Gate
Glossary
-
Advocacy Message
An email or SMS message that asks recipients to sign an online petition, send an email to a decision-maker, or take a similar online action. For the purposes of this Study, advocacy email does not include higher-bar actions like making a phone call or attending an event, largely because tracking offline response is inconsistent across organizations. Advocacy email rates were calculated from advocacy emails with a simple action sent to either the full file or a random sample of the full file.
-
Click-Through Rate
Calculated as the number of people who clicked on any trackable link in an email or text message divided by the number of delivered emails or text messages. People who clicked multiple times in one message were only counted once. In other words, if a subscriber clicked on every link in a message 10 times, this was counted the same as if the subscriber had clicked once on a single link.
-
Deliverable Emails
Only the emails that were delivered, not including the emails that are considered inactive or emails that were sent and bounced. “Delivered” email messages may land in a user’s inbox, spam folder, promotions tab, or custom folder.
-
Device Type, Desktop
We use the definitions provided by Google Analytics to separate traffic data by device type. The “desktop” category includes any desktop or laptop computer with a screen larger than 7” in diagonal.
-
Device Type, Mobile
We use the definitions provided by Google Analytics to separate traffic data by device type. Mobile devices are hand-held devices that include a phone or a tablet.
-
Facebook Engagement Score
The total number of users who engage with a social media post (by liking, clicking, sharing, etc.), divided by the total number of page fans on the day the content was posted.
-
Fans, Facebook
People who “like” a nonprofit’s Facebook Fan page.
-
Followers, Instagram
People who subscribe to see posts from a nonprofit’s Instagram account.
-
Followers, Twitter
People who subscribe to receive the tweets from a nonprofit’s Twitter account.
-
Full File
All of an organization’s deliverable email addresses, not including unsubscribed email addresses or email addresses to which an organization no longer sends email messages.
-
Fundraising Message
An email or SMS message that only asks for a donation, as opposed to an email newsletter, which might ask for a donation and include other links. For the purposes of this Study, fundraising email only includes one-time donation asks; it does not include monthly gift asks. Fundraising email rates were calculated from all fundraising emails, regardless of whether the email went to the full file, a random sample of the file, or a targeted portion of the file.
-
Glossary
An alphabetical list of terms related to a specific subject, with explanations. Example: “This Glossary includes a definition of the word ‘Glossary,’ which honestly doesn’t seem necessary.” See also: Metatextuality.
-
List Churn
Calculated as the number of subscribers who became unreachable in a 12-month period divided by the sum of the number of deliverable email addresses at the end of that period plus the number of subscribers who became unreachable during that period. Study participants were required to track the number of subscribers who became unreachable each month to account for subscribers both joining and leaving an email list during the 12-month period who would otherwise go uncounted.
-
Metatextuality
Did you arrive here from the definition for “Glossary”? That’ll probably explain it better. Maybe go look there and then come back? See also: Glossary.
-
Monthly Gift
A donation where the donor signs up once to donate on a regular schedule, typically by pledging a regular gift amount on a credit card each month. Also known as a sustaining gift.
-
Newsletters, Email
An email with multiple links or asks, which can include fundraising or advocacy asks. Email newsletter rates were calculated from all email newsletters, regardless of whether the newsletter went to the full file, a random sample of the file, or a targeted portion of the file.
-
Online Retention, New Donor
Online Retention (New Donor)
Of the donors that made their first-ever online gift in the previous calendar year, the percent that made an online gift in the current calendar year. Note that we count someone as “new” if they have no online donations reported before 2019.
-
Online Retention, Prior Donor
Online Retention (Prior Donor)
Of the donors that made an online gift in the previous calendar year that wasn’t their first online gift, the percent that made an online gift in the current calendar year.
-
Open Rate
Calculated as the number of HTML email messages opened divided by the number of delivered emails. Email messages that bounce are not included.
-
Organic Traffic
Website visits generated by unpaid search results.
-
Page Completion Rate
Calculated as the number of people who completed a form divided by the number of people who clicked on the link to get to that form. For the purposes of this Study, it was not always possible to use the number of people who clicked on a link to a specific form, so we used the number of unique clicks in the message.
-
Percentile
The percentage of observed values below the named data point. 25% of the observations are below the 25th percentile; 75% of the observations are below the 75th percentile. The values between the 25th percentile and the 75th percentile are the middle 50% of the observed values and represent the normal range of values.
-
Platform
A website or app, like what you use to post or tweet. And where you stand, if you are posting or tweeting while waiting for a train. And what your candidate or organization believes, if you are trying to make your priorities clear while posting or tweeting while waiting for a train. And what you wear, if you are trying to look taller and also fabulous while making your priorities clear while posting or tweeting while waiting for a train. For example: “As I was traveling to St. Ives, I met six policy wonks in size seven platform shoes standing on the #17 platform posting eight precise platform planks on six assorted social media platforms. Shoes, trains, tweets, planks… how many platforms were there in all?”
-
Response Rate
Calculated as the number of people who took the main action requested by an email or text message divided by the number of delivered messages.
-
Twitter Engagement Rate
The total number of users who engage with a post (by liking, clicking, sharing, etc.), divided by post reach.
-
Unique Clicks
The number of people who clicked on any trackable link in an email message, as opposed to the number of times the links in an email were clicked. If a subscriber clicked on every link in a message 10 times, this is counted as 1 unique click. It is also counted as 1 strange person.
-
Unsubscribe Rate
Calculated as the number of individuals who unsubscribed in response to an email message divided by the number of delivered emails.
-
View-Through Revenue
Revenue from donors who made a donation (typically within 30 days) of seeing, but not clicking on, an ad. For example, a supporter who sees a banner ad and later goes directly to the nonprofit’s website to make a gift.
-
Website Donation Page Conversion Rate
Calculated from the number of donations to a participant’s main donation page, divided by the number of unique pageviews of that page. We included only unique pageviews for the one-time donation page, if a separate donation page existed for monthly gifts.
-
Website Page Load Time
The number of seconds before a page appears to be visually complete, as measured by the WebPageTest tool at http://webpagetest.org.
-
Website Revenue per Visitor
Calculated as the total revenue from one-time online gifts, plus the value of initial monthly gifts, divided by the total number of website visitors for the year. Depending on retention, the long-term value of monthly gifts may be substantially higher.
-
Website Visitors per Month
The number of monthly unique visitors to a participant’s main website.
Participant List
- Cultural 8
- Disaster / International Aid 20
- Environmental 43
- Health 27
- Hunger / Poverty 22
- Other 26
- Public Media 7
- Rights 17
- Wildlife / Animal Welfare 17
Cultural
American Museum of Natural History
Arts Alliance Illinois
California Academy of Sciences
Central Park Conservancy
Lyric Stage Company of Boston
Monterey Bay Aquarium
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Shedd Aquarium
Disaster/International Aid
Action Against Hunger
ActionAid UK
American Red Cross
Anera
CARE USA
Children International
CMMB - Healthier Lives Worldwide
FINCA International
HIAS
International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
International Medical Corps
Mercy Corps
Oxfam America
Pathfinder International
Root Capital
Save the Children
USA for UNHCR
Women for Women International US
World Food Program USA
Environmental
Alliance for the Great Lakes
American Rivers
Appalachian Voices
Australian Conservation Foundation
Australian Marine Conservation Society
Columbia Springs
Conservation Colorado
Conservation Law Foundation
David Suzuki Foundation
Ecojustice
Food & Water Watch
Friends of the Earth
Greenpeace Canada
Greenpeace USA
Izaak Walton League of America
League of Conservation Voters
Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy
Mono Lake Committee
Mystic River Watershed Association
National Audubon Society
National Geographic Society
National Parks Conservation Association
Natural Resources Council of Maine
Natural Resources Defense Council
Nature Conservancy of Canada
North Carolina League of Conservation Voters
NRDC Action Fund
Oceana
Overton Park Conservancy
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Rainforest Trust
Rare
Riverkeeper
San Francisco Baykeeper
Sierra Club
The Wilderness Society
The Wilderness Society Action Fund
Union of Concerned Scientists
Washington Trails Association
Waterkeeper Alliance
Wildlife Conservation Society
World Wildlife Fund
Health
Action on Smoking and Health
Alzheimer's Association
American Heart Association
American Kidney Fund
American Lung Association
Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities
BC Cancer Foundation
Blood:Water
Boston Children's Hospital Trust
Canadian Cancer Society
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Children's Mercy Hospital
Colorectal Cancer Alliance
Einstein Healthcare Network
Langley Memorial Hospital Foundation
March of Dimes
Muscular Dystrophy Association
National Kidney Foundation
POGO - Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana
Samaritans
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
United Way of Greater St. Louis
Voices for Healthy Kids
White Ribbon Alliance
YMCA of Saskatoon
Hunger/Poverty
Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank
Alameda County Community Food Bank
BGC Ottawa
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Child Poverty Action Group
Community Food Bank of Central Alabama
Community Food Bank of New Jersey
East Texas Food Bank
Feeding America
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin
Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina
Garden City Harvest
God's Pantry Food Bank, Inc.
Good Shepherd Food Bank
Greater Chicago Food Depository
Greater Cleveland Food Bank
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
Houston Food Bank
Maryland Food Bank
Share Our Strength
Three Square Food Bank
Union Gospel Mission (Vancouver)
Public Media
KAWC
KQED
Louisville Public Media
NET - Nebraska's PBS & NPR Stations
WETA
WHYY
WNET
Rights
American Civil Liberties Union
Amnesty International USA
Children's Defense Fund
Courage California
Equality Federation
Florida Immigrant Coalition
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD)
Global Fund for Women
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)
NARAL Pro-Choice America
National Women's Law Center
Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Rainbow Railroad
Right To Play
Sojourners
Women Deliver
Wildlife/Animal Welfare
Animal Humane Society
BC SPCA
Best Friends Animal Society
Defenders of Wildlife
Humane Society International
International Fund for Animal Welfare
League Against Cruel Sports
National Wildlife Federation
Operation Kindness
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
RedRover
Rise for Animals
Ruff Start Rescue
The Humane League
The Humane Society of the United States
The International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council
World Animal Protection
Other
AFL-CIO
Afterschool for Children and Teens Now (ACT Now) Coalition
American Friends Service Committee
Avaaz Foundation
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Communications Workers of America
Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
Fight for 15
Gingerbread
Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc.
MoveOn
National Education Association
Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
People For the American Way
Project On Government Oversight
Rebuilding Together
Refuge
Sandy Hook Promise
SEIU
SMART Reading
Special Olympics
The Council of Canadians
The Education Trust
UJA-Federation of New York
Win Without War
Youth Challenge