Giving is up, but the donor base is shrinking. Here’s what to do.

Recent national fundraising data offers some reasons for optimism for advancement leaders. Giving USA reports that Americans contributed a record $617.2 billion to charities in 2025, including $92.01 billion to education. That represents an 11.7% increase in current dollars and 8.9% growth after adjusting for inflation.

CASE’s 2025 Voluntary Support of Education (VSE) report suggests continued strength in higher education fundraising. Colleges and universities received $78.8 billion in donations, a 4% increase over the previous year, while new commitments grew by 6.6%.

It’s important to note that the two studies use different definitions and methods. Giving USA’s education category includes more than colleges and universities, while CASE VSE focuses only on higher education in the United States. Their totals cannot be directly compared. But together, the reports point to the same broad trend: donors still see education as a meaningful place to give. Read on as I explore what these findings reveal about today’s fundraising landscape and what they mean for advancement leaders.

Record giving does not necessarily mean broader donor participation

CASE describes the current environment as “donors down, dollars up,” a trend with important implications for advancement strategy. In fiscal year 2025:

• The median number of alumni donors fell by 3.5%
• Alumni giving increased 8.7%
• Median giving per alumni donor reached $1,895
• Alumni donor counts declined for the fourth consecutive year
• 89% of funds received came from only 2% of donors

Much of the decline is driven by fewer smaller donors, while a growing share of alumni support now comes from those giving $1,000 or more. This matters because institutions may see higher fundraising totals even as their donor base declines. Over time, a shrinking base leaves institutions with fewer future major gift prospects, advocates, volunteers, and loyal supporters.

National fundraising totals can also be influenced by a small number of exceptionally large gifts. In 2025, MacKenzie Scott contributed about $7 billion, roughly one-third of the $19.2 billion in megagifts reported nationwide. That included at least $783 million for HBCUs, along with significant support for tribal colleges, community colleges, scholarship programs, and other education-oriented organizations. While those gifts are transformative for institutions, they do not necessarily indicate broader donor participation. Advancement leaders should not build their strategies around the hope of receiving an unexpected megagift. Instead, they should focus on growing a broader base of engaged donors. That starts with building trust and clearly communicating the impact of giving.

Donors are signaling what they want to support

CASE also found that 81% of donations to higher education were intended for specific purposes, with student success, financial aid, and research among the most common uses. More than half of all funds received (53.2%) were also restricted for current use, meaning those gifts were designated to support immediate programs and priorities rather than long-term purposes such as endowments.

This suggests that donors increasingly want a say in when, where, and how their gifts are used. For advancement leaders, that means communicating institutional priorities in ways that resonate with what donors care about and demonstrate why they are worthy of support.

To do that, donors should be able to quickly understand:

• Who benefits from their support
• What becomes possible because they give
• What changes for students, faculty, patients, communities, or society
• How immediate needs connect to long-term institutional goals

This is where storytelling becomes crucial. Not every gift can be tied to a single student or project, but compelling stories help donors see the people, programs, and outcomes their support makes possible. Those stories should be paired with broader evidence of impact, such as program outcomes and participation data, to reinforce the institution’s impact and the value of giving.

Building future support depends on stronger donor connections

Securing major gifts should not come at the expense of cultivating relationships with a broader base of donors. Long-term fundraising success depends on helping more people move from initial interest to lifelong support.

Annual giving often begins that journey by introducing new donors and building giving habits. Alumni engagement and communications strengthen those relationships by creating more opportunities for people to stay connected. Leadership giving builds on that momentum by helping institutions identify donors who are ready to deepen their engagement and giving. Donor relations and stewardship build trust by ensuring donors are heard and their gifts are used as intended.

Not every donor will follow the same path, and not every annual donor will become a major donor. But loyal, consistent donors—regardless of gift size—are the foundation of long-term fundraising success.

Four actions advancement leaders should take now

1. Evaluate donor health alongside revenue – Track donor acquisition, first-to-second gift conversion, retention, reactivation, recurring giving, and movement toward leadership and major gifts—not just fundraising totals.
2. Treat every interaction as an insight – Use signals across events, volunteering, digital channels, surveys, and giving to better understand donor interests and determine the next step.
3. Make impact easier to understand – Build a consistent process for gathering stories, outcomes, and results that demonstrate the impact of giving and strengthen your institution’s case for support.
4. Connect the advancement pipeline – Ensure advancement teams (alumni relations, annual giving, leadership giving, major gifts, advancement services) work together around each donor to create a more consistent and connected experience across every stage of the relationship.

Giving USA and CASE VSE both confirm that donors continue to see education as a vehicle for impact. But they also reveal a challenging reality: higher education is relying on a shrinking pool of donors.

Large gifts can boost fundraising totals and have a transformative impact at some institutions, but they are no substitute for a healthy donor pipeline. Long-term success depends on building meaningful relationships with donors over time.

As advancement leaders reflect on this year’s findings, one question is worth asking: Are we simply raising more dollars, or are we building a larger, stronger, and more engaged donor base for the future?

Jenny Jones

Principal, Advancement Marketing Services

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