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Practitioner · typically years 2–7Data, Systems & OperationsFree preview

Metrics That Matter: Your Development Dashboard

Five numbers that predict your year, one dashboard your board will read, and the discipline to ignore the rest.

Through the Environment lens

Retention here needs a second look before you trust it, since a policy fight can spike one-time "rage-giving" donors who never intended to stay, and this lesson's discipline of watching trend over level is what keeps a durable sustainer base from being confused with a reactive one. Active donor count should separate members from single-issue donors for the same reason, so a good quarter for the cause does not read as a good quarter for the file.

Continuing education

1.25 points · non-fundraising

Leadership and Management · Current and Prospective Donor Research

Learning objectives

  • State the five numbers that predict a development year, donor retention rate, active donors, average gift, gifts per donor per year, and one forward-looking pipeline or net-revenue-per-donor figure, and explain why total raised is the wrong headline.
  • Build a one-page dashboard in a spreadsheet that shows each of the five with year-to-date, same point last year, and a trend arrow, and update it in thirty minutes on the same day each month.
  • Report to a board by leading with the plain-language read, naming a bad month in the first sentence, and attaching a correction with an owner and a date.
  • Forecast next year's revenue by projecting the retained base from retention and average gift, banding each addition as conservative, likely, and optimistic, and stress-testing retention two points in either direction.

Designed for CFRE continuing education. Not yet accepted; no CFRE points can be claimed.

Lessons

Each lesson opens on its own page. Complete written lessons are available now. Downloadable editions open as each one clears review, and video editions follow.

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