About The Fundraising Effectiveness Project
Updated April 1, 2024
About FEP
The Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP)
In 2006, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute established the Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP) to conduct research on fundraising effectiveness and help nonprofit organizations increase their fundraising results at a faster pace.
FEP Annual Reports
The groundbreaking annual Fundraising Effectiveness Survey, piloted in November 2006, collects fundraising data from nonprofit organizations beginning with data for 2004-2005. The Fundraising Effectiveness Survey enables participating groups to measure and compare their fundraising gain and loss ratios to those of similar organizations. Participants can use this industry data, which AFP offers free, to make better-informed, growth-oriented budget decisions to boost donor revenue.
FEP Fundraising Fitness Test
In collaboration with PSI/Adventist, the FEP has developed the downloadable Excel-based FEP Fundraising Fitness Test that allows nonprofits to measure and evaluate their fundraising programs against a set of over 100 performance indicators by five donor giving levels. In addition, the seven GiG Reports in the downloadable Excel-based FEP Growth-in-Giving (GiG) Reports template (revised and simplified) provide concise, yet informative pictures of fundraising gains and losses-growth in giving and attrition – in a simple, reader-friendly format that the executive staff and board members can understand.
Donor Software Firms Facilitate Nonprofits’ Participation
A critical element in the success of this project has been the cooperation and support of numerous donor software firms. The following firms assisted with the design of the FEP survey and provided data from 2007-2013 for the annual FEP survey and report: Bloomerang, Donor2/Campus Management Corporation, DonorPerfect Fundraising Software, eTapestry(Blackbaud), GiftWorks (Mission Research), MatchMaker FundRaising Software, Metafile Information Systems Inc., PhilanthrAppeal (FundTrack Software), The Raiser’s Edge (Blackbaud), ROI Solutions, Telosa Software Inc. (Exceed!).
Questions? Please contact The Fundraising Effectiveness Project at fep@afpglobal.org
Partner Organizations
AFP Foundation for Philanthropy
The AFP Foundation for Philanthropy enhances philanthropy and volunteerism through programs of education, research, and service that benefit those who lead, serve and support nonprofit institutions. The purpose of the Foundation is to generate resources for strategic initiatives that advance fundraising worldwide.
GivingTuesday
GivingTuesday is a global movement that unleashes the power of radical generosity. GivingTuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past nine years, it has grown to inspire hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity year-round. The GivingTuesday Data Commons is dedicated to primary research on giving trends and generous behavior and works with over 100 contributing partners and 50 global data labs to use data to inspire more giving around the world.
Bloomerang
Bloomerang helps nonprofit organizations to reach, engage and retain the advocates they depend on to achieve their vision for a better world. Their cloud-based donor management application is rooted in principles of philanthropy, simple to use and focused on empowering your team to achieve remarkable results through enhanced donor loyalty.
Bonterra
Bonterra is a social good software company focused on powering those who power social impact with best-in-class case management, corporate social responsibility, and fundraising and engagement technology solutions. Through Bonterra’s innovative technology, unmatched expertise, and strategic partnerships, we enable organizations across the social good ecosystem, including corporations, grantmakers, nonprofits, philanthropists, and public agencies, to make more social good possible in less time!
DonorPerfect/SofterWare*
DonorPerfect/SofterWare is based in Horsham, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. The organization was founded in 1981 with a mission to develop and support software that is easy to learn, easy to use, and adaptable to users’ unique needs. The company has grown over 30 years from a small entrepreneurial business to a $30 million+ company with over 10,000 nonprofit, childcare, camp, school and payment processing clients. We credit our longevity and success to our team’s dedication to providing complete customer satisfaction through outstanding products and services.
*charter member of the Donor Software Group
*founding data partner
Data Partners
(Donor software and data consulting firms currently providing monthly data and/or analysis for the Growth in Giving database, in alphabetical order):
Bloomerang helps nonprofit organizations to reach, engage and retain the advocates they depend on to achieve their vision for a better world. Their cloud-based donor management application is rooted in principles of philanthropy, simple to use and focused on empowering your team to achieve remarkable results through enhanced donor loyalty.
Classy is a giving platform that enables nonprofits to connect supporters with the causes they care about. We believe giving should be easy, so we created a solution for online fundraising that creates great experiences for supporters. Through technology, we empower nonprofits to unlock the generosity of their supporters and help them advance their missions. As part of the GoFundMe family we are part of a community of 150 million modern day philanthropists that gives us the most expansive view of and fundraising.
Community Brands is the leading provider of cloud-based software to associations, nonprofits, and K-12 schools. With 2,000 employees serving over 100,000 clients in 30 countries, we help organizations grow stronger and achieve their missions.
DonorPerfect Fundraising Software is one of the largest fundraising software companies in the world and consistently achieves the highest rankings and awards on independent review sites.
Keela is a nonprofit-focused software company on the cutting edge of innovation in the sector. Our mission is to serve and support every organization that is empowering positive change. We are the first affordable, nonprofit specific CRM platform to provide intelligent tools and guided decision making, helping nonprofit professionals make enlightened decisions based on their data so they can work more effectively. Keela is officially certified as a B-Corp. This means we’re always prioritizing people over profit and never forgetting our commitment to the communities in which we operate.
Neon One is the best in class software and services built to drive growth for nonprofits, foundations, and educational institutions of all sizes.
Qgiv exists to help people fulfill their passion to make a difference. In 2007, Qgiv was founded by a couple of friends looking for a way to make it easy for nonprofit, faith-based, and political organizations to accept online donations and payments. A concept grown from a dorm room almost 16 years ago, Qgiv now provides thoughtfully-designed, user-friendly fundraising software to some pretty great people at more than 6,500 organizations in the US and Canada.
Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP) Steering Committee Executive Board Members
- Ben Miller, Chair
- Tim Sarrantonio, Chair-Elect
- Scott Lange, Treasurer
- Ann Fellman, Secretary
- Lori Gusdorf, AFP Foundation for Philanthropy
- Woodrow Rosenbaum, GivingTuesday
