Fundraising
Expense of raising contributed support in the period — development staff, donor communications, event production labour, grant writing and prospect research. The third FASB functional class. Direct benefit costs of a special event are NOT here; they net against the event revenue line. — Finance KPI anchored to FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities.
Rogue ID: finance.np_fundraising_expense
Type: Currency
Domain: Finance
Definition
Expense of raising contributed support in the period — development staff, donor communications, event production labour, grant writing and prospect research. The third FASB functional class. Direct benefit costs of a special event are NOT here; they net against the event revenue line.
Formula
Expenses allocated to fundraising activity for the period, excluding the direct benefit costs netted against special-event revenue.Why it matters
The investment side of the contributed-revenue equation — read on its own it looks like overhead, read against what it raised it is a return.
How to interpret
Pair with finance.np_cost_to_raise_a_dollar; cutting fundraising expense reliably improves the programme ratio and reliably shrinks the organisation.
Related KPIs
finance.np_total_functional_expensesfinance.np_cost_to_raise_a_dollarfinance.np_individual_contributions
Source
FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities · section: ASC 958-720 (functional expense classification) — published 2016-08-01.
Why does this cite FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities? 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_fundraising_expense.json - All Finance KPIs:
/api/ontology/finance.json - Full catalog:
/api/ontology/index.json
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.
Government Grants & Contracts
Revenue from federal, state, county and municipal grants and fee-for-service contracts recognized in the period. Distinct from foundation grants because government funding is usually cost-reimbursement — it is earned by delivering and then invoicing, which makes it a working-capital consumer even when the award is secure. — Finance KPI anchored to FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities.