How much did nonprofit fundraising grow in 2025?

The typical nonprofit's fundraising revenue grew about 4.3% in 2025, according to the Blackbaud Institute's data on more than 7,500 organizations. Total U.S. giving grew 5.7% in current dollars to $617.20 billion, according to Giving USA 2026.

Did small nonprofits raise less in 2025?

In Blackbaud Institute data, yes. Organizations with under $1 million in revenue ended 2025 down about 6.4%, while midsize organizations grew about 2% and large organizations about 11.7%.

What was the average donation in 2025?

The Blackbaud Institute reports an average gift of $1,346 in 2025. Because a few very large gifts pull an average upward, the typical individual gift at most organizations is much smaller than that figure.

How much did online giving grow in 2025?

About 11% across Blackbaud Institute organizations and 15% across M+R Benchmarks' 180 participants. The difference comes largely from the samples: M+R's smallest tier is organizations with under $1 million in online revenue alone, so some of them may be midsize or large by overall revenue.

Are there fewer donors than before?

Yes. The Fundraising Effectiveness Project counted 3.6% fewer donors in 2025 than in 2024 across 15,102 organizations, even as dollars rose 5.0%. FEP attributes the growth almost entirely to its largest donors.

Donor economics

Nonprofit Fundraising Statistics for 2025, by Organization Size

The sector's 2025 averages were positive, but results split by organization size: large nonprofits grew about 11.7% while small ones fell about 6.4%. This article sets out the numbers and what a small organization should plan against.

By Donor Insights · Published October 18, 2026 · Updated September 25, 2026 · 7 min read

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Key takeaways

The typical nonprofit's fundraising revenue grew about 4.3% in 2025, across more than 7,500 organizations in the Blackbaud Institute's 2025 Trends in Giving.
By size, organizations with $10 million or more in revenue grew about 11.7%, those between $1 million and $10 million grew about 2%, and those under $1 million fell about 6.4% (Blackbaud Institute).
Gifts of $1,000 or more grew about 4.7% in 2025 while gifts under $1,000 fell about 1.1%, and major gifts made up 84.5% of revenue at large organizations against 51.7% at small ones, though Blackbaud's release does not state the dollar threshold for a major gift (Blackbaud Institute).
Online giving grew about 11% across Blackbaud's organizations and 15% across M+R Benchmarks' 180 participants, a difference that likely comes from how each study defines and samples organizations.
The average gift rose to $1,346 in 2025 in Blackbaud's data, and the Fundraising Effectiveness Project counted 3.6% fewer donors, while FEP found that its growth came almost entirely from its largest donors.

Nonprofit fundraising statistics for 2025 look healthy on average and uneven by size. The typical nonprofit's fundraising revenue grew about 4.3% over 2024, according to the Blackbaud Institute's 2025 Trends in Giving, which covers more than 7,500 organizations and over $66 billion in fundraising revenue. Split by size, the picture changes: large organizations, those with $10 million or more in revenue, grew about 11.7%, midsize organizations grew about 2%, and small organizations, those under $1 million, ended 2025 down about 6.4%. A small organization that plans its 2026 budget against the 4.3% average is planning against a number that describes neither its own results nor its peers'.

What do the 2025 nonprofit fundraising statistics show?

Several major sources published 2025 results, and each measures something slightly different. Giving USA estimates all charitable giving in the United States, which reached $617.20 billion in 2025, up 5.7% in current dollars and 3.0% after inflation, with individuals giving $394.2 billion, up 4.1% (1.4% after inflation), according to Giving USA 2026. The other sources measure the results of participating organizations rather than the nation as a whole. The table sets them side by side.

Headline 2025 fundraising statistics and what each one counts (all 2025 data, from the sources linked in this article)
Measure	2025 figure	Source	What it counts
Total U.S. charitable giving	$617.20 billion, +5.7% (+3.0% after inflation)	Giving USA 2026	National estimate from tax and economic models
Giving by individuals	$394.2 billion, +4.1% (+1.4% after inflation)	Giving USA 2026	Living individuals, excluding bequests
Typical organization's fundraising revenue	About +4.3%	Blackbaud Institute	7,500+ Blackbaud customer organizations
Dollars raised by participating organizations	+5.0%	Fundraising Effectiveness Project	15,102 participating organizations
Number of donors	-3.6%	Fundraising Effectiveness Project	Same 15,102 organizations
Online revenue	About +11% (Blackbaud), +15% (M+R)	Blackbaud Institute and M+R Benchmarks	Online gifts only, different samples

How did 2025 fundraising results differ by organization size?

The Blackbaud Institute groups organizations by annual revenue: small is up to $1 million, midsize is $1 million to $10 million, and large is $10 million or more. In 2025, large organizations grew about 11.7%, midsize organizations about 2%, and small organizations fell about 6.4%. That is a gap of roughly 18 percentage points between the fastest- and slowest-growing groups in the same year and the same economy.

+11.7% vs -6.4%

change in 2025 fundraising revenue at large nonprofits ($10 million or more) against small nonprofits (under $1 million) — Blackbaud Institute, 2025 Trends in Giving

Blackbaud's figures on gift size suggest why. Gifts of $1,000 or more grew about 4.7% in 2025, while gifts under $1,000 fell about 1.1%. Large organizations raised 84.5% of their annual revenue from major gifts, compared with 51.7% at small organizations. Blackbaud's release does not say what dollar amount counts as a major gift, so this share cannot be read as gifts of $1,000 or more. An organization that depends more on gifts under $1,000 was exposed to the part of giving that shrank. The Fundraising Effectiveness Project's Q4 2025 report points the same way: as the Fundraising Effectiveness Project's Q4 2025 report, it found that growth came almost entirely from what it calls Major and Supersize donors, its two largest giving tiers, while the number of donors fell for a fifth consecutive year. The link between gift mix and size is our reading of the two datasets together, not a finding either source states, but it fits both.

Why do the 2025 online giving numbers disagree?

Blackbaud reports that online giving grew about 11% in 2025, peaking at nearly 15% growth in November. M+R Benchmarks 2026 reports that online revenue for the average participating nonprofit grew 15%, with one-time giving up 17% and monthly giving up 12%, and that growth reached at least 14% in every one of its size tiers. Both can be accurate because the samples differ. M+R's study had 180 participants, and its smallest tier is organizations with less than $1 million in online revenue alone. Some organizations in that tier could count as midsize or large in Blackbaud's grouping, which sorts organizations by annual revenue rather than online revenue alone. When a benchmark says "small", check whether it means under $1 million in total revenue or under $1 million online.

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Is the average gift really rising?

Yes, and the rise has a cost that the average hides. Blackbaud reports that the average gift nearly doubled over the past decade, from $727 in 2016 to $1,346 in 2025. Meanwhile, the number of donors has fallen every year since 2021: the Fundraising Effectiveness Project counted 3.6% fewer donors in 2025 than in 2024 across 15,102 organizations, the fifth consecutive annual decline. The two datasets cover different organizations, but FEP's own data show the same pattern: growth that came almost entirely from Major and Supersize donors while the donor count fell. An average, the total divided by the number of gifts, is also pulled upward by a few very large gifts, so it rarely describes the typical donor. Our guide to average gift size covers what the average conceals and which measure to use instead.

$1,346

average gift in 2025 across Blackbaud Institute organizations, nearly double the level of a decade earlier, while donor counts fell — Blackbaud Institute, 2025 Trends in Giving

What should a small nonprofit plan for in 2026?

Consider a fictional organization, Alder Run Literacy Council, which raised $600,000 in 2025. The figures below are illustrative. They apply Blackbaud's published growth rates to show how much the choice of benchmark changes a budget, not to predict any organization's results.

Illustrative: the same $600,000 organization planned against two 2025 benchmarks (hypothetical organization, rates from the Blackbaud Institute)
Benchmark used	Rate	Projected revenue	Change
Typical nonprofit	+4.3%	$625,800	+$25,800
Small nonprofits (under $1 million)	-6.4%	$561,600	-$38,400
Difference between the two plans		$64,200

A $64,200 difference is more than a tenth of this organization's budget. Neither rate is a forecast, and last year's peer results do not determine next year's. The point of the exercise is that a small organization should plan against its own file first and its size band second, never the sector average. The steps below follow from the 2025 statistics:

1.Benchmark against organizations of your size. Blackbaud's small, midsize, and large groups moved in different directions in 2025.
2.Split your revenue at $1,000 per gift. Gifts above that line grew about 4.7% and gifts below it fell about 1.1%, so know which side your revenue depends on.
3.Count donors as well as dollars. Dollars can grow while the number of donors falls, as the Fundraising Effectiveness Project found for 2025. The grassroots versus major donors guide covers how to balance the two.
4.Plan the fourth quarter explicitly. Blackbaud found that more than 36% of 2025 revenue arrived in the fourth quarter, with December alone about 18%.
5.Read online benchmarks against online revenue only, and check how each study defines size before comparing.

For the national totals behind these organization-level figures, see the Giving USA 2026 breakdown. Donor Insights reads your own contacts and gifts the way a fund reads a portfolio, so your revenue by gift size, your donor count, and your growth against your size band sit on one screen rather than in three reports. The methodology starts from your own giving records, and the same platform shows which side of 2025's size split your organization is on.

Frequently asked questions

How much did nonprofit fundraising grow in 2025?: The typical nonprofit's fundraising revenue grew about 4.3% in 2025, according to the Blackbaud Institute's data on more than 7,500 organizations. Total U.S. giving grew 5.7% in current dollars to $617.20 billion, according to Giving USA 2026.
Did small nonprofits raise less in 2025?: In Blackbaud Institute data, yes. Organizations with under $1 million in revenue ended 2025 down about 6.4%, while midsize organizations grew about 2% and large organizations about 11.7%.
What was the average donation in 2025?: The Blackbaud Institute reports an average gift of $1,346 in 2025. Because a few very large gifts pull an average upward, the typical individual gift at most organizations is much smaller than that figure.
How much did online giving grow in 2025?: About 11% across Blackbaud Institute organizations and 15% across M+R Benchmarks' 180 participants. The difference comes largely from the samples: M+R's smallest tier is organizations with under $1 million in online revenue alone, so some of them may be midsize or large by overall revenue.
Are there fewer donors than before?: Yes. The Fundraising Effectiveness Project counted 3.6% fewer donors in 2025 than in 2024 across 15,102 organizations, even as dollars rose 5.0%. FEP attributes the growth almost entirely to its largest donors.

Sources

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