Pregnancy Resource Center Fundraising Calculator

Overview: Planning Sustainable Funding for Pregnancy Resource Centers

Pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) depend on a mix of monthly donors, major gifts, grants, church partnerships, fundraising events, and volunteer support. This calculator is designed to help leaders and boards translate those moving pieces into a simple financial picture: how much revenue you can reasonably expect, what it costs to serve clients, and whether your current plan is likely to cover your annual operating budget.

The tool focuses on operational stewardship rather than advocacy. By entering a few key assumptions, you can quickly see whether your plans leave a funding surplus or shortfall, how much value volunteers contribute, and how your cost per client appointment compares to your goals.

Key Inputs and What They Represent

The calculator groups inputs into three broad areas: revenue, service delivery costs, and donor dynamics.

1. Revenue Streams

• Annual Operating Budget Goal ($) – The total amount you need to fund your center for one year, including salaries, rent, insurance, medical oversight, technology, and program costs.
• Number of Monthly Donor Households – Households that give a recurring monthly gift. These provide stable, predictable income.
• Average Monthly Gift per Household ($) – The typical monthly amount each recurring donor household contributes.
• Number of Major Donors (Annual Gifts) – Donors who typically give a larger gift once or a few times per year.
• Average Major Donor Gift ($) – The average annual contribution you expect from each major donor.
• Annual Grants & Church Support ($) – Expected total from foundation grants, church missions giving, and similar institutional support over the year.
• Fundraising Event Net Income ($) – Net income from banquets, walks, golf tournaments, and other events after deducting event expenses.
• Matching Gift Fund ($) – Any pledge or pool of funds that will match certain donor gifts (for example, a year-end matching challenge).

2. Service Delivery and Program Costs

• Annual Client Appointments – Total appointments you expect to provide in a year. This can combine medical and non-medical visits if that best represents your workload.
• Medical Services Cost per Appointment ($) – Direct medical costs per appointment, such as ultrasound supplies, lab work, medical director stipends, and licensing fees reasonably allocated per visit.
• Counseling & Mentorship Cost per Appointment ($) – Counseling staff time, mentoring programs, and education classes allocated on a per-appointment basis.
• Material Support Cost per Family ($) – Average cost of diapers, formula, clothing, and other tangible items you provide to each family served.

3. Volunteer Contribution and Donor Dynamics

• Volunteer Hours per Month – Total monthly hours contributed by volunteers across all programs.
• Value per Volunteer Hour ($) – An estimated replacement cost per hour if you had to hire staff. Many nonprofit leaders use a local average wage or a standard volunteer value benchmark.
• Expected Donor Growth (%) – The percentage increase (or decrease, if negative) you expect in your active donor base over the coming year.
• Monthly Donor Retention Rate (%) – The percentage of monthly donors you expect to keep from one month to the next. For example, 90% means you anticipate 10% attrition each month.

Core Formulas Used in the Calculator

The calculator uses straightforward formulas so you can understand how every output is created. The following sections outline the main calculations.

Monthly Donor Revenue

At a basic level, monthly donor revenue is the product of donor households and the average gift. An approximate annual recurring revenue is:

where:

• R = projected annual recurring revenue
• N = number of monthly donor households
• G = average monthly gift per household

If you include donor growth and retention, the calculator applies them as adjustment factors over the year. A higher growth rate and stronger retention lead to a higher effective donor count by year end.

Major Donor, Grant, and Event Revenue

For major donors, the yearly amount is:

Major Donor Revenue = Number of Major Donors × Average Major Donor Gift

Grants, church support, and fundraising events are treated as lump-sum annual figures:

• Total Institutional Support = Annual Grants & Church Support
• Event Revenue = Fundraising Event Net Income
• Matching Gifts = Matching Gift Fund (if fully utilized)

The calculator can then estimate total cash revenue:

Total Cash Revenue ≈ Recurring Revenue + Major Donor Revenue + Institutional Support + Event Revenue + Matching Gifts

Cost per Client Appointment

The tool estimates your cost to serve clients by combining appointment-based and material support costs. A simplified version is:

Service Cost per Appointment = Medical Cost per Appointment + Counseling Cost per Appointment

Material support can be expressed per family or allocated per appointment, depending on your inputs. Total annual program cost can then be approximated as:

Total Service Cost ≈ (Service Cost per Appointment × Annual Client Appointments) + (Material Support Cost per Family × Number of Families Served)

In many centers, the number of families is similar to or slightly lower than the number of client appointments, so some users approximate families served using the appointment count or internal ratios.

Value of Volunteer Time

Volunteer time is an in-kind contribution that strengthens your financial story even though it does not always appear as cash revenue. The calculator estimates its annual value as:

Volunteer Value per Year = Volunteer Hours per Month × Value per Volunteer Hour × 12

This can support grant applications, annual reports, and board dashboards by showing the full economic scale of your operations.

Budget Sufficiency and Funding Gap

Once total cash revenue is estimated, the calculator compares it to your annual operating budget goal:

• Funding Surplus = Total Cash Revenue − Annual Operating Budget Goal (if positive)
• Funding Shortfall = Annual Operating Budget Goal − Total Cash Revenue (if negative)

This simple comparison helps you see whether your current plan appears sustainable or whether you may need to adjust donor goals, add events, or reduce costs.

Interpreting the Results

After you enter your information and run the calculation, focus on three main outputs: projected revenue, program costs, and any surplus or shortfall.

1. Projected Revenue Mix

Look at how much of your income is expected from monthly donors versus major donors, events, and grants. A healthy mix often includes a strong recurring base with some diversity from other sources so the center is not overly dependent on a single event or major donor.

2. Cost to Serve Clients

Review your cost per appointment. If this number is much higher than you expected, it may prompt you to evaluate which costs are fixed and which are variable, and whether additional client volume could spread fixed costs more efficiently.

3. Surplus or Shortfall

If the calculator shows a projected shortfall, consider which levers to adjust: increasing monthly donor households, improving retention, adding or expanding events, pursuing additional grants, or revisiting your budget assumptions. A projected surplus can be reserved for future capital needs, risk management, or strategic expansion.

Worked Example

The following example illustrates how the calculator’s logic fits together. All numbers are fictional and for educational purposes only.

• Annual Operating Budget Goal: $450,000
• Monthly Donor Households: 180
• Average Monthly Gift: $60
• Major Donors: 15
• Average Major Gift: $5,000
• Annual Grants & Church Support: $90,000
• Fundraising Event Net Income: $55,000
• Matching Gift Fund: $20,000
• Annual Client Appointments: 1,200
• Medical Services Cost per Appointment: $65
• Counseling & Mentorship Cost per Appointment: $35
• Material Support Cost per Family: $120
• Volunteer Hours per Month: 600
• Value per Volunteer Hour: $25

Step-by-step calculations might look like this:

1. Recurring Revenue
   180 households × $60 × 12 months = $129,600 per year.
2. Major Donors
   15 donors × $5,000 = $75,000 per year.
3. Grants & Church Support
   $90,000 per year.
4. Events
   $55,000 net income per year.
5. Matching Gifts
   $20,000 (assuming the full match is used).
6. Total Cash Revenue
   $129,600 + $75,000 + $90,000 + $55,000 + $20,000 = $369,600.
7. Service Cost per Appointment
   $65 (medical) + $35 (counseling) = $100 per appointment.
8. Total Appointment Cost
   1,200 appointments × $100 = $120,000.
9. Material Support
   If you approximate 700 families served: 700 × $120 = $84,000.
10. Total Service Cost (simplified)
    $120,000 + $84,000 = $204,000.
11. Volunteer Value
    600 hours/month × $25 × 12 = $180,000 in annual in-kind value.
12. Funding Gap Compared to Budget
    Budget goal: $450,000; total cash revenue: $369,600; shortfall: $80,400.

In this example, even with significant volunteer support, the center would need to increase revenue or decrease planned expenses to close the $80,400 gap. The board could use this insight to set specific goals for new monthly donors, larger gifts, or additional grant proposals.

Comparison: Different Fundraising Profiles

The table below compares three simplified scenarios for a pregnancy resource center, each with the same budget goal but a different fundraising mix.

This comparison highlights that even with the same annual budget goal, different fundraising mixes carry different risks. The calculator helps you explore which blend matches your context and capacity.

How to Use the Calculator Effectively

• Start with your latest budget. Enter your current annual operating budget goal and last year’s donor, grant, and event figures as a baseline.
• Run a “current state” scenario. Use conservative estimates for growth, retention, and matching funds to see whether your present plan appears sustainable.
• Test alternatives. Adjust one or two variables at a time—such as adding new monthly donors or improving retention—and re-run the numbers to see the impact.
• Document your assumptions. Keep notes on why you chose certain growth or cost figures so board members and auditors can understand your reasoning.

Assumptions and Limitations

This calculator is meant to be a planning and educational aid for pregnancy resource center leaders. It simplifies complex financial realities and relies entirely on the values you provide. A few important assumptions and limitations to keep in mind:

• Estimates, not predictions. Outputs are based on straightforward arithmetic. They do not forecast donor behavior, market conditions, or regulatory changes.
• No accounting or legal advice. The tool does not replace guidance from a certified public accountant, attorney, or other professional advisor familiar with nonprofit and healthcare regulations in your jurisdiction.
• Simplified cost allocations. Many centers allocate rent, utilities, and administrative salaries across programs using internal models. This calculator does not perform full cost allocation; it relies on your per-appointment and per-family estimates.
• Matching gifts and grants are assumed fully realized. In practice, matching campaigns may not be fully met, and grants may be partially funded or not renewed.
• Volunteer value is illustrative. The replacement cost of volunteer time varies widely. The calculated value is for communication and planning purposes and may not align with accounting standards in all regions.
• Data privacy. The tool is designed for aggregated budget and fundraising planning, not for storing individual donor identities. Avoid entering personally identifiable information about specific donors into any public calculator.

By viewing the outputs as directional indicators rather than precise forecasts, you can use this calculator to strengthen stewardship conversations, inform your board, and identify areas where more detailed financial analysis may be needed.