#DonorGoals

It's the end of the year, and most businesses are either scrambling for the 2022 strategic plan or others are finalizing the plan. Whichever category you are in, no judgment from Collective Impact. We enjoy strategic planning. It’s a time to reflect on what did and did not work and create a solutions plan. We've learned a lot this year and are excited to implement changes in 2022.

An important area for nonprofits to analyze is their donor data. #givingtuesday 2021 displayed people are donating to organizations even in a pandemic. So if you are ready to eliminate excuses and get a piece of that $2.7 Billion pie, continue reading. By law, all charitable organizations are to provide donors a tax-deductible acknowledgment by end of the tax year. Jan 31st will be here before we know it. If you haven’t started providing tax receipts to your donors, I can guarantee that your donor retention will decrease in 2022. No matter the amount, take a moment to send out emails to your 2021 donor list thanking them for partnering with your cause. We've created a donor management template for our community. You can access the template here Donor Management Template

Tell Donors How They've Helped.

When you contact donors, provide some stats on how many people you have impacted and a brief description of your 2022 goals. Give yourself a deadline to have all the data updated, and this could be a great project to include your board of directors.

Your contribution has helped us feed 300 children in 2021. Thank you for partnering with us. Our goal for 2022 is to impact 500 children by working with local farmers to provide local and fresh ingredients.

Once that is complete, we highly recommend figuring out your Donor Acquisition cost (DAC). If you ever watch Shark Tank, for-profits throw this number around when pitching. However, it’s referred to as Customer Acquisition Cost in the for-profit sector. Side Note: Funders and Donors care about their investment too. The DAC formula determines how much marketing dollars you spent to acquire donations. Marketing & Sales expenses include software, Facebook ads, volunteer time. Everything you used to bring awareness of your organization's mission to donors. Don't forget to include fees for processing payments like Facebook campaigns, PayPal, etc.

In performing this calculation you may realize you didn't invest in your organization's marketing. You can purchase the Impact Academy Brand and Marketing bundle to learn how to promote your nonprofit. This way you will have more accurate data to asses going forward. Use discount code: D18DA96415 for $50 off bundle price

Calculating Donor Acquisition Costs will help you to gain & retain donors strategically and determine if the methods used have been successful. For example, you spent $1,000 on software/ads and over 80 hours of time to get five donations. If your organization is not paying you a salary, you are a volunteer — Google volunteer rate in your state. According to the Independent Sector report, the value of volunteer time in Ohio is $25.47 an hour.

DAC Formula: $1000 divided by 5 = $200

25.47 x 80 hours is $2,037 divided by 5 = $407.52

$200 (expenses) + $407.52 (time) = $607.52.

In 2021 the organization spent $607.52 to acquire 5 donors equals DONOR ACQUISITION COST. Now if you really want to be strategic you can calculate the total donation amount(5).

We spent $600+ to get $300 in donations. (gasp or rejoice)

Comment your DAC on the App community wall for your chance to win a marketing plan valued at $249 during our 12 days of Giveaways campaign.

Now, this number may seem scary, but it depends on your perspective. You may say " we only spent $5 but got donations of $100 or We invested a lot and it paid off. Keep in mind the results are not personal. Giving yourself and others grace will help you remove your feeling and focus on the facts.

Galatians 5:9 "God sees all of your efforts. He knows your heart.

This scripture encourages and reminds me, no matter who shows up or my expectations, I'm doing what God told me to do, and that is whom I aim to please. I hope this also encourages you to keep going, stay obedient and steward the vision.

Got Our DAC, What's Next?

During your next board meeting, discuss this information with your board so you all can brainstorm options. Hiring Collective Impact can be a solution. Our network has CFRE's and strategic planners available. We can create a plan and set up the process to reduce your DAC and increase your return on investment (ROI). Suppose you decide you want a diverse funding portfolio that isn't so heavily dependent on donations. In that case, we'd love to help create that. You can schedule a consultation with us through the Collective Impact App or our Calendly link. Invite your board to the meeting so they can ask questions as well. Don't just keep the info to yourself.

Not ready to schedule a consult with us. Need to learn more about our Network? Bring your DAC to the virtual networking event on Dec 30th, and we can do a Live consult. Meet our network and connect with other nonprofit leaders who want to improve in 2022.

RSVP for LEADERS OF COLOR NETWORKING EVENT.

Your impact is Our Passion! Whatever your DAC, the question is, Do you want to keep doing something with the same results or do you want to bite the bullet, assess the situation, and develop a plan to improve? We can help you grow your organization's impact in 2022 and beyond, but you have to want it. We can't do that for you! Blessings and happy calculating!