New revenue data for 2025 shows a stark difference in the performance of large nonprofits versus small organizations when it comes to fundraising, a split that has become more evident during the past two years.
Large organizations finished the year with approximately 11.7% revenue growth year-over-year while medium-sized organizations had modest growth of approximately 2%. Small organizations ended 2025 down approximately 6.4%.
Numbers from the Blackbaud Institute, based on 7,500 organizations in Blackbaud’s proprietary database which raised a collective $66 billion, show large organizations finished the year well above the sector median, while the median small organization ended flat or negative, with a visible split emerging between November and December.
“For a while now, the sector has seen the trend of ‘fewer donors, more dollars’ play out, with the average gift size nearly doubling in the last 10 years. But it’s only in the last two years that small organizations, in particular, have faced growing challenges with major giving, contributing to the performance gap we’re seeing,” Carrie Cobb, chief data and AI officer at Blackbaud, said via a statement. “There’s an opportunity now for smaller organizations to reorient around a strategy that prioritizes major giving and for organizations of all sizes to build their midlevel giving structures to cultivate future major donors.”
More data can be found in the Blackbaud Institute’s study “2025 Trends in Giving Spotlight.” The report classifies size of organizations as small (up to $1 million), medium (between $1 million and $10 million), and large ($10 million and more).
Key findings in the data include:
* Year-End Giving Remained An Engine Of Growth: More than 36% of all charitable revenue was raised during the fourth quarter, with December accounting for roughly 18% of annual giving, despite a cooling macro environment.
* Major And Mid‑Level Donors Drove Gains: Gifts of $1,000 or more grew by roughly 4.7% year-over-year, while gifts less than $1,000 declined by about 1.1%. Large organizations received 84.5% of annual revenue from major gifts, compared with 51.7% for small organizations.
* Online Giving: Digital fundraising increased by approximately 11% year-over-year, peaking at nearly 15% growth in November.
* Gifts Have Grown During The Past Decade: Average gift size has nearly doubled during the past 10 years, from $727 in 2016 to $1,346 in 2025.
Dependence on fourth quarter, year-end giving varied by subsector. Foundations (40.8%), Public & Society Benefit (39.6%), and Environment (38.9%) organizations relied most heavily on year-end giving, while other sectors showed a more even distribution across the year.
“What’s inspiring optimism in this moment is that we’re beginning to see the very capacity constraints smaller organizations have typically faced in the past — building a strong midlevel pipeline, sustaining consistent stewardship, and identifying major-gift potential — become more achievable as teams adopt AI (artificial intelligence) to strengthen segmentation, surface next-best actions, and personalize outreach at scale,” said Lori Poer, head of the Blackbaud Institute. “With the right data foundation, AI can take repetitive work off teams’ plates and help more organizations scale relationship-based fundraising and drive sustainable growth.”
Based on the data, authors of the report suggested four major areas for growth. They include:
- While major gifts drove the greatest gains in 2025, midlevel donors remain an often overlooked and under-engaged donor segment. Fundraisers should consider how AI tools including Agentic AI can help fill this gap.
- Online giving continues to outperform, indicating strong return on investment for the organizations who prioritize this platform. Fundraising teams should consider leveraging AI-optimized online donation forms to capitalize on this opportunity.
- End-of-year campaigns should be prioritized, since the fourth quarter accounts for an outsized proportion of all charitable revenue. Fundraising teams should look at ways to develop relationships, test messaging, and strengthen overall brand awareness throughout the first half of the year to prepare to capitalize on end-of-year donor generosity.
- Corporate giving should be considered as a pathway to major giving. The ability to pool funds from employee giving and matching gift programs provides a significant revenue opportunity, as well as an opportunity to steward new supporters in the form of individual employees, many of whom are Gen Z and Millennial givers that have high rates of participation in workplace giving and volunteering programs.
The full “2025 Trends in Giving Spotlight” is available here. All Blackbaud Institute resources are offered for free.
