By Benchmarks Team There’s so much to share — a whole chart-filled, data-rich, super interesting set of findings, all packaged up for you in the 2026 M+R Benchmarks Zine. Download and explore the full study here.
Too impatient to click through? We get it. Here’s some of the really big stuff:
- Donors showed up in a big way in 2025.
Online revenue increased by 15% on average, with many organizations reporting a spike in giving. This kind of emergency response was especially common for public media, hunger/poverty nonprofits like food banks, and rights organizations. In a break from long-term trends, revenue from one-time giving increased at a faster rate than monthly giving. - Nonprofit programs grew across the board
Increases in audience size, messaging volume, giving, and revenue were widespread across channels. Key metrics improved for email, direct mail, mobile messaging, and some digital advertising channels. - AI search is affecting website traffic and nonprofit strategy
As chat-based search and AI summaries replace traditional search for many users, the share of organic traffic to nonprofit websites fell month by month. Multichannel advertising platforms showed strong results, though they still made up a small portion of total spend.
There’s so much more, please check it out at mrbenchmarks.com.
We would also love to walk you through the key findings and answer any questions you might have. You have three chances coming up:
- Webinar TODAY, April 22, 1:00ET. Depending on when you see this, there may still be time to sign up!
- DC Benchmarks party is on April 29 at Busboys and Poets. Join us in the Langston Room at Busboys and Poets (1201 14th St, NW, Washington, DC) for a live presentation at 4pm, followed by drinks, snacks, and a bit of DIYing. RSVP here.
- NYC Benchmarks party is on May 7 at RPM Underground. We’ll meet at RPM Underground (246 W 54th St, New York, NY 10019) for a live presentation at 4pm, followed by drinks, snacks, and maybe some karaoke?? RSVP here.
Thank you to all the participants who contributed data to this year’s M+R Benchmarks Study. We worked really hard to combine your results into a useful resource for all, and to show the impact your work makes every single day. We hope you find it helpful, and we can’t wait to talk more.
— The M+R Benchmarks Team