Charities Rate Their Ability to Make Everyone a Fundraiser

To help nonprofits determine how well they are doing at getting people outside the fundraising office to solicit gifts and build ties with donors, Demont Associates, a fundraising consulting company, asks organizations to rate their progress in 22 areas. After receiving answers from 585 nonprofit officials, it says the following are what groups say they do best and worst:

Strengths (ranked in order of importance to success)

• Philanthropic support is considered an important revenue source for the organization.
• Philanthropy plays a prominent role in the strategic plan.
• Whether through personal contact or digital access, it is relatively easy for donors to make a gift to the organization and get information about giving.
• The board and staff have a clear vision for the organization and understand the top priorities and the urgency to secure funding for them.

Weaknesses (ranked in order of biggest threat to success)

• In the past three years, the retention rate has consistently not exceeded an average of 80 percent from all annual donors or 90 percent from five-figure donors.
• The chief development officer and executive staff members do not have written goals for philanthropy with metrics based on measurable and comprehensive outcomes rather than simply on dollars raised.
• The average tenure of the last three chief development officers or chief de facto development officers has not exceeded four years.
• Selected board members and executive staff do not make enough personal visits to steward and solicit the top 30 prospective and current donors each year.

—Adapted from the Demont Associates Culture of Philanthropy Evaluation