Two numbers to decrease to raise more money

Fundraisers are focused on increasing numbers: Raise more money through your annual appeal, increase net income from an annual fundraising event, and so on. So you may not be accustomed to trying to decrease numbers. However, by decreasing two key numbers, you may actually increase your overall fundraising totals.

Two numbers to decrease to raise more money

Decrease the number of lapsed donors

The first number to shrink is that of your lapsed donors, or LYBUNTs (donors who contributed last year but unfortunately not this year). Keep an eye on your total number of LYBUNTs—if the number is growing, it’s a sign that you may be missing opportunities to thank and communicate with these donors. It may even be the case that you haven’t yet solicited them for continued support. By shrinking your organization’s number of LYBUNTs, you’ll be retaining more of your donors, which bodes well for your overall fundraising success.

Decrease the number of top donors who are receiving limited stewardship

The second number relates to your top 100 donors. These donors have made the largest overall contributions to your organization. How many of these 100 have received no meaningful stewardship contact from you this year? Without thoughtful stewardship, you run the risk of seeing these donors listed among your LYBUNTs. By decreasing the number of top 100 donors with limited stewardship (i.e., you haven’t contacted them in a meaningful way this year), you’re more likely to receive their continued support.

How can you keep track of these numbers?

A donor management system like Little Green Light makes it easy to keep an eye on useful figures that can inform your fundraising efforts. The donor stewardship widget on the LGL dashboard tells you at a glance the current number of LYBUNTs and the number of your top 100 donors who have limited stewardship recorded this year. And, because you can easily print these widgets, the dashboard makes it easy for you to share these numbers with colleagues, development committee members, and others.

Conclusion

Conclusion:

By paying attention to these two key numbers and making pointed efforts to reduce them, you can be a more effective fundraiser. Learn more about LGL’s dashboard functionality and explore how you can rely on it in your own fundraising work.