Study Measures Email Messaging, Fundraising, Advocacy

Your organization put a lot of time and money into an online campaign -- but how do you know if your investment has paid off? In the for-profit world, the success of an online campaign is almost always measured in terms of financial gain. When it comes to nonprofits, however, email campaigns, online fundraising, and online advocacy often have an impact far beyond the amount of money they raise. A campaign's ability to influence public opinion and policy and mobilize constituents are also important indicators of its effectiveness. Yet how do you quantify these?

The eNonprofit Benchmarks Study, conducted by the Advocacy Institute and M+R Strategic Services, examines the Internet's effectiveness as a tool for helping nonprofits raise money and effect change. By looking at the online statistics from 15 U.S. nonprofits, data from three major online communication tools providers, and an online survey of 85 nonprofit organizations in the larger community, this in-depth report was able to identify hallmarks of successful programs.

Use this study as a tool to compare your organization's online performance with that of other nonprofits, decide where to invest online resources, and evaluate and refine your own communications approach. Tips on list-building, demographics, online fundraising, and additional resources for organizations seeking to improve specific areas of their online campaigns are also included in the study.

Below are a few of the eNonprofit Benchmarks Study's key findings. To read or download the complete report for free, visit www.e-benchmarksstudy.com.

eNonprofit Benchmarks Study Findings:

• Success comes at a price. Nonprofits that invested more resources in both their online communications budgets and staff experienced the best returns on their investments. "Organizations with larger online communications budgets built larger email lists, generated more advocacy activity, and raised more funds online," the study found.
• Email messaging is key. "Along with an organization's Web site," the study notes, "email messaging is the most important component of many nonprofit organization's online communications programs." This includes advocacy and fundraising emails, as well as email newsletters.
• Targeting email messages improves click-through rates. "Targeting based on geography and issue interest area increased email open rates, click-through rates, page completion rates, and response rates as compared to messages sent to the whole list," the study found.
• Email open rates have declined. Between 2003 and 2005, each of the organizations surveyed reported that fewer of the emails they sent were opened. The study suggests that this may be due to improved email filters as well as to "list fatigue," whereby inactive list members fail to unsubscribe.
• Email lists grow and shrink over time. The size of an organization's email list is a critical indicator of its success, both in advocacy and fundraising. Yet list churn -- or a loss of subscribers over time -- remains an obstacle to growth. Even when nonprofits doubled their list, the study notes, these gains were offset by considerable losses, resulting in overall list growth of about 73 percent.
• Higher investment = bigger lists.Organizations who invested in online communications saw the most significant increase in list growth. Online advertising, however, had less of an impact.
• List quality counts. The longer a subscriber has been on a list, the study found, the more likely he or she is to respond to campaigns. "Subscribers who have been on the list for several years have, on average, taken more advocacy actions than have newer subscribers," the study notes, adding that this may be attributed to the fact that over time, "the less interested subscribers 'opt out' of future communications, leaving only the more committed activists on the list."
• Online actions surpass online donations. "More email subscribers took online action than made an online donation," the study observes, noting that this finding varied considerably according to the type of organization surveyed. International aid email lists reported lower rates of activism than environmental organizations, for example, but higher rates of donations.
• Online fundraising is on the rise. "Online fundraising totals increased by 40 percent [from 2004 to 2005]," the study finds, adding that study participants averaged $2.5 million in online donations, with a $97 average gift. Part of this increase was attributed to the Asian tsunami disaster.
• Metrics make a difference. "What is especially key is being able to measure the successes (and failures) of online initiatives through proper tracking of key metrics, such as email message open and response rates, in order to maximize the benefits of the Internet as a...tool to a nonprofit's communications success."

About the study authors:

M+R Strategic Services provides integrated strategy, field organizing, communications, lobbying, direct mail, Web production, online advocacy, and fundraising services for a range of nonprofit and corporate organizations.

The Advocacy Institute helps social justice leaders in the United States and abroad work more effectively for change through training in advocacy skills, networking with other activists, and one-on-one coaching.