What ARE your donors thinking?
The last few weeks have been “interesting,” and some frequently asked questions from many of our clients have included:
- What are our donors thinking as they live through a national “chaos strategy”?
- How should we be rethinking our messaging strategy to meet our donors where they are and ensure our communications are timely and relevant?
- In the wake of all that is happening, do you have any data or information we can pass on to our board and others about the fundraising climate for progressive organizations in 2025?
Of one thing we can all be certain: In the aftermath of the 2024 elections, grassroots donors—both those who give largely online and those who give mainly through direct mail—are in a very different “place” than they were four years ago—or even four months ago.
As a result, this is a critical moment to gauge donor priorities and take a snapshot of how they see the changing world around them.
That’s why The Mellman Group and A.B. Data will once again be partnering for the 2025 National Progressive Donor Survey (NPDS). In our fifth iteration of the survey, we’re taking the temperature of donors on a range of issues and on their philanthropic intentions for causes and organizations that they have historically supported, as well as ones that may hold new interest and appeal, especially now.
Highlights of our most recent survey conducted in early 2021 provided a glimpse into donors’ intention to tighten their purse strings and give to fewer nonprofit organizations following the Biden victory. We have certainly seen that ring true with the most recent quarterly report from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project showing 2024 as the fourth consecutive year of declining grassroots donor retention rates, particularly for micro-donors ($1-$100).
For this year’s survey, we’ve built a sample of online and offline donors representing nonprofit organizations across five sectors within the progressive donor community: Political, International Aid & Relief, Civil and Constitutional Rights, Women’s Rights, and Environmental. The survey is currently in the field, and results are expected to be compiled soon.
We’re looking forward to getting an understanding of what donors are thinking in 2025 and sharing the results with those interested in learning more. Be on the lookout for more information coming your way in the next couple weeks.
And please save the date for an in-person briefing in Washington, D.C., on March 12th, as well as one or more virtual briefings on our findings. Official invitations will be sent in the weeks ahead.
We’re glad to be on the cutting edge of philanthropic trends and working side-by-side with our colleagues at The Mellman Group to learn as much as we can as early as we can so that we can help our nonprofit partners raise the critical funds needed to confront current challenges and carry forward their work to build a better world.
We’re also sending out a special thank you to all of the nonprofit organizations who are participating in this year’s survey! Stay tuned for more to come.
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