(Photo By Antoni Shkraba Studio via Pexels)
The U.S. population and the number of donors to charity appear to be going in different directions. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. population reached 340.1 million on July 1, 2024, up 0.98% from the reported 336.8 million on July 1, 2023, the highest year-over-year increase since a jump of 0.99% between 2000 and 2001.
Meanwhile, the number of donors plummeted 4.5% during 2024, giving saved only by major and supersized donors providing more support, according to new data from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP).
The FEP tracks five levels of donors. They are: Micro ($1 to $100); Small ($101 to $500); Midsize ($501-$5,000); Major ($5,001 to $50,000); and Supersize (more than $50,000). Micro donors dropped the farthest in number at 8.8%, followed by the number of small donors being down 4% and midsize donors dropping 1.2%. Those three categories comprise 96.9% of all donors, with small donors making up slightly more than half (50.8%) of all donors.
The number of major donors increased just 0.9% and supersize increased 2.6% but combined made up 3.1% of all donors. That 3.1% contributed 77.7% of all donations, according to the FEP data. Overall, there was a projected 3.5% increase on dollars contributed even though donor retention declined 2.6%.
“We can only speculate on the cause of the long-term trend of fewer donors since 2020, but the GivingTuesday Data Commons has observed that uneven and unequal engagement is suppressing participation,” said Woodrow Rosenbaum, chief data officer of GivingTuesday.
“Analysis of past economic shocks does show that large donors are more responsive to these shifts and that organizations with a broad base of support are more resilient. Whether the current economic climate results in a similar outcome remains to be seen, but it does underscore the importance of diversifying donor bases,” he said.
The FEP is a collaboration among fundraising platform providers, researchers, analysts, associations, and consultants. The data is based on a sample of 6.7 million donors who gave a collective $10.5 billion to 12,504 organizations. The data is drawn from 12 fundraising platform firms and is coordinated by the Foundation for Philanthropy at the Association of Fundraising Professionals and GivingTuesday.
Data providers include BetterUnite, Bloomerang, Bonterra, Classy, DonorDock, DonorPerfect, FundraiseUp, Givebutter, Keela, Momentive Software, Neon One, and Qgiv.
“The continued decline in small donor participation, despite an increase in overall dollars, highlights the pressing need for renewed strategic focus,” Rosenbaum. He explained that the “data emphasizes the growing reliance on fewer, larger gifts, a trend that underscores the urgency of revitalizing small donor engagement to sustain long-term sector health.”
The data show a continued widening gap between generosity and participation: fewer donors are giving more. Nonprofits leaders should look to rebuild the base, deepen relationships, and prepare now for year-end campaigns, according to the report’s authors.
Revitalizing small donor acquisition through storytelling, accessible giving levels, and multi-channel outreach will be important. Test monthly giving or first-gift incentives to boost conversion. There should be a review of the 2024 year-end results by segment and channel. Use these insights to focus on a refreshed or new strategy for your upcoming campaigns, are among the FEP’s suggested paths to improved results.
There are some limitations to the data. Because of how data is currently aggregated from the data providers, the FEP can’t identify donors who give to multiple organizations. As a result, the data represents unique donor-organization pairs, not necessarily unique individuals. However, FEP officials said that previous analysis suggests that this limitation does not significantly affect the metrics presented.
The FEP leaders said that there will be upgrades to its data sharing, including a new website which will launch later this year. A team of 50 “ambassadors” have volunteered to push data out to fundraisers and organizational leaders.
The full report can be found here … https://publications.fepreports.org/
