The Fundraising Takeaways Nonprofits Can’t Ignore

My most favourite benchmark report was published at the end of April—and as always, there is an abundance of data which leads me to some good, actionable insights.

The 2026 M+R Benchmarks Study paints a clear picture of a sector shaped by crisis, resilience, and rapid adaptation. Across channels, supporters (especially in the US) showed up in significant ways in 2025—often in response to funding cuts and threats to the causes they care about. For fundraisers planning the rest of 2026, the report offers several concrete signals about where to double down, where to recalibrate, and where emerging opportunities are taking shape.

Below are the key trends from the report and what they suggest for fundraising strategy in the months ahead.

1. Online Revenue Growth Was Broad—and Crisis-Driven

Average online revenue increased by 15% in 2025, with nearly every sector seeing double-digit growth. Two sectors stood out in particular:

• Public Media nonprofits saw average online revenue increase by 37%
• Hunger/Poverty nonprofits also saw 37% average growth

The report connects this surge directly to external pressures. Among nonprofits that receive federal funding, two-thirds reported a decrease in that funding in 2025, prompting supporters to respond with increased individual giving.

What this means for 2026:
Crisis-driven generosity is real, but it is not something you can bank on. Teams should spend time looking at their emergency response donors and strategize how to convert these donors into repeat, committed donors.

2. Year-End Giving Continues to Dominate the Calendar

Timing remains one of the most important strategic variables. In 2025:

• 37% of all online revenue was raised in December
• The last week of the year accounted for 10% of annual online revenue
• The final day alone accounted for 4% of the year’s total

This concentration was even more pronounced in some sectors. For example, Hunger/Poverty nonprofits raised 46% of their online revenue in December.

What this means for 2026:
December is STILL so stressful for fundraisers! End-of-year fundraising remains the single most important revenue moment. Planning for Q4 should start early, with clear investment in list growth, creative testing, and infrastructure readiness well before Giving Season begins. We actively work with our clients to try and find other revenue opportunities throughout the year to take some of the pressure off the end of the year and organizations aren’t so heavily reliant on November/December.

3. Email Remains a Growth Channel—Even at Scale

Now this one surprised me, I must admit.

But…the report found that email fundraising continued to grow in 2025, despite being a mature channel:

• Email revenue increased by 16% on average
• Email accounted for 11% of total online revenue
• Nonprofits raised an average of $2.40 per email subscriber, up from $1.87 the previous year

What this means for 2026:
Email is still doing real work, but growth is coming from engagement quality, not just volume. Programs that integrate advocacy, storytelling, and fundraising—rather than relying solely on one-off donation asks—are better positioned to sustain revenue gains. This means that charities need to think LONG and HARD about segmentation. The old “spray and pray” method will not continue to work and will drastically affect your ability to get into donor’s inboxes.

4. Monthly and One-Time Giving Both Grew, but Retention Still Matters

In 2025:

• Revenue from one-time online gifts increased by 17%
• Monthly giving revenue increased by 12%
• Monthly giving made up 27% of total online revenue

The report also notes that donors often move between giving types. One-time donors gave an average of 1.3 gifts per year, while monthly donors frequently made additional one-time gifts beyond their sustaining commitments.

What this means for 2026:
Growth depends on managing the full donor lifecycle. Monthly programs remain critical, but they work best when integrated into a broader experience that encourages repeat engagement and supplemental giving. This means that we need to NOT be scared of our monthly donors – if you have a special match, let your monthly donors know! As we have seen in our two years of the JAM Collective, when you ask a monthly donor for an OTG, they will likely give. If you don’t, they won’t!

5. Direct Mail Is Still Pulling Its Weight

Despite digital growth, direct mail remained a major revenue contributor:

• Direct mail revenue increased by 9%
• For every $1 raised online, nonprofits raised an average of $0.66 through direct mail
• Mailings to active donors delivered an average ROI of $4.51

Public Media nonprofits again stood out, with 43% year-over-year growth in direct mail revenue.

What this means for 2026:
Integrated fundraising matters. Digital and mail are not competing channels; they reinforce one another. Programs that coordinate messaging, timing, and audience strategy across both are better positioned for stability.

6. Investment in Digital Advertising Is Increasing

Nonprofits reinvested aggressively in digital advertising in 2025:

• Digital ad spend increased by 18% on average
• Organizations invested $0.10 in ads for every dollar raised online
• 58% of ad spend went directly to fundraising, with the remainder focused on brand and lead generation

Search and multi-channel ad formats were described as particularly resilient amid industry changes driven by AI and platform shifts.

What this means for 2026:
Sustaining growth will require continued investment in acquisition and brand. Fundraisers should expect paid media to remain a necessary cost of doing business, not a short-term lever.

Looking Ahead

The 2026 M+R Benchmarks Study shows a sector responding forcefully to crisis—but also facing real questions about sustainability. Supporters stepped up in 2025. The challenge for 2026 is turning urgency into durability: stronger retention, deeper engagement, and systems that can weather uncertainty.

For fundraising leaders, the takeaway is not to chase every spike—but to build programs that can last once the spikes subside.

If you’d like a deeper dive into what these trends mean for your organization—or want help strengthening your fundraising strategy—reach out to me, Jessica Tiberio (JTiberio@StellaFundraising.com). I’d be happy to connect and explore how to turn these insights into action.