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by Amanda L. Cole and Kalie VanDewater
Giving may have ups or downs each year, but knowing the trajectory of the nonprofit sector trends can help your organization in its next strategic planning session. That’s why it’s important to have NonProfit PRO in your corner. Every year, we report the latest nonprofit data and what it means for your nonprofit. So here’s a statistical summary of 2024 coverage to help you and your nonprofit grow your impact — and revenue — in 2025.
1. Charitable Dollars Rose 3.7% Through June — the Largest Second-Quarter Jump in 4 Years
The Fundraising Effectiveness Project’s 2023’s full year data, released in April, continued to show there were fewer donors giving to and fewer dollars going toward nonprofits. But since then, the quarterly data report has revealed some more promising figures. For example, the most recent report, which reviews data through June of 2024, shows a 3.7% jump in dollars donated — a trend line researchers expect to continue.
2. Total Giving Surpasses $500 Million for Third Consecutive Year
For 2023, the latest year for which data is available, The Giving Institute’s “Giving USA 2024: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2023” recorded $557.16 billion — a combined tally for gifts from individuals ($374.4 billion), foundations ($103.53 billion), bequests ($42.68 billion) and corporations ($36.55 billion). While that figure boasts a 1.9% increase over the 2022 total, it did not outperform inflation.
3. Half of Nonprofit Leaders Cited Donor Acquisition as a Top Challenge
Nonprofit professionals expressed donor acquisition as the greatest hurdle to success this year, with 47% of survey respondents reporting it as a challenge, according to NonProfit PRO’s annual “Nonprofit Leadership Impact Study,” This was a 10-percentage-point jump from what was indicated in the 2023 survey, reflecting difficulties with acquisition sector-wide.
4. 56% of Nonprofits Don’t Have a Donor Engagement Strategy
Despite admitted challenges with donor acquisition, 56% of nonprofit leaders indicated that their organizations don’t create donor engagement strategies, according to NonProfit PRO’s inaugural “Nonprofit Fundraising Study.” Of the 44% of leaders whose nonprofits create donor engagement strategies, 71% used digital communications, 70% hosted events, 64% used face-to-face communications, 64% employed storytelling, 57% leveraged impact reporting and 55% recognized gifts.
5. New Digital Donors Are 48% More Valuable Than Their Offline Counterparts
Digital-first nonprofits are growing at faster rates than the average nonprofit, according to Next After’s “2024 Digital Fundraising Benchmark Report,” which also cited more benefits to finding donors online. Donors who were acquired online in 2023 gave 19.4% more in their first year, resulting in them being 48% more valuable than offline donors.
6. Year-End Giving Drops to 5% of Annual Online Revenue
Online fundraising at year end accounted for 5% of annual donations — a 2% drop from the previous year, M+R discovered in its annual “Benchmarks” report. Year-end donors don’t seem to carry the same weight they used to for many organizations, proving that putting an emphasis on long-term donors is the better long-term strategy. Onboarding new recurring donors remains a lucrative approach as they maintain higher lifetime values, according to M+R, with monthly gifts making up 31% of online fundraising.
7. GivingTuesday Breaks Record With 16% Surge in Donations
Donors gave an estimated $3.6 billion on GivingTuesday 2024, according to GivingTuesday Data Commons. The giving day, which took place on Dec. 2, experienced a 16% increase in dollars over 2023, as well as a 7% increase in participation. Participants also advocated, gave goods and volunteered their time on GivingTuesday.
8. Volunteer Work Is Worth $33.49 Per Hour
The value of a volunteer hour increased 5.3% since last year, read more...
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