Data Sources

📚 Source of 21% Profitability Increase (Employee Engagement)

This statistic comes from Gallup, specifically their meta-analyses on workplace engagement.
In Gallup's report “State of the Global Workplace” and the earlier “Q12 Meta-Analysis,” they found that companies with highly engaged workforces experience:

  • 21% higher profitability

  • 17% higher productivity

  • 41% lower absenteeism

Reference:
Gallup, State of the Global Workplace Report, 2021 and Q12 Meta-Analysis Report, various editions.

📚 Source of 5x Client/Donor Retention Improvement

This one is slightly more synthesized:

  • Studies on customer loyalty (Bain & Company research, The Loyalty Effect) show that a 5% increase in client retention can lead to up to 25-95% increase in profits.

  • In fundraising (Association of Fundraising Professionals studies), personalized donor stewardship (like sending personal gifts or handwritten notes) can increase donor retention by 3x to 5x, compared to only sending transactional receipts.

It’s a best practice now in fundraising and client management to assume relationship-building activities can multiply loyalty severalfold when done authentically.

Reference:

  • Bain & Company, The Loyalty Effect by Fred Reichheld

  • Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) donor retention reports