Giving season, decoded
Five years of data, 500+ nonprofits, and how donors show up at year-end
Donor behavior benchmarks: five years of giving season data
Every quarter, the Fundraise Up Pulse Check:
Shares the latest data from the nonprofit sector
Shows what it means for your organization
Recommends strategies that you and your team can immediately implement
In this special edition of Pulse Check, we’ve conducted our most comprehensive year-end data analysis to date based on five years of giving season data across 500+ U.S. based nonprofits.
This report is designed to help you better understand how year-end fundraising fits into your annual efforts, and how donors choose to show up during the season of giving.
Each section of this report includes key activations you can implement to build better donor experiences that bring in even more donations on the highest intent moments at the end of year.
When and why donors show up
Many nonprofits will be deep into their giving season planning by the time this report comes out. Which is exactly why we’re publishing these insights now. The recommendations in this report are designed to help you make real time decisions — and pivots — based on how donors will engage with your year-end efforts.
There are two high-level insights:
‘Tis the season. Not one day.
The data breaks down year-end into several distinct giving peaks, not just one day or moment, to give you a clear picture of donor intent day by day as the year comes to a close.
Giving Tuesday drives 10% of total giving season revenue. That’s 8x the average giving per visitor for a single off-season day. It’s a peak day of momentum that kickstarts year-end campaigns. December 31st drives nearly 18x the amount of generosity of an average day of the year, while the final 6 days of the year together are responsible for 38% of all year-end donations.
Year-end success is connected to all your work over the past year.
The data also shows us that during the moments of peak donor intent, a majority of supporters who will give to your mission this December are already in your database. They care deeply about your work, have donated over the last year, and are ready to give again when asked.
The giving season is not a stand alone campaign. It is an integrated part of donors' experience with your mission and the ways they can partner with you. We’ll dive deeper to explore why and when donors continue to show up, and how you can create seamless giving experiences that increase impact.
Key numbers
Share of Giving Season revenue
brought in during the final six days of the year
ACH transfers bring in five times more per donation than credit cards
of Giving Season revenue is driven by search and organic traffic
of gifts are from returning donors. Up from 46% over the last five years
(All figures are median values per organization across the study's cohort, not revenue-weighted totals or absolute dollars. See Methodology notes at the end of the report.)
Donor Behavior Insights
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December 31st is the peak day of giving
The biggest day of giving is the final day of the year. December 31st earns 16% of the season's revenue, December 30th earns 8%.
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Previous donors are likely to give again—and give more
Giving season is a great re-engagement opportunity. Donors who gave last giving season are more likely to show up again and give more than anyone else in your database.
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The average gift size for an ACH bank transfer is $1,500
The highest average donation comes from a payment method that only 61% of nonprofits offer in their online giving experience.
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Donors will likely only give once during Giving Season
One-time gifts will be the vast majority of donations nonprofits receive during the Giving Season, and donors statistically will only make one gift during that period.
Giving Season is not a December strategy. It's the result of the work you do all year.
Giving Season is not a December strategy. It's the result of the work you do all year.
Deep dive into our latest nonprofit data benchmark report exploring donor behavior trends across 5 years of data and 500+ nonprofits.
This report was created in collaboration with
