Offer Calculator Tool
One of the most common mistakes in offer development is conflating the “cost” of a program with the “price” of a fundraising offer. These are distinct concepts that require distinct thinking.
“Cost” is what it takes to deliver an intervention at full fidelity — direct services, operations, overhead, and administration.
“Price” is what you present to donors, shaped by perceived value, market factors, and competitive positioning.
Many organizations price offers using only direct costs, inadvertently underpricing their work and creating chronic funding gaps.
THE KEY DISTINCTION
What it costs to deliver ≠ what you should ask donors to give.
Pricing only on direct costs leaves indirect and overhead expenses unfunded — slowly starving the organization while the fundraising looks successful.
You have three types of costs:
A-Level Costs: These are the direct costs related to providing services.
B-Level Costs: These are indirect costs related to logistics, shared services, and infrastructure. (A portion of these costs should be included)
C-Level Costs: These are overhead costs such as planning, administration, evaluation, and reporting. (These costs are rarely priced into offers, and it is an organizational decision.)
I put together a spreadsheet tool that can help you in calculating donor-facing pricing. It is VERY important that you work with your finance and programs teams to agree upon these dollar handles.
Drop me a line if you find this helpful!
