The most-asked fundraising benchmarks, with their sources: overall donor retention sits near 43-45% (Fundraising Effectiveness Project, 2025 data), new-donor retention has slid to roughly 14-25% while repeat donors are retained at around 87%; individuals give about two-thirds (66%) of the roughly $592.5 billion Americans gave in 2024 (Giving USA 2025); a common cost-to-raise-a-dollar rule of thumb is about $0.20 overall but ranges from a few cents (major gifts, grants) to well over a dollar (acquisition mail); and monthly recurring giving made up about 27% of online revenue (M+R Benchmarks 2026).
Treat every number below as a reference point, not a target to hit. Benchmarks are sector-wide aggregates that blend tiny all-volunteer groups with national brands, and they shift every year — always verify the current-year report before you quote a figure to your board. The most useful comparison is not the sector average; it is your own number, this year versus last. The calculate-your-own section gives you the formula.
How to read this page
Each figure is stated with its source and year inline. Where the prompt-era rule of thumb has drifted, we show the latest reading. Use these to ask better questions ("why is our new-donor retention half the sector?"), not to declare victory or defeat on a single ratio.
Donor retention benchmarks
Donor retention is the share of last year's donors who gave again this year. It is the single most repeated fundraising benchmark because acquiring a new donor typically costs far more than keeping an existing one. The figures below come from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP), which aggregates transaction data from thousands of US nonprofits; the most recent readings reflect 2024-into-2025 giving.
| Segment | Typical retention | Source / year |
|---|---|---|
| Overall (all donors) | ~43-45% | FEP, 2025 data |
| New donors (first gift last year) | ~14-25% | FEP, 2025 data |
| Repeat donors (gave 2+ years) | ~85-90% | FEP, 2025 data |
The pattern matters more than the precise decimals. New donors are the leaky bucket: only a small minority of first-time givers return, and FEP's recent reports show new-donor retention falling — one reading put it near 14%, the steepest decline of any segment. Repeat donors are remarkably loyal: once someone gives a second or third year, retention jumps toward ~87%. That is why a second gift is the most valuable milestone in fundraising.
Note a common mix-up: repeat donors are roughly 40% of your donor count but more than 60% of dollars raised (FEP). That 60% is a share of revenue, not a retention rate — don't confuse the two on a board slide. For the mechanics of turning first-time givers into loyal ones, see monthly recurring giving and donor development.
FEP retention is reported on a rolling basis and revised; the exact overall figure moves a point or two each release. Verify the current-year report at fepreports.org before quoting a number.
US giving mix & sources
When a board asks "where does charitable money come from?", the answer comes from Giving USA, the annual estimate of total US philanthropy. Per Giving USA 2025 (reporting on calendar year 2024), Americans gave an estimated $592.5 billion — a current-dollar high, up from about $557.2 billion in 2023. Here is how that total splits by source:
| Source | Amount (2024) | Share of total |
|---|---|---|
| Individuals | ~$392.5B | ~66% |
| Foundations | ~$109.8B | ~18.5% |
| Bequests | ~$45.8B | ~7.7% |
| Corporations | ~$44.4B | ~7.5% |
| Total US giving | ~$592.5B | 100% |
| Source: Giving USA 2025 (Giving USA Foundation / IUPUI Lilly Family School of Philanthropy), reporting 2024 data. Figures rounded. | ||
The headline for most small nonprofits: individuals are roughly two-thirds of all giving, and if you count bequests (which come from individuals) the share is closer to three-quarters. Many founders over-invest in grant writing because foundations feel like big money, but foundations are under a fifth of the pie. A balanced plan weights individual donors accordingly — see the funding mix for how to set those ratios. For where foundations do fit, see grants.
Giving USA figures are estimates revised in later editions; the prior year's number is restated each release. The often-quoted "$557B" is the 2023 total, not the latest — always cite the year. Verify the current edition at givingusa.org.
Cost to raise a dollar by channel
Cost to raise a dollar (CRD) is total fundraising expense divided by total dollars raised. A widely repeated rule of thumb is about $0.20 overall — that is, spending roughly twenty cents to bring in a dollar — but this is a blended average that hides enormous variation by channel. CRD measures efficiency, not effectiveness: a channel can be "expensive" and still worth it if it acquires donors who give for years.
| Channel | Typical cost per $1 raised | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Major gifts | ~$0.05-0.10 | Lowest cost; relationship-driven |
| Grants / foundations | ~$0.05-0.20 | Cost is staff time |
| Online / digital | ~$0.05-0.15 | Scales cheaply once built |
| Direct mail (renewal) | ~$0.10-0.25 | Cheap to existing donors |
| Special events | ~$0.30-0.50 | High effort; good for awareness |
| Direct mail (acquisition) | ~$1.00-1.25+ | Often loses money up front by design |
| Overall blended (rule of thumb) | ~$0.20 | Sector aggregate |
Ranges synthesized from fundraising-practice sources and M+R / direct-mail benchmark reporting; CRD is not a single official statistic and varies widely by organization size and maturity. Treat as directional.
The acquisition-mail line surprises people: it routinely costs more than a dollar to raise a dollar from brand-new donors, and that can still be smart because those donors are retained and give again at a fraction of the cost. This is why CRD should be read alongside retention, not alone. A board that judges the events budget purely on CRD will cut the channel that builds the donor pipeline. For the broader picture, see financial management basics.
Recurring & online giving
Recurring (monthly) gifts are the most reliable, most retained revenue a small nonprofit can build. Per the M+R Benchmarks 2026 study, monthly giving made up about 27% of all online revenue in 2025 — more than a quarter of digital dollars, on autopilot. Below are the headline online figures from that report.
| Metric | Benchmark | Source / year |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly giving as % of online revenue | ~27% | M+R Benchmarks 2026 |
| Average one-time online gift | ~$143 | M+R Benchmarks 2026 |
| Average monthly gift | ~$30 | M+R Benchmarks 2026 |
| First-year donor value (rule of thumb) | ~1.0-1.5x first gift | Sector practice |
A few reference points to interpret these. The average one-time online gift (~$143) dwarfs the average monthly gift (~$30), but a $30/month donor is worth ~$360 over a year and stays far longer — recurring donors are retained at much higher rates than one-time givers. The first-year value rule of thumb says a new donor's total giving in year one tends to run roughly 1.0-1.5 times their first gift; the real return shows up in years two and beyond, which loops back to retention. To build the recurring program itself, see monthly recurring giving and nonprofit email marketing.
M+R figures skew toward larger nonprofits with formal digital programs, so small-org numbers may differ. Averages are pulled upward by a few large gifts; medians run lower. Verify the current-year report at mrbenchmarks.com.
Calculate YOUR retention rate
Benchmarks are only useful next to your own number. Donor retention is simple to calculate by hand from any donor list with gift dates.
Retention rate = (donors who gave in BOTH last year and this year) ÷ (total donors who gave last year) × 100.
- Count last year's donors. How many unique people/households gave at all during the prior 12-month period? Call this your denominator.
- Count how many of those same donors gave again this year. Match by donor, not by gift — one person who gave three times counts once. This is your numerator.
- Divide and multiply by 100. Numerator ÷ denominator × 100 = your overall retention rate.
Worked example: if 200 people gave last year and 90 of them gave again this year, retention = 90 ÷ 200 × 100 = 45% — right around the sector average.
Two refinements worth doing once the basic number is in hand: calculate new-donor retention separately (of donors whose first gift was last year, how many returned?) and repeat-donor retention (of donors who had already given before, how many returned?). Splitting these tells you whether your problem is acquisition follow-up or long-term stewardship — they call for different fixes.
Benchmark health check
- You can state your overall retention rate for the most recent year, calculated from your own data.
- You track new-donor and repeat-donor retention separately, not just the blended number.
- You know what share of revenue comes from individuals vs. grants vs. events — your version of the giving mix.
- You have a rough cost to raise a dollar for at least your two biggest channels.
- You report recurring revenue as its own line and watch it grow year over year.
- Every benchmark you quote to the board carries a source and year.
Using benchmarks well
Benchmarks earn their keep as conversation-starters and sanity checks, and they cause harm when treated as scorecards. A few rules for using the tables above honestly.
- Compare to yourself first. Your retention rate this year versus last year is more actionable than your rate versus a national average that blends the Red Cross with a two-person rescue.
- Cite source and year, every time. These numbers shift annually. "Retention is ~45% per FEP 2025" is defensible; "retention is 45%" with no source is not.
- Don't game the number. You can flatter a retention rate by purging lapsed records, or flatter CRD by under-counting staff time. The point is to learn, not to win.
- Read ratios together. High event costs look bad alone but fine if events feed a retained donor pipeline. Pair CRD with retention and lifetime value.
- Bigger orgs skew the averages. Many benchmarks over-represent large nonprofits with formal programs; small and rural groups should expect different baselines.
For the tools and templates behind these metrics, browse the fundraising resources and templates libraries, and pair this page with operating reserves to judge financial health alongside fundraising performance.
A recurring, unrestricted line on your benchmark table
Good Circles adds a revenue source most benchmarks barely capture: supporters pick your cause once, then a share of their everyday local spending funds you automatically — recurring and unrestricted, at no cost to your nonprofit. We estimate about $72 per active supporter per year, so roughly $36,000 a year from 500 engaged supporters. It is an estimate, not a guarantee, but it is the kind of retained, predictable giving these benchmarks reward.
Claim a Founding Nonprofit spot →Sources & tools
Free first
- Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP) — Free quarterly and annual donor retention, acquisition, and giving-trend benchmarks aggregated from thousands of US nonprofits — the standard source for retention figures.
- Giving USA — key findings — The annual estimate of total US charitable giving and its breakdown by source (individuals, foundations, bequests, corporations); free summary and key findings.
- M+R Benchmarks — Free annual study of nonprofit digital fundraising, email, and recurring-giving benchmarks, including monthly giving as a share of online revenue and average gift sizes.
- Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) — Professional body that co-publishes FEP and offers free fundraising research, ethics standards, and practitioner guidance for benchmarking your program.
Paid — optional labor-savers
- Bloomerang (donor CRM) — A donor management CRM with built-in retention reporting that calculates and tracks your retention rate, giving segments, and donor trends automatically. Worth it when Worth it when you want your retention rate and donor segments calculated for you continuously instead of by hand in a spreadsheet each year.
Last verified 2026-06-16. Figures and rules change — verify at the source before you act.
FAQ
What is a good donor retention rate for a nonprofit?
Overall donor retention across the sector sits near 43-45% per the Fundraising Effectiveness Project (2025 data) — meaning fewer than half of last year's donors give again. New-donor retention is far lower (roughly 14-25%), while repeat donors are retained near 87%. Treat ~45% as a reference point, and focus on improving your own number year over year. Verify the current FEP report, since these shift annually.
What percentage of charitable giving comes from individuals?
Individuals gave about 66% of total US charitable giving in 2024, roughly $392.5 billion of the estimated $592.5 billion total, per Giving USA 2025. Add bequests (which also come from individuals) and the share approaches three-quarters. Foundations were about 18.5% and corporations about 7.5%. These are annual estimates that get revised, so cite the edition and year.
How much does it cost to raise a dollar?
A common rule of thumb is about $0.20 to raise a dollar overall, but it varies enormously by channel: major gifts, grants, and online giving can cost only a few cents, special events run roughly $0.30-0.50, and acquisition direct mail often costs more than a dollar by design. Cost to raise a dollar measures efficiency, not effectiveness — read it alongside retention and donor lifetime value, not on its own.
How do I calculate my donor retention rate?
Divide the number of donors who gave in both last year and this year by the total number of donors who gave last year, then multiply by 100. For example, 90 returning donors out of 200 prior-year donors is a 45% retention rate. Match by donor (not by gift), and for sharper insight calculate new-donor and repeat-donor retention separately.