2026 Nonprofit Fundraising Resources: Giving Trends, Reports & Best Practices

Successful nonprofit fundraising requires more than compelling campaigns. It requires an understanding of donor behavior, emerging giving trends, and the strategies helping organizations build stronger relationships with supporters.

From industry research and charitable giving reports to digital fundraising tools and campaign planning resources, nonprofit professionals have access to valuable insights that can inform their fundraising strategies.

We’ve compiled a collection of nonprofit fundraising resources to help your organization stay informed, identify new opportunities, and make more data-driven decisions.

Whether you’re looking to improve donor engagement, strengthen recurring giving, or explore new fundraising approaches, these resources are a great place to start.

Charitable Giving Reports and Fundraising Benchmarks

Understanding how donors give and how other nonprofits perform can help organizations evaluate their fundraising strategies and identify areas for improvement.

The following reports provide valuable insights into charitable giving, fundraising performance, and donor engagement.

1. M+R Benchmarks: Digital Fundraising Performance

The M+R Benchmarks report is a valuable resource for nonprofit professionals looking to understand digital fundraising performance.

The research examines key metrics across nonprofit digital programs, including:

• Online fundraising revenue and donation trends

• Monthly and recurring giving

• Email marketing performance

• Social media engagement

• Digital advertising and donor acquisition

Nonprofits can use these benchmarks to compare their results with broader industry trends, evaluate campaign performance, and identify opportunities to strengthen digital fundraising strategies.

Why it matters: Understanding fundraising benchmarks helps organizations set realistic goals, measure progress, and make informed decisions about where to invest their resources.

2. Giving USA: Understanding Charitable Giving Trends

Giving USA is a widely recognized source of research on charitable giving in the United States.

Its annual reports examine philanthropic contributions from individuals, foundations, corporations, and bequests, providing insight into the factors influencing charitable donations.

For nonprofit fundraising teams, this research can help answer important questions about how giving patterns are evolving and where new fundraising opportunities may exist.

Why it matters: Understanding the broader giving landscape can help nonprofits refine their fundraising priorities, diversify revenue sources, and adapt to changing donor behavior.

3. CanadaHelps: The Giving Report

For Canadian nonprofits, CanadaHelps provides research and insights into charitable giving trends across the country.

Its Giving Report explores topics such as donor demographics, online donations, charitable participation, and the factors influencing giving behavior.

These insights can help organizations better understand the Canadian fundraising environment and identify opportunities to engage different donor audiences.

Why it matters: Regional giving insights help nonprofits develop fundraising strategies that reflect the needs, preferences, and behaviors of their supporters.

Nonprofit Industry Research and Insights

Beyond fundraising statistics, nonprofit professionals benefit from staying informed about broader sector developments, emerging technologies, and changing donor expectations.

4. The NonProfit Times: Industry News and Research

The NonProfit Times provides news, research, and analysis covering nonprofit management, fundraising, philanthropy, and organizational operations.

Its articles and reports examine the challenges and opportunities facing nonprofit organizations, including fundraising performance, technology adoption, and operational efficiency.

Why it matters: Staying informed about developments across the nonprofit sector helps fundraising leaders anticipate challenges, identify opportunities, and make better strategic decisions.

5. The Chronicle of Philanthropy: Fundraising Research and Best Practices

The Chronicle of Philanthropy offers research, news, and insights for nonprofit leaders and fundraising professionals.

Its coverage explores charitable giving, donor relationships, fundraising strategies, nonprofit leadership, and developments affecting the philanthropic sector.

For development teams, these resources provide useful perspectives on donor engagement, fundraising innovation, and long-term organizational sustainability.

Why it matters: Access to industry research and expert perspectives helps nonprofits evaluate their current approaches and explore new ways to engage supporters.

Digital Fundraising Resources and Campaign Planning

Digital fundraising continues to play an important role in how nonprofits reach donors, communicate their missions, and generate support.

The following resources can help organizations strengthen their online presence and plan more effective fundraising campaigns.

6. Nonprofit Tech for Good: Digital Fundraising Tips and Resources

Nonprofit Tech for Good provides educational resources focused on digital marketing, fundraising technology, social media, and nonprofit communications.

Its content includes practical guidance on:

• Online fundraising strategies

• Email marketing and donor communications

• Social media engagement

• Fundraising campaign planning

• Digital giving tools and emerging technology

The organization also publishes resources related to cause awareness days and charitable giving campaigns.

Why it matters: These resources can help nonprofit teams improve digital engagement, strengthen donor communications, and explore new fundraising opportunities.

7. Giving Days and Cause Awareness Calendars

Cause awareness days and charitable giving events provide opportunities for nonprofits to connect fundraising campaigns with moments that matter to their supporters.

Events such as GivingTuesday, Giving Days, and mission-specific awareness campaigns can help organizations increase visibility and encourage donor participation.

Resources such as Nonprofit Tech for Good’s giving calendars can support campaign planning throughout the year.

Why it matters: Aligning fundraising activities with relevant awareness days can help nonprofits create timely campaigns, engage supporters, and build momentum around their missions.

How to Turn Fundraising Insights into Action

Accessing nonprofit fundraising resources is only the first step. The real value comes from applying those insights to your organization’s fundraising strategy.

Here are four ways nonprofit teams can put industry research and giving trends to work.

Evaluate Your Fundraising Performance

Use industry benchmarks to compare your organization’s fundraising results with broader sector trends.

Review metrics such as donor retention, recurring donations, campaign engagement, and fundraising revenue to identify opportunities for improvement.

Strengthen Donor Relationships

Understanding donor behavior can help organizations create more personalized engagement strategies.

By reviewing giving history, communication preferences, and donor interactions, fundraising teams can better understand their supporters and build stronger long-term relationships.

Explore New Fundraising Opportunities

Industry research can highlight opportunities to diversify fundraising strategies, expand recurring giving programs, and reach new donor audiences.

Use these insights to evaluate which approaches align with your organization’s mission, resources, and fundraising goals.

Make Better Use of Fundraising Technology

Having access to accurate donor information is essential for turning fundraising insights into action.

A purpose-built nonprofit CRM can help organizations centralize donor records, track engagement, analyze giving patterns, and improve fundraising reporting.

With connected information and reporting tools, development teams can spend less time managing disconnected data and more time strengthening donor relationships.

Strengthen Your Fundraising Strategy with SylogistMission CRM

As donor expectations evolve, nonprofits need technology that helps them understand supporters, manage fundraising activities, and make informed decisions.

SylogistMission CRM, built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Azure, provides purpose-built donor management, fundraising, constituent engagement, and reporting capabilities for nonprofit organizations.

By bringing donor information and fundraising activities together, SylogistMission CRM helps teams improve visibility into constituent relationships, streamline processes, and support more data-driven fundraising strategies.

Whether your organization is evaluating new fundraising approaches or looking to improve donor engagement, having the right technology can help turn valuable insights into meaningful action.

Explore SylogistMission CRM to discover how purpose-built nonprofit technology can support your fundraising goals.