Apr 2026
Nonprofit Trends by MissionWired
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The Narrative: Context & Takeaways
April drives strong results across revenue and gifts, along with +32% MOM growth in new donors.
Amid ongoing economic uncertainty, the rising costs of gas and groceries, and volatile news cycles around the war with Iran, April also brought attention to an increase in severe weather incidents, including tornadoes in the Midwest. Several nonprofit sectors also saw dedicated awareness efforts bring attention to their causes, from Earth Day to World Health Day.
Fundraising overall saw strong growth year-over-year, with revenue up +7% from March and +14% year-over-year, bringing calendar-year-to-date revenue up +6% over 2025. After a few months of fluctuating results, this is an encouraging upward trend. Large organizations contributed a great deal to overall increases, with a +24% lift in April revenue YOY and a 26% increase from March. Looking back at April 2025, year-over-year comparisons align with the first announcements of impending tariffs that impacted the stock market and likely reduced spending.
Increases in new donors and new acquisitions also signal refreshed energy in spring fundraising. A 38% growth in new donors from March to April, alongside a 67% increase over April 2025 in new acquisitions, suggests that organizations are leaning into moments of increased attention to get their message out to new audiences. As seasonal increases in rapid-response moments arise and we begin to see year-end get closer, strategic acquisition investments will play an increasingly important role in growing your audience sustainably.
+14%
Average total revenue increase YOY
+7%
New donors YOY, up +32% MOM
+8%
Average total gift increase YOY
+6%
Increase in CYTD revenue
Navigate Results:
Results
| 2025 | 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Revenue | $732,033.56 | $772,617.47 | + 5.54% |
| Average Total Gifts | 13,160 | 13,659 | + 3.79% |
| Open Rate | 30.05% | 30.74% | + 2.31% |
| Click Rate | 2.17% | 1.63% | - 24.81% |
| New Donors | 43.56% | 41.98% | - 3.61% |
| Opt-Out Rate | 0.40% | 0.43% | + 7.50% |
| Average Revenue | $205,714.11 | $235,480.70 | + 14.47% |
| Average Total Gifts | 4,053 | 4,368 | + 7.78% |
| Open Rate | 26.70% | 30.64% | + 14.75% |
| Click Rate | 1.34% | 1.48% | + 10.75% |
| New Donors | 42.77% | 41.22% | - 3.62% |
| Opt-Out Rate | 0.52% | 0.38% | - 26.99% |
| Average Revenue | $122,720.02 | $174,040.36 | + 41.82% |
| Average Revenue | $693,854.72 | $734,054.07 | + 5.79% |
| Average Revenue | $1,379,525.93 | $1,409,757.98 | + 2.19% |
| Average Total Gifts | 1,466 | 1,984 | + 35.35% |
| Average Total Gifts | 10,165 | 11,198 | + 10.15% |
| Average Total Gifts | 27,849 | 27,795 | - 0.19% |
| Open Rate | 24.77% | 26.12% | + 5.45% |
| Open Rate | 27.37% | 29.77% | + 8.77% |
| Open Rate | 38.00% | 36.34% | - 4.39% |
| Click Rate | 2.74% | 2.27% | - 17.09% |
| Click Rate | 2.43% | 1.31% | - 45.91% |
| Click Rate | 1.36% | 1.32% | - 2.60% |
| New Donors | 42.92% | 48.13% | + 12.15% |
| New Donors | 44.22% | 39.06% | - 11.66% |
| New Donors | 43.53% | 38.75% | - 10.97% |
| Opt-Out Rate | 0.53% | 0.46% | - 12.36% |
| Opt-Out Rate | 0.31% | 0.47% | + 50.34% |
| Opt-Out Rate | 0.45% | 0.36% | - 18.77% |
| Average Revenue | $47,279.19 | $41,767.13 | - 11.66% |
| Average Revenue | $181,844.47 | $184,056.89 | + 1.22% |
| Average Revenue | $388,018.69 | $480,618.08 | + 23.86% |
| Average Total Gifts | 510 | 470 | - 7.80% |
| Average Total Gifts | 2,935 | 2,899 | - 1.20% |
| Average Total Gifts | 8,714 | 9,735 | + 11.72% |
| Open Rate | 17.74% | 25.58% | + 44.22% |
| Open Rate | 26.52% | 29.34% | + 10.63% |
| Open Rate | 35.84% | 36.99% | + 3.20% |
| Click Rate | 1.38% | 1.52% | + 10.19% |
| Click Rate | 1.70% | 1.62% | - 4.95% |
| Click Rate | 0.92% | 1.30% | + 40.58% |
| New Donors | 44.57% | 45.47% | + 2.03% |
| New Donors | 44.06% | 37.21% | - 15.54% |
| New Donors | 39.69% | 40.99% | + 3.28% |
| Opt-Out Rate | 1.06% | 0.39% | - 63.31% |
| Opt-Out Rate | 0.30% | 0.43% | + 45.88% |
| Opt-Out Rate | 0.21% | 0.32% | + 55.36% |
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Email Engagement
Open Rate
Defined as total opens/total sent, this view shows the average email open rates across nonprofit organizations.
Click Rate
The view below shows the average click rate, defined as unique clicks/unique opens across nonprofit organizations.
Opt-Out Rate
The view below shows the average opt-out rate, defined as total opt-outs/total emails sent across nonprofit organizations.
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.