A Fresh Look at Development Metrics by Bob Woods

1. A Fresh Look at Development Metrics by Bob Woods

2. Metrics, Motivation and Leadership • How to Motivate Development Staff? • Build from Strength; Not as a Penalty? • What Happens When Leadership Doesn’t Lead? • Do Metrics Improve the Profession? • Do Metrics Inform the Art of Development? • Data vs. the Water Cooler?

3. What Are Metrics? • What Others are Saying • Key Data Aggregated from a Development Database • Measurements that Board and Staff Agree Upon • Indicators of a Program’s Health • Annual Fund – Capital Campaign – Annual Campaign • Can be a Snapshot in Time or Measure over Periods • Accountability vs. Inquiry

4. What Others are Saying • Funding and Forecasting Formulas • Who Cares? • Measuring Impact on Mission • Measuring Progress in Fundraising • Grant Thornton Advice • Data Mining

5. Mathematics of Funding and Forecasting • Funding = Grant $ + (# of Funders Asked x Success Rate x Average $ Given) -- Ted Chan, MIT Sloan School of Management • Discounting: Cash Quality Report • Others?

6. Who Cares? • Most donors are not all that interested in performance measurements (metrics) for charitable organizations and do not take them into account when they give, according to an article in the Summer 2004 issue of the Stanford Social Innovation Review. • Despite the lack of interest and, in a few cases, opposition to performance measurements, the report concludes that the use of metrics can be beneficial for both donors and charities. -- Katie Cunningham and Marc Ricks, 2004

7. Advice from Grant Thornton The following best practices, found in Grant Thornton LLP’s ForwardThinking newsletter can be used to ensure that all board members receive the right amount of information by which to govern the organization: • Brainstorm with the board to determine what type of information members want to receive. • Develop a one to two page “dashboard” of key financial and operational metrics that provides information on the most relevant indicators. • Identify key metrics to assess the organization’s performance against its mission statement and strategic plan. • Inform the board on budget versus actual revenues and expenses as well as budget versus actual capital expenditures and debt payments. • Provide the board with adequate financial information to support decisions; examples include: adding or expanding programs, acquiring property and equipment. • Provide monitoring information so that the board can provide adequate oversight. • Provide the board with information on programs and activities to ensure that members have an adequate knowledge of the organization’s current financial state and its expected future financial state.

8. Data Mining • Voluntary Support of Education Survey • Benchmarking (Target Group) • Predictive Modeling (Johns Hopkins – SPSS Inc.) • Identify Key Prospects • Eliminating Long-Time Non-Performing Prospects • Other Forms of Modeling

9. Key Data Aggregated from a Database • Tied to a Prospect Tracking System • Values of Prospects at Every Solicitation Stage • # and $ Amount of Solicitations • Value of the Prospect Pipeline • Tied to a Contact Tracking System • Key Indicator: # of Visits! • Key Issues: Stewardship and Cultivation Touches • Prospect Ratings, Research and Donor Retention • Development Receipts: New Gifts and Pledges

10. Development Dashboard

11. Personal Dashboard

12. Why Use Metrics? • Metrics, Schmetrics! • Greater Insight • Increases Fundraising Performance • Acceptance by Fundraisers

13. Metrics, Schmetrics! • Old School vs. New Day • Time Intensive, Bureaucratic, Distraction from Fundraising? • Art vs. Science • Data Analysis Improves the Art of Fundraising • Keep an Open Mind to What Data are Telling Us • Can Justify Actions, Investments and Instill Pride

14. Greater Insight • Can See Strengths and Challenges • Identifies Bottlenecks Immediately • Helps Target and Track Training and Investments • Suggest Actions that Increase Funding • TPL Volunteer Giving Example

15. Development Dashboard: $370K in 6 Days!

16. Increases Performance • People Perform when Measured • Evaluation and Motivation • Metrics and Shoe Leather • TPL Experience with Visits

17. Effectiveness of Visits: TPL 2002-06

18. Dollars and Visits: TPL 2000-06

19. $10K Gifts by Job Classification

20. Are Metrics Helpful? • Development Dashboard • Top Fundraiser Report • Visits Report • Effectiveness

21. TPL 2002-06: Visits Tracking Begins

22. TPL 2008: Effect of Tracking Visits – Growth

23. TPL 2009: Effect of Tracking Visits

24. Acceptance of Metrics by Fundraisers • Leads to Excellence • Improved Professional Skills • Provides Information Helpful to Solicitations • Compensation • Time and Comfort

25. How to Interpret Metrics • Read into Them What You Want? • Data Quality? • News vs. Emotion • Build from Strengths

26. Stewart Woods Aspirational Metrics (SWAM) System • Development Dashboard • Development Skills Matrix • Campaign Planning • Development Scorecard

27. Development Matrix: Executive Director & Development Director • Ideas

28. Metrics and Motivation • Inspiration • Recognition • Affection

29. Questions? • Your Experience with Metrics? • Is Your Database Capable? • Scalability? • Concerns about Evaluation? • What is the Relationship between Aspirations and Activity? • Can Metrics Motivate Activity to Meet Aspirations? • Are Metrics a Useful Tool for Leaders?

30. Go Raise Money!