Charity Fundraising KPIs: What to Measure Across Every Digital Channel
A clear breakdown of the KPIs that drive stronger campaigns, deeper engagement and higher fundraising results.
Introduction
Effective fundraising in the charity sector relies on data-driven decisions. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) help charitable organisations and crowdfunding platforms like LaunchGood gauge how well their campaigns are performing, so they can maximise donations and supporter engagement. This guide breaks down the critical KPIs for various fundraising channels – from email and social media to events and online ads – mirroring the concise, practical tone of a marketer’s KPI playbook but tailored for charities.
Why Monitor Fundraising KPIs?
For charities, every campaign and channel (online or offline) should have measurable outcomes. KPIs provide a roadmap to your fundraising goals by highlighting what’s working and what isn’t. Tracking the right metrics ensures you invest resources wisely – there’s nothing worse than spending time and money on strategies that don’t deliver for your cause. By regularly monitoring these KPIs, charities can refine their approach, focus on high-impact activities, and ultimately raise more funds for their missions.
Below, we outline the essential KPIs across key fundraising channels. Each section includes short lists of metrics to track, along with examples of how major charities and platforms optimise these indicators. Use these as a framework to evaluate your own efforts, set benchmarks, and inspire improvements in your fundraising strategy.
1 – Email Marketing KPIs
Email is a cornerstone of charity fundraising communications. It’s cost-effective and direct – a large portion of donors of all ages prefer to hear from charities via email. But to make the most of email campaigns, you should track:
Open Rate
The percentage of recipients who open your email. This reflects the effectiveness of your subject lines and sender reputation. Charities average around a 28–30% open rate, so anything higher is a good sign of engagement. For instance, WWF achieved a 46% open rate in a targeted email journey by personalising content for subscribers, far exceeding typical averages.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The percentage of email opens that result in a click on a link or call-to-action. A higher CTR means your content and call-to-action are resonating. Experiment with email design, imagery, and link placement to boost this metric. A UK charity found that using a prominent “Donate Now” button and personalised story in their email increased CTR significantly, leading to more donation page visits.
Conversion Rate
The percentage of email recipients who take the desired action after clicking through (such as completing a donation, registering for an event, or signing a petition). This is the ultimate measure of email success. Make sure you have tracking set up (e.g. Google Analytics goals) to attribute donations or sign-ups to specific email campaigns. Many charities see a direct link between optimising email content and higher conversion – for example, GlobalGiving (a charity crowdfunding site) saw a 10× increase in donations from email by tailoring messages to donor interests and past behaviours.
Unsubscribe Rate
The percentage of recipients who opt out after an email. Keeping this low is crucial; spikes can indicate you’re emailing too frequently or content isn’t relevant. Monitor unsubscribes to ensure you’re maintaining supporter trust. Simple segmentation can help – sending emails targeted to donor preferences reduces the likelihood of people tuning out.
Example
An Islamic relief charity noticed that their fundraising appeal emails had a low CTR. By A/B testing different subject lines and storytelling approaches, they improved CTR and ultimately raised 52% more in donations from the revised email campaign. The lesson: focusing on email KPIs like opens and clicks – and tweaking content accordingly – can directly boost funds raised.
2 – Social Media KPIs
Social media platforms are invaluable for charities to build awareness, engage supporters, and drive online fundraising. Success on social isn’t just about likes; it’s about translating engagement into action. Key social media KPIs include:
Engagement Rate
A measure of how actively people interact with your posts, typically calculated as (likes + comments + shares) divided by impressions or followers. High engagement means your content is resonating. Track which types of posts (stories, videos, infographics) earn the most interaction and replicate what works. For example, the ALS Association’s Ice Bucket Challenge went viral globally – its massive engagement (millions of video shares and comments) translated into over $220 million raised for ALS research, showing the power of engaged social audiences.
Reach and Impressions
Reach is the number of unique users who see your content; impressions are total views (including multiple views by the same user). These indicate your message’s visibility. A campaign may have high reach through influencer partnerships or shares. Major charities often use trending hashtags and collaborate with public figures to extend their reach. Ensure you monitor reach on key posts – for instance, tracking how a hashtag like #GivingTuesday or #YourCampaignName performs each year in terms of audience reached.
Follower Growth
The net increase in your followers or page likes over time. Growth suggests your content and cause are attracting new supporters. Monitor growth around campaigns – a spike might show that a particular story or event drew interest. Steady growth is healthy; if it plateaus or declines, re-examine your content strategy. Some organisations set specific follower growth targets during campaign periods (e.g. “gain 1,000 new Instagram followers around our Christmas appeal”) as a secondary success metric.
Traffic & Conversions from Social
Clicks from social posts to your website or donation page, and how many of those clicks convert into actions (donations, sign-ups). Use analytics UTM tags to see how many donations came directly from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. This social media conversion rate is crucial: it tells you which platforms are actually driving tangible support.
For instance, if 500 people clicked your Facebook post link and 50 made donations on your site, that’s a 10% conversion rate from Facebook – a valuable insight. Charities like Charity: Water track how social traffic contributes to donations, and they adjust strategy (e.g. focusing on the platforms with higher conversion or tailoring posts to improve those numbers).
Share of Voice / Mentions
How often your charity is mentioned or your content is shared by others, including influential accounts. This isn’t a single number in your profile analytics, but by using social listening tools, you can gauge your campaign’s presence in the wider social conversation. A high share of voice during a campaign means greater public awareness. For example, during Red Nose Day, Comic Relief monitors how many social mentions and user-generated posts occur with their hashtag – it’s an indicator of campaign momentum that often correlates with donation spikes.
Example
Charity: Water encourages supporters to post their own fundraising stories and tag the charity. This user-generated content approach not only increases engagement but also drives measurable action – one campaign saw hundreds of posts by supporters, which led to thousands of clicks to Charity: Water’s site and a significant uptick in donations. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, as mentioned, is a famous case where social engagement metrics (shares, mentions) directly translated into fundraising success. These examples show that by tracking and optimising social KPIs, charities can turn online enthusiasm into real-world impact.
3 – Event Fundraising KPIs
Events – whether live galas, community fundraisers, or virtual campaigns – are staples of charity fundraising. To evaluate event success, look beyond the buzz and measure concrete outcomes. Important event KPIs include:
Total Funds Raised vs. Goal
The headline metric: how much money the event brought in, compared to your target. This includes ticket sales, donations, auction proceeds, sponsorships, etc. Hitting or surpassing the goal is a clear success indicator, but even if you fall short, tracking this helps for future goal-setting. Many global charity events (like walkathons or telethons) display a live total raised to build excitement. For example, the UK’s Comic Relief Red Nose Day telethon tracks funds in real-time, using it as both a KPI and a promotional tool to encourage more giving as the night goes on.
Number of Participants/Attendees
How many people took part in the event? For ticketed events, it’s your attendance count; for peer-to-peer campaigns, it could be the number of fundraisers or teams. High participation indicates good outreach and interest. You can also break this down into new vs. returning participants – new attendee counts show reach to fresh supporters, while returning attendees indicate strong community loyalty. An annual charity run might note that “500 runners joined this year, 200 of whom were first-timers,” and use that data to tailor next year’s marketing.
Average Donation per Attendee
The total funds raised are divided by the number of donors or attendees. This helps understand donor generosity and can inform your ask strategy. If a fundraising dinner with 100 guests raised £50,000, then the average per attendee is £500. If another similar event averages far less, you might compare the programming or audience to identify differences. Some charities use this KPI to set suggested donation levels or ticket pricing for future events.
Cost Per Dollar Raised (Event ROI)
Calculate how cost-effective the event was by dividing total event expenses by the funds raised. For example, if you spent £10,000 on an event and raised £50,000, the cost per £1 raised is £0.20 (or a 5:1 return on investment). Lower cost per dollar (or higher ROI) means the event was efficient. This metric can justify whether an event is worth repeating or needs cost-cutting. A community charity might find that a low-key volunteer-led event raised funds at a much better ROI than a fancy gala once they tally venue and catering costs – such insights are invaluable for budgeting.
Donor Acquisition and Retention
Events are not only about immediate revenue; they’re also opportunities to gain new supporters. Track how many new donors or registrants the event brought in and see if those individuals stay engaged afterwards. For instance, if 100 people donated at a concert fundraiser and 40 were first-time donors to your charity, that’s great – next, you’ll want to retain them.
You can calculate a follow-up conversion: how many of those new donors give again or join your mailing list. Some charities even measure fundraising participation rate at events (e.g., out of all attendees, what percentage ended up making a donation or fundraising themselves). A high participation rate is a sign that your event effectively motivated people to act, not just attend.
Example
A regional children’s charity hosts an annual charity ball. They track total donations on the night (say £200,000 against a £180,000 goal), attendee count (300 people, up from 250 last year), and cost per dollar raised (they spent £50k, so roughly £0.25 per £1 raised). They also noted that 50 attendees were new to the organisation. By following up with those new contacts, they managed to convert 20 into regular donors over the next year – a key long-term KPI showing the event’s wider impact. Measuring these factors helped the charity decide to invest in a larger venue for next year (given rising attendance) and to allocate more staff to post-event donor outreach (to boost retention).
4 – Website & Donation Page KPIs
Your charity’s website – and especially the donation page – is where all digital efforts ultimately converge. It’s crucial to track how well your site turns visitors into donors. Key KPIs for website fundraising performance include:
Donation Conversion Rate
The percentage of website visitors who complete a donation. This is typically measured on your primary donation page or landing page for campaigns. Calculate it by dividing the number of donations by the number of visitors to that page (and multiplying by 100%).
For example, if 5,000 people visited your donation page and 500 donated, your conversion rate is 10%. This metric is vital: it directly reflects how persuasive and user-friendly your donation process is. Charities often aim to improve this via A/B testing page elements – even a small increase in conversion rate can yield a big jump in funds. Optimisations might include simplifying the form, adding impactful imagery or testimonials, and ensuring the call-to-action is clear. LaunchGood and similar crowdfunding platforms constantly monitor campaign page conversion rates so they can guide fundraisers in tweaking their stories or media to convert more visitors into donors.
Average Donation Amount
The mean size of donations made on your site. Keeping an eye on this helps in setting suggested giving levels. If your average online gift is £30, you might add preset donation buttons for £30, £50, and £100 to gently encourage higher gifts. Some charities see jumps in average gift when they use suggested tiers with compelling descriptions (e.g. “£100 feeds 10 families for a week”). One organisation switched from a generic PayPal button to a custom-branded donation page with multiple giving options and saw their average donation go up significantly – in one case by over £100 more per donor, thanks to strategically suggested amounts and a better user experience.
Total Online Revenue
The total amount raised through your website over a given period (week, month, campaign duration). This is the bottom-line figure every charity reports. Breaking it down by campaign or source can add insight (e.g. £50k from the spring appeal, £20k from general website donations, etc.). Many charities proudly display the total raised for major campaigns on their homepage in real-time, as it not only tracks progress but also serves as social proof to encourage more giving. Ensure your analytics or fundraising platform captures all online donation sources so this number is accurate.
Page Views and Traffic Sources
How many people visit your key fundraising pages, and where do they come from? If page views are low, it may signal an awareness issue – perhaps your donate button is hidden or your SEO needs work. Tracking sources (direct, Google search, Facebook, email links, LaunchGood referrals, etc.) shows which outreach channels drive the most traffic to donate.
For example, you might discover that an email campaign created a spike in donation page views on a certain day, or that organic search brings steady traffic that converts moderately well. One charity noticed a lot of traffic coming from a partner’s website – this insight led them to formalise an affiliate referral program (with tracking links) to boost and reward those referrals.
Bounce Rate or Drop-Off Rate
The percentage of visitors who leave your site or donation form without taking action. If 90% of visitors to the donate page drop off before completing the form, that’s a red flag. High drop-off could mean the page is too slow, confusing, or not mobile-friendly. By identifying at which step users exit (for instance, on the payment details page), you can pinpoint and fix pain points. Simplifying the donation flow, reducing required fields, or adding trust signals (charity ratings, security badges) can improve completion rates. Keep in mind that modern donors expect a fast, easy process – in fact, mobile optimisation is critical, since over half of charity web traffic often comes via mobile devices.
Example
CauseVox (a fundraising platform) reported that by using a well-designed, story-rich donation landing page, charities have doubled their online fundraising compared to older, generic donation forms. In one case, an Irish charity’s switch to a dedicated donation page with suggested gift amounts and impact descriptions not only raised more money overall but also boosted the average donation by over £100 versus their previous setup.
Similarly, LaunchGood’s platform tracks metrics like page views, conversion rates, and average pledge size for each crowdfunding campaign; campaign creators are encouraged to use that data – for instance, if a lot of people view the page but few donate, it’s a cue to improve the campaign pitch or media. These examples underscore the importance of monitoring your website’s KPIs and continuously optimising the donor journey online.
5 – Corporate Partnership KPIs
Corporate partnerships and sponsorships can be game-changers for charities, bringing in significant funds, resources, and reach. Whether it’s a one-off corporate donation, an ongoing sponsorship, or a cause marketing promotion, charities should track KPIs that capture the value and health of these partnerships:
Number of Corporate Partners
How many companies are actively supporting your organisation? This can be broken down by level (e.g. 3 main corporate sponsors giving £50k+, 10 smaller business partners donating goods or services, etc.). Growth in this number is usually positive, but quality matters as well – a few high-commitment partners can be more impactful than dozens of sporadic ones. Set targets for how many new partnerships you aim to secure each year, and track progress.
Total Funds Raised from Corporate Partnerships
This includes direct donations, sponsorship fees, employee fundraising matches, and in-kind contributions valued in monetary terms. It’s useful to track this annually and as a percentage of your overall fundraising. For instance, a charity might report “£500,000 raised through corporate support in 2025, representing 20% of our total fundraising.” If you notice this amount dropping year-over-year, it might signal the need to revitalise your corporate outreach strategy.
Average Gift or Sponsorship Size
The typical contribution per corporate partner. This can help focus efforts (are you mostly getting lots of £1,000 donations, or a few £50,000 sponsorships?). If the average is low, perhaps strategise how to move some partners up to a higher giving tier (maybe by offering more perks or tailored partnership packages). On the flip side, a high average gift might mean you’re reliant on a few big donors – prompting you to diversify so you’re not overly vulnerable if one big sponsor pulls out.
Partnership Retention Rate
How many corporate partners renew or continue their support year after year? If you had 10 corporate donors last year and 8 continue this year (with or without renewing at the same level), that’s an 80% retention rate. High retention indicates strong relationships and satisfaction on both sides. It’s far easier to maintain a partnership than to find a new one, so pay close attention here. If retention is slipping, consider enhancing your stewardship: regular updates to corporate sponsors on impact, employee engagement opportunities, and public recognition can increase the likelihood they’ll stick with you.
Employee Engagement Metrics
For companies that involve their employees in giving (through workplace fundraisers, donation matching, volunteering days, etc.), track those details too. Metrics could include the number of employee volunteers from corporate partners, the amount raised via employee fundraising initiatives, or the uptake of matching gift programmes. These show how deeply the partnership penetrates the company’s culture.
A global example: many large firms have matching gift KPIs – e.g., what percentage of employees use the company’s donation match benefit. Charities often collaborate to improve that, since every matched gift is extra revenue. If you can report to a corporate partner that “30 of your employees participated in our last charity challenge, raising £10,000 (with your company matching £5,000 of that)”, it not only demonstrates impact but also reinforces to the company the value of continuing the partnership.
Example
WaterAid partners with several corporations for its clean water projects. They track each partner’s contributions and note trends like “Partner X increased their donation by 10% this year” or “Partner Y’s employee fundraising week brought 200 employee donors, up from 150 last year.” When one major corporate sponsor was due for renewal, WaterAid shared KPI highlights in their impact report to that company – including the number of people helped via the partnership and the high engagement of the company’s own staff.
This data-driven stewardship helped secure a multi-year renewal and even an increased contribution. The takeaway: by measuring and communicating corporate partnership KPIs, you can strengthen these relationships and demonstrate the mutual benefits, leading to more sustainable support.
6 – Native Advertising KPIs
Native advertising involves placing your content in third-party platforms so that it matches the form and style of the site (for example, a sponsored article on a news website, or a promoted story in someone’s social feed that looks organic). For charities, native ads are a way to reach people who might be interested in your cause in a less intrusive manner than traditional banners. Key KPIs for native advertising include:
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The percentage of people who see the native ad and click on it. Native ads often have higher CTR than standard display ads because they blend in and provide value. If your native content is an intriguing article titled “How XYZ Charity Transformed a Village in 30 Days (Sponsored)”, a solid CTR indicates the headline and placement attracted readers. Charities using native ads should compare CTR across platforms (news sites, content recommendation widgets, etc.) to see where their stories perform best.
Engagement Time / Read-Through
Once someone clicks a native ad (like an editorial or video), track how long they spend engaging with it. If it’s a long-form article, what’s the scroll depth or time on page? If it’s a video, do they watch most of it? High engagement time means your content is holding attention – a sign that the storytelling is effective and the content is truly native (useful and interesting, not just an obvious pitch). For example, if a sponsored article on a popular blog averages 3 minutes of reading time, that’s a success; if most drop off after 10 seconds, the content might need improvement.
Conversion Rate from Native Content
Just like other channels, you want to measure if people who consume the native content take action afterwards. This could be clicking a call-to-action at the end of an article (“Learn more about our cause” or “Donate now”) or signing up for a newsletter. Even though native ads are often used for awareness and education, they should tie back to your goals. For instance, a wildlife charity might run a sponsored story about endangered animals that includes a subtle donation ask at the end – the conversion rate would be how many readers actually clicked and donated or signed up as a result. It may be lower than direct appeal ads, but it shows the content’s effectiveness in driving the next step.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
If you’re paying for native ad placements, calculate the return like you would for other ads. ROAS is revenue (or donation amount) generated divided by the ad spend. For example, if you spent £1,000 on promoting a piece of content and you can attribute £4,500 in donations or other value from readers who engaged with that content, that’s a 4.5:1 ROAS (or 450% return). A regional food bank ran native ads telling stories of families helped by their programmes, leading readers to a donation page – they saw an impressive ROAS of about 4.5 (each £1 spent brought £4.50 in donations). This kind of KPI helps justify the cost of native advertising to your board or leadership by showing concrete financial results.
Brand Lift Metrics
These are softer metrics but can be gauged through surveys or indirect indicators: e.g., increased brand awareness or trust after people see your native content. Some platforms provide brand lift studies if you spend enough – they might measure things like recall (do people remember your charity after seeing the content?) or sentiment (did their impression of your cause improve?). For a charity, a positive movement in brand perception can be just as important as immediate clicks. If a native campaign on LinkedIn leads to more people recognising your organisation in a follow-up poll, it’s doing its job in raising awareness. Track any indicators you have (like more Google searches for your charity name during the campaign period, or an uptick in direct traffic to your site) which might suggest a lift from the native ads.
Example
A health charity in the UK partnered with a popular online magazine to publish a native ad article, “10 Myths About Cancer Debunked by Experts”. They tracked a strong CTR on the teaser (many readers clicked to read), and on average, readers spent 4 minutes on the article – very high engagement. The article subtly invited people to download a free guide on cancer prevention (in exchange for an email address).
The conversion rate on that CTA was 8%, and the charity gained over 1,000 new email contacts, some of whom later became donors. While immediate donations from the article were modest, the overall outcome was deemed a success; the charity saw both awareness gains and built its supporter list for future campaigns. This example shows how monitoring the full funnel of native ad KPIs – from click-through to engagement to eventual conversion – provides a clear picture of impact.
7 – Content Marketing KPIs
Content marketing refers to the creation of your own valuable content – blogs, videos, infographics, case studies, podcasts, etc. – to engage your audience and attract new supporters. For charities, compelling content can educate the public, demonstrate impact, and inspire donations or volunteerism. Key KPIs in content marketing include:
Content Views/Reads
How many people are consuming your content? For blog posts, it’s page views or unique visitors; for videos, it’s view count or play rate; for a podcast, downloads or listens. High view counts indicate your topics or SEO are effective at drawing interest. It’s useful to track which content pieces get the most attention. Perhaps your post “How to Help Refugees This Winter” garnered 10,000 views – that’s a sign to produce more on that theme or format. Ensure you also measure completion where relevant (e.g. what percentage of viewers watch a video to the end).
Engagement (Time on Page, Social Shares, Comments)
These metrics show how engaging and shareable your content is. A blog article with an average time on page of 5 minutes suggests readers are thoroughly absorbing it (great!). Social shares signal that readers found it valuable enough to share with their network – effectively turning them into ambassadors for your cause. Comments (or direct feedback messages) show active interest and discussion. For example, an animal welfare NGO might notice their video about a rescue story got thousands of shares on Facebook – a sign that the story resonated deeply, potentially reaching new audiences through those shares. Tracking which content sparks the most engagement can inform your storytelling strategy (maybe people love personal beneficiary stories more than statistics – or vice versa).
Lead Generation from Content
Often, content marketing is tied to capturing interested supporters. KPIs here include the number of email sign-ups, newsletter subscriptions, or downloads of a resource that your content generates. If you publish an informative guide (e.g. “Climate Action Toolkit”) and require an email to download, measure how many contacts you gain. Similarly, a blog might have a sidebar asking people to subscribe for updates – track how many new subscribers come from those content pages. These are valuable “leads” who can be nurtured into donors or volunteers. Content can be an entry point into your charity’s community. A good practice is to tag new subscribers by source (like which article or video led them to sign up) – this way, you can attribute, say, 500 new email leads to your series of educational blog posts in a quarter.
SEO Metrics for Content
Since content often serves to improve search visibility, monitor SEO-related KPIs for your content. This includes keyword rankings (does your blog post rank on Google for important terms like “how to sponsor a child education” or “volunteer abroad opportunities”?), organic traffic (how many visitors come via search engines to your content pages), and backlink count (how many external sites link to your content, indicating it’s seen as authoritative).
If a guide or article performs well on SEO, it can drive steady traffic (and thus potential donors) long-term with no additional cost. For instance, a medical research charity might blog about “signs of heart disease”, which starts ranking on Google’s first page; the sustained organic traffic to that content could be tens of thousands of readers yearly, some of whom donate or sign up. That’s a huge ROI on a single piece of quality content. Track these metrics to identify your star performers and replicate their success.
Example
Save the Children runs a storytelling blog featuring field reports and beneficiary stories. One post, “From Camps to Classrooms: A Syrian Refugee Child’s Journey,” received 15,000 views and was shared 2,000 times on social media – a clear engagement win. By looking at the data, they noticed the majority of traffic came from Google searches for “education for Syrian refugees”, confirming strong SEO performance. Furthermore, the post had a content upgrade (a prompt to download a full PDF report on their education program in exchange for an email); it generated 300 new email subscribers.
In the months that followed, Save the Children tracked donations from those new subscribers and found many became donors during their next campaign. This scenario highlights how content marketing KPIs – views, shares, SEO, and lead conversions – all interlink to boost a charity’s fundraising potential. Monitoring these indicators allowed the team to justify investing more in similar content, knowing it drives both awareness and tangible support.
8 – SEO KPIs for Fundraising
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is vital for charities to attract supporters organically via search engines like Google. The easier it is for people to find your organisation and campaigns when searching relevant keywords, the more free traffic (and potential donors) you get. Key SEO KPIs to track include:
Organic Traffic
The number of visitors coming to your website from search engine results (excluding paid ads). This is a top-level indicator of your SEO success. Track organic traffic overall and to specific important pages (your homepage, donation page, key campaign pages, blog content). If you launch an SEO initiative (say, optimising meta tags and content for certain keywords or improving site speed), watch the trend in organic visits over the following months. A growing curve means you’re doing something right. For example, after optimising their site, a small UK charity saw organic traffic to their volunteer sign-up page double year-on-year – more people were discovering them via Google without any advertising spend.
Keyword Rankings
Monitor where you rank on search engines for relevant keywords. Charities should identify a set of strategic keywords (e.g. “donate to wildlife conservation UK”, “London homeless shelter volunteer”, “Islamic charity crowdfunding”, etc.) and check their ranking positions. Tools or even manual Google searches (in incognito mode) can help with this. Moving from page 3 to page 1 for a high-intent keyword can dramatically increase traffic. Celebrate when you crack the top 5 results for terms that matter – it likely means a consistent influx of interested visitors.
Click-Through Rate (CTR) from Search
Of those who see your site in search results, what percentage clicks through? Google Search Console provides this data. A low CTR might mean your title or description isn’t compelling enough, even if you rank well. Try updating meta titles to include a strong call (e.g. “Donate to End Hunger – [Charity Name] Official Site” might attract more clicks than just “[Charity Name] – Home”). Improving your search snippets can boost CTR and, hence, traffic without even changing rank. SEO isn’t just about ranking high, but also about enticing the click.
Backlinks and Domain Authority
The number and quality of external sites linking to your website. Backlinks from reputable sites (news outlets, partner NGOs, .edu sites, etc.) improve your domain authority and SEO over time. You can track the count of backlinks or use a tool that gives a “domain authority” score. If you publish a great report or campaign and it earns you 50 new backlinks (e.g., bloggers writing about it, or media coverage linking to you), that’s a huge SEO win – it should help your content rank higher going forward. Charities often reach out for press coverage or guest posts as part of building these links. Seeing your backlink profile grow is a sign that your content and PR efforts are extending your digital footprint.
Conversions from Organic Search
Ultimately, not all traffic is equal; you want search visitors who take action. Keep an eye on how many donations, sign-ups, or other goals are coming from organic search visitors. If you notice that search-sourced visitors have a high bounce rate and low conversion, you might be attracting the wrong audience or need to optimise the landing pages they arrive at.
On the other hand, if organic visitors convert well, it underscores the value of SEO-driven content. Some organisations compute an approximate value of organic traffic by multiplying the conversions by an average donation or by considering “what would it cost to get this traffic via ads?”. For instance, if 1,000 organic visitors yielded 50 donations averaging £20, that’s £1,000 raised for free – whereas getting 1,000 clicks via Google Ads might have cost hundreds of pounds.
Example
An environmental charity identified “plastic pollution facts” as a keyword relevant to their mission. They created a comprehensive, SEO-optimised page on this topic. Over 6 months, that page climbed to the #2 position on Google for the term, bringing in 5,000 organic visitors per month. The organic traffic data showed that many of these visitors were new, and some clicked onto the donation page or signed a pledge. In fact, organic search became the third-largest source of traffic to their site, and those visitors had a conversion rate on par with their social media traffic.
By tracking SEO KPIs, the team demonstrated that investing in SEO (through quality content and technical improvements) was directly contributing to increased awareness and donations, essentially bringing in new supporters at no acquisition cost. It’s a long-term strategy, but the metrics helped prove its worth to the organisation’s leadership.
9 – Search Engine Paid Advertising KPIs
Many charities use paid search advertising (like Google Ads or Bing Ads) to appear in search results for important keywords – especially leveraging programs like the Google Ad Grant (which provides charities with free search ad budget). To ensure these campaigns are effective, monitor the following KPIs:
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The percentage of people who saw your search ad and clicked it. A healthy CTR indicates your ad is relevant to the audience and keywords. With Google Ad Grants, maintaining a good CTR is not just ideal but required – Google actually mandates a minimum 5% CTR for grant accounts to ensure quality. So, if your ads have a CTR below that, it’s a red flag; you’d need to refine your keywords or ad copy. For instance, a charity might bid on “child sponsorship program” – if the ad text closely matches what users seek (“Sponsor a Child – Change a Life for £20/month”), you’ll likely see a strong CTR. Keep tweaking your headlines and descriptions, and pause low-CTR keywords to improve this metric.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
How much do you pay on average for each click on your ad? For those using the Ad Grant, you’re not paying actual money, but you still have bid limits (Google Grants typically cap bids at around $2 for manual bidding, though there are ways to maximise it). If you’re paying for ads, CPC matters for budgeting. Charities often have limited budgets, so you want to get the most clicks for your money. Track which keywords are expensive and consider if they’re worth the cost. Sometimes, niche keywords (longer, specific phrases) have lower CPCs and can be more cost-effective than broad, competitive ones.
Conversion Rate & Cost Per Conversion
As with other channels, you need to measure what fraction of ad clicks result in the desired action (donation, sign-up, etc.). If 100 people clicked your Google Ad and 5 donated, that’s a 5% conversion rate from paid search. Also, calculate cost per conversion: if that campaign cost £50 and yielded 5 donations, it’s £10 per donation acquired.
These KPIs tell you if your ad spend is translating into results and if the cost is justifiable (for instance, spending £10 to get a new donor who donates £50 is great; spending £10 to get £5 is not sustainable). With the Google Grant, you might not be spending real funds, but you still want to maximise conversions from the $10,000/month credit. Keep fine-tuning: use relevant landing pages, include clear calls to action, and utilise ad extensions (sitelinks, callouts) to boost conversions.
Quality Score
Google Ads assigns a quality score (1–10) to keywords based on ad relevance, landing page experience, and expected CTR. This isn’t a KPI you report to stakeholders, but it’s one to monitor internally because it affects how well your ads perform and how much you pay per click. For charities especially using the Ad Grant, maintaining quality scores of 3 or higher is required (anything below and you must remove those keywords). By improving quality (e.g., making sure the landing page is clearly connected to the ad’s content and keyword), you can get more exposure and pay less per click.
Impressions & Impression Share
Impressions are how many times your ads were shown. Impression share is the percentage of total possible impressions you got (based on your targeting and budget). If your impression share is low, you might be missing out due to a limited budget or ad rank. Ad Grant accounts often hit budget caps if set broadly – for instance, if you only use $5k of your $10k monthly grant, maybe your targeting could be expanded. Or if impression share is low due to rank, increasing quality or bidding (within grant limits) might help. Use this to gauge if your ads could reach more people.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Similar to other paid channels, if you invest real money, track how much comes back in donations attributable to those ads. If you spent £500 on Google Ads and got £2,500 in donations from those clicks, that’s a 5:1 ROAS or 500%. That’s a strong return and can justify scaling up spend if possible. Many charities using paid ads calculate not just immediate ROAS but also consider lifetime value – e.g., if an acquired donor tends to give again, the true return might be higher over time. For those using free Ad Grant funds, direct ROAS is essentially infinite (free money yielding donations), but you should still measure the impact in terms of donations or actions so you know the grant is being used effectively (e.g., “Our Grant ads generated 300 volunteer sign-ups and £10,000 in donations last quarter”).
Example
A humanitarian charity uses its Google Ad Grant to bid on keywords like “disaster relief donate” and “Syrian refugee help”. By focusing on very relevant keywords and writing compelling ad copy, they achieved an average CTR of 8% – well above the required threshold. Their conversion rate on those ad clicks was 10%, meaning 1 in 10 clicked and donated, thanks in part to a streamlined donation landing page tailored to the ad’s message. With the free grant, their cost per conversion was effectively £0, and through these ads, they raised an additional £8,000 in a month.
On the paid advertising side, they also ran a small Facebook Ads campaign during an emergency appeal, spending £200 to reach more supporters; by tracking conversions, they found it brought in £1,000 in donations (a 5× ROAS). By closely monitoring these advertising KPIs, the charity optimised their campaigns (pausing underperforming keywords, adjusting bids for better ones, and improving landing pages) to ensure that every pound – whether grant or paid – yielded maximum impact for their cause.
10 – Affiliate and Referral Marketing KPIs
Affiliate marketing for charities can include any referral or ambassador program where partners (individuals, influencers, other organisations) drive traffic or donations in exchange for some form of incentive or recognition. While not as common as in the commercial sector, charities do use referral links or codes (for example, a charity might give influencers a unique link to share, to track donations they inspired). Key KPIs in this area include:
Number of Active Affiliates/Partners
How many people or entities are actively referring donors or fundraisers to you? This could be social media influencers, bloggers, partner websites, or even volunteers and supporters given referral codes. If you run a formal affiliate programme (even without monetary commission, perhaps with rewards like shout-outs or small gifts), keep track of how it’s growing. For instance, an animal charity’s ambassador program might start with 5 advocates and grow to 50 over time – that increase is important to note and manage.
Referral Traffic and Donations
The amount of website traffic coming via affiliates’ links, and more critically, how many donations or sign-ups result from those referrals. In your analytics, you can see traffic sources (e.g., visits from a specific partner’s blog or from a special affiliate URL). Tag each affiliate link so you know exactly which partner brought in each donor. You might find that out of 1,000 referral visits in a quarter, 100 converted into donations – a 10% conversion rate overall. Moreover, you can rank affiliates by performance: e.g., “Influencer A brought 500 visits and £2,000 in donations, while Influencer B brought 200 visits and £500 in donations.” This helps identify who your most effective partners are.
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) via Affiliates
If you are providing any commission or spending resources on affiliate recruitment, calculate the cost per donation acquired through this channel. Often, charities don’t pay commissions but might invest staff time or give non-monetary rewards. However, in some cases, you might pay a referral fee (or, say, match a portion of donations raised by a partner as a reward). If an affiliate program becomes significant, measure how cost-effective it is. Ideally, because affiliates are often passionate supporters, the CPA should be low – they’re driving mostly free word-of-mouth traffic. Many charities find affiliate marketing extremely efficient because it taps into goodwill: essentially, your supporters do marketing for you.
Lifetime Value of Referred Donors
One interesting KPI is checking if donors who come via referrals behave differently. Are they more loyal? Do they give more over time? For example, if a YouTuber’s audience donates to you, maybe they’re younger and give smaller amounts initially, but perhaps they stick around longer. If you can track referred donors as a segment, look at their retention rate and average donation over a year or more. This can justify affiliate efforts beyond immediate one-off donations. If referred donors turn out to have a high lifetime value (maybe because they trust the person who referred them, they feel more connected), that’s a great argument for expanding such programs.
Affiliate Engagement Metrics
Beyond dollars, monitor how engaged your affiliates themselves are. Do they regularly create content or campaigns for your cause? Metrics could be things like: number of posts an influencer made about your charity, or the reach of those posts (if they share that data), or how many fundraising campaigns were started by partners. A platform like LaunchGood, for instance, might track how many campaign pages are started by “affiliate” community leaders or how many donors come through referral contests. If you run a peer-to-peer fundraising event (like a charity marathon), each participant is essentially an affiliate fundraiser – you’d track metrics like number of fundraisers, average raised per fundraiser, etc., which overlap with affiliate concepts.
Example
A UK cancer charity launched an ambassador initiative, enlisting popular bloggers and community figures to promote their breast cancer awareness campaign during October. They gave each ambassador a unique tracking link. At the end of the campaign, they saw that 30 ambassadors were active, collectively driving 10,000 visitors to the donation page. Those visitors made 800 donations, raising £40,000. No commissions were paid (the incentive for ambassadors was primarily goodwill and some public acknowledgement by the charity), so the cost per acquisition was essentially zero aside from the coordination effort.
They also noticed an interesting trend: donors referred by certain health and lifestyle bloggers had a 20% higher average donation than the campaign’s overall average. This insight suggested that those audiences might be particularly passionate or financially able, so the charity decided to deepen relationships with those top-performing affiliates for future campaigns. By tracking these KPIs, the charity could clearly see the value of word-of-mouth marketing and where to focus its partnership efforts going forward.
11 – SMS and Mobile Messaging KPIs
SMS appeals and text message updates are powerful tools, especially for urgent fundraising drives or reaching supporters who might not check email. Text messages tend to have exceptionally high open rates, but it’s still important to measure their effectiveness. Key KPIs for SMS campaigns include:
Delivery Rate
The percentage of texts successfully delivered to recipients. A low delivery rate could mean invalid numbers or carrier issues. Keeping your mobile number list up-to-date is as important as managing email deliverability. Fortunately, SMS delivery rates are often 95%+ if your data is clean. This KPI is mostly about ensuring your tech is working and your list is current.
Open/Read Rate
Unlike email, exact “open rates” for SMS aren’t tracked the same way (there’s no pixel), but given the nature of text messages, the vast majority are read by recipients. Studies often show SMS open rates in the 90%+ range, usually within minutes of receipt. So you can assume a very high open rate; instead of tracking this explicitly, focus on the next actions.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
If your text includes a link (e.g., to a mobile-friendly donation page or petition), what percentage of recipients click it? This is a critical metric for SMS because it shows who is moving from reading the message to engaging with your content. For example, if you send 10,000 texts with a donation link and 1,000 people click, that’s a 10% CTR – quite strong for any marketing channel. If the CTR is low, it might indicate the message isn’t compelling or the link wasn’t prominent enough (ensure it’s near the beginning of the text and clearly actionable). Some charities also experiment with MMS or richer texts (including an image or a more eye-catching format) to see if that boosts engagement.
Conversion Rate from SMS
Out of those who clicked the link (or received the text, if it’s a keyword-based donation via carrier billing), how many completed the intended action? For instance, if 1,000 clicked through to your donation form and 200 made a donation, that’s a 20% conversion post-click, which is excellent. If you use texts for something like a “Text-to-Give £5” campaign (where people simply reply or text a code to donate a set amount via their phone bill), then conversion might be measured by how many actually did so out of total recipients.
With such campaigns, conversion can often be expressed in terms of response rate (e.g., “5% of contacts texted back to donate”). Track whatever the end-goal is. Many charities find that while text messages reach almost everyone, the convenience of the giving method determines conversion: direct carrier billing donations might get higher participation (albeit usually small amounts each), whereas texts that lead to an online form might see drop-off if the form isn’t super mobile-friendly.
Opt-Out/Unsubscribe Rate
The percentage of recipients who reply “STOP” or otherwise opt out after an SMS campaign. This is analogous to email unsubscribe. You want to keep this low to preserve your SMS list’s size and receptiveness. If you see a spike in opt-outs after a particular message, review it – were you sending too frequently, or did the content perhaps upset some (for instance, messages that are too pushy or sent at odd hours)? Maintaining trust via SMS is crucial because people’s phones feel very personal. Charities often use SMS sparingly for that reason – saving it for important calls to action or updates – and the KPI to watch is if opt-out rates start climbing, which signals you may need to dial back or adjust your text strategy.
Example
During a disaster relief effort, an international NGO sent SMS appeals to its supporter list. Out of 50,000 texts delivered, they saw an initial click-through rate of about 8% on the included donation link – 4,000 people visited the mobile donation page. Because the need was urgent and the messaging was compelling (“Urgent: Earthquake Relief – we need your help now. Any amount makes a difference. Donate here: [short link]”), the conversion rate was high – around 25% of those who clicked went on to donate, resulting in 1,000 donations via SMS outreach within 24 hours.
The average gift via this channel was £10, as many were likely giving on mobile quickly with payment methods like PayPal or Apple/Google Pay. The team also noted the opt-out rate was only 0.5%, indicating that the vast majority of recipients were not annoyed by the appeal. In fact, many replied with messages of support or questions on other ways to help, which the NGO’s team followed up on. By tracking these SMS KPIs, the organisation confirmed that text messaging is an incredibly immediate and effective fundraising tool – but they also learned to use it judiciously (e.g., for urgent campaigns or critical updates) to maintain that low unsubscribe rate and high responsiveness.
12 – Programmatic Advertising KPIs
Programmatic advertising refers to using automated platforms to buy ads across the web – this often includes display ads, video ads, and retargeting ads shown on various websites and apps to people who might be interested in your cause. Charities using programmatic (either through Google Display Network, social media display, or other networks) should monitor metrics such as:
Impressions and Reach
Impressions are how many times your ads were served. Reach is how many unique users saw them. Programmatic campaigns, especially display, are great for awareness because you can get tens of thousands of impressions relatively cheaply. Tracking impressions is useful to ensure you’re getting the volume you paid for, but reach is important too – you don’t want the same small group seeing your ad 20 times while others never see it.
Monitoring these helps you adjust frequency caps (how often the same person is shown your ad) for optimal exposure. For example, a children’s charity running a banner ad campaign might get 1 million impressions with a reach of 200,000 people – that’s an average frequency of 5 per person, which might be okay, but if reach is much lower relative to impressions, they might broaden targeting or cap frequency to avoid ad fatigue.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Similar to other ads, but display CTRs are typically much lower than search or social ads because people often ignore banners. A CTR of 0.1% (1 in 1,000) on a broad display campaign can be normal. Still, track CTR to gauge ad creative effectiveness and relevance. If one ad banner has a 0.2% CTR and another only 0.05%, that’s a clear sign to allocate more budget to the better-performing creative. For programmatic video ads, you might track view-through rate (the percentage who watch the whole video ad) as a parallel engagement metric.
Conversion Rate & Cost Per Conversion
Ultimately, you should measure how many viewers of those ads end up taking action (this often requires the use of tracking pixels and possibly considering view-through conversions – people who saw an ad and later visited your site to donate, even if they didn’t click directly). Programmatic ads, especially retargeting ads, can assist conversions by reminding interested people to come back.
For instance, if someone visited your charity’s site but didn’t donate, a retargeting ad might nudge them later. Track how many of those conversions happen and what the cost per conversion is when factoring in display spend. Retargeting usually shows a strong result: charities have found that retargeted website visitors are significantly more likely to donate than cold audiences. In fact, users who see retargeting ads are about 70% more likely to convert than those who don’t see those ads, according to digital marketing research. So if you see your conversion rate and CPA improve when running retargeting, that’s evidence that the programmatic strategy is paying off.
Engagement Metrics (for awareness)
Not all programmatic campaigns aim for immediate donations. Some might be about spreading a message or getting sign-ups for a newsletter or petition. In those cases, you might track things like ad interactions (if using interactive ad formats), post-view website engagement (e.g., pages per session for visitors who came via display ads), or brand lift as mentioned earlier. If you ran a video ad pre-roll on YouTube or a streaming service, you could track how many people clicked the “Learn More” but also how many viewed 100% of the video, as that indicates deep engagement with your content.
Return on Investment (ROI)
This is similar to ROAS but takes a broader view. If programmatic is used for fundraising, calculate the net funds raised minus the cost. If £5,000 spent on display ads resulted in £20,000 of donations attributable to those ads, the ROI is 300% (£15k net gain). If it’s used for lead generation or awareness, ROI might be measured in cost per lead or some proxy value for awareness (harder to quantify, but you might say “we reached 500,000 people for £5,000 – £0.01 per impression to spread our mission message”). Always tie back to whether the spend was worth it for the outcome.
Over time, comparing ROI across channels (e.g., programmatic display vs. paid search vs. social ads) can help decide how to allocate budgets. Many charities find that while programmatic display has lower immediate conversion rates, it’s good for keeping their cause visible and supporting the performance of other channels (like it can warm up audiences who later search or directly visit to donate). Still, having the numbers on conversions and ROI ensures you’re making decisions with eyes open.
Example
A humanitarian NGO ran a programmatic ad campaign targeting users reading news about a refugee crisis, showing banner and video ads about their emergency relief fund. The campaign delivered 2 million impressions with a reach of about 400,000 individuals in a month. The overall CTR was modest – 0.1% on banners and 0.3% on video ads – but that was expected for awareness ads. More importantly, they used tracking to see that 5,000 people who saw or clicked these ads eventually landed on the donation page, and 800 made donations, contributing £50,000. The ad spend was £10,000, so the direct ROI was 400% (or a cost per donation of £12.50).
Digging deeper, the retargeting subset of ads (shown to people who had visited their site before) had a much higher conversion rate: those ads had a CTR of 0.5% and many recipients donated when prompted again – their cost per conversion was only £5. This insight encouraged the NGO to invest more in retargeting known supporters (who might just need a reminder) during future appeals, as it proved extremely cost-effective. By tracking programmatic KPIs at both the broad awareness level and the conversion level, the organisation was able to fine-tune its digital advertising mix, using display ads not just to shout into the void but to strategically support donor acquisition and retention.
Table – Charity Fundraising KPIs by Channel
| Channel | KPI 1 | KPI 2 | KPI 3 | KPI 4 |
| Email Marketing | Open Rate | CTR | Conversion Rate | Unsubscribe Rate |
| Social Media | Engagement Rate | Reach & Impressions | Follower Growth | Social Conversions |
| Events | Funds Raised vs Goal | Number of Attendees | Average Donation per Attendee | Event ROI |
| Website Donations | Donation Conversion Rate | Average Donation Amount | Total Online Revenue | Bounce Rate |
| Corporate Partnerships | Number of Partners | Funds from Partners | Average Gift Size | Retention Rate |
| Native Advertising | CTR | Engagement Time | Conversion Rate | ROAS |
| Content Marketing | Views/Reads | Engagement (Shares/Comments) | Lead Generation | SEO Performance |
| SEO | Organic Traffic | Keyword Rankings | Click-Through Rate | Backlinks & Authority |
| Search Ads | CTR | CPC | Conversion Rate | Quality Score |
| Affiliate Marketing | Active Affiliates | Referral Traffic | Cost Per Acquisition | Lifetime Value |
| SMS | Delivery Rate | CTR | Conversion Rate | Opt-Out Rate |
| Programmatic | Impressions/Reach | CTR | Conversion Rate | ROI |
Conclusion
Every charity campaign – whether an email blast, a social media push, a fundraising event, or an ad campaign – can be measured. By tracking the KPIs above and understanding what they mean, charitable organisations can make informed decisions and continuously improve their fundraising effectiveness. Regularly reviewing these metrics will highlight successes to repeat and areas to refine. Remember, the goal isn’t to collect data for data’s sake, but to gain actionable insights: maybe you discover email brings in more donors but social brings in younger supporters who give smaller amounts (informing how you nurture each group), or that a particular event yields a poor ROI and should be redesigned. Use KPIs as your guideposts.
In the spirit of transparency and learning, many leading charities share that becoming data-driven was key to boosting their impact. Platforms like LaunchGood provide campaigners with real-time metrics on funds raised, supporter demographics and traffic sources – empowering even small community fundraisers to adjust tactics on the fly. Likewise, global charities from Oxfam to UNICEF have teams dedicated to monitoring dashboards of these KPIs daily during big appeals, so they can celebrate milestones and address shortfalls promptly (for example, if mid-campaign they see donation conversions lagging despite high email opens, they might tweak the donation page or send a follow-up SMS reminder).
By mirroring this approach in your own organisation – tracking, reporting and reacting to your KPIs – you ensure that every opportunity to increase donations and engagement is seized. In the fast-evolving fundraising landscape, data is your friend. It shows you the story of your supporters’ journey and how you can better inspire them. So set up those dashboards, define your targets, and let the numbers inform your narrative of doing good, better.
What’s Next
At AMCM Agency, we believe charities can raise 20% more donations through carefully planned affiliate and digital fundraising campaigns. Our expertise lies in guiding organisations through the complexity, selecting the right technology stack, avoiding common pitfalls, and managing affiliate fundraising programs that generate predictable, incremental growth.
If your charity is considering upgrading its fundraising technology or launching new digital campaigns, contact us at AMCM. Together, we can identify the platform mix that maximises your donations, protects your budget, and engages supporters worldwide.
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