the 66 million people who voted for Obama.  That would give the campaign a donor participation rate of 4.5%.

The point here isn’t that Obama’s campaign had a poor participation rate.  I would argue that it had a very good one.  The point is that framing your donor participation rates can send a very powerful (or not so powerful) message about the viability of your cause.

How does your organization frame donor participation?   Do you use a number or a percentage?  If the latter, is the total population (your denominator) broadly or narrowly defined and why?  Do you consider donors to be people who gave in a particular time period or those who have ever made a gift?  Is a donor someone who has given you money or do you also count donations of time, advice, or ideas?

While each industry has its own standards and guidelines for calculating participation, it’s important to consider all of your options.  Think about what message you’re sending to your donors (and prospective donors) when you talk about your donor participation rates.  And remember that donors, in almost every case, want support to a winning cause.