Blackbaud Institute Reveals Key Factors Dramatically Transforming the Highly Competitive Donor Marketplace

CHARLESTON, S.C., Oct. 16, 2017

Over the last 10 years, several factors have dramatically affected the sector's overall endurance, forcing awareness of the external factors at play and the value of retaining an organization's best donors. Taking into account significant disruptors like the Great Recession of 2007-2009, the Blackbaud Institute's report focuses on what factors have influenced the trajectory of sector growth and how organizations can respond accordingly to the dramatically changing market.

"Vital Signs focuses on the changing behavior of donors and explains why these behavioral changes should, in turn, guide changes in our fundraising strategies and priorities," said Roger Craver, author of the report's foreword and editor-in-chief of The Agitator. "With the study's major finding being that fewer households are supporting organizations, but are giving larger gifts, it is essential that organizations focus on retaining the active support of donors."

Key Findings from the Blackbaud Institute Vital Signs Report

• During 2010-2015, the total number of donor households making charitable gifts declined, with fewer households giving larger annual gifts.
• The incidence of donor households adding new organizations to their giving portfolios declined as well. This signals an inevitable decline in available donor market if fundraising strategies do not improve.
• Donors are more valuable to nonprofit organizations than the organizations are to donors. Donor retention is now the most important individual giving strategy to combat the competitive donor marketplace.

"It has long been believed that the health of the philanthropic sector is directly linked to the passion people have for organizations and their missions; to that end, there has been a great focus on communication and stewardship of donors to further increase giving," said Chuck Longfield, author of the report and Blackbaud's chief scientist. "Our findings cause us to look at the donor marketplace in new ways that have consequences for fundraising and organizational strategy, and present new hypotheses that we plan to further research and test."

Download the report at www.blackbaudinstitute.com/vitalsigns.

About the Blackbaud Institute for Philanthropic Impact 
The Blackbaud Institute drives research and insight to accelerate the impact of the social good community. It convenes expert partners from across the philanthropic sector to foster diverse perspectives, collective thinking, and collaborative solutions to the world's greatest challenges. Using the most comprehensive data set in the social good community, the Blackbaud Institute and its partners conduct research, uncover strategic insight, and share results broadly, all in order to drive effective philanthropy at every stage, from fundraising to outcomes. Knowledge is powering the future of social good, and the Blackbaud Institute is an engine of that progress. Learn more, sign up for updates, and check out our latest resources at www.blackbaudinstitute.com.