Benchmarking plays a crucial role for nonprofit organizations by enabling them to evaluate their performance relative to peers. Nonprofit cohort benchmarking, in particular, provides a structured way for organizations with similar missions or fundraising models to confidentially share data and receive aggregated, contextual insights in return — turning isolated metrics into meaningful performance perspectives.
Is Data-Sharing Really Worth It? Yes!
The nonprofit benchmarking process can help pinpoint areas for improvement and promote the efficient use of resources, ultimately supporting your mission-driven goals. However, given competing priorities and possibly budget constraints, you may be asking, “Is it really worth it?”
As a 35+ year veteran in the nonprofit world and a long-time advocate of benchmarking, my answer is a resounding “yes!” Being in a room – or a Zoom – with my peers to discuss best practices and the latest innovations being tested at other nonprofits has always been interesting and fun – and a much-needed break from the daily grind.
Through the years, I recall learning from early adopters about new strategies, like “recycling” to improve credit card processing for sustainer pledges, automated “Annual Renewals” to increase retention, and, more recently, how organizations are making DAF giving easier for both donors and their administrative staff.
Understanding Your Organization Through a New Lens
Beyond the networking and brainstorming opportunities, the DATA provided by expert benchmarking services became foundational for understanding my own organization’s long-term trends and fundraising performance, and served as a reliable source for comparing our analyses (for accuracy). Often, reviewing that data quarterly uncovered issues in our database that had not yet surfaced internally. For example, spotting a dip in first-year donor retention or a shift in acquisition response rates across peers can help you determine whether to course-correct immediately or recognize a broader market trend — all before annual planning cycles lock in decisions.
And last, but definitely not least, benchmarking reports enabled us to answer senior stakeholders’ queries about how we compared with other organizations and with larger nonprofit trends. Have you ever tried to explain to non-fundraising staff why you don’t have 100% retention or why it takes money to raise money – aka why acquisition is an investment activity? It is so much easier to explain when you can show exactly how your retention rate compares to a cohort of peer organizations. In practical terms, participants gain three powerful advantages: clear context for their performance, early warning signals when trends shift, and peer-tested strategies they can confidently apply within their own organizations.
Data-Sharing is Confidential
The confidentiality agreement all benchmarking participants sign is considered sacrosanct, and I have never personally heard of anyone violating that trust. You can share the reporting with a select group of internal stakeholders, but never beyond that (i.e., board members, consulting agencies, etc.). It is intended to help you, your colleagues, and senior leadership understand which strategies are working and making you shine among your peer organizations and where there are areas of opportunity…and who you can talk to about how you might leverage those opportunities. Data within these cohorts is aggregated and anonymized, and strict participation agreements ensure that insights are shared for learning and improvement, never for exposure or competitive comparison.
I am sure that the last 20+ years of dedicated “benchmarkers” (and data geeks) have made the nonprofit community better, smarter, and more resilient. And now, more than ever, we will need the networking, the insights, the innovations, and yes, that break from the daily grind – to visualize a better (more financially secure) future for our nonprofit community.
Would you like to learn more about Epiphany Benchmarking? Let’s Talk!
