WealthEngine Releases New White Paper on Measuring Return on Investment in Fundraising

BETHESDA, Md., May 25 /PRNewswire/ -- WealthEngine, the leading provider of sophisticated prospect research tools and analytics, announced today the release of a new research paper, entitled Measuring Fundraising Return on Investment and the Impact of Prospect Research: Factors to Consider. The paper is the result of a four-month research initiative and is meant to serve as a reference guide in applying a quantitative lens to nonprofit organizations' fundraising operations.

The dynamics and time horizons associated with various giving levels can often make quantitative performance metrics difficult for nonprofit organizations to articulate.  Calculating return on investment for annual fund programs is relatively simple, while determining the cost and relative return related to securing a major gift is far more complex.  Nevertheless, measuring return on investment can help organizations justify their prospect research and development budgets and perhaps, even more importantly, can provide important benchmarks for understanding the overall cost of raising money.

"Coming off of two consecutive years of market-driven declines in individual giving, it is more important than ever for nonprofit organizations and educational institutions to fully understand what return they are realizing on their fundraising investments and how much it costs them to raise a dollar," said Cheryl Gustitus, WealthEngine's Senior Vice President of Communications.  "Although not a trivial pursuit, balancing efficiency and effectiveness is key to any well run organization."

The paper reminds readers that prospect research should be viewed not separately but rather as an integral part of the fundraising process and, therefore, should be considered when looking at overall return.  Systematic prospect research can help to drive fundraising results higher while improving efficiency through focused segmentation.  In one practical example featured in the paper, a hospital foundation achieved a 62% increase in $10,000+ gifts by applying prospect research techniques to their grateful patient program. In another example, an opera house increased contributions by 82% in three years.

Through research like this and Best Practices work, WealthEngine demonstrates its commitment to facilitating dialogue and knowledge sharing among fundraising professionals in an effort to help all organizations be more successful in meeting their mission-based goals.  Over it 19 year history, WealthEngine has built a strong reputation for helping clients collectively raise billions in funds.  

To download a free copy of the WealthEngine white paper, please visit:

http://www.wealthengine.com/pub/whitepaper_ROI_request.jsp

About WealthEngine

WealthEngine is a leading provider of sophisticated wealth identification and prospect research and analytics to financial services firms, hospitals, institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations.  More than 2000 clients use WealthEngine's products for comprehensive prospect research on individuals, companies and foundations. Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, WealthEngine offers products in both the United States and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.wealthengine.com.

SOURCE WealthEngine