Normally, this would be the time to set a new baseline number - to build on - for the future. Take a look at those key metrics and determine what's working, what isn't, and what strategies should be tweaked going forward. By now you'd have a pretty good idea from numbers late in FY09, but the final counts provide a complete look at the year. How was retention? New donor acquisition? Upgrade percentage? Average gift? All those numbers that haunt us day and night can be calculated a million different ways to determine the health of our programs.
I'm not sure this is the best year for that.
As I speak with others in programs large and small, I worry that too many organizations are seeing abnormal numbers and making dramatic changes as a result of that data. Let's not forget that FY09 was a strange year. Metrics may be wacky and in some situations it's simply because donor behavior WAS affected by the economic climate. I'd hate to make drastic decisions based on a single year of data, especially this one.
Successful programs can and should always adapt, adjust and improve. But to take that same successful program and decide, based on FY09, that a complete overhaul is necessary might just make a bad situation worse. I've heard it's a good idea not to throw the baby out with the bath water. This is a pretty good time to heed that advice.
Have a happy and successful new year! Let's hope this one isn't quite as eventful as the last.
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