2025 Missions Benchmark

Rescue missions across the United States have long been a cornerstone of support for individuals experiencing homelessness, providing essential services like food, shelter and rehabilitation. However, the landscape is changing.

Missions are shifting their narrative from merely meeting basic needs to fostering long-term transformation—helping individuals heal, regain stability and rebuild their lives. 

Public perception of homelessness is also shifting. Recent donor research has shown that supporters are increasingly focused on holistic solutions that go beyond immediate relief. Missions are responding by expanding their services to address mental health, addiction recovery, workforce development and long-term housing stability. 

At the same time, the need for mission services is growing. Economic pressures, the housing crisis and the continued effects of the pandemic have led to a surge in demand. Many missions are struggling to keep up with rising needs while also maintaining donor engagement and financial sustainability. 

How have these trends impacted fundraising at Missions? In this report, we’ll share data from 36 Missions clients that reflect the fundraising results for the full year of 2024.  

Here is a look at our top three takeaways from 2024:  

1. New donor acquisition continues to be a challenge

• New donor acquisition fell by 20% in 2024 compared to 2023. 

• This decline impacted overall active donor counts, which dropped by 10% YoY to 465,776. 

• The reduction in new donors directly affected long-term sustainability, requiring greater emphasis on reactivation and donor retention strategies. 

2. Retention and second-gift rate improvements offer hope

• Cultivation retention improved slightly, increasing from 48.5% to 50.2%. 

• Second-gift rate improved by 14%, meaning more new donors are making a second contribution. 

• Core donor stability remains at risk as transition from new donors continues to be a critical challenge. 

3. Revenue growth is flat, despite gains in donor value

• Total revenue for 2024 was $139.5M, down 1% from 2023. 

• Average gift size increased by 7%, reaching $110. 

• Donor value increased by 10%, from $272 to $299. 

• Despite these positives, the decline in active donors continues to impact overall revenue growth. 

And here are our recommended areas of focus for the road ahead: 

1. Prioritize donor retention and reactivation

• Missions that focused on retention and reactivation saw stronger performance to offset the challenges in new donor acquisition. 

• Reactivated donors increased by 3% in 2024, presenting an opportunity to rebuild the donor base. 

• The lapsed donor universe grew by 20%, reinforcing the need for targeted re-engagement strategies. 

2. Strengthen second-gift conversion 

• With second-gift rate increasing by 14%, Missions must focus on sustaining this positive trend. 

• Donors acquired at the $10-$24.99 level had the highest attrition—adjusting messaging and engagement efforts for these donors is critical. 

• Implement personalized engagement strategies within the first 60 days of acquisition to drive second-gift conversions. 

3. Maintain revenue stability through donor value optimization

• Despite the revenue decline, donor value increased by 10%. 

• Mid-level and sustainer-giving programs should be emphasized to maintain net revenue growth. 

• Missions should focus on Core donors, who currently account for 73% of gross revenue and 80% of net revenue. 

In the following sections, we’ll review the data from 2024 in detail.  

What We Measured 

The 2025 Missions Benchmark Report contains full-file data from 36 RKD Missions clients across the United States from Jan. 1, 2015, to Dec. 31, 2024. The data includes overall program metrics like: 

• Total revenue 
• Active donors 
• New donors  
• Retention rate 
• Average gift size 
• Donor value 
• Gift frequency 

Trends are based on all donors and all gift types. Donors with a gift of $10,000 or more were excluded to ensure that the behavioral patterns measured weren’t inflated by major giving efforts. 

Total Revenue

• Total revenue declined by 1% YoY, dropping to $139.5M. 
• Despite the slight decline, FY24 revenue is 19.3% higher than pre-COVID levels in FY19.
• Over a 10-year period, Missions saw an average growth rate of 3.2%. 

Active Donors

• Active donor count fell 10% YoY, from 518,350 to 465,776. 
• Declining new donor acquisition remains the primary factor. 
• Recapture has increased in the last two years, but not enough to offset acquisition challenges.

Core Donors

• Core donor count declined 2%, reinforcing the need for stronger retention strategies.
• The Core donor replacement rate is at 0.63, meaning for every lapsed Core donor, 7 new donors are needed to replace their value. 

Retention

• Cultivation retention increased from 48.5% to 50.2%, signaling a +1.7% improvement. 

Retention by Lifecycle

• Core donor retention improved by +1.3% in FY24.
• Retention of transition donors also increased by +1.2%.
• Recently lapsed donors grew by +1.1%, indicating a strong reactivation opportunity. 

Average Gift

• Average gift size increased by 7%, reaching $110.
• All lifecycles continue to see the average gift increase year over year.

Gift Frequency 

• Gift frequency increased by 3%, averaging 2.73 gifts per donor. 
• All lifecycles saw average gift increase year over year.
  

Donor Value

• Donor value increased by 10%, reaching $299. 
• Again, all lifecycles saw donor value increase year over year.

RKD Group is North America's leading fundraising and marketing solutions provider to hundreds of growth-focused nonprofit organizations. With five decades of experience, RKD leverages technology, advanced data science and award-winning strategic and creative leadership to accelerate net revenue growth, build long-term donor relationships and drive the best return on investment.