As fundraisers, we plan to succeed.
And to maximize our chances for success, our plans have to be grounded in empiricism.
Far too often, we’ve seen inexperienced boards or EDs make up crazy revenue goals for their DDs. These goals seem to be based on whim and wish. The only thing these kinds of goals achieve is to motivate the DD to look for a new job in a less crazy environment.
I’ve often said, to create a good plan for the future, you have to know where you currently stand. And nothing gives you a better comprehensive assessment of your current situation than looking at your organization’s past giving trends.
Analytics’ first job is to look back with the purpose of helping you look forward.
It does more than that of course. But this is where it all starts.