Evaluating the suitability of the AFP donor lifetime value calculation: A case study using STARS Foundation's community donor file

This paper uses the case of a single organization’s community donor file to evaluate one professional ratio used to estimate the value of an organization’s donor file: The Association of Fundraising Professional’s formula for estimated lifetime value. Practicing fundraisers may come from professional and educational backgrounds that do not include formal training in philanthropy and fundraising which means that they may rely on professional associations and networks like AFP to gain skills and knowledge and these results suggest that this knowledge may not be current or effective in all cases.