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Numbers: Crunching and ComparingAvalon Consulting Group
October 2011
www.avalonconsulting.net
Produced for the 2011 AMMMC Conference by Avalon Analytics, a division of Avalon Consulting Group, Inc.
For more information, contact Avalon Executive Vice President Allison Porter at [email protected] or 202.429.6080 x102.
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Benchmarking Tools for Your Membership Program
Understanding Statistical Definitions
Evaluating Your Statistics
Compare to Environmental Indicators and Benchmarks
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Understanding Statistical Definitions
Quantity Total number of members/prospects mailed
Number of Gifts Number of contributions received
Response Rate Number of Gifts / Quantity Mailed
Renewal Rate Total number of renewal gifts in year (all channels)/ number of current members eligible for renewal in year
Average Gift Gross Revenue / Number of Gifts
Gross Revenue Total income received
Gross/M (“gross per thousand pieces mailed”)
Compare performance across multiple mailings with different quantities – compares apples to apples(Gross Revenue / Quantity) * 1,000
Cost Total cost of a mailing (includes copy, art, print, laser shop, mail shop, postage, list costs, miscellaneous)
Net Revenue Gross Revenue – Cost
Net/M (“net per thousand pieces mailed”)
Compare performance across multiple mailings with different mail quantities and different costs(Net Revenue / Quantity) * 1,000
Net/Donor (“net revenue per donation”)
Used mostly in acquisition to evaluate the quality of donors across different lists – collapses response rate, average gift, and costsNet Revenue / Number of Gifts
Cost/$ Raised (“cost per dollar raised”)
What is spent to bring in a dollarCost / Gross Revenue
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Evaluating Your Statistics
Monitor the number of days for returns.Do not make conclusions too early. Most mailings require at least 90 days before they should be considered final and conclusive. As a general rule, expect to receive 50% of your total returns in the first 20 days.
Look out for large gifts.A large gift can throw off the average gift and other statistics for determining testing results. These gifts should be subtracted out before results are evaluated.
Confirm accuracy of costs.Ensure that all costs are included and that costs are accurately broken- out by package.
Verify adequate sample sizes.If evaluating segments against each other, make sure that each segment has at least 300 returns. This ensures that the results are statistically significant. If sample sizes are not large enough, consider testing over multiple months before making a decision.
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In the fundraising industry, results often follow consumer confidence trends. Consult the Consumer Confidence Index as an Environmental Indicator if a sudden increase or
decrease in results is realized but not explained by obvious trends. www.conference-board.org
Source: The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®
Compare to Environmental Indicators and Benchmarks
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-$42
-$10 -$13 -$14
-$44
-$13 -$17 -$17
Acquisition Net/Donor
2009 2010
Arts & Culture Environment & Conservation
Advocacy All
$42
$22 $24 $25
$49
$23 $22 $26
Acquisition Average Gift
2009 2010
0.6%
1.2%1.0% 1.0%
0.5%
1.1%0.9% 0.9%
Acquisition Response Rates
2009 2010
Acquisition Benchmarking Across Industries
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3.2% 3.6% 4.3% 3.8%2.9% 3.1%
4.4% 3.4%
Appeal Response Rates
2009 2010
$66$39 $48 $44
$73$41 $48 $46
Appeal Average Gift
2009 2010
Arts & Culture Environment & Conservation
Advocacy All
$39
$26 $31 $29
$41
$28 $33 $31
Appeal Net/Donor
2009 2010
Appeal Benchmarking Across Industries
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63.9%47.4%
28.6%44.8%
62.7%48.4%
29.0%45.0%
Renewal Rates
2009 2010
$76
$42$52 $51
$75$44
$54 $53
Renewal Average Gift
2009 2010
Arts & Culture Environment & Conservation
Advocacy All
$68
$36 $40 $44
$67
$37 $42 $45
Renewal Net/Donor
2009 2010
Renewal Benchmarking Across Industries
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Analyze and Benchmark Results
Visitation, Performing Arts, & Libraries sectors
All Sectors
Total Email file size: 38,736 39,100
Usable email file size: 24,625 25,572
Online revenue: $221, 964 $349,967
Online revenue growth: 19% 20%
Online avg. gift: $106.19 $91.94
Fundraising open%: 21% 18%
Fundraising click%: 1.96% 1.76%
Fundraising response%: .10% .16%
eNewsletter open% 27% 19%
eNewsletter click% 3.44% 3.06%
*All stats from Visitation, Performing Arts & Libraries sector of 2011 Convio Online Marketing Nonprofit Benchmark™ Index Study published in March 2011. This sector includes zoos, museums, and aquariums that rely on members and guest visiting their facilities, and comprised 30 of the 589 groups in this study.
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Dara Rosenberg IgersheimSenior Program ManagerAvalon Consulting, Inc.1150 17th Street, NW, Suite 200Washington, DC 20036202.429.6080 ext. [email protected]
Kristen Shank FinnSenior Program ManagerAvalon Consulting, Inc.1150 17th Street, NW, Suite 200Washington, DC 20036202.429.6080 ext. [email protected]