Donor Appreciation is the Key Fundraising Metric Many Nonprofits Miss

Nonprofits are heading into a year of rising demand and constrained capacity. According to Independent Sector, nearly 70% of nonprofits expect the need for their services to grow in the coming year, yet only 31% anticipate serving more people. That disconnect highlights a hard truth for the sector: impact doesn’t scale simply because the need exists. 

Nonprofits are being asked to do more, often much more, with the same resources. As budgets tighten and teams stretch thinner, organizations face difficult decisions about where to invest and how to sustain their work. In this environment, fundraising growth doesn’t just require donor acquisition. It requires donor appreciation. The organizations that will thrive are those that recognize donor gratitude and stewardship not as “nice-to-have” gestures, but as strategic growth drivers the foundation for retention, increased giving, and long-term resilience.

Growth sustains support

It’s easy to equate fundraising growth to donor acquisition. Acquisition matters. But it’s only half the equation. Appreciation, as part of a larger stewardship strategy, creates lasting loyalty and builds trust between donors and nonprofits.

Sustainable fundraising growth happens when nonprofits retain the donors they already have and expand their donor base with supporters who stay connected over time. Retention and acquisition are not competing priorities. They are complementary strategies that work together to fuel long-term impact and allow nonprofits to deliver on their missions.

Retaining donors creates stable, predictable funding that allows organizations to plan, invest, and commit to long-term outcomes. Expanding the donor base creates opportunity, new funding, new advocates, and the ability to reach more people and address more complex challenges. When either side breaks down, impact is constrained.

The data shows where growth stalls

Over the past several years, donor retention has improved modestly, reaching just under 32%. That progress matters, but it also masks a deeper challenge.

Repeat donors remain the most stable and valuable segment, yet they account for less than half of the overall donor base. Meanwhile, retention among new and one-time donors declined significantly in 2025 according to FEP data. Many donors give once, then disappear.

Those losses aren’t just fundraising setbacks. They represent unrealized impact: programs not expanded, services not delivered, and communities left underserved.

Worse, they are often unnecessary. The difference between a one-time donor and a lifelong supporter is the gratitude and engagement of the nonprofit.

Growth depends on understanding what motivates donors

Whether a donor is giving for the first time or the fiftieth, one question always matters: Why did they give and what would make them want to stay?

Donor research consistently shows that connection, transparency, and relevance are central to donor decision-making. Sixty-five percent of donors surveyed in our Mission Retainable report highlighted a desire for regular, tangible updates on the impact of their support. Nearly a quarter of donors say a lack of transparency contributed to their decision to stop supporting an organization.

As one donor noted, “I need to feel like my contribution matters. Not just once but consistently.”

Appreciation is the engine for fundraising growth

One of the most overlooked drivers of fundraising growth is appreciation. Not as a courtesy, but as a strategy.

Donors who feel acknowledged and informed are more likely to remain engaged and increase their support over time. Yet, too often, nonprofits rush from one campaign to the next without pausing to recognize the people who made the work possible in the first place.

Understanding donor motivation allows nonprofits to move beyond generic outreach and toward engagement that feel relevant and personal.

When organizations use data to segment donors by interests, behavior, and giving history, they can communicate more effectively, share the right stories, recognize meaningful milestones, and demonstrate impact in ways that resonate.

Personalized communication doesn’t need to be complex, but it does need to be thoughtful. Our research shows that it benefits from meeting donors where they are. For example, younger donors tend to prefer consistent, bite-sized updates while older donors want detail.

Growth is ultimately about relationships

For time strapped nonprofits, technology can help scale engagement and automation can improve consistency. Tools alone don’t drive fundraising growth but the right tools can help support and grow the relationships that make philanthropic missions possible.

Nonprofits don’t expand impact by asking louder. They expand it by understanding donors better, appreciating them more clearly, and building relationships that last.

Ultimately, donors are not just a funding source, but the primary reason impact is possible at all.