What a great month of new and surprising reports! The second quarter is a month in, and we wait anxiously every year for various reports to compare and absorb the information.
What’s been happening otherwise?
Let’s dive into this month’s highlights, insights and studies.
The 2026 M+R Benchmarks Study, an annual digital fundraising and marketing study based on data from 180 nonprofits, found online revenue for the average nonprofit rose 15% in 2025, with gains across organization sizes and double-digit increases in nearly every sector.
Taken together, the data suggest 2025 was less a step change in nonprofit fundraising than a surge driven by urgency and external pressure. Nonprofits raised more money, but much of that growth came from one-time donors, year-end concentration and moments that may be difficult to repeat.
That aligns with recent findings from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, which show fewer donors are participating even as total giving holds steady.
A bit of fun: What AI “saw” in 3.8 billion nonprofit emails, compiled from 12 organizations, 34,000 email sends and 3.8 billion emails received:
The estimated value of volunteer time climbed to $36.14 an hour — a 3.9% jump year over year, according to the “2026 Value of Volunteer Time Report.” Independent Sector and the University of Maryland’s Do Good Institute release the figure annually, using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data to produce both a national estimate and state level figures.
Meanwhile, state values range from $17.99 in Puerto Rico to $54.77 in the District of Columbia. Georgia saw the fastest growth, with its volunteer value per hour rising 7.9%, from $32.63 to $35.22.
Built on giving data from 771 mid-sized and large U.S. nonprofits, the Virtuous data covers 7 key fundraising metrics. Here are some of their most recent findings:
The study defined generosity broadly in terms of efforts or gifts made to support people in need, charitable causes or philanthropic organizations through actions like giving and volunteering. The overall propensity to give was about 82%, based on responses to this question in the Generosity Commission’s survey: “On average, how much money do you donate each year to people in need, charitable causes, or philanthropic organizations?” The survey also asked Americans about how they express their generosity.
The researchers identified five segments of American society. They come from the general population, not just existing donors or volunteers.
The percentage of people in each segment ranged from a low of 77% — the frustrated activists — to a high of 93% among the status seekers.
The typical nonprofit grew in 2025 — but growth was not shared evenly. Blackbaud reported:
New data from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP) shows that total charitable dollars raised grew by an estimated 5.0% in 2025 compared to 2024, marking the strongest growth the sector has seen in five years. At the same time, the number of donors declined by 3.6%, continuing a downward trend that began in 2021.
Revenue came from a narrower base driven by larger gifts, particularly at the Major and Supersize giving levels, where both the number of gifts and the total dollars increased. While encouraging on the surface, this pattern points to a growing reliance on fewer, larger gifts—and raises questions about long-term sustainability if broader participation continues to shrink.
For the first time in years, donor retention essentially held steady, with incremental growth of 0.2 percent.
This report, completed on December 20, 2025, examines how donors make decisions about their philanthropy and how those decisions are shaped by both personal outlook and broader economic conditions.
Bottom line crucial insight: Donors’ psychological state about the future matters as much as, or more than, their actual current financial position.
The Data Portrait:
This suggests that giving decisions in 2026 are being driven less by actual financial constraints and more by psychological factors, fear, doubt and a defensive posture toward an uncertain economic future.
Crypto Giving Hits $100M, But Stock and DAF Giving Signal a Broader Shift: Cryptocurrency donations processed through The Giving Block topped $100 million in 2025 — the largest annual total recorded by the platform — bringing the cumulative total processed since 2018 to more than $300 million, according to the company’s “2026 Annual Report on Crypto Philanthropy and Digital Fundraising Innovation.”
But crypto is only part of the picture. Donors are increasingly giving through multiple asset types — including cryptocurrency, publicly traded stock and donor-advised funds (DAFs).
Together, these channels point to a shift in how some supporters hold and deploy charitable wealth. Nonprofits are increasingly expected to accept and process these assets within the same digital financial environments where donors manage them.
At the March Annual Microsoft Global Nonprofit Leaders Summit, Microsoft Elevate for Changemakers was unveiled. It is a new initiative that is part of a $5 billion enterprise that provides nonprofit leaders with AI credentials, access to a peer community, and role-based, capacity-building resources.
The Changemaker Fellowship is open to nonprofits of all backgrounds. Nonprofits can register their interest at MicrosoftElevateforChangemakers.
Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Brings in Donors — But Most Don’t Stay: Between 2022 and 2025, about 40% of first-time donors to nonprofits came through peer-to-peer campaigns, according to the new report “Trends, Insights, and Opportunities: The Power of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising” from GoFundMe Pro and GivingTuesday. Researchers discovered this fundraising channel has a critical re-engagement window. Peer-to-peer donors are most likely to give again within the first 90 days of their initial gifts. After that period, repeat giving drops compared with donors acquired through other channels.
Gen Z Wants to Raise Money for You. Here’s How to Stop Scaring Them Off: Young peer-to-peer fundraisers have the social-media skills and built-in audiences nonprofits need. But rigid brand rules are driving them away. While the top 30 peer-to-peer programs saw participation increase 3.6 percent to 2.6 million participants in 2025, they remain well below pre-pandemic levels. Organizations that host traditional walks, runs and team fundraising events, which once reliably generated thousands of participants, are seeing registration numbers plateau or decline.
Petflation pushes annual spend of pet owners to $2,360. The American Pet Products Association reported that total U.S. pet industry expenditures reached $158 billion in 2025, a 3.7% increase from 2024, and are projected to hit $165 billion in 2026.
The price of ownership keeps climbing, as The California Post outlines: The true cost of being a pet parent in 2026. The average owner is now dropping $4,272 a year on routine care, according to a HealthyPaws study.
Spot Pet Insurance Releases 2026 "Pet Parent Perspective." A survey of 4,150 pet owners finds 15% of pet owners say cost forced them to choose euthanasia, and $500 is where vet bills break the household budget.
From The Underbite: NielsenIQ's tracked U.S. data shows pet supplies on TikTok jumped from $34M to $158M in the trailing 52 weeks ending February 2025.
Underbite #2: Ted Murphy, CEO of IZEA, delivered the Pet Summit keynote at GPE 2026 and made the case that AI content production is approaching zero marginal cost.
New York Magazine: Just as Americans cross borders and fly to other countries seeking cheaper dental and medical care for themselves, they are now doing the same for their pets.
One economist breaks down the real cost crisis of why veterinary bills keep rising.
The CATalyst Council recently released early findings from their 2026 State of the Cat Report and discovered that the face of cat ownership is changing. Millennials have officially become the largest segment of cat owners, reshaping how, why and when people bring cats into their lives.
The annual inflation rate in the United States was 3.3% for the 12 months ending in March, up from 2.4% in February, according to U.S. Labor Department data, driven primarily by a 12.5% surge in energy prices. The surge, driven by gasoline and fuel oil spikes, has created a challenging scenario for the Federal Reserve and is fueling concerns about persistent inflationary pressures.
As of April 2026, U.S. core inflation — which excludes volatile food and energy prices — rose to 2.6% in March, up slightly from 2.5% in February, according to The Wall Street Journal. This reading was lower than the 2.7% expected by economists, even as headline inflation jumped to 3.3% due to higher oil prices.
University of Michigan’s consumer-sentiment index dropped to a record low of 49.8 in April due to Iran war anxiety. Despite the sour mood, U.S. retailers reported solid sales gains in March, and banks said household finances are holding up. Consumers’ expectations of inflation in the year ahead surged in April.
The Conference Board’s index reading for consumer confidence as of April 2026 indicates a generally pessimistic outlook among American consumers due to inflation, high prices and job market worries.
To wrap up this month, it’s our annual donor retention reminder.
Setting aside time for donor surveys at least once a year is more than just a best practice; it’s a signal to your donors that their voices matter. Asking for feedback shows respect for their perspective and helps foster a sense of belonging.
Just as important: Share back what you’ve learned. It builds trust, demonstrates transparency and reminds donors that they’re not just giving to your mission, they’re part of it.
Surveys, when done well, can have a meaningful impact on donor retention. Put a small story in your next newsletter that shares the top three findings from the donor survey. It’s reporting back to those donors who participated and showing those who did not take time for it that their opinion would be valued.