fundraising
Phonathon Results: How Do You Compare?
Benchmarking Your Phonathon: The Donor Stream
When I was an admission counselor a long time ago, we used to talk about the “funnel” that brought us students. We then started talking about the “recruitment cycle.” Smart organizations now are thinking of recruitment more as a “stream.” In a time when the money may be good, but attracting participation and total donors is tough, I think fundraisers should adopt the “stream” thinking. Unless we’re focusing on the next step for each donor, we are going to see donors move in and out of giving at a high rate, making it impossible to build a donor base.
We’ve had an opportunity over the past six months to look at the phonathon and donor total data from over 300 institutions and presented benchmarking reports to institutions looking to compare their phonathon results. This process has helped answer the most common question we’re asked:
“How do I compare?”
Generally, the questions have centered on pledge rate, average pledge, how many credit cards and how many dollars per phoning hour. What we’ve noticed is that these questions should be asked much earlier in the process. We’ve found many institutions that have great pledge rates and average gifts, but are only contacting a small percentage of their donor base, even when they decide to load the whole group in CAMPUSCALL or other calling system each year.
Who you make contact with can have a huge effect on your total results. Let’s take a sample institution. This school is concerned about their pledge rate and average gift, so they work hard with the student callers to make a change and improve.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Records Loaded | 25,000 | 25,000 |
| Completion Rate | 40% | 40% |
| Contact Rate | 55% | 55% |
| Pledge Rate | 24% | 28% |
| Average Pledge | $92 | $100 |
| Pledges | 1,320 | 1,540 |
| Total | $121,440 | $154,000 |
That’s a great improvement and a solid increase of about 21%.
Let’s consider a slightly different strategy for the same institution. They invest in finding more alumni which increases their callable base, and they also decide to include everyone in the phonathon, rather than removing a group each year. They also manage to get through the records at higher rate, about 60% complete. Their gain in pledge rate and average pledge isn’t quite as high because they are calling more new and long-lapsed donors.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Records Loaded | 25,000 | 32,000 |
| Completion Rate | 40% | 60% |
| Contact Rate | 55% | 56% |
| Pledge Rate | 24% | 26% |
| Average Pledge | $92 | $94 |
| Pledges | 1,320 | 2,796 |
| Total | $121,440 | $262,779 |
That’s a 54% increase in dollars and double the number of donors…all centered on effort at the start of the donor stream with investment to find, include, and make contact with prospects.
What’s important to build your donor stream:
Contact Everyone
Your alumni and supporters are being contacted by many organizations, and if you’re not in the mix, you’re making a mistake. Consider very carefully whether you should remove “major prospects” from one of your channels because “we’re going to visit them.” Be very careful removing people from phonathon. If that’s where a gift has been captured before, leave them in and still make that visit.
Find People
Cell phone append is the single largest tool in your arsenal. The forever phone is the only phone for many people, and if you’re not finding people, you’re missing opportunities. In fact, in the age of big data, your alumni may very well expect you to find them. The reliability of research has improved, and it’s time to use this tool in your program.
Get Through the Records
This means making sure your call center is running efficiently, and there is the least friction possible in the process of asking for, recording, and following up on pledges. Good software is key, and making sure that 100% of your call center hours are dedicated to dialing phones is crucial.
Getting Your Potential Donors into the Stream is the First Step
If you’re not finding, calling, and reaching prospects, the highest pledge rate and average pledge in the world won’t get you to your aspirational goals. Additionally, if you already have great pledge statistics, growing your solicitable base is your biggest growth opportunity.
Find out how RuffaloCODY’s data enrichment, cell phone append and phonathon consulting services can help take your program to the next level.
For more information on phonathon benchmarking, be sure to catch Brian Gawor’s presentation titled “How Do We Compare? A Benchmarking Year in Review” on July 22 at the Aligning Experts Summit in Chicago, Illinois.