EverTrue's Year-End Giving Report​


In our Year-End Giving Report, we take a look at donor and fundraising revenue data from 2024 to identify key trends, highlight major gift activity, and evaluate overall fundraising performance. This report includes information from a robust dataset, encompassing 111 higher education institutions, 18.3 million gifts, and more than 6.6 million donors. By analyzing this broad sample, we provide a clear and comprehensive picture of the year so far.

Key areas of focus include year-to-date donor counts, major gift donor activity, and the remarkable growth in revenue from high-level contributions. While many institutions experienced strong gains this year, particularly in major gift fundraising, questions remain about the sustainability of these outcomes in future years.

As always, our data reports aim to provide actionable research and a deeper understanding of the trends shaping the higher education philanthropic landscape.

 

Contents

Key Takeaways

Major Gift Growth is Driving Fundraising Success
Revenue from major gifts ($50,000+) increased by an average of 65% across the sample institutions in 2024 (January–November). This growth was not isolated to a few standout programs. It reflected broad-based gains across institutions of all sizes.

Remarkable Performance from $1 Million+ Donors
High-level major donors contributed significantly in 2024, with revenue from $1 million+ gifts surpassing 2023 totals before December. This segment continues to play an outsized role in fundraising outcomes, underscoring its importance in institutional strategy.

Donor Count Decline Continues
Despite strong major gift revenue, donor count in 2024 has declined, continuing a multi-year trend. With year-to-date donor totals trailing 2023 by over 250,000 donors, institutions face ongoing challenges in retaining and expanding their donor bases.

December’s Critical Role
December remains a pivotal month for donor participation and revenue, historically accounting for 12% of total donors and 15% of $50,000+ donors annually. While 2024 is on track for strong results, December’s contributions will be crucial in closing the year on a high note.

The Sustainability Question
With extraordinary gains in major gift productivity, institutions must ask whether their pipelines can sustain this level of performance. Strategic focus on pipeline health and cultivating future major donors will be critical to maintaining momentum.

Donor Trends in 2024: A Challenging Year For Donor Participation

As we approach the end of 2024, the data reveals a significant gap to close in December to match or exceed last year’s totals. The first chart below underscores this challenge, with donor numbers for 2024 currently trailing previous years. It’s important to note that 2024 does not yet include December, which is often a critical month for donor activity.

Click graphs to enlarge

Interestingly, these trends are not being driven by a few outliers, but rather they reflect a broad pattern across the industry. The second chart below compares January through October donor counts for 2023 and 2024, and illustrates the varied performance among programs. By excluding November and December from this analysis, we’ve accounted for gift entry lags that could otherwise skew results.

While about one-third of institutions have grown their donor base this year, the overall average reflects a 5% decline. This highlights the ongoing challenges institutions face in retaining and growing their donor pools. We’ll revisit this analysis in early 2025 with finalized year-end data to determine whether December 2024 helped mitigate the downward trend.

A Turning Point in 2024’s Donor Trend

The donor deficit for 2024 began to take shape in July, following a relatively strong start to the year. As the chart shows, donor counts from January through June were on par with 2023 levels. However, starting in July, most months experienced a decline in donor activity compared to the previous year.

This shift coincides with two major events: the start of the new fiscal year for many institutions and the ramp-up in political fundraising efforts ahead of the November presidential election. While these factors align with the timing of the decline, establishing a direct causal link remains challenging.

Understanding how external pressures such as fiscal year transitions and competitive donor environments influence donor behavior is important as institutions plan for future fundraising strategies.

Breaking Down 2024’s Monthly Donor Deficits

The monthly donor deficits for 2024 are detailed in the two charts below. While 2024 outperformed 2023 in January and April, donor counts have trailed behind in nine of the past eleven months. The November shortfall is particularly significant, though it may decrease slightly as institutions process delayed Giving Tuesday gifts. However, the current size of the deficit makes it unlikely that 2024 will surpass 2023 in overall donor counts. 

The bar chart below further illustrates the extent of the decline, with the largest deficits appearing in the fall months, most notably October and November. This pattern reflects the sustained downward trend in monthly donor activity that began after July.

These data points serve as a reminder of the importance of executing well-planned donor retention and reacquisition strategies, and improving operational efficiencies to minimize delays in reporting and gift entry.

December’s Diminishing Role in Donor Acquisition

December has long been one of the most productive months for donor acquisition, often seen as a critical period for meeting annual fundraising goals. However, the data reveals a steady decline in both the total number and percentage of donors making their first calendar-year gift during the final month of the year.

The first chart below shows the total number of December donors decreasing over time, while the second chart illustrates that December’s share of the year’s total donor count has dropped to around 12%. While the pandemic temporarily disrupted these patterns, the overall trend suggests December is playing a smaller role in annual donor acquisition.

This shift raises important considerations for fundraising teams. Are donors becoming less motivated by year-end giving, moving their giving to an earlier time of the year? Or, are they simply churning altogether? The broader decline in annual donor counts suggests the latter, as we’re not seeing a shift in support to earlier months. Further analysis of donor segments and profiles at your institution is key to understanding and addressing these losses effectively.

How To Forecast December Donor Counts

One way to shape realistic, albeit very general, expectations for December donor counts at your institution is to determine the percentage of donors who typically give in December throughout recent years. Using that percentage, you can loosely forecast December 2024’s donor count by dividing your year-to-date donor count through November by (100% – [your percentage]).

Example:

Our industry sample of 111 institutions shows a recent average of about 12% of a year’s donors coming on board in December. We also know that our sample has 1,379,388 donors in 2024 through November (see earlier charts). It would be logical to assume that 88% of donors have already participated, since we know that the remaining 12% typically give in December. We can set basic expectations for calendar year-end total donors by calculating:

1,379,388 (donors through November) ÷ 88% = 1,567,486 (projected 2024 total)

This calculation suggests December 2024 will likely generate an additional 188,098 donors across our sample of 111 institutions (1,567,486 – 1,379,388), assuming 2024’s December aligns with recent trends.

Major Gift Donors: Strong Engagement in 2024

The number of major gift donors in 2024 shows promising growth, reinforcing the importance of high-value contributors to the ongoing success of higher education fundraising programs.

The first chart tracks donors giving $50,000 or more annually. While the 2024 total currently trails 2023, it’s important to again note that 2024 excludes December of this year, an important month for major gift contributions.

Based on past trends, 2024 is on track to surpass last year’s high, potentially exceeding it by as much as 10%. This reflects strong donor engagement and continued cultivation efforts in this key segment.

The second chart below highlights a subset of major gift donors contributing $1 million or more, where 2024 has already outpaced 2023’s full-year total, even without counting December. This growth underscores the increasing importance of identifying larger donors within the donor base and helping them become a part of your institutional community.

Year-Over-Year Growth in Major Gift Donors

The chart below highlights year-over-year percentage changes in the number of donors giving $50,000 or more since 2014, providing a clear view of the trends shaping major gift donor engagement. With the exception of the 2020 pandemic outlier, the number of major gift donors has shown consistent growth across this sample of 111 higher education institutions.

In 2024, the growth rate is projected to approach 10%, reflecting a strong rebound following slower growth in recent years. This trend underscores the resilience of high-value donor segments and their critical importance in institutional fundraising efforts.

Major Gift Donors in December: Key Benchmarks for 2024 Projections

December is an important month for major gift donors, as historically a significant portion of these high-value contributions occur during this period. By analyzing trends in December giving, institutions can shape realistic expectations and plan effectively for year-end results. Understanding these historical benchmarks provides a reliable framework for estimating December outcomes. 

This first chart shows the annual count of donors giving $50,000 or more in December. On average, about 15% of these donors make their contributions in December, as reflected in the percentage chart. Institutions can use this data to project the year-end total for major gift donor counts.

The next charts highlight the number of donors giving $1,000,000+ in December over the years. Historically, about 11% of high-value major gift donors give in December, as shown in the second line chart. This percentage has remained relatively stable, with a slight fluctuation over the years.

Major Gift Revenue: A Strong Year for Fundraising

The total revenue from major gifts (gifts and pledges of $50,000 or more) in 2024 is on track to significantly exceed 2023, even without accounting for December of 2024. This trend aligns with what we observed in the major gift donor count section, reaffirming the strong performance of high-value contributions this year.

The first chart highlights the total dollar value of $50,000+ gifts by year, showcasing steady growth in 2024 despite the absence of December’s data. 

The following charts provide a monthly breakdown, revealing that 2024 got off to a remarkable start with one of the most productive Januarys in recent history. Each subsequent month has also performed strongly, maintaining momentum throughout the year.

$1 Million Major Gift Revenue: Exceptional Growth in 2024

Fundraising revenue from donors giving $1,000,000 or more has shown remarkable strength in 2024, outpacing last year’s total even before factoring in December.

The first perspective below demonstrates steady growth in the total dollar value of $1,000,000+ gifts over the years, with 2024 already surpassing 2023’s full-year total.

This extraordinary performance is bolstered by an exceptionally productive January, which set the tone for a strong year overall, as seen in the second chart. With December yet to be counted, institutions can expect even greater gains by year-end.

Major Gift Revenue Growth by Institution: A Look at 2024 Trends

This view below highlights the year-over-year percentage change in major gift revenue ($50,000+ gifts) across the institutions in our sample, comparing January through November 2024 to the same period in 2023. With December data not yet included, the results show remarkable growth. The average institution increased major gift revenue by about 65%, with approximately two-thirds of programs showing an increase.

What’s particularly important about this growth is that it’s not being driven by a small number of institutions performing exceptionally well. Instead, the data demonstrates a diversified growth pattern across institutions of all shapes and sizes, reflecting a broad and inclusive trend in major gift fundraising.

It’s also worth noting that a single large gift can have a significant impact on year-over-year comparisons. Each institution’s results are shaped by unique factors, including transformative gifts in 2024 or challenges in replicating exceptional giving from 2023.

What’s Next?

This report is just the beginning. In early 2025, we’ll release an updated analysis incorporating December’s results to provide a full picture of 2024’s donor activity and fundraising performance. 

Additionally, we’ll explore the sustainability of recent major gift productivity by examining the health of the major gift pipeline, and investigate communication patterns that analyze how gift officer activity correlates with or impacts fundraising outcomes in recent years. These insights will help us all better understand the factors driving our results and identify opportunities to strengthen our strategies.

We look forward to continuing this research and sharing findings that support meaningful, data-oriented progress in the year ahead.

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