The Foundation for Fraternal Excellence has been conducting an annual industry survey of its members since the early 1990s. This benchmarking initiative gathers and shares data on how fraternal foundations are performing in fundraising, management, and operational areas.
On average, over the last three years, nearly 70% of FFE member organizations have contributed to this meaningful benchmarking project.
The Industry Survey helps organizations:
- Understand how their performance compares to peers
- Identify areas of strength and opportunities for improvement
- Make data-driven decisions in foundation operations, fundraising, staffing, board engagement and more
Additionally, it fosters a culture of continuous improvement through transparency and peer learning. Beyond the data, it supports peers in identifying others navigating similar challenges or excelling in specific areas.
During the FFE Industry Survey session at 2025 Seminar, Ryan King, Chief Advancement Officer, Delta Upsilon Educational Foundation, and Leslie Loop Martin, Executive Director, Delta Gamma Foundation, highlighted the following four key trends identified from the last five years of data.
Trend #1: The “Give and Get Gifts” Expectations are Increasing for Board Members
The average fraternal foundation board giving expectation has increased since 2020. Men’s organizations currently report nearly double the average gift expectation of their board members compared to women’s organizations.
More than 80% of the 48 participating fraternal foundations have a required giving expectation for board volunteers.
While average board sizes stayed consistent from 2020 to 2024, this shift underscores the importance of clear expectations to strengthen board engagement and fundraising impact.
Call To Action
- How can you better maximize giving results from your Board?
- How can you better involve board members as solicitors and giving advocates?
New in the 2025 survey, organizations will be asked whether all board members are expected to solicit gifts and if there is a planned giving expectation for board members. This Foundation Board section continues to expand and emphasize the work being done by organizations to deepen board members’ relationship with and investment in their foundation.
Trend #2: Increasing Dollars Raised from a Shrinking Donor Base
According to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, total dollars raised (adjusted for inflation) increased by 3.5% from 2023 to 2024, while the number of donors decreased by 4.5%. This decline is most significant among lower-level (and often younger) donors.
The fraternal foundation industry mirrors this trend affecting the nonprofit sector.
Most notably, 66% of FFE organizations that performed better than half of their peers in terms of donor retention from FY19 – FY23 completed a major capital campaign in that timespan.
While fraternal foundations remain above the national average for nonprofit donor retention, organizations have an opportunity to dig deeper into their stewardship efforts and processes for donors giving $100 or less. These donors represent 75% of the overall donor decline, according to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project.
Call To Action
- How has your organization addressed this trend?
- What is one thing you will do to help your organization address this?
Donor retention remains a priority within the Industry Survey. Participating organizations are asked multiple questions within the Donor Statistics section to support education and benchmarking, including overall donor, first-time donor, annual fund donor and monthly donor retention rates.
As we collect 3-5 years of more segmented donor retention data, we hope we can share a more detailed picture of strengths and weaknesses in this area.
Trend #3: Planned Giving Continues Providing Transformation Opportunities
According to Giving USA 2024 report, 7.7% of all charitable giving that year came from bequests, which totaled $45.84 billion.
FFE organizations that completed the Industry Survey averaged 3-4 realized planned gifts in FY23. 71% of all FFE organizations participating had an established policy for allocating unrestricted estate gifts received for the same period.
Call To Action
- How can your organization better maximize planned giving results?
- What must you do to ensure your organization is prepared to effectively utilize a transformational planned gift?
The Planned Giving section of the survey encourages organizations to assess and evaluate progress in their planned giving efforts annually. Planned gifts are just one key to unlock transformational giving, and it is why the FFE Board included planned giving as an educational priority across all programming in its 2023-2026 Strategic Plan.
Join FFE this year as we continue learning from peers and educating on the various planned giving vehicles and smart giving strategies that can help you capture or support your organization’s next planned gift.
Trend #4: “Engagement” metrics are being used to improve prospecting and the donor experience
For years, it’s been clear that fraternal foundations are engaging less than 3% of total living alumni membership as donors.
Most important we must define and measure “alumni engagement,” which can be an effective way to improve prospecting and the overall donor experience with your organization.
Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) identifies four modes of engagement:
- Volunteering
- Philanthropy
- Communication
- Experiential
19.7% is the average percentage of contactable university alumni who are engaged in at least one of the four engagement modes in 2024, according to CASE Insights on Alumni Engagement Survey.
The 2024 engagement data also included the following averages for each engagement mode:
- 1.2% Volunteering
- 4.7% Philanthropy
- 15.4% Communication
- 6.1% Experiential
Data health plays a significant role in alumni/ae engagement. The Industry Survey gathers data for total living alumni/ae members, along with number of alumni/ae with good mailing addresses and valid email addresses. Plus, organizations report which social platforms they have a shared or standalone presence, including number of followers.
Ultimately if we cannot communicate or reach our alumni/ae, how do we engage them?
Call To Action
- Which mode of engagement is your strongest? Weakest? Why?
- How can your foundation better partner with the fraternity/sorority to improve overall alumni engagement?
Along with the 2025 Industry Survey, the Cygnus Alumni/ae & Donor Engagement Survey data provides ample insights and opportunity to expand our understanding when engaging our graduate members.
FFE membership organizations can expect ongoing programming, coffee chat dialogue and resources related to alumni/ae and donor engagement.
Participate in the 2025 Industry Survey
We encourage all FFE member organizations to take advantage of this member-only benefit. The annual Industry Survey offers exclusive access to industry-specific data and insights to drive strategic growth.
Submission deadline is January 15, 2026, at 11:59 pm ET.
