Charities are leaving $15 billion on the table per year in the US alone because they are not communicating their impact effectively. That’s the conclusion of a report by GuideStar USA and Hope Consulting, called Money for Good II (a follow-up from the excellent original Money for Good report – our commentary on this can be found here).

Different types of major donors interact with and research charities in different ways. Probably not surprising, but it’s fascinating to see just how different these donors are in their research. Only one third of individual major donors research a charity before giving, compared to 80% and 89% for advisors and foundations, respectively. Another notable difference is that individuals are generally looking for research and info (when they do look for it) to validate a charity they have already decided to give to. Advisors and foundations, on the other hand, are much more likely to research different charities in order to chose the most effective among them.

Despite the differences, individuals, advisors and foundations all agree that there are two elements that are most important when looking at giving: financials and effectiveness. And they prefer charity information to aid in their giving decisions to come in “Consumer Reports style” ratings.

The key consolation of this report for fundraisers and charities is that “By better meeting the group’s [individuals, advisors and foundations] desire for nonprofit research, ~$15B can be moved to HPNPs [high performing nonprofits] each year”. The greatest opportunity lies with individual high net worth donors, who represent $10 billion in additional income potential from the pot of $15 billion.

In a future post we’ll look at how charities can use these findings through some practical steps and communications with donors to get more money.

For now, here’s an inforgraphic summarize the findings of this Money for Good II report: