Donor Retention, KPIs & What Actually Works in Fundraising

What should fundraisers focus on at the beginning of a new year? And what should they stop doing altogether?

In this episode of The Focused Fundraiser, Rob Burke and Chris Stibbs, Director of Development at Growing Futures, talk about what actually moves the needle in modern nonprofit fundraising. From donor retention and stewardship to avoiding burnout, segmentation, KPIs, and realistic goal-setting, this conversation is packed with practical insights for fundraisers at every level.

Key Topics Covered:

• Healthy fundraising habits for the new year

• Donor stewardship vs. transactional fundraising

• Donor journeys and segmentation strategies

• KPIs that actually matter

• Grant strategy and approval tracking

• Mid-level donor growth

• Avoiding burnout on fundraising teams

• One simple action every fundraiser should take today

Chapters

00:00 – Welcome to The Focused Fundraiser

00:47 – Chris Stibbs’ fundraising journey

02:47 – What a healthy start to the year looks like

04:27 – Moving from transactions to stewardship

06:07 – Fundraising trends that aren’t working anymore

07:15 – Donor journeys & segmentation

09:03 – Why every donor matters

10:29 – The overlooked power of mid-level donors

11:21 – Setting realistic fundraising goals

13:27 – KPIs fundraisers should actually track

15:53 – Grant strategy & approval rates

17:27 – Hard conversations fundraisers avoid

19:51 – Tactical takeaway: one thing to do today