1. Plans to Win During The Great Recession And After: Best practices in analyzing fundraising efficiency and effectiveness Doug Eichten, DEI President Craig Oliver, DEI Director of Research

2. DEI’s Benchmarks for Public Radio Fundraising How do evaluate your station’s fundraising performance? How do you estimate your station’s potential?

3. Benchmarks is a management tool. “Without it, there is no discipline to the fundraising process. It allows me and my staff to demonstrate to others outside the station, such as major donor prospects, that the station is operating efficiently.” Dave Edwards, General Manager, WUWM Milwaukee

4. Why benchmarks? Stations increasingly depend on audience-sensitive revenue.   Decline in federal funding   Increased programming costs   Positioning station as important community institution

5. Benchmarks 84 DEI member stations participated (to date) in both 2008 and 2009. In 2009 this represents: –Approximately 40% of all public radio listening –1.1 million members –Nearly 17-thousand underwriting clients –261 million gross revenue –191 million net revenue

6. Key Questions How much NET revenue did stations generate? How does that NET compare with prior years? How much NET revenue did my station generate relative to my AUDIENCE? How much of our POTENTIAL did we realize? How much of our operating costs are covered by net fundraising revenue?

7. Key Questions How much NET revenue did stations generate? How does that NET compare with 2008? How much NET revenue did my station generate relative to my AUDIENCE? How much of our POTENTIAL did we realize? How much of our operating costs are covered by net fundraising revenue?

8. Only Membership Revenue Grew

9. Key Questions How much NET revenue did stations generate? How does that NET compare with 2008? How much NET revenue did my station generate relative to my AUDIENCE? How much of our POTENTIAL did we realize? How much of our operating costs are covered by net fundraising revenue?

10. Audience = Listener Hours A station’s Average Quarter Hour (AQH) is average listening. Listener Hours are total listening –1 listener listening for 5 hours = 5 listener hours. –5 listeners listening for 1 hour = 5 listener hours. –Benchmarks Listener Hours are Annual.

11. Listener Hours Declined

12. Listener Hours Annual Listener Hours let us ask: –What does it cost to serve one listener for one hour? –How efficiently does a station convert listening to giving and to underwriting? –How much NET revenue do we generate for each hour of listening?

13. Benchmarks Net Fundraising Revenue ÷ Annual Listener Hours Net FR Revenue per LH

14. More efficient?

15. PPM vs. Diary Spring 09 national audience estimates begin Tuesday 16 markets are PPM Last Time –Houston –Philadelphia This time New York Los Angeles Chicago San Francisco Dallas Atlanta Washington Boston Detroit Miami Seattle Phoenix Minneapolis San Diego

17. Diary-Only LH’s More Consistent

18. Efficiency

19. Members +8.5%

20. Revenue

21. Key Questions How much NET revenue did stations generate? How does that NET compare with 2008? How much NET revenue did stations generate relative to AUDIENCE? How much of our POTENTIAL did we realize? How much of our operating costs are covered by net fundraising revenue?

22. Potential Stations judge themselves against: –The Median –90 th Percentile – Potential or goal?

23. Potential

24. Membership Potential Membership 2009 Net Revenue Net @ 2.4 cents per/LH (90 th %) $87,783,457 $116,864078 Potential$29,080,621 Nearly $30m in revenue is “left on the table.”

25. Underwriting Potential Underwriting 2009 Net Revenue Net @ 2.8 cents per/LH (90 th %) $78,439,381 $136,341,424 Potential$57,902,043 Nearly $58m in revenue is “left on the table.”

26. Benchmarks Did stations “raise the bar” in 2009? comparing same station subset year to year MembershipUnderwriting 08 Median 09 Median 1.5 1.0 0.9 08 90 th %2.12.8 09 90 th %2.52.8 Net Revenue per Listener Hour (in cents)

27. Key Questions How much NET revenue did stations generate? How does that NET compare with 2008? How much NET revenue did stations generate relative to AUDIENCE? How much of our POTENTIAL did we realize? How much of our operating costs are covered by net fundraising revenue?

28. Benchmarks Community Financial Support Index (CFSI)Community Financial Support Index (CFSI) –Are operating costs, after the cost of fundraising, covered by listener-generated NET revenue? –An index of 100 means the station is fully covering its costs through fundraising.

29. …only 10 percent of 2009 participants achieve a 100 index. This is 8 of 85 stations. The median CFSI is 64. CFSI 100 Index Median = 64

30. The more a station relies on net fundraising revenue to pay for operations, the more control it.has over its own future Conversely, the more a station relies on subsidies to pay for its operations, the less control the station has over its future. Benchmarks

31. These preliminary findings are consistent with early 09 DEI member survey –Membership revenue up or flat. –More members –Underwriting down or flat, especially in large markets. Benchmarks

32. What a station should do Review the Benchmarks Trend Report to learn if there is improvement over time. Review the Benchmarks Peer Report to see where the station stands among peers and others. Set goals –Strive for the median if below. –Strive for the 90 th percentile or an interim goal. Talk with Benchmarks Peers.

33. StationLH’s (m)UW RevNet p/LHFTE’sMkt Rank Target7.4$65,237.87 cents1.014 Peer 17.4$97,0001.0 102 Peer 26.1$166,6891.31.5285 Peer 37.4$162,244.971.5161 Peer 410.4$319,1202.12.077 Peer 512.6$313,0971.81.0104 Benchmarks

34. DEI Benchmarks Doug Eichten, President –deichten@deiworksite.orgdeichten@deiworksite.org Craig Oliver, Director of Research –coliver@deiworksite.orgcoliver@deiworksite.org Jay Clayton, Individual Giving Coordinator –jclayton@deiworksite.orgjclayton@deiworksite.org