Top 10 List for Nonprofit Donor Retention
Which nonprofits had the greatest donor retention rates? Every nonprofit needs to find donors to support its mission, but keeping those donors is the challenge. Donors who remain committed to a nonprofit are the dream every nonprofit should work towards and tracking donor retention is key to knowing how many donors remain committed from year to year.
Below are a few top 10 lists around donor retention so you can compare your favorite charities in the Nonprofit Analytics database.
Top 10 $10M+ Charities with Highest Donor Retention
| Charity | Donor Retention | Donor Trend | Income Trend | Cost to Raise $1 | |
| 1 | Compassion International | 90% | 12% | 22% | $.11 |
| 2 | American Center for Law & Justice | 89% | 66% | 8% | $.02 |
| 3 | OneChild | 84% | 14% | 9% | $.12 |
| 4 | Medair | 80% | -25% | 26% | $.20 |
| 5 | Wycliffe Bible Translators | 76% | 2% | 8% | $.07 |
| 6 | Alliance Defending Freedom | 75% | -13% | 9% | $.14 |
| 7 | United World Mission | 75% | -7% | -3% | $.09 |
| 8 | Springs Rescue Mission | 72% | -29% | -6% | $.10 |
| 9 | Every Home for Christ | 69% | 20% | 37% | $.03 |
| 10 | The Heritage Foundation | 68% | -7% | 49% | $.12 |
The donor retention rate industry average is 47% for $10+ million charities and 55% for the rest.
Top 10 $5M-$10M Charities with Highest Donor Retention
| Charity | Donor Retention | Donor Trend | Income Trend | Cost to Raise $1 | |
| 1 | College of Biblical Studies – Houston | 82% | 42% | 52% | $.24 |
| 2 | ORPHANetwork | 82% | -31% | -1% | $.08 |
| 3 | Partners Worldwide | 81% | -7% | -16% | $.12 |
| 4 | The Philanthropy Roundtable | 80% | 1% | -8% | $.06 |
| 5 | Global Media Outreach | 71% | -26% | -7% | $.13 |
| 6 | Edify | 64% | 40% | 22% | $.15 |
| 7 | Summit Ministries | 56% | 15% | 23% | $.21 |
| 8 | Elam Ministries | 56% | -6% | 62% | $.04 |
| 9 | Good News Jail & Prison Ministry | 55% | -27% | 18% | $.05 |
| 10 | BibleProject | 54% | 252% | 422% | $.03 |
A higher donor retention rate is one contributing factor for better fundraising efficiency.
Top 10 $2M-$5M Charities with Highest Donor Retention
| Charity | Donor Retention | Donor Trend | Income Trend | Cost to Raise $1 | |
| 1 | Military Community Youth Ministries | 85% | 40% | -11% | $.07 |
| 2 | The Veritas Forum | 83% | -26% | 10% | $.16 |
| 3 | Good Samaritan Baptist Missions | 77% | -11% | -3% | $.00 |
| 4 | Shared Hope International | 76% | 0% | 29% | $.09 |
| 5 | MedSend | 74% | -2% | 65% | $.11 |
| 6 | Bridges To Life | 73% | -7% | 33% | $.14 |
| 7 | VisionTrust International | 72% | -32% | -41% | $.03 |
| 8 | Third Millennium Ministries | 72% | 5% | -9% | $.14 |
| 9 | Christian Health Service Corps | 67% | 64% | 63% | $.01 |
| 10 | College Golf Fellowship | 63% | 31% | 53% | $.20 |
Donor retention rates, donor trends, income trends, and the cost to raise each dollar are helpful to know, but they don’t tell the whole story.
That’s why each 2-page Nonprofit Analytics highlights trendlines among the 175 data points captured, including sections on leadership, financial management, leverage, strategy, impact, and financial sustainability.
Nonprofit Analytics Subscribers learn more in a 3-minute read than a 3-hour fundraiser. Subscribe today and gain access to the entire Nonprofit Analytics database and receive an exclusive 2020-2021 Nonprofit CEO Compensation Study as a member benefit.
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