Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Recommended annual fund goal
$207,000
Expected retained + upgraded revenue
$189,000
Expected new donor revenue
$18,000
Implied growth vs last year
-48.3%
Psst — share this and help Rex grow
One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter last year's annual fund total ($).
- 2Enter donor retention rate (%).
- 3Enter average upgrade among retained donors (%).
- 4Enter target new donors this year.
- 5Enter average new donor first gift ($).
- 6Read your recommended annual fund goal on the right — it updates as you type.
- 7Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
A credible annual fund goal isn't 'last year plus 10%,' it's built bottom-up from three components: retained revenue from returning donors at your actual historical retention rate, upgraded revenue from donors you expect to increase their gift, and new revenue from donor acquisition efforts, each with its own realistic assumption rather than one blended optimistic guess. This calculator takes last year's total, your retention rate, an average upgrade percentage among retained donors, and a target number of new donors with an assumed average first gift, and rolls them into a bottom-up goal you can actually defend to a board that asks 'where does this number come from.'
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Last year's annual fund total: 400000 $
- Donor retention rate: 45 %
- Average upgrade among retained donors: 5 %
- Target new donors this year: 150
- Average new donor first gift: 120 $
Results
- Recommended annual fund goal: $207,000
- Expected retained + upgraded revenue: $189,000
- Expected new donor revenue: $18,000
- Implied growth vs last year: -48.3%
What each field means
Inputs
- Last year's annual fund total ($)
- The last year's annual fund total used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 400000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Donor retention rate (%)
- The donor retention rate used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 45 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–100 %.
- Average upgrade among retained donors (%)
- The average upgrade among retained donors used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 5 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–50 %.
- Target new donors this year
- The target new donors this year used in the calculation. Starts at 150 so you have a working example on load.
- Average new donor first gift ($)
- The average new donor first gift used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 120 $ so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Recommended annual fund goal
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Expected retained + upgraded revenue
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Expected new donor revenue
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Implied growth vs last year
- Returned as a percentage. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Why not just increase last year's total by a flat percentage?
Flat percentage goals ignore that revenue actually comes from three very different sources with different levers: keeping existing donors, growing their gifts, and finding new ones. A bottom-up goal tells you exactly which activity (retention campaigns, upgrade asks, or acquisition mailings) needs to hit its number, a flat target tells you nothing actionable.
What if our actual retention rate is unknown?
Pull it from your donor database: count donors who gave last year, then count how many of those also gave this year, divide the second by the first. If you truly can't calculate it, use the sector average of roughly 40-45% as a conservative starting estimate and start tracking going forward.
Is a 5% average upgrade factor realistic?
It's a reasonable middle estimate for a file with no dedicated upgrade strategy. Organizations running deliberate upgrade asks (personalized asks 10-20% above last gift, tiered giving clubs) can realistically model 8-15%; files with no upgrade strategy at all should model closer to 0-3%.
How do we hit the new donor target if acquisition has been flat?
New donor counts respond to actual investment: paid digital acquisition, peer-to-peer campaigns, direct mail prospecting, or major gift officer prospecting time. If last year's new donor count was 80 and this year's target is 150, that gap needs a specific, funded acquisition plan, not just hope.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Annual Fund Growth Target Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/annual-fund-growth-target
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/annual-fund-growth-target" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Annual Fund Growth Target Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Annual Fund Growth Target Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/annual-fund-growth-target) (2026).