Abstract
Research in this paper examines, through analysis and a case study, the profitability of individual donors.
The purpose is to examine these questions:
What can we learn about the range and distribution of donor
- profitability from case studies?
- Who counts the most, profit-wise?
- What are the implications for fundraising management?
The main conclusions are:
1. Profitable and unprofitable donors : About half of donors are profit
making and half loss making in a year. Donors show a very wide
range in their annual net profitability.
2. It is down to a few : A very few donors create the annual net
surplus in a programme. In the case study shown, three quarters of
net profit was generated by just one tenth of the donors.
3. Strategy : A strategic focus on the few profit generators seems
obvious, and a new approach to fundraising management is
strongly indicated.
4. Changing fundraising practice : Discussions with charities, agencies
and consultancies suggest that cultural factors and a reluctance to
change ‘ the way we do things ’ impede the take-up of a profit-based
