How to Measure the Success of Online Fundraising Using Key Metrics

By Gene Austin, Chief Executive Officer, Convio, Inc.

Before launching a new fundraising campaign, a nonprofit must first determine its objectives and set metrics to ascertain whether the initiative was successful. Following are three objectives with corresponding key metrics and best practices any organization should consider when planning online fundraising campaigns and assessing success:

IMPROVE OUTREACH
A key component of a nonprofit’s online plan should be to build a base of supporters by growing an email address file. Key metrics include:

Web site traffic growth -- Increasing the number of people visiting a Web site ensures that an organization is increasing its exposure to potential donors.
Percentage of Web site visitors who register, also known as conversion rate -- Equally important is getting visitors to register in order to capture their email addresses and begin developing online relationships with them.
Email address file growth -- An increasing number of names in an organization’s email address file is critical since the pool of prospective donors must grow for online fundraising to grow.

To maximize results, try these techniques:

Draw members and new Web site visitors by promoting the site at offline events.
Convert Web site visitors into registered constituents by using a prominently displayed registration field and clearly stated registration benefits.
Use urgent appeals and incentives that motivate constituents to forward Web pages and messages to family and friends, also known as viral marketing.

BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Getting to know donors by building a profile of their interests and online interactions with the organization helps develop a loyal online relationship that, in turn, drives ongoing support. Consider these metrics when tracking results in relationship building:

Percentage of the email file providing a detailed personal profile -- Detailed profiles about constituent interests, geography and other demographics allow an organization to segment its list and target constituents with relevant information.
Email open rate -- This shows what percentage of all message recipients actually opened it indicating how well an organization is engaging and getting through to its constituency.
Email click-through rate -- This metric is the percentage of email recipients who clicked on a link within the message -- such as a donation form, petition or survey -- showing how effective the email is at stimulating recipients to take action.
Email forwarding rate -- This rate indicates how important the organization’s messages are to each constituent based on how often constituents forward them to friends and family.
Response rates to surveys and polls -- Surveys and polls enable constituents to provide feedback and additional information about themselves. Measuring the percentage of recipients who fill out surveys indicates how many are open to developing a deeper relationship with the organization.
Opt-out rates on email newsletters -- This measures the number of people who unsubscribe to the organization’s emails. It is important to minimize the opt-out rate to maintain a list of engaged constituents, and to avoid getting labeled as a spammer.

The following approaches can help maximize results for these metrics:

Ask constituents to indicate their interests and then offer personalized email and Web site content.
Build detailed profiles of constituents over time using surveys and polls rather than asking for a lot of information up front.
Engage constituents online with stories, photos and online communities to keep them interested in the organization.

DRIVE ACTION
The key objective for most online fundraising campaigns is to motivate constituents to respond by making a donation, becoming a member or purchasing a ticket for an event. In addition to overall funds raised online, the following metrics are important:

Response rates to email solicitations for donations -- Look at the percentage of people who responded -- versus the total number who received the solicitation email -- to determine the effectiveness of each individual email message as well as overall campaign effectiveness.
Average online versus offline donation -- This measures how effective the online channel is at soliciting larger gifts and moving individual donors to increasingly higher levels.
Overall offline plus online funds raised -- This metric reveals whether the organization’s campaigns are meeting or exceeding the goals. It is particularly important for campaigns that include direct mail, telemarketing and email/Web site communications because it provides insight into the overall effectiveness of the multiple communication methods.
What percentage of the email file donates -- This metric helps to predict the total value of an email file as well as the incremental value of adding an online constituent. Measure this to determine the proportion of people in the email file who became donors for each period.
What percentage of respondents are new donors from each online campaign -- This metric will help to determine how many new donors an organization is gaining with each online campaign, and how that number is changing over time.
Number of Web donors -- For every online fundraising campaign, look at how many site visitors turn into donors by measuring the number of people who donate online. This metric will help to determine how effective Web site content is for motivating donations.

Try these techniques to improve results for these metrics:

Use urgent, timely calls-to-action with clear deadlines and purposes.
Develop a relationship with constituents by offering something of value prior to asking them to take action.
Provide constituents with multiple ways to respond to match a variety of preferences.
Use micro-campaigns -- each with a specific purpose -- rather than a single, broad online request for donations.
Offer premiums -- such as a certificate or bumper sticker -- in exchange for online gifts.

SUMMARY
Focusing on and tracking key metrics during a fundraising campaign will help to later determine the campaign’s success. Organizations should take advantage of new online tools that make it possible to measure and manage vital objectives -- such as improving outreach, building constituent relationships and driving action -- in an integrated fashion.

About the author: Gene Austin is CEO of Austin-based Convio, Inc. -- the market-leading provider of software and services to help nonprofits use the Internet for developing strong constituent relationships to drive fundraising, marketing, advocacy and other forms of support. For more information, please visit www.convio.com.