Email is still gold. And the shift from quantity to quality is ON!
These are some of the key takeaways from the new Luminate Online Benchmark Report 2016 by Blackbaud. The report aggregates data from July 2015 to June 2016 from 631 mature Luminate Online customers — orgs with at least 3 years of consecutive usage data.
Download the Luminate report here.
As with all benchmarks, use this report to understand how your org compares to peers (even aspirational peers!), but view it as just one data point. The most important benchmark is yours!
A few data points to support the beginning of a shift in online marketing and fundraising:
The charts below visualize the 2016 median, the lower and upper quartiles, the percent change from the prior year, and the 2015 median. The guide below provides an example of this structure:
LIST GROWTH
Year-over-year email list growth slowed down to 10 percent this year. The ever-changing algorithms of ISPs are demanding increased quality, driving the trend for slimmer by more engaged lists.
Healthy email appeal click rates suggest that organizations are creating strong content and targeting supporters effectively. Fundraising email click rates increased year over year 2.11 percent.
GIVING
Nonprofits are building a more stable and sustainable future by building a strong base of regular donors. This year, the double-digit growth continued, with sustained-giving revenue growing 14.26 percent year over year.
ADVOCACY
Advocacy organizations understandably had a busy year and showed strong results getting more constituents engaged in advocacy action, growing 6 percent year over year and getting more advocates to contribute financially, growing nearly 4 percent year over year.
What do you think? What is your org doing to retain donors and boost engagement rates?
