Fundraising metrics are most powerful when read together, over time, and used to guide strategic decisions.
In healthcare, vital signs tell us whether a patient is stable, improving or in crisis. In fundraising, metrics serve the same purpose. They reveal not only how much money you raised, but how healthy, sustainable and resilient your fundraising program truly is.
Too often, organizations track numbers in isolation, celebrating gross revenue growth while overlooking warning signs beneath the surface. Fundraising metrics are most powerful when they are read together, over time, and used to guide strategic decisions rather than simply report results.
Growth isn’t just about revenue
Net Annual Growth in Donors is one of the most overlooked indicators of sustainability. While donor acquisition and renewal rates are often tracked separately, neither tells you whether your donor file is actually growing or shrinking overall.
An organization may acquire thousands of new donors each year, but if even more donors lapse, the net result is decline. Monitoring net donor growth forces organizations to confront uncomfortable truths: are we running faster just to stay in the same place?
For boards and senior leadership, this metric reframes success away from short-term wins and toward long-term capacity building.
The second gift is the real test
Experienced fundraisers know that the most important gift is not the first, but the second.
Second Gift Conversion Rate reveals whether an organization is successfully transitioning donors from a one-time transaction to the beginning of a meaningful relationship.
Across the sector, roughly half of first-time donors never make a second gift. A low conversion rate may signal problems with donor onboarding, stewardship, follow-up timing or acquisition sources that attract donors unlikely to stay.
Improving this metric is often one of the most cost-effective ways to strengthen fundraising performance.
If first-time donors quietly disappear after one gift, it’s usually not because they forgot about you—it’s because you forgot about them.
Canadian fundraising reality check
Most charities don’t have a revenue problem—they have a donor retention problem.
In a country where acquisition is costly, keeping donors is often the most powerful growth strategy available.
