Nonprofit Data Analysis: Which Donors Stay, What Fundraising Costs, Which Programs Work
Your CRM can list last year's donors. It can't easily tell the board how many came back, what each dollar raised actually cost, or whether a program moved the outcome a funder paid for.
Nonprofit data analysis turns the records you already keep (gifts in the donor CRM, expenses in the accounting system, attendance and results in program spreadsheets) into a few numbers leadership can act on: donor retention, the cost to raise a dollar, and outcomes per program. Lightray Solutions does this work in Power BI, and Edward Pinela, MBA, does the analysis himself.
Projects are quoted at a fixed price after a short discovery of your systems. Follow-up work can use Power BI Flex Support hours, from $2,500 for 20 hours, which never expire. Start with a free 30-minute strategy call; you hear back within 4 business hours.
Which donor metrics matter most?
Retention comes first. The Fundraising Effectiveness Project's full-year 2025 figures put overall donor retention at about 43%, so most donors who give one year don't give the next. Your own rate, split between first-time and repeat donors, tells you whether the next dollar should go to finding donors or to keeping the ones you have.
- Retention rate: donors who gave last year and again this year, divided by last year's donors, with first-year and multi-year donors reported separately because they behave very differently.
- LYBUNT and SYBUNT lists: donors who gave Last Year But Unfortunately Not This year, and Some Year But Unfortunately Not This year. Ranking them by past giving means win-back calls start with the gifts most worth recovering.
- Upgrades and downgrades: how many retained donors gave more, the same or less than the year before.
- Giving by channel: gift and donor counts for online, mail, events and major gifts, so each appeal can be judged on its own results.
How do you calculate cost per dollar raised?
Divide fundraising expenses by contributions received over the same period. The definition matters: the IRS Form 990 instructions treat the costs of soliciting contributions, gifts and grants, including allocable overhead, as fundraising expenses in Part IX, column D, while direct costs of fundraising events are reported elsewhere. Matching your 990 keeps the report and the return consistent.
Where your books allow it, the figure is shown by campaign and channel, which is the question boards actually ask: is the gala worth it next to the year-end appeal? Your accountant still owns the expense allocations. The analysis shows them; it doesn't set them.
How do program outcomes and grant reports fit in?
Program data usually lives in spreadsheets or a case-management tool rather than the donor CRM. Bringing it into the same model lets each program show people served, participation and the outcome measures each funder asked for, against the targets in the grant. One report can then filter to any grant's period and indicators instead of being rebuilt per funder.
Running tutoring, after-school or mentoring programs? The enrollment and attendance side is covered on back-to-school nonprofit analytics.
Which donor CRMs can the analysis use?
Most of them, because the analysis only needs gifts, donors and dates in a consistent shape. Some CRMs connect directly to Power BI; others export files on a schedule into a SharePoint folder the model reads. The table shows how data leaves the three CRMs nonprofits most often ask about, and what to watch for with each.
If the CRM itself needs setting up or cleaning first, see nonprofit CRM consulting; data from a messy CRM gives messy retention figures.
| CRM | How the data gets out | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Bloomerang | Reports download as CSV, PDF or Excel; a full database export produces a zip of CSV files, one per data type | A new database export can only be run an hour after the last; some data, such as engagement scores and volunteer activity, isn't in it |
| Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud | Power BI's Salesforce Objects connector reads the underlying objects directly | API access must be enabled and trial accounts have none; the Salesforce Reports connector stops at 2,000 rows |
| Raiser's Edge NXT | Blackbaud's SKY API, through a custom Power BI connector, or exported query results | The connector is Blackbaud's open-source sample, not a built-in Power BI option; query exports must keep the same columns |
| Spreadsheets or other tools | CSV or Excel files saved to a SharePoint folder on a schedule | Column names and date formats must stay consistent between exports |
What does a nonprofit analysis engagement include?
Four parts: a discovery of your systems and of the questions your board and funders ask; a data model joining donors, gifts, expenses and program records; a small set of report pages; and a handover so staff can refresh and read it without help. Every figure is checked against the CRM's own reports before anyone relies on it.
Delivery is remote, inside your own Microsoft 365 tenant. Power BI work comes with a money-back promise if you aren't happy working with us during the first 4 hours. Edward brings 20+ years of experience and 200+ projects, and Lightray holds a 4.9★ Google rating.
Further reading: IRS — Instructions for Form 990.
Want to know your real donor retention rate before the next board meeting?
Book a free 30-minute call with Edward Pinela, MBA. You get an honest read on what to fix first — and if we are not the right fit, you will hear that on the call.
Frequently asked questions
We're a small nonprofit. Is this overkill?
Not if you have a few hundred donors or more than one funder asking for reports. Below that, a well-kept spreadsheet may be enough, and Edward will say so on the call. For what the software itself costs a nonprofit, see Power BI vs Tableau for nonprofits.
Is our donor data safe?
The model sits in your own Microsoft 365 tenant, under your accounts and permissions. Row-level security can show staff totals without donor names when that's all they need. Access is granted by your administrator and can be revoked at any time.
Will the numbers match our CRM's reports?
They should, and checking that is part of the build. Retention and totals are reconciled against the CRM's own reports for the same period. Where they differ, the cause is usually a definition, such as fiscal versus calendar year or how soft credits count, and the choice is written down.
How long does it take?
It depends on how many systems are involved and how clean they are. A donor retention and cost-per-dollar view from one CRM and one set of books is a modest project; adding program data from several spreadsheets takes longer. The written scope after discovery gives you the timeline.
You Won’t Get Handed Off to Junior Staff.
At most consulting firms, the senior person who sold you shows up for the kickoff — then you get handed to a team of juniors learning on your dime. That’s not how we work.
When you hire Lightray Solutions, you work directly with Edward Pinela, MBA — a principal consultant with 20+ years of experience across Power BI, web development, SEO, and CRM systems. Edward architects every engagement personally, stays involved through delivery, and answers his own phone.
Read Edward’s Full Bio“Mid-market companies deserve senior-level expertise without paying enterprise-agency prices. That’s the gap Lightray fills.”
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