Fundraising Strategy • Campaign Planning • Board Engagement

Fundraising KPIs Every Nonprofit Should Be Watching

The 2026 Virtuous Nonprofit Benchmark Report — built on giving data from 771 U.S.-based nonprofits — was recently released. Nathan Chappell, Chief AI Officer at Virtuous, summarized the findings, and several trends stand out to me as especially important for nonprofit leaders and Boards to watch.

Donor Retention Rate

Track the percentage of donors who continue giving year after year. Virtuous reports an average donor retention rate of 54.74%. The Fundraising Effectiveness Project reported 42.9% retention in 2024.

Retention remains one of the most important indicators of long-term fundraising health — and one of the sector’s biggest opportunities for improvement.

Hint: Strong acknowledgment, meaningful stewardship, and consistent communication remain the foundation of donor retention.

Recurring Giving

Track the number and percentage of donors giving monthly or quarterly.

Virtuous reports that top-quartile organizations generate 44% of their revenue from recurring gifts.

Imagine beginning each fiscal year already knowing where nearly half of your revenue is coming from.

Hint: Consider making recurring giving the default option in online solicitations and donation forms, or a focus of your renewal strategy.

Lapsed Donors

Track the number of first-time donors who never give again.



According to fundraising researcher Adrian Sargeant, the two most common reasons donors lapse are:

• Impersonal communication and inappropriate asks
• Lack of acknowledgment and transparency

Hint: Speed, personalization, and thoughtful stewardship are often the difference between a one-time donor and a lifelong supporter.

Major Donors & Portfolio Performance

Track the number of donors, revenue, and activity associated with your Major Gifts portfolio.

Virtuous reports that 67.09% of donor revenue comes from major donors.

Organizations should not only track dollars raised, but also meaningful relationship-building activity.

Hint: Consider assigning mid-level donors ($1,000–$5,000) to a staff member or volunteer for intentional cultivation and stewardship. Track KPIs such as donor “touches,” meetings, calls, and personalized actions alongside revenue.

Average & Median Gift Size

Track both:

• Average gift size
• Median (middle) gift size

Average gift size helps measure growth, while median gift size often provides a more realistic picture of typical donor behavior and engagement.

Cost Per Dollar Raised (CPDR)

Track how much your organization spends to raise each dollar.

Organizations should consider tracking CPDR by fundraising area:

• Annual Giving
• Major Gifts
• Grants
• Special Events
• Individual Appeals

This helps leadership evaluate ROI and better understand where time, staffing, and fundraising investments are producing the strongest results.

Five Types of Campaign Volunteers You Need - And One You Don't

In this month’s AFP Advancing Philanthropy, Eryn Lessard and Dan Mangiavellano, Ph.D., shared an excellent reminder that successful capital campaigns depend on engaging volunteers according to their strengths — not expecting everyone to play the same role.

Too often, organizations assume every campaign volunteer must be comfortable soliciting gifts. In reality, effective campaigns succeed because volunteers contribute in different ways.

Here are five campaign volunteer roles every organization should intentionally cultivate:

1. The Connector

These individuals open doors and create introductions. They may never directly solicit a gift, but their relationships and credibility provide access to prospective donors.

2. The Advocate

Advocates enthusiastically communicate the organization’s story, vision, and impact. They help build momentum and excitement throughout the community.

3. The Solicitor

These volunteers are comfortable participating in donor conversations and helping secure major gifts. Often paired with staff or leadership, they bring valuable peer credibility to donor meetings.

4. The Strategist

Strategists help shape campaign planning, prospect strategy, governance structure, and community positioning. Their insight and perspective can be invaluable throughout the campaign.

5. The Steward

Stewards focus on gratitude, recognition, follow-up, and relationship deepening — often the most overlooked but critically important aspect of fundraising success.

And the One You Don’t Need: The “Willing but Overbooked” Volunteer

These individuals care deeply about the organization and genuinely want to help, but simply do not have the time or capacity to engage meaningfully in campaign work.

One of the most important responsibilities of campaign leadership is aligning volunteers with roles that match their strengths, relationships, confidence, and availability.

Successful campaigns are not built by asking everyone to “ask for money.” They are built by creating meaningful ways for people to contribute to mission success.

There is am excellent line up of speakers and workshop leaders at this year's AFP Planet Philanthropy Conference scheduled June 22-24 at the SunSeeker Resort in Port Charlotte.

Here are just a few of the featured sessions:

My Board Won’t Fundraise! 

Alyce Lee Stansbury 

Practical strategies to engage your board and turn reluctance into meaningful fundraising support. 

Monthly Giving Magic 

Rachel Muir 

Unlock sustainable revenue with proven tactics to grow and retain a thriving monthly donor program. 

Supercharge Fundraising with AI: How Data-Informed Insights Can Drive Smarter Campaigns and Stronger Results 

Erik Tomalis 

Learn how to harness AI and data insights to elevate your campaigns and improve outcomes. 

Current registration rates are avaiable through May 31. Consider registering now.