Benchmarking vs. Boldness: What Realistic Growth Should Look Like for Nonprofits

In the world of nonprofit fundraising, the word “realistic” gets thrown around a lot, often as a synonym for “safe.”

But what does realistic growth actually mean? Is it aligning your goals to industry benchmarks? Doubling down on what you did last year? Or is it something more dynamic?

The truth is, there’s a fine line between benchmarking and boldness. And the organizations that thrive long-term are the ones that learn how to walk it. At PhoenixFire Strategic Consulting, we believe that realistic growth is not about being cautious, it’s about being calibrated.

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The Benchmark Trap

Sector reports are valuable. They provide a wide-angle view of trends, donor behavior, and macroeconomic shifts. But when nonprofits set their growth targets solely based on these averages, they fall into what we call the Benchmark Trap:

• It lowers the ceiling for organizations that actually have high-growth potential.

• It demotivates fundraisers who know there’s more value to unlock.

• It assumes all organizations are starting from the same place, with the same tools, talent, and momentum.

  
  

Individual giving is projected to increase by 3.4% in 2025, according to the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy’s Outlook Report. Let’s be clear: a projected 3.4%–3.9% rise in individual giving doesn’t mean your organization is capped at 4%.

In fact, we’ve seen clients in the exact same funding climate achieve double-digit growth, even in competitive sectors because they were willing to rethink the rules. 

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The Boldness Blind Spot

On the flip side, boldness without context can be just as dangerous.

We’ve seen organizations set aggressive goals like:

• “We need to raise $500K in the next 90 days from a cold list.”

• “We’re budgeting for 30% growth next year, but we’re cutting our development staff by half.”

• “We’ll figure out our messaging later. We just need to launch this campaign now.”

  
  

These aren’t bold strategies. They’re desperation moves dressed in ambition’s clothing.

Boldness only works when it’s paired with infrastructure, alignment, and readiness. That’s where strategic consulting, like what we do at PhoenixFire, makes the difference. Take a look at our Case Studies to see some of the amazing organizations who made huge growth!

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The PhoenixFire Formula: Context + Customization = Clarity

When clients come to us with a growth target in mind, we never start by saying it’s too big or too small. We start by asking the right questions and helping our clients find the answers:

• What’s your current donor acquisition cost?

• How engaged is your existing base?

• What’s your content engine? Can it support personalized outreach at scale?

• Do you have internal bandwidth to execute the moves management you’ll need to hit this target?

• What tools, especially AI and automation, are you using to increase output without increasing burnout?

  
  

Then, we build a custom growth roadmap that blends ambition with practical execution. Sometimes we raise the bar. Sometimes we pull it back. Always, we base it on what’s possible for you, not what’s probable for the sector.

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Realistic Growth Is About Readiness

Your organization might be capable of 20%, 50%, or even 100% growth over the next year. Or, you might need a 12-month runway to stabilize before turning up the volume. Both are valid.

The key is to set goals that are deeply tied to your mission, resourced with the right tools and team, and backed by a strategy that’s both bold and grounded.

That’s what realistic growth looks like.

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If you’re ready to explore what your version of “realistic” looks like, let’s build it together.

Visit www.phoenixfiresc.com to start the conversation.