Raisely’s Fundraising Benchmarks: what we heard and what we’d change for the rest of 2026

We joined Raisely’s 6th Annual Fundraising Benchmarks Webinar to unpack what the 2025 data’s telling us, and what fundraising teams can tighten up as we move through 2026.

If your team’s feeling the squeeze, you’re not alone. The big theme wasn’t “fundraising is broken.” It was that the baseline’s tighter, and relevance beats volume more often than it used to.

Here’s our recap of what stood out, plus the moves we think matter most right now.

The benchmarks: 2025 confirmed a tighter baseline

Raisely’s benchmarks are drawn from aggregated platform data across 33,000+ campaigns and 4,400+ nonprofits worldwide, using median values to reflect typical performance.

The topline shifts they highlighted:

• Median fundraising per nonprofit declined ~2% in 2025 vs 2024

• One-off giving softened (down 2.2%)

• Recurring giving revenue softened slightly (down 1.1%)

None of these are cliff events. But taken together, they point to a consistent trend: teams can’t rely on “send more” and expect the same result.

Raisely also noted that median average gift declined across most campaign types, which matters because even small gift-size drops compound quickly at scale.

The most encouraging signal: recurring participation is rising

One of the clearest “green shoots” from the session was recurring participation.

Raisely reported:

• Recurring donor rate increased ~10.5% year over year

• Rising from 16.39% (2024) to 18.11% (2025)

Even though recurring revenue softened slightly overall, participation growth is still a strong sign for 2026 because it builds a more reliable base.

Raisely also ran a poll asking what’s preventing teams from fully capitalizing on this in 2026. The top barriers were telling:

• Acquisition strategy (finding new donors)

• Donor stewardship (time and capacity to retain and grow value)

AU/NZ highlights: performance varies, but community-led giving stood out

Raisely then zoomed into Australia and New Zealand and showed how local context changes what works.

A few patterns that stood out:

• Appeals declined globally, but were more resilient in AU/NZ

• Peer-to-peer remained a strong driver of net new donors

• Community campaigns were consistently effective, and also showed strong recurring donor growth

• Donation forms remained low as an acquisition channel, reinforcing their role as a conversion tool

The takeaway isn’t “pick one campaign type.” It’s that teams should be clear about what each motion is best at, then design follow-through that protects long-term value.

What we heard from the sector: trust, follow-through, and simplicity matter

Trust is a performance variable now

Scott Sanders from Creative Freedom spoke to a growing erosion of trust online, rising digital noise, and the way AI is changing people’s default skepticism.

In that environment, nonprofits tend to win when they lean into:

• Connection over transaction

• Participation over one-off asks

• Belonging, not just impact

In practical terms, it isn’t enough to ask at the right time. The message has to feel real, specific, and grounded.

A moment doesn’t become momentum without a second action

Another consistent theme was that attention’s easy to lose. Teams need a deliberate bridge from first action to second action.

That second step might be:

• a stewardship touchpoint that builds attachment,

• a clear recurring option,

• a volunteer or community action,

• or a simple next engagement that keeps the relationship moving.

Retention is the unlock, especially the second gift

From Dataro’s perspective, retention is one of the strongest indicators of long-term program health.

One point shared in the webinar that’s worth sitting with:

Once a new donor gives a second time, the relationship changes.

Katrina Grant shared that 59% of donors who make a second gift continue giving beyond that point.

That’s why second-gift journeys are one of the highest-leverage areas to improve for the rest of 2026.

Donors are signaling what they want — most teams just can’t see it

Donors send signals through giving and engagement behavior all the time. Historically, most charities haven’t had an easy way to interpret those signals and act on them at scale.

That’s where AI can help teams make better decisions without adding more work.

What we’d change now

Raisely closed with tactical guidance by campaign type. Here’s how we’d translate it into “what to tighten now,” not “what to plan someday.”

Appeals

Appeals still work best in urgency moments (GivingTuesday, year-end, emergencies). The opportunity now is to:

• tighten targeting so you’re not over-mailing,

• make recurring a clear path (not a buried option),

• and put real energy into the follow-up that protects retention.

Community campaigns

Community-led giving is a powerful lever because it’s relational. The opportunity now is to invest in stewardship:

• recognition that feels personal,

• local impact storytelling,

• journeys that make it easy to stay involved after the first action.

Donation forms

Donation forms aren’t an acquisition engine for most orgs. They’re a conversion surface. The move for 2026 is to treat forms like a product:

• mobile-first experience,

• testing copy and layout,

• clearer impact framing,

• and making recurring easy and visible.

Peer-to-peer

Peer-to-peer can bring in net new donors, but that value leaks fast without a deliberate retention bridge. The opportunity now is to build post-campaign follow-through:

• a short donor journey after the first gift,

• a clear next step that fits the donor,

• and a simple path into recurring where it makes sense.

Ticketed events

Events can work, but participation friction is real. The move is to reduce friction and strengthen the value proposition:

• test timing and format,

• consider hybrid and tiered options,

• and tell a clearer story around community and shared impact.

The bottom line for the rest of 2026

2025 showed that fundraising isn’t collapsing. But broad, one-size-fits-all strategies are compounding less reliably.

For the rest of 2026, the teams that win won’t be the ones doing more. They’ll be the ones doing fewer things with more confidence:

• precision over blanket volume

• retention over constant refill

• second-gift journeys and recurring participation

• trust-building and follow-through

What to do next

If you’re looking for one practical planning question to use this quarter, it’s this:

Where are we losing value today because we can’t confidently decide who to engage, when to engage them, and what to ask?

That’s usually the fastest path to improving results without increasing workload.