Current Fiscal Year results vs Monthly Fundraising Baseline Analysis

CFY results vs Monthly Fundraising Baseline

How to use the CFY results vs Monthly Fundraising Baseline analysis

This analysis provides a month-by-month comparison of your current fiscal year's (CFY) fundraising results against a three-year historical monthly average, enabling you to evaluate your fundraising performance in real time. Drawing on your gift transaction history, it classifies each donor's giving by fiscal year and tracks their status as New, Retained, or Recaptured. For every month, you see actual giving totals for the CFY alongside the average giving for that month over the past three years, broken out by donor status. This allows you to quickly identify trends, such as whether you are retaining more donors or increasing new donor acquisition, and pinpoint months when you are outperforming or falling behind your historical norms.

You can use this to understand not only how much you're raising each month compared to previous years, but also the quality of that revenue, specifically, whether growth is coming from loyal supporters, newly acquired donors, or lapsed donors returning. The percent variance metric highlights where you are excelling or underperforming, allowing for timely interventions. For example, if actual retained giving lags behind the baseline, you might prioritize stewardship or recapture efforts.

The analysis is designed for strategic review by development directors, annual giving managers, and fundraising teams who want to optimize revenue and donor relationships. You should consult it regularly-ideally each month-as part of your Constituent Intelligence routines. Use the breakdown by donor status to tailor your engagement strategies: if new giving is up but retained giving is down, shift your focus to stewardship; if recaptured giving spikes, analyze what reactivation tactics were effective and replicate them. Sharing these insights in monthly meetings ensures all stakeholders are aligned and can act promptly.

To measure the success of applying this analysis, track improvements in donor retention, growth in monthly giving versus baseline, and the number of months where you exceed your historical averages. Ultimately, success is measured by a more resilient and diversified donor base, as well as higher long-term fundraising performance.