GivingPulse Field Guide | Year in Review 2025

RKD Group is teaming up with GivingTuesday to provide this companion to the 2025 Year in Review GivingPulse Report. 

The goal of the Field Guide is to give nonprofit organizations actionable insights based on the data found in the report. Two of our strategy experts—Jen Doak-Mathewson and Glenn McKinney—have examined the findings and are zooming in on a few areas that stand out. 

The nonprofit space faced uncertainty and crisis in 2025, and the data from GivingPulse showed how critical organizations’ reactions were. Jumping off that, this issue of the Field Guide is geared toward the importance of Turning Moments into Momentum and helping donors Expand the Circle of Care. 

Let’s take a closer look at each area, the Giving Pulse data that corresponds to it and the strategic recommendations that nonprofits can take from it. 

GivingPulse data shows that individuals who are aware of crises, disasters or nonprofit news are significantly more likely to give. In fact, crisis-aware individuals gave at rates more than 13 points higher than those unaware, and exposure to any nonprofit news, positive or negative, correlated with increased generosity.

As we saw during the government shutdown and SNAP disruption, moments of crisis can rapidly expand donor files, reactivate lapsed supporters and increase gift size across all segments.

The organizations that win in the long run are those that treat these moments as entry points into long-term relationships.

When the 2025 government shutdown and SNAP benefit disruptions made national headlines, Food Bank For New York City (FBNYC) saw a rapid surge in donor response. But the increase in support—particularly from new donors—wasn’t singularly because of the crisis response. FBNYC was well-positioned because of recent work on rebranding; a website refresh; expansion of paid media campaigns; a migration to a smoother online donation platform; a culture of personal storytelling; collaborative SNAP and government shutdown messaging between Fundraising Operations, Marketing & Communications, and Public Affairs; and a commitment to speak authentically to donors about what the government shutdown and policy changes meant for the neighbors they serve.

FBNYC’s regular seasonal pitch for GivingTuesday became more relevant because, instead of waiting for all the answers in an imminent crisis, FBNYC presented themselves to donors early in the conversation as a solution to address both the known problems and the unknown repercussions to come.

In just a few months, the organization experienced a dramatic influx of support:

• 6,287 one-time gifts (up from 2,294 the previous year)
• Significant growth in giving from current and recurring donors
• Direct mail and digital channels exceeding prior benchmarks. November digital revenue alone surpassed projections within the first week

With a large influx of new and reactivated donors responding to urgent need, Food Bank For New York City is now positioned to turn short-term engagement into long-term support.

Emerging GivingPulse insights suggest that perception, trust and civic intent play a defining role in whether donors extend generosity beyond their immediate circles.

When individuals feel disconnected, uncertain or distrustful, their giving tends to stay close to home, benefiting causes and communities they already understand. But when organizations successfully build empathy and shared identity, donors become far more willing to support unfamiliar or marginalized groups.

This creates an opportunity for nonprofits: Donor engagement strategies must actively bridge distance between supporters and the people they serve.

The John T. Vucurevich Foundation based in South Dakota took an unconventional approach to donor engagement by creating an “immersive experience” designed to simulate the challenges faced by low-income families.

Participants were tasked with navigating real-life scenarios such as paying bills with limited income, making trade-offs between essentials and responding to unexpected crises.

By placing participants directly into these high-stress situations, the experience helped shift perceptions from judgment to understanding of the systemic barriers that many in the community face.

When donors can feel the experience of others—not just hear about it—they are far more likely to expand their generosity beyond their immediate circles.

We hope that you can apply the recommendations provided in this Field Guide to deliver meaningful results to your nonprofit organization. A big part of this collaboration is sharing with the GivingTuesday community how various nonprofits are using the GivingPulse data in their fundraising strategies.  

We would love to hear from you if you’re planning to implement these recommendations in the months ahead or if you’d like to share a success story based on these recommendations. Please contact us at fieldguide@rkdgroup.com to be included in the next Field Guide. 

About RKD Group 

RKD Group is a growth-obsessed, digital-forward, direct response solutions provider for hundreds of nonprofits in the U.S. and Canada. With more than 500 team members, RKD Group delivers innovative strategies, creative leadership and data-driven solutions to accelerate revenue growth and build lasting donor relationships. For more information, visit rkdgroup.com.   

About GivingTuesday and the Data Commons

GivingTuesday is a movement that unleashes the power of radical generosity around the world. It was created in 2012 at New York’s 92nd Street Y and incubated in its Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact. What started as a simple idea of a day that encourages people to do good has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity year-round. The movement is brought to life through a distributed network of entrepreneurial leaders who lead national movements in more than 100 countries across the globe. An integral part of the global generosity movement is the GivingTuesday organization, which offers support and resources to GivingTuesday leaders and fosters connection and collaboration across the network. For more information, visit givingtuesday.org.

The GivingTuesday Data Commons is a global network that enables data collaboration across the social sector. The Data Commons convenes specialist working groups, conducts collaborative research into giving-related behaviors, reveals trends in generosity and donations, and shares findings among its global community. With more than 170 data partners and 1,800 collaborators, the Data Commons is the largest philanthropic data collaboration ever built.