2025 Fundraising Outlook Report: Key Findings You Need to Know

As we move into 2025, the nonprofit sector is navigating a landscape full of both challenges and exciting opportunities. Our 2025 Fundraising Outlook report, based on self-reported insights from 977 nonprofit professionals, sheds light on how organizations are adapting, growing, and innovating to drive success.

Let’s take a look at the report’s key findings and explore how nonprofits are shaping their strategies for the year ahead.

1. In-Person and Hybrid Events: Powerful Tools for Engagement and Growth

In-person and hybrid events continue to be essential strategies for nonprofits seeking to maximize fundraising success and deepen engagement. In 2024, 76% of organizations using hybrid formats met or exceeded their fundraising goals, and 75% of those holding only in-person events achieved their targets. Yet, despite these strong results, only one-third of nonprofits plan to host hybrid events in 2025, while 83% will focus on in-person events.

For nonprofits not yet holding events, it’s time to reconsider. With proven results and the ability to reach a broader audience, hybrid fundraising presents an opportunity to boost your fundraising efforts and engage a wider donor base, while in-person events remain a crucial touchpoint for fostering personal connections and driving deeper engagement.

Best Practice Tips:

  • If you’re hosting a large fundraising gala, consider offering a virtual ticket option. This allows people who can’t travel to still be part of the event, increasing ticket sales, donations, and engagement from a broader audience.
  • Invest in event fundraising technology that offers integrated solutions for both in-person and hybrid events. Whether you’re hosting a live auction, a gala, or a virtual event, platforms such as OneCause enable smooth integration of live streaming, online bidding, and donation tools. For in-person events, OneCause helps streamline ticketing, check-in, and donation processing, while ensuring that virtual attendees also have a seamless experience.
  • Remember, not all events have to be big! You can host smaller, targeted events throughout the year to provide consistent engagement opportunities. Consider hosting segmented donor touchpoints, like exclusive donor luncheons or virtual coffee chats for major donors, or organizing smaller local meetups for regional supporters. These events help you stay connected with donors year-round without the pressure of organizing large-scale events every time.

2. Nonprofits Are Balancing Donor Acquisition with Retention

While donor acquisition remains a priority for nonprofits, retention is also critical. A staggering 98% of nonprofits are focusing on acquiring new donors, and 95% also recognize the importance of retaining existing supporters. This dual focus signals a more sustainable approach to growth, as retaining loyal donors is more cost-effective than continually seeking new ones.

Nurturing donor relationships should be at the forefront of nonprofits’ strategies. Organizations that successfully engage their existing donors through personalized giving experiences are more likely to see repeat donations. While it’s tempting to focus entirely on acquisition, a balanced strategy that includes retention efforts will ensure long-term sustainability.

Best Practice Tips:

  • Personalized donor experiences are key to retention. Use tailored communications—like personalized emails, birthday messages, or donor recognition cards—that show appreciation for your supporters. Offer exclusive content like behind-the-scenes event access or early invitations to special campaigns, which make donors feel valued. Simple acts like sending handwritten thank-you notes or acknowledging donations on social media can also deepen connections with your donors.
  • Regularly engage with your donors through phone calls, emails, or even small surprise gifts as tokens of appreciation. Provide updates on how their donations are making an impact and invite them to exclusive events or virtual meetings with your leadership team to maintain a personal connection. Recognizing and appreciating your donors can significantly improve retention and increase their lifetime value to your nonprofit.
  • Use technology like OneCause in conjunction with your CRM to track and segment donors for more targeted engagement based on giving history, engagement levels, and donor behavior. With this information, you can send more relevant appeals and personalized content, increasing the likelihood of ongoing support. For example, target high-value donors with exclusive event invitations or send specific fundraising asks to segments based on their previous interactions with your organization.

3. Event and Online Fundraising Continue to Drive Revenue for Smaller Nonprofits

Event and online fundraising are critical revenue drivers for nonprofits, especially smaller organizations. In 2024, 66% of nonprofits with annual operating revenues under $1 million raised 21% or more of their operating revenue from these channels, proving their significant impact on financial sustainability. As these digital tools continue to evolve, they offer nonprofit organizations a cost-effective way to grow their donor base and maximize fundraising efforts.

Small nonprofits should continue to leverage the flexibility and scalability of online and event-based fundraising. In-person and virtual events enable these organizations to engage donors and reach a wider audience. Additionally, embracing online giving (which includes donation forms with one-time and recurring giving) can help nonprofits connect with younger, tech-savvy donors who prefer digital giving methods.

Best Practice Tips:

  • Provide a variety of payment methods, including ACH transfers, digital wallet options like Apple Pay or Google Pay, and traditional credit cards, to give donors flexibility and convenience. By doing so, you’ll cater to different preferences, increasing the likelihood of successful transactions. For example, the 5th edition of The Giving Experience found that 50% of Gen Z social donors reported making their last donation with a digital wallet, driving home the importance of offering various online giving options.
  • Keep your online donation forms simple and mobile-friendly. Intuitive donation forms increase the likelihood of donors completing their donations. Focus on reducing the number of fields and eliminating any unnecessary steps that could cause friction in the giving process. Make sure your forms are optimized for mobile devices, as many donors may access them on smartphones or tablets.
  • To streamline your fundraising efforts, invest in a comprehensive platform that consolidates various fundraising channels. Look for solutions that provide online giving forms with recurring donation options, in-person and virtual event fundraising capabilities, text-to-give features, and peer-to-peer fundraising tools. All-in-one platforms like OneCause help nonprofits manage multiple fundraising methods in one place, saving time and resources while offering a unified donor experience.

4. AI Adoption is Growing

Nonprofits are increasingly looking to AI to enhance their operations, from donor management to event planning and fundraising campaigns. While 45% of organizations are already using or planning to adopt AI tools, many still face challenges in understanding how to implement them effectively. The key barriers include knowledge gaps, limited resources, and the complexity of integrating AI into existing systems.

To successfully leverage AI’s potential, nonprofits need targeted education, accessible tools, and partnerships with technology providers. OneCause offers user-friendly AI-powered features that can streamline donor engagement, optimize fundraising strategies, and improve data-driven decision-making—making it easier for nonprofits to adopt and implement AI in their operations.

Best Practice Tips:

  • Focus on ease of use! The best AI tools are those that simplify tasks rather than complicating them. Look for solutions that integrate AI into existing workflows in ways that are intuitive for your team. This helps ensure that your staff can leverage AI’s full potential without added friction or a steep learning curve.
  • Opt for platforms that integrate AI directly into fundraising tools with no need for extra training. With OneCause, AI is embedded throughout the platform, offering time-saving features like automatically generated auction item descriptions, as well as suggestions for auction items based on what participants are most likely to bid on. Your team can focus more on strategy while AI takes care of the heavy lifting.
  • Work smarter, not harder by using AI in your copywriting efforts. While you may not want to generate your appeal letters using only AI, consider generating multiple variations of fundraising appeals or event descriptions in just a few minutes, allowing your team to quickly test and optimize messaging.

As nonprofits adapt and grow in the ever-changing fundraising landscape, the strategies highlighted in this report can help improve outcomes in 2025. Whether it’s increasing engagement with in-person and hybrid events, balancing donor acquisition with retention for sustainable growth, or tapping into AI to streamline efforts, nonprofits have plenty of opportunities to elevate their impact. By staying flexible, embracing technology, and focusing on community-building, organizations can deepen relationships with current donors while attracting new ones. The future of fundraising is dynamic, and those who invest in the right tools and strategies will be set up for continued success.

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