“In the first place, I advise you to apply to all those who you know will give something; next to those of whom you are uncertain whether they will give anything or not, and show them the list of those who have given; and lastly, do not neglect those who you are sure will give nothing; for in some of them you may be mistaken.”
– Benjamin Franklin
From Donor Centered Fundraising by Penelope Burk.
Also,
- there are over 865,000 not-for-profits in the U.S.
- over solicitation is donors’ number one complaint (among the top 3 reasons for discontinuing support; 38% of individual donors will not give to a nonprofit that sends duplicate or multiple solicitations)
- Bequests account for 8% of total giving nationwide
- 50% = industry standard renewal rate (90% disappear within 5 years; the largest numbers of donors, are lost between the first and second donation [50%], followed by between the second and third donation [30%])
- 88% of not for profits store donor records in a specialized fundraising database (68% of records go back at least 5 years)
- individual donors have been contributing to charitable causes for an average of 32 years
- 90% of individual donors single out one particular nonprofit for special/unusual support
- Corporate donors support the following types of organizations
education: 77%
welfare/social services: 54%
environment: 39%
arts: 30%
health care: 23%
sport/recreation: 15%
United Way: 8% - 89% of American households contribute to charitable causes
- 86% of individual donors will not support a not for profit that sells or trades their name
- individual donors on average support over 25 not for profits annually
- 81% of individual donors, and 71% of corporate donors, say having their names published in a nonprofit’s annual report, newsletter, or program has no influence on whether they will give again