August 4, 2022

Nonprofit Digital Benchmarks

reading analytics on laptop

Digital Trends

What do you get when you review the impact of five billion email messages, $1 billion in donations, $100 million in digital ad spending, and millions of social media interactions?

The 2021 edition of the annual M+R Benchmarks Study of nonprofit digital programs.

Here are just a few of the key takeaways:

  • Overall donor retention was 36%
  • Total online revenue grew by 3%
  • Monthly giving increased by 24%
  • Monthly giving is 22% of all online revenue
  • The average one-time gift was $125
  • Mobile devices accounted for 54% of website traffic
  • The average mobile gift was $46 while the average desktop gift was $75
  • Email lists increased by 7%

Why This Matters

While a 3% increase in donations is remarkable, this is on the heels of the unprecedented giving most nonprofits experienced in 2020 (M+R reports 2020 revenue growth was 49% above 2017 levels). For 2022, a slowing momentum on giving is more than expected. And as more people visit websites on mobile devices rather than desktop computers, it’s a good idea to focus on removing barriers from mobile giving and simplifying the donation process.

Next Step

To learn more nonprofit digital trends and insights, check out the 2021 roadmap from the M+R Benchmarks Study.