Online fundraising revenue at U.S. nonprofits rose a record 32 percent in 2020 — up from a 10 percent increase in 2019 — while the number of online gifts rose 28 percent, an annual survey by M+R finds.

Based on data from two hundred and twenty nonprofits, the firm's 2021 Benchmarks Study found that nonprofits dedicated to alleviating hunger and poverty were the biggest beneficiaries, in the aggregate, of the surge, recording a 173 percent year-over-year increase, while sizable gains were also recorded by nonprofits in the areas of wildlife/animal welfare (56 percent), health (38 percent), civil/human rights (34 percent), and disaster relief/international aid (29 percent). The survey also found that online revenue for large organizations grew 38 percent, while midsize and small organizations saw increases of 29 percent and 30 percent, and that nonprofits engaged in COVID-19 relief efforts, either directly or through advocacy, saw a 40 percent increase in online revenue, compared with 22 percent for those that were not.

This year's survey asked nonprofits whether racial justice was a focus of their work and found that while nonprofits across many issue areas claimed it was a priority, those organizations did not outperform others in terms of online fundraising. Similarly, while nonprofits that reported engaging in elections-related work in 2020 saw a small year-over-year increase in online revenue, their fundraising results did not outperform those of other nonprofits.

The study also found that nonprofit spending on digital ads jumped 33 percent in 2020 — with 31 percent of that spending concentrated in December, arts and culture organizations (-60 percent) and environmental groups (-14 percent) cutting spending, and health (88 percent), hunger/poverty (79 percent), and wildlife/animal welfare (46 percent) nonprofits increasing their spending. According to the report, nonprofits grew their mobile messaging audience by 26 percent in 2020 and saw click-through rates of 6.3 percent for fundraising messages and 10 percent for advocacy messages, while their email subscriber lists grew just 3 percent, with click-through rates of 3.3 percent and 1.7 percent.

"People got sick, lost jobs, lost loved ones. Families found themselves face to face with hunger for the first time," the report's authors write. "That unprecedented need drove an undeniable surge of mutual aid. Millions of people saw their community strained and chose to do their part. And nonprofits, the recipients and drivers of this outpouring of support, were able to respond to the crisis and help their communities like never before."

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