May 2026

Nonprofit Trends by MissionWired.

+12%

Average total revenue increase YOY

+26%

New donors YOY

+15%

Average total gift increase YOY

$76

Average gift, flat MOM

Ready to get the latest insights from MissionWired?

Share your information here to subscribe to our latest newsletters, insights, and case studies:

The Narrative: Context & Takeaways

Fundraising growth is holding steady from April to May, and both acquisition and new donors are up YOY.

May is a high-energy time of year with graduations and, for many, a transition toward summer. With a significantly increased attention to the news as the midterms approach, a spike in international conflict and disasters, and several awareness- and fundraising-focused holidays in May from Mental Health Awareness Month to Endangered Species Day, there were many reasons and motivations for donors to support the causes they care about. The result? Overall, giving metrics are up across the board for nonprofits.

Fundraising overall saw solid growth year over year, with May revenue up +12% YOY and gifts up +15% YOY. After some softness in the first months of the year, we’re seeing momentum in two months in a row of positive YOY growth. This puts our YTD about 1.34% above 2025.

Trending alongside overall growth in giving is increased attention to acquisition and a resulting lift in new donors. New donor metrics increased in April and May, and acquisition in May was up 32% higher than 2025.

We’ll be watching how the next few months unfold: The expectation of summer slowness and the shift in donor attention to support of political candidates may create headwinds for nonprofit fundraising efforts. But an increase in political news may well inspire donors to support the causes closest to them, so we may see midterm news elevate giving overall.

+12%

Average total revenue increase YOY

+26%

New donors YOY

+15%

Average total gift increase YOY

$76

Average gift, flat MOM

Results

Organization size

All Organizations

Tabbed content
20252026Change
Average Revenue$208,832.76$211,633.04+ 1.34%
Average Total Gifts3,8173,871+ 1.42%
Open Rate28.64%31.70%+ 10.69%
Click Rate1.90%1.50%– 21.12%
New Donors41.63%39.14%– 5.98%
Opt-Out Rate0.41%0.44%+ 7.83%
20252026Change
Average Revenue$197,154.90$221,553.43+ 12.38%
Average Total Gifts3,6384,158+ 14.29%
Open Rate26.38%30.71%+ 16.42%
Click Rate1.77%1.36%– 23.13%
New Donors40.84%40.98%+ 0.34%
Opt-Out Rate0.30%0.48%+ 58.32%

Small Organizations

Tabbed content
20252026Change
Average Revenue$37,531.78$48,139.80+ 28.26%
Average Total Gifts466593+ 27.17%
Open Rate24.06%28.19%+ 17.16%
Click Rate2.43%2.02%– 16.71%
New Donors40.99%44.03%+ 7.41%
Opt-Out Rate0.58%0.48%– 17.52%
20252026Change
Average Revenue$37,298.83$32,999.50– 11.53%
Average Total Gifts458477+ 4.06%
Open Rate18.26%28.83%+ 57.88%
Click Rate2.17%1.65%– 24.10%
New Donors41.71%43.19%+ 3.55%
Opt-Out Rate0.43%0.63%+ 49.23%

Medium Organizations

Tabbed content
20252026Change
Average Revenue$199,653.88$206,673.95+ 3.52%
Average Total Gifts3,0463,303+ 8.42%
Open Rate26.61%29.36%+ 10.36%
Click Rate1.87%1.27%– 32.22%
New Donors42.88%34.51%– 19.53%
Opt-Out Rate0.32%0.44%+ 39.36%
20252026Change
Average Revenue$155,116.50$183,946.40+ 18.59%
Average Total Gifts2,5053,067+ 22.43%
Open Rate24.91%26.42%+ 6.06%
Click Rate2.08%1.17%– 43.61%
New Donors42.25%35.44%– 16.10%
Opt-Out Rate0.25%0.42%+ 66.51%

Large Organizations

Tabbed content
20252026Change
Average Revenue$406,849.05$398,287.58– 2.10%
Average Total Gifts8,4288,124– 3.75%
Open Rate36.67%38.05%+ 3.75%
Click Rate1.34%1.19%– 11.59%
New Donors40.75%38.75%– 4.90%
Opt-Out Rate0.33%0.39%+ 19.43%
20252026Change
Average Revenue$403,053.03$468,664.82+ 16.28%
Average Total Gifts8,0599,339+ 15.89%
Open Rate36.17%36.97%+ 2.21%
Click Rate0.98%1.22%+ 24.05%
New Donors38.44%44.07%+ 14.64%
Opt-Out Rate0.25%0.39%+ 53.52%

Revenue

Average Revenue Raised

The view below shows the average revenue raised across all digital channels for a nonprofit organization – excluding mid-level ($1,000+) donations and recurring (monthly) donations.

Loading report…

Average Total Gifts

Included below is the average number of total 1x gifts per nonprofit organization across all digital channels – excluding mid-level ($1,000+) and recurring (monthly) donations.

Loading report…

Average Gift

Defined as total revenue/total gifts, this chart shows the average 1x donation made across digital channels – excluding mid-level ($1,000+) and recurring (monthly) donations.

Loading report…

Acquisition

Average New Donors

Across all digital channels, the chart below shows, on average, how many 1x donations a nonprofit organization saw from first-time donors – excluding mid-level ($1,000+) and recurring (monthly) donations.

Loading report…

Average Active List Composition

Looking at all active email files, the chart below shows the average percentage of new acquisitions (new leads) that were added to the email file. This view shows the current year-to-date over previous years.

Loading report…

Email Engagement

Open Rate

Defined as total opens/total sent, this view shows the average email open rates across nonprofit organizations.

Loading report…

Click Rate

The view below shows the average click rate, defined as unique clicks/unique opens across nonprofit organizations.

Loading report…

Opt-Out Rate

The view below shows the average opt-out rate, defined as total opt-outs/total emails sent across nonprofit organizations.

Loading report…

Our Methodology

The results displayed are a view of more than 60 nonprofits across a variety of sectors. We have taken the metrics from these nonprofits and created averages for each of the KPIs so that nonprofits can easily see how their results compare. All fundraising metrics encompass all digital channels – including but not limited to email, SMS, advertising, and web. Each metric is broken down by nonprofit size, defined by the size of the active email file.

  • Large: sending to 300,000 + unique emails in a month
  • Medium: sending to 100,000-299,999 unique emails in a month
  • Small: sending to less than 100,000 unique emails in a month

These metrics have excluded donors and donations more than $1,000 – often defined as mid-level – as well as monthly donors and donations.