While total giving increased year-over-year through the first three quarters of 2022, the number of donors continued to decline, a report from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP) of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and GivingTuesday finds.

Based on an analysis of data from 8,800 U.S.-based nonprofits that raise between $5,000 and $25 million annually, the quarterly report estimates that although total donations from January through September increased 4.7 percent, the number of donors fell 7.1 percent and the retention rate was down 3.1 percent.

The largest declines in the number of donors were among those giving the smallest amounts, who also account for the largest share of donors: Those giving $100 or less (55.8 percent of all donors) were down 15.4 percent, those giving between $101 and $500 (28.9 percent) were down 7.8 percent, those giving between $501 and $5,000 (13 percent) were down 4.2 percent, and those giving between $5,001 and $50,000 (2.1 percent) were down 1.2 percent. There was no change in the number of donors giving more than $50,000, who made up just 0.3 percent of all donors. The largest declines in total donation amounts also were among those giving $100 or less (down 13.2 percent) and those giving between $101 and $500 (down 7 percent), but their donations collectively accounted for only 2.9 percent and 6.4 percent of the total, respectively.

According to the report, total giving was driven down by declines in the numbers of new donors, which fell 19.2 percent and accounted for 37.2 percent of all donors, and new retained donors, which fell 24.7 percent and accounted for 9.3 percent of donors. Total donations from those two groups were down 3.7 percent and 18.1 percent, respectively. While the number of recaptured donors increased 7.1 percent, retention rates were down for all categories—new donors (down 14.8 percent), repeat donors (down 5.4 percent), and recaptured donors (down 15 percent).

“On top of the large declines we are seeing with new donors, which are traditionally very difficult and costly to acquire, I imagine this spells trouble for a lot of organizations,” FEP chair Ben Miller told the Chronicle of Philanthropy. “Nonprofits must continue to fundraise and acquire new donors to be able to sustain, and as long as that fundraising is authentic, compelling, and transparent there should be no shame in asking for money to do good.”

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