Our August Leadership Lab invited discussion of today’s fundraising landscape, and pretty quickly all four cohorts diagnosed a period of intense economic and operational pressure and a K-shaped revenue landscape: while high-wealth giving through sophisticated third-party vehicles is surging, we are seeing a continued and concerning decline in everyday, lower-dollar givers.
In the nonprofit sector, we sometimes talk about "the mission" as our greatest retention tool. And yes, meaningful work is a differentiator for us as employers. But the data, and our own experience, tells a different story. In our July Leadership Lab, we looked at the actual math of loyalty, exploring why salary increases – for better or worse – are not the primary retention solution, and identified five drivers that actually determine whether your best people stay or go.
