Cost to Raise a Dollar
Fundraising expense divided by contributed support for the period — what it cost, in currency, to bring in one unit of contributed revenue. The fundraising counterpart to the programme expense ratio, and the honest answer to "why is fundraising expense so high": because it raised this. — Finance KPI, I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier).
I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier)
No public third-party standard anchors this KPI yet, so I'mBoard authors and maintains the definition — transparently labeled as editorial tier. See the ontology methodology for the published vs editorial tier system and the back-attribution workstream.
Rogue ID: finance.np_cost_to_raise_a_dollar
Type: Number
Domain: Finance
Definition
Fundraising expense divided by contributed support for the period — what it cost, in currency, to bring in one unit of contributed revenue. The fundraising counterpart to the programme expense ratio, and the honest answer to "why is fundraising expense so high": because it raised this.
Formula
cost_to_raise_a_dollar = fundraising_expense ÷ (individual_contributions + foundation_grants + corporate_support + special_events_net). Government funding and earned programme fees are excluded — they are not raised by fundraising.Why it matters
Turns fundraising expense from a cost to be minimised into an investment with a measurable return.
How to interpret
A ratio is only comparable against the same organisation over time; channel mix moves it far more than performance does — a major-gifts year is cheap, an acquisition year is not. NEVER aggregate across periods: recompute it for the longer period from its base lines.
Related KPIs
finance.np_fundraising_expensefinance.np_individual_contributionsfinance.np_foundation_grantsfinance.np_corporate_supportfinance.np_special_events_net
Source
I'mBoard editorial — authored and maintained by I'mBoard, first published 2026-04-01. No third-party standard is cited for this KPI; when one emerges, the definition is back-attributed and promoted to the published tier (a minor version bump). Read the ontology methodology for the published vs editorial tier system, attribution rules, and dispute process.
Stage relevance
| Company stage | Priority |
|---|---|
| Pre-Seed | Core |
| Seed | Core |
| Series A | Core |
| Series B | Core |
| Series C+ | Core |
| Public | Core |
Suggested for stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C+, Public.
Default owning functions
- Finance
- Development
Machine-readable
- This KPI as JSON:
/api/ontology/finance/np_cost_to_raise_a_dollar.json - All Finance KPIs:
/api/ontology/finance.json - Full catalog:
/api/ontology/index.json
Corporate & Sponsorship Support
Corporate philanthropy, workplace giving and event or programme sponsorship recognized in the period. Separated from individual giving because it is relationship-driven and renews on a corporate budget cycle rather than a donor one. — Finance KPI anchored to FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities.
Foundation Grants
Grant revenue from private, community and family foundations recognized in the period. Kept separate from individual giving because foundation support is typically restricted to a programme and to a term, so a strong year can carry commitments that do not renew. — Finance KPI anchored to FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities.