YES. It’s here, it’s beautiful, it’s in 3D, and it’s ready for download: the 2015 M+R Benchmarks Study. Within these pages you will find answers to all your burning, or even just mildly combustible, questions about nonprofit online fundraising, organizing, marketing, and more.
And your questions about the questions Benchmarks answers? We have answers for those as well…
2015 M+R Benchmarks FAQ
Q. Where can I download my copy of the 2015 M+R Benchmarks Study?
A. It’s available at mrbenchmarks.com — click here to get your free copy! (And no need to be so formal — you can just call it Benchmarks.)
Q. When will it be available?
A. Right now! You can (and should!) visit mrbenchmarks.com to download it for free right this very second.
Q. And what is Benchmarks?
A. This seems like maybe it should have been your first question, but okay. Benchmarks is our annual look at nonprofit online fundraising and advocacy. It includes data gathered from a wide variety of nonprofits, and provides average numbers that you can compare to your own organization’s results. Not sure if we already mentioned this, but you can download the study here.
Q. So it’s super, super nerdy?
A. Yes, and also no. Collecting and analyzing such a wealth of information warmed the cockles of our data-nerd hearts, because we are the kind of weirdos who get really excited about comparative metrics and nifty data trends, and also we like saying “cockles.” BUT, you yourself do not need to be one of those weirdos to enjoy and learn from the study — everything is very clear and easy to understand no matter your level of experience.
Q. That sounds really useful.
A. We know! It totally is! We love it.
Q. But seriously, what am I really going to learn here?
A. SO MUCH STUFF. For example, if you’re a fundraiser, the study will tell you what kind of response rate fundraising email get for organizations in your issue space (the overall average was 0.06%). If you’re, say, an organizer, you’ll learn about social media trends (like the 42% growth in Facebook audience last year). And if you’re a marketer of just about any stripe, it will tell you how much your peers are investing in different kinds of online advertising (spoiler: ¾ of them are spending at least a little). Nifty, huh?
Q. What kind of nonprofits provide data for the study?
A. Participants are really cool. Generous, amazing, world-changing, and almost painfully good-looking, every one of them.
Q. No, I meant, like, what issue areas are they in? And is this just big national groups?
A. Oh! They are incredibly diverse. The 84 nonprofits included in our study are grouped into seven sectors (Environmental, Domestic Hunger/Poverty, International, Rights, Wildlife/Animal Welfare, Health, and Cultural). We also break down results for groups with small, medium, and large email lists.
Q. How many dimensions is the Benchmarks study produced in? Like, only two?
A. What a great and unexpected question! In fact, the 2015 Benchmarks Study is in 3D! If you don’t have our special glasses, you’ll still get all the same data — you just won’t get the full effect of the 3D photos of baby goats.
Q. Baby goats?
A. Yep. Cute ones.
Q. Wait. I’m looking at the report and these charts aren’t in 3D. What gives?
A. Be glad. We tried 3D-ifying the charts themselves but it caused headaches and confusion and in some cases bizarre hallucinations. And more importantly, it made the data kind of inaccurate because of all those little data points sort of floating all over the place. You’re welcome.
Q. I’m glad those baby goats are in 3D, though. So cute.
A. Right?
Q. What if I have more questions?
A. Well first, download the Benchmarks Study! It really does include everything you need to know. And if you still have questions, we want to hear them! Hit us up on Twitter @mrbenchmarks.com, or email us at benchmarks@mrss.com