There is much to measure in fundraising and of course it is vital that donors’ money is spent as efficiently as possible, and invested in the right campaigns. But are fundraisers measuring the right things? Jenna Pudelek reports.

From response rates and open rates, to average gifts and even Facebook likes, fundraisers measure a lot of activity. And in this flurry of measuring, return on investment is often king. But there is a growing movement questioning the “tyranny of ROI” and seeking to free fundraisers from their spreadsheets and financial-year targets. It is asking if charities are measuring the wrong things and missing out on millions, or billions, of pounds as a result.

After all, for the past 40 years charitable giving in the UK and the US has stuck at 1 per cent and 2 per cent of GDP respectively. How are charities going to achieve their world-changing missions without this significantly increasing?