Resilient Growth.
Big Opportunities. ​

The typical nonprofit grew in 2025—but growth was not shared evenly. 

The weighted median organization closed the year up ~4.3% year over year, powered by a strong Q4 finish. Yet performance diverged sharply by organization size and gift band. Large organizations and mid-to-major gifts experienced gains, while small organizations and sub $1,000 giving lagged or declined.  

Five Fast Takeaways 

• Overall growth: Despite a cooling macro environment (GDP growth slowed and consumer spending decelerated into Q4), the median organization experienced durable generosity, growing ~4.3% YoY in calendar year 2025 with a strong close (weighted; not total sector dollars). 

• Q4 concentration: 36.1% of annual revenue arrived in Q4; December alone accounted for ~18% of all giving. 

• Bifurcation by size: Large organizations ended the year +11.7% YoY; small organizations finished down -6.4%. Midsize organizations saw modest growth (+2% YoY). 

• Gift band split: Mid and major gifts (≥$1K) grew ~4.7% YoY, while low-level gifts (<$1K) declined ~1.1%. 

• Digital snapshot: Online giving grew ~11% YoY, peaking at ~15% growth in November. 

Blackbaud’s proprietary philanthropic data set estimates the experience of an average nonprofit organization using giving data from a subset of Blackbaud customers representing over 7,500 nonprofit organizations, totaling over $66 billion in fundraising revenue. Nonprofit data available from the IRS and Giving USA are used to weight the data of the sample to align with the makeup of the sector proportionally by organization size and focus to give a representative snapshot of the sector.

Organizations’ size is defined by annual revenue: Small (up to 1 million dollars), Medium (between 1 million dollars and up to 10 million dollars), and Large (10 million dollars and above).

• New in 2025: Distinct gift band (low-level, mid-level, major) analysis to better inform fundraising strategy. Plus, an updated, refined view of giving over the past 10 years. 

Wider economic growth moderated in late 2025, but charitable giving remained resilient—though uneven. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, real GDP growth slowed to a 1.4% annualized rate in Q4 2025, down sharply from Q3, as consumer spending decelerated even while remaining a net contributor to growth.  

After a strong start, concerns mounted midyear, but giving momentum accelerated into Q4. By year-end, the typical organization saw ~4.3% YoY, continuing a familiar pattern: year-end generosity remains the sector’s primary growth engine.  

This resilience, however, was uneven: Growth was concentrated among large organizations and mid to major gift revenue, while small organizations and low level giving lagged or declined. Overall, the sector continued to grow in 2025 despite a cooling economy, but that growth was concentrated among organizations and donors with greater capacity. 

Seasonality remains pronounced. More than one third of annual revenue (36%) arrived in Q4, with December consistently the most important month. 

Q4 remains the dominant engine of annual fundraising totals; this concentration held even in a quarter where GDP growth cooled and consumer spending slowed.  

While the strength of Q4 in charitable giving mirrors prior years, monthly gift data highlights opportunity outside year-end, particularly during the summer, when average and median gift sizes soften. 

Over the past decade, giving has trended upward, with average gift size nearly doubling, from $727 in 2016 to $1,346 in 2025. The most dramatic inflection occurred during 2020–2021, when pandemic era generosity lifted both revenue and gift size across the sector. 

What followed, however, illustrated a widening gap in the sector: 

Starting in 2022, growth bifurcated by organization size. Large organizations continued to expand revenue and average gift size, while small organizations saw flatter growth, fewer gifts, and greater volatility. By 2025, this divergence was unmistakable: 

• Large organizations averaged ~$2,000 per gift, up sharply from pre-pandemic levels. 

• Small organizations averaged ~$461 per gift, with declining gift counts relative to earlier years. 

Post 2021; growth increasingly accrues to organizations best positioned to secure and steward major gifts. 2021, growth increasingly accrues to organizations primed to secure and steward major gifts.

This pattern reflects structural realities of the sector, where larger organizations often have access to opportunities that smaller organizations may not be pursuing. Large organizations benefited disproportionately from major gift capacity, donor advised fund activity, and advanced stewardship, while many small organizations struggled to convert pandemic era donor acquisition into sustained support. However, the current reality doesn’t foreclose opportunity. 

Major giving in small organizations rose from around 65% to approx. 70% of all giving in 2020, staying strong until 2023. It is only in the last two years that major giving has accounted for a smaller percentage of small organizations’ portfolio, at approximately 51%. This is a canary in the coalmine, offering small organizations the chance to course correct. 

• Economic Patterns to Watch: While U.S. economic growth slowed in Q4 2025 amid decelerating consumer spending, charitable giving remained resilient driven increasingly by major donors reinforcing a widening gap between organizations built for major gifts and those reliant on smaller individual gifts. 

Size based disparities sharpened in late 2025. Large organizations finished the year well above the sector median, while the median small organization ended flat or negative, with a visible split emerging between November and December. 

Q4 mattered for everyone—accounting for ~37% of annual revenue for both small and large organizations—but the composition of that revenue differed dramatically. Large organizations derived most of their year-end gains from major gifts, while small organizations remained more reliant on low level giving, where declines persisted. 

What’s next for Small organizations? Growth requires accessible midlevel strategies, stronger recurring giving, and earlier Q4 readiness. 

In 2025, mid-level and major donors carried the sector. Revenue from gifts ≥$1,000 increased ~4.7% YoY, while sub $1,000 giving declined ~1.1%. 

Annual Median Benchmarks for 2025: 

• Small Level: ~$106

• Mid Level: ~$2,358

• Major: ~$49,800 

Large organizations received 84.5% of annual revenue from major gifts, compared with 51.7% for Small organizations—a gap that explains much of the performance divide. 

What this means: Major giving is critical for organizations of all sizes—and for organizations struggling to achieve growth. Strengthening major gift strategy is often a necessary starting point.

At the same time, the data points to meaningful—and often underleveraged—opportunity among midlevel donors, particularly for large organizations where this segment can serve as a bridge between small-to-mid- and major giving.

While small organizations may remain more heavily weighted toward mass donations, low friction and recurring giving strategies benefitevery organization type—not only as a source of near-term revenue, but as a pipeline for identifying future advocates, volunteers, and the next generation of mid and major–level donors.

TIP: While pursuing individual major giving opportunities should remain a priority for all organizations, corporate giving offers a pathway to not only a major gift in the form of employee giving and matching programs—but also future opportunities by building trust and awareness with employees themselves. 

Why is this important now? Findings from our report Gen Z at the Table showed the power of employee giving and volunteerism for building lifelong relationship with emerging donors. Out of those whose workplaces offered giving and volunteering programs, close to 90% of Gen Zer’s took part.

Online giving continued to outpace overall giving growth in 2025, increasing ~11% YoY. As with total giving, digital revenue was heavily concentrated in Q4, with November and December driving the strongest gains. 

• Median online gift (Dec 2025): ~$364 

Q4 dependence varies by subsector. Foundations (~40.8%), Public & Society Benefit (~39.6%), and Environment (~38.9%) organizations relied most heavily on year-end giving, while other sectors showed a more even distribution across the year. 

• What to watch: Subsector outliers may signal differing donor motivations, stewardship cycles, or opportunities for midyear engagement. 

• Lock in Q4 now: Plan calendars, campaigns, and capacity backward from December.
  • Get checklists, campaign templates, and strategies in your Ultimate End-of-Year Fundraising Toolkit.

• Scale major gift readiness: Strengthen identification, qualification, and stewardship—especially for small to mid-size organizations with opportunities for growth.
  • Major gifts take considerable resouces; take a measured approach to which pathway makes the most sense for your organization.
  • Explore corporate sponsorships as a pathway to major gifts. Get a behind-the-veil look at how to get started.
  • Are you spending enough time with your major donors? Take this quiz to find out.

• Rebuild broad base giving: Prioritize low friction asks, monthly giving, and clear upgrade paths. 
  • Show up where your donors are, with strategies that include non-cash gifts.

• Bolster Your Small Org: Equip boards, invest in recurring revenue, and pilot efficient midlevel programs. 
  • Build up your recurring giving program with an optimized experience that lays the foundation for lifelong support.
  • Midlevel giving is one of the most elusive and under-utilized revenue sources that an organization can target. What if AI could identify these loyal, high value donor and build a stewardship plan tailor made for their preferences?
  • Build a risk-ready culture that starts with your board so that your strategic planning can put you at the top when the unexpected occurs.

• Optimize digital capture: Improve online forms, attribution, and conversion—especially ahead of Q4. 
  • Here are three steps you can take in the next 30 days to updrade your digital donor acquisition.

• Kate Averett Anderson, Research and Publications Lead
• Lorraine Poer, Head of the Blackbaud Insitute
• Melissa Wayman, Data Analyst