The Q3 Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP) Report is out!
FEP gives insights into giving trends, donor retention, and overall fundraising health. All of the data in their reports comes from providers (like Neon One!) whose customers use their tools for fundraising. That means these insights are based on thousands of nonprofits and what’s happening every quarter.
Think of these publications as a report card. They give insight into what nonprofits have achieved in the previous quarter, and those results should help you identify areas you may want to focus on in your own organization!
In this article, we’ll walk through three high-level takeaways from the report, what they mean, and what you can do with that information.
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1. The Finding: Dollars are Up, but There’s a Catch
What Happened
Total revenue went up a bit year over year. That’s good! But that growth is due almost entirely to donors who give big gifts, people who give often, or both.
According to the report, major donors (people who give between $5,000 and $50,000 every year) and supersize donors (people who give $50,000 or more annually) make up just 3% of all givers… but they contributed a whopping 77.5% of all dollars raised.
Why It’s Important
Dollars being up is good, but the fact that so much nonprofit revenue comes from such a small group of people is concerning. When lots of your revenue comes from such a small group of people, you’re in a risky position. If one big donor chooses not to give, that could have a significant impact on your revenue.
2. Fewer People are Giving, but That Decline May Be Slowing
What Happened
You’ve probably heard that individual giving rates are going down. They are, and they have been for a long time. Unfortunately, this report finds that that trend continued.
But there’s a silver lining: that decline wasn’t as steep as it was in previous quarters. And, if we account for late data, it’s possible we’ll see a flat trend instead of a decline.
Don’t get too comfy, though. The report also shows that new donors are down 10% year over year, and attracting new supporters is a really important part of building a sustainable nonprofit.
Why It’s Important
Individual giving rates have been declining for a long time, and seeing that trend slow down (or even flatten!) is encouraging. Remember, this data is a report card; this is the result of nonprofits working to build their communities.
Slowing or stopping that trend is a good start. Now, it’s time to reverse it. That can’t happen if organizations aren’t acquiring new supporters, and this is a strong signal that nonprofits must focus on reaching (and retaining!) new donors.
3. Retention Rates are Stabilizing
What Happened
Good news! Donor retention rates went up by 0.15 percentage points. That may not sound like a huge deal, but it’s a sign that fundraisers’ attention to donor stewardship is paying off.
This is something to celebrate, but it’s important not to let that celebration turn into complacency. Retention rates are still low, and there’s a lot of opportunities for nonprofits to focus on building genuine relationships with their supporters and keeping them engaged for longer periods of time.
What It Means
Donor retention, stewardship, and cultivation are all topics that have dominated the nonprofit sector for years. Stabilizing retention rates and some helpful signals about individual giving are both early signals that those conversations are paying off.
What to Do with This Information
These are just three of the findings included in the Q3 FEP report, but they’re some of the most interesting ones. Now that you know what happened and why it’s important, here are some ways you can start using these findings in your own strategies.
Keep Focusing On Stewardship
Donor retention, donor stewardship, and the importance of keeping supporters engaged over time have been ubiquitous topics for years. The tiny bump in retention rates we see in this report is a hopeful trend. Many fundraisers have really prioritized retention, and it seems like their effort is paying off.
Focus on building relationships with the people who donate to your work, especially those everyday donors that give in smaller amounts. Use personalized thank-yous, tell them why their support is important, and keep them up to date on how they’re making a difference.
Yes, focusing on people who are donating larger amounts is important, and it can be easy to forget the rest. But that strategy is, at least in part, what’s led to today’s low retention rates and disengaging donors. Those “small-dollar” donors make up the majority of all donors in the United States, and they tend to grow their giving over time. Investing in building relationships with them now will make you a more sustainable nonprofit in the future.
Get Strategic About New Donor Acquisition
Acquiring new donors continues to be a challenge (they’re down 10.2% year over year), and that’s not sustainable. It’s time to look at what’s actually working to bring in new names.
If you haven’t recently revisited the strategies you use to reach and engage new supporters, now’s the time. What avenues are you using to connect with new people? How do you invite people to get involved with your work? What experience are you creating for them when they do?
Don’t Neglect Mid-Level Donors
Donors who give between $501 and $5,000 stayed relatively stable year over year, and they made up 16% of all revenue. Being intentional about how you engage this group can have a huge impact on your fundraising in the short term, and it can result in the kinds of relationships that could lead to major gifts down the line.
How do you talk to mid-level donors? How do you cultivate your relationships with them, and what opportunities do you give them to deepen their connection to your work? How will you create systems that encourage them to upgrade their giving?
Keep an Eye on Micro Donors
Micro-donors—people who give between $1 and $100—are down 10%. That’s probably largely due to inflation and economic stress. But, since these donors represent more than half of all givers, it’s important to pay attention to how they behave.
Declining giving among this cohort doesn’t mean they’re not still passionate about their favorite causes. They still care! You may want to consider other avenues you can give them to support the work that’s important to them. Volunteering, peer-to-peer fundraising, and advocating are all significant ways they can stay involved.
Fuel Your Mission: Engage Everyday Donors
Learn actionable strategies to effectively connect with and cultivate the generosity of your everyday supporters—download The Generosity Report now!
Get Smarter with Donor Communications
The number of donors who gave once and those who gave frequently (we’re talking seven or more times) stayed relatively stable, but the number of people who gave between two and six times declined sharply. That suggests a mismatch between donor intent and how nonprofits communicate with them.
Ask your donors what they want from you. Sending a quick survey about communication preferences—like how often they want to hear from you, when they want updates, and what they care about—can help you make your appeals and other communications feel relevant instead of annoying.
Keep Up with the Fundraising Effectiveness Project
Whether you’re an experienced fundraiser or are just getting started, the data in the quarterly Fundraising Effectiveness Project reports is absolutely invaluable. Keeping up with these periodic updates is an important way to understand how nonprofits are doing across the sector, and comparing your own performance to those industry benchmarks can help you identify where to focus your time and energy.
If you want to read the Q3 2025 report (or any of the past reports!), you can find them all at FEPreports.org.
