Monitoring

Track how your fundraising is performing, update your expected year-end results and decide where to adjust.

Forward connects your annual plan, monthly actuals and forecast, helping your team respond to changes in donor numbers, income and investment.

Keep your targets and expectations in view

Your annual plan sets out what you aim to achieve. As actual results become available, update your forecast for the remaining months.

Forward combines results to date with that forecast to create your Latest Estimate: your current expectation of where you will finish the year.

Actuals to date + Forecast for the remaining months = Latest Estimate

Your original plan remains the reference point. Compare it with your Latest Estimate to see the expected year-end differences in donor numbers, income and investment.

Look at the drivers behind the results

An income total can hide changes in the underlying fundraising programme. Acquisition may be below plan while higher gifts temporarily compensate. Stronger retention may improve the outlook even when income is currently close to target.

Forward helps you compare drivers such as acquisition volume, gift value, retention and costs with your plan.

Use those differences to focus your analysis and team discussions: what has changed, why has it changed and does it require action?

Turn monitoring into decisions

Make monitoring part of a regular team review. Discuss the differences, update your forecast and agree which activities or investments need attention.

Depending on what you find, you may decide to change acquisition volumes, redirect investment, strengthen donor development or investigate an assumption further.

Record the reasons behind those decisions. Over time, this helps your team understand its fundraising programme better and build more realistic plans.

Use what you learn to revisit your five-year plan

Changes during the year can have consequences beyond the year-end result. Fewer new donors, stronger retention or different gift values may affect income and net income for several years.

Use your monitoring insights to review the assumptions in your five-year plan. Test revised scenarios to understand the longer-term consequences and decide whether your planned direction or investment needs to change.

Explore Long-Term Planning →

Stay on track as reality changes

Keep your original ambition in view while updating your expectations with the latest evidence.

Forward helps your team connect performance, learning and decisions throughout the year.