35 Fundraising Statistics & Figures You Should Know

February 2, 2026

A person holding a stack of money at a desk with coins in the background.

Vice President of Marketing

Fundraising is driven by more than mission and message. In short, it’s shaped by real trends, donor base expectations, and the channels people actually use to give. So, it’s part strategy, part storytelling—and the best strategies start with solid data.

The latest reports can reveal what’s working and what’s changing. And it could indicate where donor behavior is heading. We’ve rounded up key fundraising statistics across every major category. That includes overall trends and nonprofit performance to direct mail campaigns and more.

Use these fundraising numbers to benchmark your strategy and tailor your approach. And remember, the data can help you better message based on how donors respond.

Key Fundraising Statistics & Figures

As we mentioned, fundraising is part strategy and storytelling. As a result, it means that for the strategy part, you have to know the data. For example, when you understand industry data, it helps you to compare it to your averages.

As a fundraiser, you should be able to answer your donor acquisition numbers (i.e., are they below the average?). How about your average donation? And what about your donor retention rates? Stay ahead in a competitive fundraising environment by knowing the facts.

Let’s begin with a broad look of fundraising and charitable giving in the United States.

Total U.S. charitable giving reached $592.5 billion in 2024. It grew 6.3% in current dollars and 3.3% after adjusting for inflation. That’s the first real increase in three years (Giving USA, 2025).
Giving sources remained consistent. Individuals accounted for 66% of donations, foundations 19%, bequests 8%, and corporations 7% (Giving USA, 2025).
Major sectors saw growth: public-society benefit (+16.1%), international affairs (+14.3%), and education (+9.9%) (Giving USA, 2025).

What these figures indicate is that organizations should see stability, if not increases in giving. That’s especially true for nonprofits in that are public-society focused or in international affairs. So, there’s a question to ask yourself. Are your acquisition and average donor retention rates holding steady or even increasing?

Charitable Giving & Donations

Understanding how, when, and why people give is essential. It supports any successful fundraising strategy. The following donation trends reflect shifts in donor behavior. Further, they help inform fundraisers about generosity, and giving pipelines.

By knowing these realities, it supports the creation of any fundraising effectiveness strategy. As any fundraiser knows, everything is interconnected. Meaning, knowledge helps inform robust fundraising and donor retention strategies.

Americans gave a combined total of $592.5 billion in 2024 (Giving USA, 2025).
Foundations gave $109.81 billion in 2024 (Giving USA, 2025).
Individuals were responsible for a majority of total giving (66%). That amounts to $392.45 billion in 2024 (Giving USA, 2025).
In 2024, 23% of charitable dollars went to religious organizations. Those in education and human services tied for second at 14% each (Giving USA, 2025).
Giving to public-society benefit nonprofits increased more than any other recipient category. It went up by 19.5% from 2023 (Giving USA, 2025).
High-income households gave an average of $34,917 to nonprofits in 2022 (Bank of America, 2023).
85% of charitable giving decisions for a household are made or influenced by women (Bank of America, 2023).
Giving is expected to increase by 3.9% in 2025 (Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, 2024).

Nonprofit Fundraising Facts

Fundraising isn’t just about dollars raised or major donors. It’s about donor retention strategies. In turn, those are impacted by donor relationships and engagement. Still, nonprofit fundraising is also about knowing data year over year. For instance, you can ask how many are joining your cause and how many have become silent. Again, by knowing the sector, you can compare.

Look at the stats and see if your efforts to retain more donors and ensure repeat donors. Are you better or worse than the sector overall? These stats offer a closer look at how nonprofits are performing and where challenges are emerging.

In 2024, American charities saw a drop in the number of donors for the fourth straight year in a row (The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 2025).
Q4 of 2024 saw an overall increase in fundraising by 3.5% from 2023 numbers. Still, both donor count and retention rates for donors who gave dropped by approximately 4.5% and 2.6% (AFP Global, 2025).

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Statistics

Peer-to-peer fundraising leverages personal networks to drive support and engage donors. It’s also proven to be an effective way to increase both reach and revenue. During times when there’s uncertainty in fundraising, peer-to-peer fundraising is a way to get back to basics. It works best when you start with your community and ask them to add their support. Even if they can only give a little, they can share the cause. The following statistics highlight its growing role in nonprofit strategy.

Nonprofits responsible for America’s Top 30 peer-to-peer fundraising programs increased fundraising revenue. It improved by 3% in 2024, with a total of $1.14 billion (Peer-to-Peer, 2025).
Peer fundraisers who make a personal effort are 13.8% more likely to receive at least one donation. Further, they’re likely to receive a higher amount (Wiley, 2024).
Peer-to-peer fundraising pages with personalized visuals are more likely to receive donations (Wiley, 2024).

Online Fundraising Facts

Digital giving is on the rise. For one, it’s fueled by mobile app use and is impacting recurring donations. Online fundraising also benefits from more streamlined donation platforms. Tech has made digital fundraising so much easier. As a result it’s not as hard to get many people to support a good cause. And when you pair it with a great story, it’s a big win. These online fundraising stats show just how central the World Wide Web has become for modern campaigns.

For small nonprofits, online giving accounts for 13.4% of their revenue. It’s 8.3% for medium and 4.1% for large ones (Blackbaud, 2024).
86% of nonprofits use email marketing (Nonprofit Tech for Good Survey, 2025).
48% of donors prefer to get email communications (Neon One Nonprofit Email Report).
A third of donors say email are the tool that most inspires them to donate (Online Donor Feedback Survey, 2025).
The average email list size for nonprofits is 4,191 contacts (Neon One Nonprofit Email Report).
Nonprofits raised $58 for every 1000 emails sent in 2024. That’s a 10% decrease from the previous year (M+R Benchmarks Report, 2025).
Nonprofits raised between 17-34% of their annual online revenue in December (M+R Benchmarks Report, 2024).
In 2024, average online revenue for nonprofits increased by 2% after a 1% decline in 2023 (M+R Benchmarks Report, 2025).
PayPal was the most commonly used alternative payment method in 2024. Also, 76% of nonprofits made it an option on their donation pages (M+R Benchmarks Report, 2025).

Direct Mail Stats

Despite the rise of digital giving channels, direct mail remains a powerful force in nonprofit fundraising. For one, it offers high open and response rates. It has strong donor trust. But there’s more. Direct mail has an impressive ROI, especially when personalized and integrated with online campaigns. The reason for this success is that most people don’t receive direct mail. As a result, when they get a properly presented nonprofit direct mail, they open it.

75% of American households have donated through direct mail (Zipdo, 2025).
Fundraising via direct mail has an average of 29% ROI (Zipdo, 2025).
Direct mail has a high open rate. 82% of donors open it within 3 of receiving (Gitnux, 2025).
Direct mail is 30 times more likely to be read than an email (Gitnux, 2025).
Donors acquired through direct mail have an average lifetime value of $2,500 (Gitnux, 2025).
The average donation from direct mail is about twice that from digital channels (Gitnux, 2025).

Corporate Fundraising

Corporate giving extends far beyond one-time donations. For example, it includes matching employee gifts and also corporate sponsorships. As a result, corporate giving plays a major role in the nonprofit ecosystem. Nonprofits should ensure that their fundraising efforts have a corporate fundraising pipeline. The following figures illustrate the contributions of businesses. Also, they highlight the value of cultivating corporate partnerships.

Corporate giving climbed by 9.1% to roughly $44.4 billion in 2024 (Giving USA, 2025).
Stock market gains were a major driver of increased corporate and foundation giving (Giving USA, 2025).
65% of Fortune 500 companies offer employee gift matching programs (Double the Donation, 2025)
Workplace giving raises around $5 billion annually (America’s Charities).

Final Thoughts: The Value of Fundraising Statistics

Fundraising is always evolving. It’s part art, part science. Science starts with the data. These fundraising statistics give you more than just numbers. They offer real insights into what’s driving donor behavior. They tell you what’s working and where new opportunities may be emerging.

Staying grounded in current data can help you make better decisions, build stronger campaigns, and earn donor trust. If you’re refining your outreach strategy or presenting a case to stakeholders, these fundraising statistics offer a solid foundation. And remember, the most successful fundraisers don’t just read the data. They act on it.

Bookmark this page and refer back as you plan ahead. The numbers don’t lie. And, when you’re ready to plan your own fundraiser, look no further than Funds2Orgs.

Our shoe drive fundraising events are simple, easy, and fun to host. Also, they give you a chance to give back! Get started now to plan a fundraiser. Not only does it help you meet your goals but it also makes the world a better place.

Have questions? Want to learn more about fundraising for your group or organization? Contact us today to start a conversation.

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