6 Key Fundraising Metrics Every Charity Should Track

Fundraising campaign success is often measured by what is most visible: the total amount raised.

Like the tip of an iceberg, this figure sits above the surface: clear, simple, and easy to communicate. But the reality is that the majority of what determines campaign success lies beneath the waterline, as is visible in the image below.

When these underlying areas are strong, the visible result, fundraising income, tends to follow. When they are weak, even the best campaigns struggle to deliver sustainable results.

This is why measuring fundraising success cannot be limited to a single headline figure. Charities need to look deeper into the key performance indicators that reveal what is really driving outcomes.

In this article, we’ll explore the core fundraising KPIs that help charities move beyond surface-level results and understand the full picture of campaign performance.

1. Donor Acquisition

Definition: The percentage of donors who are giving to your charity for the first time.

Formula: (New Donors ÷ Total Donors) × 100 = Donor Acquisition Rate

Example: (2,000 ÷ 10,000) × 100 = 20% new donor

Why is donor acquisition important?

Donor acquisition measures your charity's ability to attract new supporters and sustain long-term fundraising growth. As every organisation naturally loses some donors over time, maintaining a healthy flow of new supporters is essential to offset attrition. However, donor acquisition should not be viewed in isolation. To understand whether growth is sustainable, it should be analysed alongside metrics such as donor retention, donation frequency, and donor churn.

The number of people donating to charity in the UK has declined significantly over the past decade, with millions fewer people giving compared to ten years ago. As the pool of active donors becomes more competitive. It’s not enough to attract and convert new supporters but to retain. One way to do that is through the donor journey.

What can donor acquisition tell a charity?

• Which campaigns, channels, or touchpoints are most effective at attracting new donors?
• Whether donor acquisition is increasing or decreasing over time.
• Which acquisition sources produce the highest-quality supporters (One-time vs. regular)?
• How successfully first-time donors are progressing into long-term relationships.
• How effectively are we capturing and recording donor data for future stewardship?
• Where fundraising investment and resources should be focused for the greatest impact.

Note: Data entry point.

Ultimately, effective donor acquisition is not simply about generating more donations. It is about identifying, engaging, and capturing the information needed to build lasting supporter relationships that contribute to the long-term sustainability of your charity.

2. Donor Retention Rate

Definition: The percentage of donors who continue to support your charity over a given period. These are the people who keep coming back to you to give, over and over again, whether every quarter, year, or bi-annually.

Formula: (Returning Donors ÷ Total Donors from Previous Period) × 100 = Donor Retention Rate

Example: (6,000 ÷ 10,000) × 100 = 60% Donor Retention Rate

Why is donor retention important?

Donor retention measures your charity's ability to build lasting relationships with supporters. 

High retention rates indicate that donors remain engaged with your mission, trust your organisation, and continue to see value in supporting your work. 

Donor retention remains one of the biggest challenges for charities. While overall retention rates have remained relatively steady at around 43%, much of that success comes from repeat donors (who have already built a relationship with an organisation). 

The real challenge lies in turning first-time donors into repeat supporters. In fact, the Fundraising Effectiveness Project describes securing a donor's second gift as "the most consequential unsolved problem in the donor pipeline." 

What can donor retention tell a charity?

• How effectively the charity is maintaining relationships with existing supporters.
• Whether donors feel engaged, valued, and connected to the organisation's mission.
• The long-term sustainability and stability of fundraising income.
• The effectiveness of donor stewardship, communications, and engagement strategies.
• Which donor segments are most likely to continue giving over time?
• Areas where donor experience or supporter journeys may need improvement.

3. Donor Lapse Rate

Definition: The percentage of donors who have stopped giving to your charity within a defined period.

Formula: (Lapsed Donors ÷ Total Donors) × 100 = Donor Lapse Rate

Example: (1,500 ÷ 10,000) × 100 = 15% Donor Lapse Rate

Why is donor lapse rate important?

Donor lapse rate helps charities understand how many supporters they are losing over time. While donor acquisition drives growth, a high lapse rate can indicate challenges with donor engagement, stewardship, or supporter experience. Monitoring this metric helps identify risks to the long-term sustainability of fundraising and highlights opportunities for donor reactivation.

What can a donor lapse rate tell a charity?

• Whether donor engagement and stewardship efforts are working.
• Which donor segments are most likely to stop giving?
• Whether communication strategies may be contributing to donor disengagement.
• Which donors may be suitable for reactivation campaigns?
• How sustainable the charity's fundraising programme is over time.

Did you know?

Fundraising Effectiveness Project data consistently show that donor attrition rates exceed 50% across much of the charitable sector. This means many organisations lose more than half of their donors over time, making retention and reactivation critical to long-term fundraising success.

To reignite this lost support, check out our guide to winning back lapsed donors.

4. Donor Reactivation

Definition: Donor reactivation refers to the number of previously lapsed supporters who start giving again after a defined period of inactivity. 

It is calculated by identifying donors who made donations in earlier years, had no donations for at least one full reporting cycle (typically excluding the most recent year), and then donated again during the current period.

Example: A donor gives in 2022, does not give for the next two years, and then donates again in 2025. This donor is counted as reactivated in 2025. 

Why is donor reactivation important?

Donor reactivation shows how effectively a charity can reconnect with supporters who have stopped giving. These donors already have a relationship with the organisation, making them more cost-effective to re-engage than to acquire new donors. A strong reactivation rate also reflects effective stewardship, segmentation, and long-term donor relationship management.

What can donor reactivation tell a charity?

• How effective are re-engagement campaigns at bringing back lapsed donors?
• Which donor groups are most likely to return?
• Whether past communications are successfully rebuilding engagement.
• How well do donor data and segmentation support targeted outreach?
• The strength of long-term donor relationship management.

5. Donation Growth

Definition: Donation growth measures the change in average donation value over a defined period, typically compared year-on-year, but it can also be analysed monthly or quarterly.

Calculation:

1. Total donations ÷ Total number of donors = Average donation value (current period)
2. Repeat for the previous period
3. (Current average donation − Previous average donation) ÷ Current average donation × 100 = Donation Growth %

Example:

1. £3,300,000 ÷ 15,000 donors (2022) = £220 average donation
2. £2,700,000 ÷ 13,500 donors (2021) = £200 average donation
3. (220 − 200) ÷ 220 × 100 = 9% donation growth

Why is donation growth important?

Donation growth helps charities understand whether supporters are giving more over time, not just whether they are giving at all. It reflects the strength of donor engagement and can indicate improving trust, stronger campaign messaging, or more effective fundraising strategies.

It is also an important indicator of inflation-adjusted fundraising performance. In periods of rising costs and economic pressure, maintaining or increasing average donation value is often essential just to sustain real-term income levels.

What can growth in donations tell a charity?

• It helps charities understand fundraising performance in depth (how much donors give) and whether average gift size is increasing or decreasing.
• How effective are messaging and campaign design at encouraging higher-value giving?
• Whether inflation or economic conditions are impacting giving behaviour.
• Which donor segments are increasing their contribution levels over time?

6. Donor Churn

Definition: Donor churn measures the net change in your donor base by comparing the number of new donors gained against the number of donors lost within a given period.

Calculation: New Donors (current period) − Lapsed Donors (current period) = Donor Churn

Example: 2,000 new donors − 1,800 lapsed donors = +200 donor churn (net donor growth)

Why is donor churn important?

Donor churn shows whether your supporter base is growing or shrinking over time. While acquisition brings in new donors and retention keeps existing ones engaged, churn provides a net view of overall donor movement. A positive churn indicates growth in your donor base, while a negative churn signals that you are losing more donors than you are gaining.

What can donor churn tell a charity?

• Whether the overall donor base is expanding or contracting
• If acquisition efforts are successfully offsetting donor losses
• The combined impact of acquisition and retention strategies
• Whether long-term fundraising growth is sustainable
• How effectively the organisation is replacing lost supporters

To avoid donor churn, understand ‘why people give’ so you can better create donor journeys that align with your target donor profile. 

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