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Guide Donor Retention + Fundraising Calculator 4 min read
How to Use the Donor Retention + Fundraising Calculator
Model how improved retention changes annual contribution totals and whether retention spend is net-positive.
Before You Start
- Use last-year donor counts and current retained donor totals from your CRM.
- Set a realistic target retention rate for the next cycle.
Step-by-Step
- Enter donor baseline values: Provide last-year donors, retained donors, new donors, and average gift.
- Set target retention and cost: Add your target retention rate and expected campaign spend.
- Review revenue lift: Compare current annual revenue against target-retention scenario revenue.
- Operationalize guidance: Apply output recommendations to thank-you, second-gift, and reactivation workflows.
How to Read the Output
- Net lift accounts for campaign cost; this is the budget decision metric.
- Extra retained donors is the operational KPI to assign by team or segment.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Blending one-time campaign donors with core recurring donors without segmentation.
- Using only gross lift and ignoring campaign cost.
Use the Tool Now
Run this guide with your real numbers and save your scenario outputs for follow-up planning.