Fundraising Expense Myth: What Is the “Correct” Fundraising Expense Ratio for Your Organization? | Association of Fundraising Professionals (2024)

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Fundraising Expense Myth: What Is the “Correct” Fundraising Expense Ratio for Your Organization? | Association of Fundraising Professionals (3) Fundraising Expense Myth: What Is the “Correct” Fundraising Expense Ratio for Your Organization? | Association of Fundraising Professionals (4)

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Fundraising Expense Myth: What Is the “Correct” Fundraising Expense Ratio for Your Organization? | Association of Fundraising Professionals (2024)

FAQs

What is a good fundraising expense ratio? ›

According to Charity Navigator, nonprofits should spend less than 10% on fundraising spending. Charity Navigator also promotes healthy spending on activities because nonprofits that spend less than a third of their budgets on program expenses are likely to be failing to meet their missions.

What is the 80 20 fundraising rule? ›

Many organizations refer to the 80-20 rule (or the Pareto principle) to discuss the importance of major donations. This principle dictates that 80% of a nonprofit's funding is contributed by only the top 20% of their donors.

What is a good expense ratio for a nonprofit? ›

funds that are spent for fundraising or administrative functions. To calculate this ratio, divide total program service expenses by the organization's total expenses. A general rule of thumb is that a nonprofit should have approximately 80% program expense, and 20% general and fundraising expenses.

How do you calculate fundraising ratio? ›

Subtract your total costs (amount spent) from your total return (amount raised). This gives you your campaign's net revenue. Next, divide your net revenue by the total costs. This gives your fundraising ROI as a ratio.

What is the average fund expense ratio? ›

Expense ratio trends

From 2001 to 2021, the asset-weighted average expense ratio of U.S. open-ended mutual funds and ETFs fell from 0.87% to 0.40%. By 2021, the asset-weighted average fee was 0.12% for index funds and 0.60% for actively managed mutual funds.

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