5 takeaways on individual giving from Blackbaud Institute’s 2024 Spotlight 

The Blackbaud Institute’s 2024 Trends in Giving Spotlight report estimates that U.S. nonprofits saw an average 1.9% uptick in individual giving last year, based on data from a sample of 8,674 organizations with over $55 billion in total fundraising revenue. Here are five takeaways from the report about trends by subsector and organization size, in online giving, and in average gift size. 

1. Online giving grew more than overall individual giving year-over-year 

Overall individual giving grew 1.9% in 2024. Online giving (based on data from 5,151 nonprofit organizations with over $3.4 billion in online fundraising revenue) rose 2.2%. Both categories had seen flat or slightly negative growth in 2022 and 2023, following significant growth in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fall 2023, 53% of surveyed fundraisers predicted fundraising revenue would increase in 2024, and it appears their optimism was warranted. 

2. Health care organizations saw double-digit growth in overall individual giving 

Analyzing 2024 giving trends by subsector, the report estimates that the “average” health care organization saw an 11.3% increase in overall giving. Other subsectors that saw growth in overall giving in 2024 include animal welfare (7.1%) and the environment (5.6%), while international affairs saw a drop of -8.5%. 

3. Year-end giving was not affected by the election cycle 

The 2024 election does not appear to have affected year-end individual giving trends, with 34% of total fundraising revenue coming in from October through December. According to the report, this is in line with trends over the past decade, including the 2016 and 2020 election cycles. 

In terms of subsectors, human services and environmental organizations saw a large percentage of their 2024 online donations at year-end, in response to Hurricane Helene and other natural disasters. 

4. Small nonprofits saw a larger increase in online giving than midsize and large organizations 

In terms of organization size, small nonprofits—defined in this report as those with less than $1 million in annual revenue—saw year-over-year growth of just 0.4% in 2024, compared with 4.0% for midsize nonprofits with revenue between $1 million and $10 million and 1.1% for large organizations with revenue over $10 million.  

Yet, when it comes to online giving, small nonprofits saw revenue growth of 3.3%, outpacing midsize and large organizations, which saw increases of 1.8% each. Moreover, online giving accounts for 13.4% of giving for small nonprofits, compared with 8.3% and 4.1% for midsize and large organizations. 

5. The mean average gift reached a record $937 in 2024 

In 2024, the overall mean average gift across all subsectors hit a record $937, up from $858 in 2023 and $875 in 2022. While the mean online gift fell slightly to $197, after holding steady just above $200 since 2020, it remains well above the pre-pandemic level of $148 in 2019. 

The report’s authors note that, while individual giving has strengthened since the pandemic, potential policy changes in 2025 that impact federal funding, tax law, and fund disbursement could affect individual giving and need to be monitored. Those changes could encourage increased giving, they point out, and the 2024 data suggests the nonprofit sector is resilient. 

This article is part of a regular feature where Candid insights shares key takeaways from a new research report to encourage a more data-driven approach to the sector’s work. Leave a comment to recommend a report for an upcoming feature. 

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