16 Fundraising Success Metrics to Start Tracking

Measuring performance is a crucial step that nonprofits must take to succeed. There’s no better way of isolating and troubleshooting any ongoing problems. And worry not, there’s no shortage of methods of measuring performance. They’re called fundraising success metrics here, but they are also often referred to as key performance indicators (KPIs). These metrics are […]

How do we know philanthropy helps students succeed?

There is little doubt that philanthropy supports student success. Just don’t ask how many students receive meaningful supports thanks to donors, or how donations correlate to increases in student retention. The way universities usually silo their data, those questions are nearly impossible to answer. We ought to have answers. Reporting income raised is not the […]

The fundraising paradox

If Our Donors Aren’t Listening, Are We Really Communicating? With the relative ease and low-cost of online communication, many nonprofits have more messages directed at prospects and donors than ever before. But it is generally estimated that donors and prospects see more than 5,000 marketing messages a day: “Buy this soft drink. These are the […]

Finding Value in the Middle: An Examination of Mid-Level Giving

In recent years, more attention has been paid to the value of mid-level donors. But many mid-level programs still underperform, with fundraisers uncertain about how to engage with these donors. Lawrence Henze, principal consultant at Blackbaud Target Analytics, has over 38 years of development and marketing experience in the nonprofit sector. In his latest white […]

Guide to Annual Giving Donor Segmentation

For most advancement shops, annual giving is the black hole of fundraising: a generic ask to a mass audience. But what if you could deliver a meaningful, personalized experience for all of your donors—without increasing the resources needed or time and energy spent? In this whitepaper, you’ll learn how to segment your constituents to personalize […]

Which traits predict graduates’ earnings?

Which university graduates will go on to earn the most money? Labour-market observers should not be surprised to find that both the subjects people study and the universities they attend are strong predictors of career earnings. A report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), a think-tank, provides further clarity on this question by matching […]

More Than Just Data: Why Actionable Insights Matter

There’s no question that customer experience (CX) is a data-driven discipline. After all, at the foundation of most CX programs are close-ended surveys designed to capture and analyze customer feedback. Yes, metrics are a crucial element of every successful CX program. With metrics, you can establish a clear performance baseline and track trends based on […]

Big Data Analysis

Big Data is not just the ability to store large amounts of data, more important is what we can do to the data in that large volume, how we use the data with such large volumes. One of its uses is for data analysis needs. Big Data Analysis can be done in order to assist […]

Business intelligence vs. business analytics: Where BI fits into your data strategy

Traditionally, enterprises have focused their data strategies around business intelligence (BI), but the rise of predictive and prescriptive analytics platforms, in part thanks to machine learning and artificial intelligence, is changing the equation. Even business intelligence itself is evolving, tipping in capabilities previously exclusive to business analytics platforms. Analysts and consultants agree that understanding the […]

What’s the difference between data, analytics and insights experts?

Utilising data to make better business decisions is on the agenda for the majority of organisations, with almost three-quarters (74%) saying they want to be “data-driven,” according to a study by Forrester. However, data is only valuable if it transpires into meaningful actions – only 29% of organisations said their data efforts have led to […]