Cost to raise $100
Cost to raise $100 is how much a nonprofit spends on fundraising to bring in $100 of donations — a measure of fundraising efficiency.
It's fundraising expenses ÷ contributions × 100. A common benchmark is $25 or less to raise $100; higher figures can signal an expensive or immature fundraising operation.
Like any single ratio it can mislead — a new organization or one running a capital campaign may temporarily spend more per dollar raised.
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Related terms
- Program expense ratio — The program expense ratio is the share of a nonprofit's total spending that goes to its programs and services rather than to management or fundraising.
- Overhead — Overhead is the share of a nonprofit's spending that goes to management, general operations and fundraising rather than directly to programs.
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