100+ Fundraising Statistics and Insights You Need for Success in 2025

1/30/2025

Introduction

Even in times of economic uncertainties, geopolitical tensions, and inflationary pressures, the U.S. philanthropic sector continues to show resilience.

Supported by better-than-expected performance in the stock market continued Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, total giving rose to $557.2 billion in 2023, the largest total giving amount to date in current dollars. Over the next 10 years, total giving is anticipated to exceed the historical annual average growth rate, reaching 4.2%.

This Eventgroove report provides an overview of U.S. philanthropy, offering insights into trends shaping the sector. By reviewing industry data, we’ve identified key trends in how donors contribute to charitable causes, as well as the evolving role of technology, generational giving, and donor engagement.

Key Findings

Total giving reached $557.2 billion in 2023.
Individuals represent 67% of total charitable giving.
Religion secured $145.8 billion, the largest amount of total charitable giving.
The Silent Generation holds the monopoly in donating, with 88% of members giving an average of $1,367 in 2023.
Gen Z’s average annual donation increased by 34%, to $1,115 in 2023.
80% of younger donors have expressed interest in alternative investments.
72% of the donor count comes from online contributions.
67% of online giving is made with a desktop.
Members of the Forbes 400 list gave over $250 billion to charity in 2023.
Wyoming is the most charitable state in 2024.

Topics Covered

An Overview of Fundraising Statistics
Economic Indicators That Shaped Charitable Giving
Giving by Generation
Engaging and Retaining the Next Generation of Donors
Online Giving in the U.S.
High Net Worth Giving
Giving by State
Nonprofit Fundraising and AI

An Overview of Fundraising Statistics

Total giving reached $557.2 billion in 2023, up from $499.3 billion in 2022.

However, this 1.9% increase did not outpace the 4.1% inflation rate; when adjusted, total giving declined by 2.1%.

U.S. Giving by Source

The largest source of charitable giving in 2023 came from individuals, representing 67%, who gave $374.4 billion .

Foundations contributed an estimated $103.5 billion to the U.S., a growth of nearly 180% since 2016.

On the other hand, giving by bequest stayed relatively flat in 2023, totaling $42.7 billion.

Corporate giving went up to $36.5 billion—with a five-year growth rate of 14.3%—this is over twice the total giving rate over the same period (5.3%).

From 2022 to 2023, individual donations saw a slight bump of 1.6% in current dollars but a 2.4% decline when adjusted for inflation. Foundations experienced a similar trend, showing a 1.7% current-dollar increase but a 2.3% inflation-adjusted decline.

Bequests showed the strongest performance, growing 4.8% in current dollars and 0.6% after adjusting for inflation.

Corporations’ contributions went up 3% but declined by 1.1% when factoring in inflation.

U.S. Giving by Nonprofit Sector

The nonprofit sector in the U.S. is a powerhouse of social impact, with approximately 340K religious, 255K educational, 154K human services, 129K arts & culture, and 64.5K public-society benefit organizations in 2024.

Nine of ten sectors exhibited philanthropic growth in current dollars, with double-digit growth in gifts for foundations (15.4%), public society benefits (11.6%), and education (11.1%).

Giving declined precipitously to individuals (-17.2%).

In 2023, these organizations made significant contributions, with the majority of charitable dollars going to religion, human services, and education.

Religion secured $145.8 billion, or 5.7% of the total amount. Human services and education were almost tied, with $88.8 billion and $87.7 billion, respectively .

Economic Indicators That Shaped Charitable Giving

It’s fascinating to see the ripple effect the market performance has on economic health and charitable giving.

The stock market’s performance in 2023 exceeded expectations, which is good news for many sectors, particularly philanthropy.

The U.S. GDP grew 2.8% in current dollars, with a more modest 2.5% growth when adjusted for inflation.

Disposable personal income saw a notable increase of 8.1% in current dollars, or 3.8% adjusted for inflation, reflecting consumers’ higher purchasing power.

Hence, consumer spending also grew by 5.9% year-over-year from the end of 2022 to December 2023, with an inflation-adjusted growth of 3.2% .

Giving by Generation

Philanthropic trends reveal different generational priorities and capacities for giving.

The Silent Generation holds the monopoly in donating, with 88% of members giving an average of $1,367 annually to 6.2 charities.

This reflects both their financial stability and a cultural inclination toward charitable contributions.

Boomers follow with 59% donating, but their average gift is lower at $1,212 even though they hold the most wealth at $76.2 trillion. Compared to the two, Gen X tends to give less on average, with their being at $732.

Millennials and Gen Z show promising engagement, 60% and 59%, respectively . The average gift for Millennials is $481, while Gen Z stands at $785.

Both these generations donate to an average of three charities, indicating a level of selectivity and loyalty in their giving habits.

Generational Giving Motivations

Generational motivation to give back to nonprofits—whether through buying raffle tickets, participating in peer-to-peer fundraising, or volunteering—is shaped by each group’s unique values and experiences.

The Silent Generation

Driven by loyalty and personal connections to the causes it supports, this generation often maintains long-term commitments to nonprofits. This makes them a recurring donor, valuable for any nonprofit.

When reaching out to The Silent Generation, fundraisers should focus on tangible, personal communication. This generation generally responds well to direct mail, handwritten notes, thank-you letters, and stories highlighting specific lives the charity changed.

Boomers

Prefer to donate to traditional, well-established organizations with proven impact, such as educational institutions and healthcare charities, often using offline methods like writing checks or participating in in-person events.

This preference for physical engagement should be considered when developing your marketing strategy to connect with this audience. For example, you could print flyers and utilize direct mail to promote charity events.

Gen X

Motivated by environmental issues, education, and children’s welfare, Gen X is the most likely to engage in fundraising, pledging donations, or volunteering.

They are also active in digital communication, staying connected through text messages, voice calls, and social media. This makes them well-suited for modern fundraising methods, including online raffles, charity sweepstakes, and crowdfunding.

Millennials

Prioritize giving to causes that align with their values on societal and economic issues. They often conduct thorough research or establish personal connections before donating.

Millennials are increasingly interested in collaborative giving models. To engage this generation, nonprofits should provide opportunities for involvement, such as volunteering and participating in various fundraising initiatives, be they in-person or online fundraisers.

Introducing new tools and approaches can also empower them to contribute in ways that resonate with their values and capacities.

Gen Z

Motivated by a strong desire to make a difference, Gen Z are more likely to engage with causes that show tangible impact. They appreciate convenience and spontaneity in giving, which aligns with their social media habits of spreading awareness quickly on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Many are also involved in workplace-giving programs, which provide an opportunity for nonprofits to build partnerships with businesses that support these programs. In addition, since this generation values convenience, nonprofits should also focus on streamlining donation processes, offering opportunities for quick, spontaneous contributions.

Engaging and Retaining the Next Generation of Donors

A growing number of younger donors are interested in alternative investments, such as impact investing. In fact, 80% of younger donors have expressed interest in this area.

The global impact investing market has experienced impressive growth, from $420.9 billion in 2022 to $495.8 billion in 2023, a 17.8% year-over-year growth rate.

This trend shows the growing number of donors choosing to invest with a purpose.

Younger generations, particularly Gen Z and Millennials, are drawn to nonprofits that tackle societal challenges.

Gen Z’s charitable giving has seen a significant rise, with their average annual donations increasing by 34%, to $1,115 in just one year. What motivates them? Immediate impact—46% of Gen Z donors see current issues as the primary driver for their most recent donation .

Additionally, the future generation of donors is a very tech-savvy demographic. Hence, nonprofits must also embrace technology to streamline the giving process.

For example, 50% of Gen Z and 36% of Millennials used digital wallets for their most recent social donations .

Young donors may appreciate the convenience of technology, but they also like in-person charity events and experiences, particularly when they can see how their participation has a direct impact on a cause.

One effective method to implement this is to create limited-edition custom merchandise that functions as a “buy one, give one.” Young donors can purchase a tote or hoodie bearing unique artwork and opt to donate an item in kind.

Research indicates that 60% of consumers are likely to purchase custom merchandise at events when they know that for every item purchased, one will be donated to people in need .

Donor Retention Rates

Donors who give to an organization multiple times, like mid-level donors (14% of total donors) or recurring donations, usually contribute more money over time than one-time donors, regardless of the donation amount .

These donors demonstrate consistency and affinity for the causes they support and often become major donors over time.

Online Giving in the U.S.

In the U.S., online giving has become a significant part of the nonprofit fundraising landscape, with 72% of the donor count coming from online contributions.

The larger portion of total revenue (76%) in 2023 still comes from offline gifts, like donations driven by challenges, matches, Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs), and pre-arranged gifts by gift officers .

In 2023, monthly online giving went up by 6%, with email fundraising accounting for 16% of the online revenue . When looking specifically at email fundraising efforts, the average click-through rate fell to 0.5%, a 4.8% decrease from 2022.

Revenue per 1,000 fundraising emails declined by 20%, dropping to $76 in 2023. Notably, only 15% of recipients who clicked on a fundraising link completed a gift, resulting in an average response rate of just 0.1% .

Nonprofit organizations need to optimize their websites to align with how users interact across different devices. By utilizing an all-in-one fundraising platform, nonprofits can create mobile-friendly, responsive websites that streamline their fundraising efforts and improve overall interaction with supporters.

The majority (52%) of users access nonprofit websites via mobile. However, desktops remain the preferred platform for making donations, representing 67% of online transactions and 78% of total online revenue. Donations made via desktop average $137, significantly higher than the $83 average for mobile donations .

The adoption of digital wallets, such as PayPal, Venmo, and Apple Pay, has also proven beneficial for organizations, as 34% of donations are made through these quick, easy payment options, allowing donors to contribute in under a minute .

High Net Worth Giving

The U.S. continued to have the most billionaires, growing to 788 billionaires in 2023 , with donations from members of the Forbes 400 list giving over $287 billion to charity .

The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual “Philanthropy 50” list of the top donors in the U.S. reported that America’s 50 wealthiest donors gave more than $11.9 billion to charities in 2023 (5% of all individual giving), representing a 27.8% decline from 2022’s total of $16.5 billion.

These donors gave primarily to their own foundations or donor-advised funds.

The net worth of the 400 wealthiest U.S. donors grew from $4 trillion in 2022 to $4.5 trillion in 2023, and this cohort gave over $250 billion, just under 6% of their combined net worth, to charity.

What Philanthropy 50 Members Supported in 2023

When choosing to donate, foundations seem to be the Philanthropy 50 members’ go-to.

They managed to gather the most donations, a total of $4.4 billion. Colleges and universities came second with a lower but still considerable amount of $1.4 billion .

Michael Bloomberg was the top Philanthropy 50 donor in 2023, gifting $3 billion in support of the arts, education, city government improvements, and public health.

Giving by State

According to a recent study that compared the 50 states across two key dimensions, “Volunteering & Service” and “Charitable Giving,” Wyoming is the most charitable state, closely followed by Utah .

Nonprofit Fundraising and AI

The integration of technology is undeniably one of the most significant and transformative trends in fundraising.

Instead of guessing what donors really care about, fundraisers can now tap into the same technology that companies like Amazon and Netflix use to serve up personalized suggestions.

When communications are personalized based on the actual, demonstrated interests of donors, open and click-through rates, on average, double. However, most nonprofits have yet to respond to AI technology, while a minority have started to integrate it for communication, analysis, or repetitive tasks .

To understand the importance of technology adaptation for nonprofits, let’s look at the projected transfer of wealth.

An estimated $84 trillion will be passed down from Baby Boomers to younger generations.

This grand transfer of wealth represents a great opportunity for growth in the nonprofit sector, with estimates suggesting around $6 trillion to $27 trillion of this transferred wealth could be donated to charity. If nonprofits seize this moment strategically, they could see their fundraising efforts multiply three to six times.

To successfully engage this younger demographic, organizations must rethink and innovate their fundraising approaches, with artificial intelligence (AI) ready to play an indispensable role in this transformation.