Quarterly Fundraising Report™

Year-to-Date Nonprofit Sector Trends
Q3 2025 (JAN 1, 2025 - SEP 30, 2025)

✖

  • Donors: The number of people who have made a donation so far this year
  • Dollars: The amount of money raised by people making a donation so far this year
  • Retention: The percentage of people who have been retained from previous years so far this year

Key Insights

  • Q2 2025 trends continued through Q3. The rate of decline in donors decelerated relative to previous years, potentially remaining flat after factoring in late data adjustments and the margin of error. The retention rate through Q3 increased slightly by 0.15 percentage points (p.p.), representing the 5th consecutive year that the Q3 retention rate has increased.
  • Fundraising has remained strong. Adjusting for late data, we estimate that dollars raised increased 3.7% year-over-year (YOY).
  • While we estimate that donors are down, large and frequent donors are driving the current increase in fundraising dollars. To diversify and grow the donor base, nonprofits should focus on activating new donors and cultivating them into long-term supporters.
DONORS

-3.0%
(+/- 3.5%)
YOY change 		DOLLARS

+3.7%
(+/- 3.0%)
YOY change 		RETENTION

+0.15 p.p.
(+/- 0.15 p.p.)
YOY change
 
  • In this report, we compare data compiled from previous years to 2025. All metrics are computed up to Q3 (from January of a given year to the end of September of the same year).
  • As of Q1 2025, we have updated the way we calculate and report year-over-year changes in retention rates. An explanation of the changes can be found here.
Year-to-date Fundraising Performance. All rights reserved.
1
 

Current Dataset

Year-to-Date Nonprofit Sector Trends
Q3 2025 (JAN 1, 2025 - SEP 30, 2025)

Key Limitations

  • Data in our panel is limited to organizations with >=3 years of data, with $5K - $25M received in the prior year, via the Growth in Giving database.
  • We weight the data in our panel by organization fundraising size and NTEE (National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities) cause area to improve the representativeness of our findings.
  • A significant amount of data arrives late, so we estimate the difference for topline metrics by reviewing historical patterns of delayed data. Throughout this report, ranges for each metric express uncertainty in the estimates. However, the subsequent splits (such as donors by donor size) are not adjusted and therefore may not reflect the macro trends seen in the topline figures on page 1.

DONORS

5.3M
in 2025 		DOLLARS

$8.2B
in 2025 		ORGANIZATIONS

15,080
in 2025
 
  • Revenue and retention metrics report on year-to-date (YTD) performance compared against the prior year total, based on a panel of organizations selected from the Growth in Giving Database of 400 million transactions from more than 38,000 organizations since 2005.
Year-to-date Fundraising Performance. All rights reserved.
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Donors: Time Series

Year-to-Date Nonprofit Sector Trends
Q3 2025 (JAN 1, 2025 - SEP 30, 2025)

✖

  • Overall rate of growth in donors: net of gains minus losses in number of donors from last year to this year divided by total number of donors up to this time last year.

Key Insights

 

 

 
  • We estimate that the number of donors decreased by 3.0% (±3.5%) YOY through Q3 2025, after adjusting for late-arriving data.
  • Given the margin of error, the true change could range from a slight increase to a decline.
 

 

 
  • The chart above suggests the year-over-year decline in donors has been slowing through Q3 every year since 2022.
 

 

 
NOTE: The panel for each year differs based on our panel rules (organizations with stable growth and $5K - $25M total transactions in each of the three previous years, via the Growth in Giving database). This means that the YOY comparisons on this page are comparing a different sample of organizations each year.
Year-to-date Fundraising Performance. All rights reserved.
3
 

Donors by Donor Size

Year-to-Date Nonprofit Sector Trends
Q3 2025 (JAN 1, 2025 - SEP 30, 2025)

✖

  • Donor size: the grouping of donors by giving levels (dollar ranges) using donors’ year-to-date giving amounts

Key Insights

  • Micro donors ($1–$100), who make up 50.9% of the donor base, show the steepest decline
    (-10.3% YOY, unadjusted for late data) in donor numbers, followed by small and midsize donors.
  • Supersize donors represent only 0.4% of all donors through Q3 2025, yet account for more than
    half of all dollars contributed.
  • Many nonprofits rely heavily on a very small subset of donors. Broadening donor-activation strategies
    can reduce dependence on a few contributors.
MICRO
($1 - $100)

-10.3%
YOY Change 		SMALL
($101 - $500)

-4.8%
YOY Change 		MIDSIZE
($501 - $5K)

-3.9%
YOY Change 		MAJOR
($5K - $50K)

-1.9%
YOY Change 		SUPERSIZE
($50K+)

-1.4%
YOY Change

50.9%
% of total donors

30.8%
% of total donors

15.4%
% of total donors

2.6%
% of total donors

0.4%
% of total donors
 
All year-over-year (YOY) changes are computed on year-to-date (YTD) totals. Donor size segments were chosen to span both dollars and donors, with each segment representing 1-50% of the total. Estimates for late data only apply to top-line donors, dollars, and retention. Thus, these more granular breakdowns underestimate year-over-year growth.
Year-to-date Fundraising Performance. All rights reserved.
4
 

Donors by Life Cycle

Year-to-Date Nonprofit Sector Trends
Q3 2025 (JAN 1, 2025 - SEP 30, 2025)

✖

  • Donor Life Cycle: the grouping of donors based on when they were last seen in the dataset

Key Insights

  • Declining donor numbers are largely driven by challenges in activating new donors and
    cultivating longer-term relationships.
  • Nonprofits saw the steepest relative decreases in the number of new and new-retained donors (decreasing by -10.2% and -9.6% YOY respectively, unadjusted for late data).
  • Repeat-retained donors (who have given repeatedly to the same organization over the years), remain the most stable donor base segment and accounted for around two in five donors through Q3 2025.

NEW
DONORS
 

-10.2%
YOY Change 		NEW RETAINED
DONORS
 

-9.6%
YOY Change 		REPEAT
RETAINED
DONORS

-4.3%
YOY Change 		RECAPTURED
DONORS
 

-7.3%
YOY Change

38.2%
% of total donors

8.8%
% of total donors

39.9%
% of total donors

13.1%
% of total donors
 
NEW DONORS - never gave to this organization before.
NEW RETAINED DONORS - gave last year to the organization, but never before.
REPEAT RETAINED DONORS - gave last year to the organization, but not for the first time.
RECAPTURED DONORS - did not give last year to the organization, but had given in the past.
Year-to-date Fundraising Performance. All rights reserved.
5
 

Donors by Donation Count

Year-to-Date Nonprofit Sector Trends
Q3 2025 (JAN 1, 2025 - SEP 30, 2025)

✖

  • Donor Donation Counts: the grouping of donors based on how many times they've made a donation

Key Insights

  • One-time donors account for almost 70% of all donors and over 40% of all dollars raised through Q3 2025.
  • This same segment of donors also experienced the second-steepest decrease in donor numbers (unadjusted for late data), highlighting a concerning trend for donor engagement.
  • Donors who give more frequently (3 or more times) saw relatively more modest declines in their donor numbers.
1 DONATION

-7.6%
YOY Change 		2 DONATIONS

-9.1%
YOY Change 		3-6 DONATIONS

-5.3%
YOY Change 		7+ DONATIONS

-6.5%
YOY Change

68.5%
% of total donors

11.8%
% of total donors

8.6%
% of total donors

11.0%
% of total donors
 
Donation count segments were selected to best illustrate the distribution of total donors and dollars across the giving spectrum. A donor's donation count includes all donations made year-to-date.
Year-to-date Fundraising Performance. All rights reserved.
6
 

Dollars: Time Series

Year-to-Date Nonprofit Sector Trends
Q3 2025 (JAN 1, 2025 - SEP 30, 2025)

✖

  • Overall rate of growth in dollars: net of gains minus losses in money from fundraising from last year to this year divided by total dollars raised up to this time last year

Key Insights

 

 

 
  • After accounting for late data, we estimate that dollars raised are up 3.7% (±3.0%) year over year through Q3 2025.
  • Q3 2025 continues the prior year’s upward trend, highlighting positive momentum in overall fundraising performance for this time of year.
 

 

 
  • The year-to-date YOY dollar growth has been relatively steady in 2025, showing far more consistency in fundraising than in previous years.
 

 

 


Year-to-date Fundraising Performance. All rights reserved.
7
 

Dollars by Donor Size

Year-to-Date Nonprofit Sector Trends
Q3 2025 (JAN 1, 2025 - SEP 30, 2025)

✖

  • Dollars by donor size: the segmentation of dollars based on the size of an individual's total contributions, year-to-date

Key Insights

  • Major and supersize donors remain the most stable funding base, showing the smallest relative
    declines and accounting for more than 75% of all dollars raised through Q3 2025.
  • Micro donors (those giving $1 to $100) saw the sharpest drop in dollars raised. They contribute
    roughly 2% of total revenue yet make up over 50.9% of all donors through Q3 2025.
  • While large donors drive revenue, small donors are still vital for maintaining and broadening
    overall engagement.
MICRO
($1 - $100)

-10.1%
YOY Change 		SMALL
($101 - $500)

-5.1%
YOY Change 		MIDSIZE
($501 - $5K)

-3.5%
YOY Change 		MAJOR
($5K - $50K)

-1.6%
YOY Change 		SUPERSIZE
($50K+)

-2.7%
YOY Change

1.6%
% of total dollars

5.0%
% of total dollars

16.0%
% of total dollars

25.2%
% of total dollars

52.3%
% of total dollars
 
Donor size is computed on a donor’s total year-to-date dollars given.
Year-to-date Fundraising Performance. All rights reserved.
8
 

Dollars by Life Cycle

Year-to-Date Nonprofit Sector Trends
Q3 2025 (JAN 1, 2025 - SEP 30, 2025)

✖

  • Dollars by donor life cycle: the segmentation of dollars based on when the associated donor was last seen in the dataset, year-to-date

Key Insights

  • Repeat retained donors remain a steady, reliable segment. They generate over 60% of all dollars raised and saw the smallest decline in giving (-0.8%, unadjusted for late data).
  • The results suggest the sector faces difficulties converting new donors into long-term supporters, as new-retained donors showed the weakest performance in dollars raised.
NEW
DONORS
 

-4.6%
YOY Change 		NEW RETAINED
DONORS
 

-7.8%
YOY Change 		REPEAT
RETAINED
DONORS

-0.8%
YOY Change 		RECAPTURED
DONORS
 

-6.3%
YOY Change

18.4%
% of total dollars

7.8%
% of total dollars

61.6%
% of total dollars

12.2%
% of total dollars
 
NEW DONORS - never gave to this organization before.
NEW RETAINED DONORS - gave last year to the organization, but never before.
REPEAT RETAINED DONORS - gave last year to the organization, but not for the first time.
RECAPTURED DONORS - did not give last year to the organization, but had given in the past.
Year-to-date Fundraising Performance. All rights reserved.
9
 

Dollars by Donation Count

Year-to-Date Nonprofit Sector Trends
Q3 2025 (JAN 1, 2025 - SEP 30, 2025)

✖

  • Dollars by donation count: the grouping of dollars based on how many times the associated donor made a donation

Key Insights

  • Fundraising outcomes through Q3 2025 are largely driven by the two opposite ends of the spectrum, with one-time donors and 7+ time donors exhibiting the strongest relative performance compared to the year prior.
  • Donors who gave twice and 3-6 times year-to-date saw the weakest fundraising outcomes, with these groups experiencing marked drops in dollars raised (unadjusted for late data).
1 DONATION

-0.1%
YOY Change 		2 DONATIONS

-6.9%
YOY Change 		3-6 DONATIONS

-7.4%
YOY Change 		7+ DONATIONS

-0.9%
YOY Change

46.6%
% of total dollars

16.8%
% of total dollars

17.6%
% of total dollars

19.0%
% of total dollars
 
Donation count segments were selected to best illustrate the distribution of total donors and dollars across the giving spectrum. A donor's donation count includes all donations made year-to-date.
Year-to-date Fundraising Performance. All rights reserved.
10
 

Retention Rate: Time Series

Year-to-Date Nonprofit Sector Trends
Q3 2025 (JAN 1, 2025 - SEP 30, 2025)

Key Insights

 

 

 
  • After adjusting for late-arriving data, overall donor retention increased by 0.15 percentage points (p.p.) through Q3 2025. Given the margin of error, the true change could range from a slight increase of 0.32 p.p. to a decline of 0.01 p.p.
  • This marks the fourth consecutive year where the Q3 year-to-date retention rate increased year-over-year.
 

 

 
  • Given this change in retention rates, we estimate that the overall donor retention rate was 31.9%. This figure measures the percent of all donors who gave last year who had given again by the end of Q3.
 

 

 
RETENTION is computed year-to-date. It represents – out of all the people who donated last year – the ratio of people who donated again this year, year-to-date.

As of Q1 2025, we have updated the way we calculate and report year-over-year changes in retention rates. An explanation of the changes can be found here.
Year-to-date Fundraising Performance. All rights reserved.
11
 

Retention Rate: Donor Type

Year-to-Date Nonprofit Sector Trends
Q3 2025 (JAN 1, 2025 - SEP 30, 2025)

Key Insights

  • 14.0% of new donors from 2024 have been retained (unadjusted for late data), year-to-date. This rate of retention is on-par with the prior year for the same period.
  • Retention among repeat donors is higher, with 43.6% (unadjusted) retained so far this year. Compared to the first three quarters of 2024, this rate is 0.2 percentage points higher.
  • The recapture rate has declined slightly to 2.0% (unadjusted), down 0.2 p.p. from the same period in 2024.
NEW DONOR
RETENTION RATE

-0.0 p.p.
YOY Change 		REPEAT DONOR
RETENTION RATE

0.2 p.p.
YOY Change 		RECAPTURE
RATE

-0.2 p.p.
YOY Change

14.0%
retained YTD

43.6%
retained YTD

2.0%
recaptured YTD
 
NEW DONORS - never gave to this organization before.
REPEAT DONORS - donors who gave last year to the organization, and were not new last year.
RECAPTURED DONORS - donors who did not give last year to the organization, but had given in the past.
Year-to-date Fundraising Performance. All rights reserved.
12
 

Retention Rate by Donor Size

Year-to-Date Nonprofit Sector Trends
Q3 2025 (JAN 1, 2025 - SEP 30, 2025)

Key Insights

  • Retention rates have performed more poorly within donor-size segments than at the topline.
    This is because micro donors, who have the lowest retention rates, now represent a slightly smaller
    share of the donor base. As lower-retention groups shrink, the overall retention figure can appear
    more favorable, obscuring underlying deterioration within segments.
  • The largest decline in retention was among donors who gave between $5K and $50K
    last year (unadjusted for late data). However, this segment still has the second-highest retention rate
    at 52.0% through Q3 2025.
  • Micro donors had the lowest retention rate at just 21.3% year-to-date (unadjusted for late data).
    Although this segment of donors contributed less than 2% of total dollars raised, they account for
    half of all donors. Nonprofits neglecting this group risk long-term erosion of the donor base.
MICRO
($1 - $100)

-0.5 p.p.
YOY Change 		SMALL
($101 - $500)

-0.7 p.p.
YOY Change 		MIDSIZE
($501 - $5K)

-0.7 p.p.
YOY Change 		MAJOR
($5K - $50K)

-1.0 p.p.
YOY Change 		SUPERSIZE
($50K+)

-0.3 p.p.
YOY Change

21.3%
retained YTD

37.5%
retained YTD

48.8%
retained YTD

52.0%
retained YTD

56.6%
retained YTD
 
Donor size segments were chosen to span both dollars and donors, with each segment representing 1% to 50% of the total.
Year-to-date Fundraising Performance. All rights reserved.
13
 

Retention Rate by Donation Count

Year-to-Date Nonprofit Sector Trends
Q3 2025 (JAN 1, 2025 - SEP 30, 2025)

Key Insights

  • Donors who gave 7+ times last year saw the largest relative increase in their retention rate (+1.1 p.p., unadjusted for late data). This group is also retained at the highest level, achieving an overall retention rate of 87.3%.
  • Nonprofits should redouble efforts in re-engaging one-time donors. As of Q3 2025, these donors have been retained at the lowest rate (19.2%) out of all donor size segments.
1 DONATION

-0.4 p.p.
YOY Change 		2 DONATIONS

-1.1 p.p.
YOY Change 		3-6 DONATIONS

-1.0 p.p.
YOY Change 		7+ DONATIONS

+1.1 p.p.
YOY Change

19.2%
retained YTD

38.5%
retained YTD

62.5%
retained YTD

87.3%
retained YTD
 
Donation count segments were selected to best illustrate the distribution of total donors and dollars across the giving spectrum. A donor's donation count includes all donations made year-to-date.
Year-to-date Fundraising Performance. All rights reserved.
14
 

Organization Size Impact: Splits

Year-to-Date Nonprofit Sector Trends
Q3 2025 (JAN 1, 2025 - SEP 30, 2025)

Key Insights

  • Smaller orgs performed better than their larger counterparts through Q3 of 2025.
  • The smallest orgs (<=$100k) reported the largest relative YOY increase in dollar fundraising numbers.
  • In contrast, the largest orgs ($5M-$25M), who account for over 40% of all dollars raised, saw the steepest decline in their YOY fundraising figures.
  • However, this uptick for the smaller orgs is largely driven by a few outliers that did exceptionally well. The median numbers indicate most orgs within these buckets saw declines in their fundraising YOY.
 
% DOLLAR GROWTH (MEAN) - year-over-year dollar growth for organizations, grouped by an organization's budget size. Trends in the mean are more informative of the sector as a whole.

% DOLLAR GROWTH (MEDIAN) - the median year-over-year dollar growth for organizations, grouped by an organization's budget size. Trends in the median are more indicative of a typical organization's fundraising experience.
Year-to-date Fundraising Performance. All rights reserved.
15
 

Organization Cause: Split

Year-to-Date Nonprofit Sector Trends
Q3 2025 (JAN 1, 2025 - SEP 30, 2025)

Key Insights

  • Dollars raised have fallen across all organisation cause areas except for Environment and Animals, which reported a 2.0% YOY increase (unadjusted for late data) in dollars raised.
  • International, Foreign Affairs reported the worst relative performance in dollars fundraised (unadjusted) compared to the same period the year prior.

 
% DOLLAR GROWTH (MEAN) - year-over-year dollar growth for all organizations of this NTEE major group. More informative about the sector as a whole.

% DOLLAR GROWTH (MEDIAN) - the median year-over-year dollar growth across each organization of this NTEE major group. More indicative of a typical organization's fundraising experience.
Year-to-date Fundraising Performance. All rights reserved.
16

FUNDRAISING EFFECTIVENESS PROJECT


The Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP) delivers trusted data insights that help fundraisers improve their outcomes, driving growth and increasing generosity across the nonprofit sector. We envision a sector where actionable data guides every fundraiser’s decisions, helping nonprofits become more effective and adaptive. Since its founding in 2006, FEP has become a leading resource for data-driven insights. FEP is a collaborative project of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Foundation for Philanthropy and GivingTuesday.


METHODOLOGY


We removed organizations that did not have a minimum of 25 donations and $5,000 in revenue in each of the previous three years. We removed organizations at either tail of the revenue growth curve. If revenue growth was more than 300% or less than -66% in any of the past three years, organizations were removed. We also excluded individual contributions above $10M. We weighted our data by organization size and NTEE major group to make it reflective of 2018 IRS filers in the $5K-$25M range of contributions. Details regarding estimation methodology for late reported data can be found here.


 

ORGANIZING SPONSORS
 
DATA PROVIDERS
The FEP wouldn't be possible without data. These software providers make the collection of data in support of the project possible.
 

Year-to-date Fundraising Performance. All rights reserved.
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