Sustainability Scorecard Basics

Sustainability is how long your organization will be around to make changes in the world. The Sustainability Scorecard wades through the data to show you how sustainable your organization is.

Donors treat their charitable giving like an investment, and they expect a return.

Read How to Improve Sustainability for general guidelines on improving your organization's health. Contact Jamie Levy to work with him on specific strategies.

The Sustainability Scorecard helps your organization and your donors visualize how sustainable you are. Share the scorecard with them to show that your organization is worthy of their investments. Also, share the Sustainability Scorecard with your board to highlight where improvements are needed.

To view your Sustainability Scorecard:

The Bloomerang Sustainability Dashboard contains links to open assessments. The assessments ask the questions that donors are increasingly asking. Complete an assessment every quarter. Answer the questions based on the previous fiscal quarter. Bloomerang’s website has resources to help you answer the questions, if needed.

The results are compiled and displayed on the graph. In time, you will build a better picture of how sustainable your organization is.

To view or edit a prior assessment, click the assessment point on the graph.

Each quarter's assessment results are plotted on the graph. The year's assessments are averaged to calculate the fiscal year score. The colors mean:

This graph shows how many in-person meetings your organization has had with constituents this fiscal year. The goal is the previous fiscal year's count to date. You want to meet or exceed this goal.

To qualify, an interaction must be marked with:

This graph shows how many in-kind gifts your organization has received this fiscal year. The goal is the previous fiscal year's count to date. You want to meet or exceed this goal.

To qualify, a transaction must be marked with:

This graph shows the current average monthly value of a donor this fiscal year. The goal is the previous fiscal year's monthly average to date. You want to meet or exceed this goal.

This number is calculated by totaling all revenue transactions. It is then divided by the number of donors who made those donations. The result is divided again by the number of months in the fiscal year to date.

This graph shows your organization's retention rate for this fiscal year to date. This number may be different from the Bloomerang CRM retention wheel because it is calculated differently. The goal is the previous fiscal year’s retention rate to date. You want to meet or exceed this goal.

The retention rate is calculated by totaling the number of donors with revenue transactions both this fiscal year to date and the same period during the previous fiscal year. (For example, donors gave January-March 2022 and January-March 2023.) The result is divided by the number of donors who gave during the same period of the past fiscal year.

This graph shows the number of individuals or organizations who are in each donor level this fiscal year to date. The goal is the previous fiscal year’s total count. Constituents (individuals or organizations) may qualify to be in more than one level.

Over time, you want to see each level grow. With good stewardship, constituents should move up the pyramid. The look of a healthy pyramid depends on your organization’s age. For example, young organizations may not have major donors yet.

To qualify, a constituent must have:

To qualify, a constituent must have:

To qualify, a constituent must have:

You probably noticed that time is a factor in determining the constituent's level. Why? Valuing constituents on how many dollars they give to an org misses half the picture. Constituents who give smaller amounts for longer periods of time are demonstrating that they are involved in your org and believe in its cause. Treat them accordingly.