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Nonprofit marketing in 2026 is digitally active but far from uniform: email is widely used, social media, websites and email feature prominently in channel reporting, and digital capability varies across organizations. The figures below come from different surveys and client benchmarks—not one census or a single comparable dataset—so use them as context, then compare your own results with organizations like yours.
What the 2026 nonprofit marketing statistics measure
The 2026 Nonprofit Tech for Good survey had 826 nonprofit professional respondents; 77% were in the United States and Canada. Its coverage includes websites, email marketing, online fundraising, social media and AI. It is a survey of professionals, not a census of nonprofits, so its findings describe respondents rather than every organization. Nonprofit Tech for Good’s 2026 report announcement describes the survey scope.
Other numbers below come from sources with different geographies, samples, question wording and measurement periods. “Uses a channel,” “prefers a channel,” and “raised money through a channel” are different measures. A benchmark is a reference point, not a universal target.
Nonprofit marketing statistics to know in 2026
| Measure | Finding | Scope and source |
|---|---|---|
| Email marketing use | 83% of nonprofits use email marketing; among email-using nonprofits, 73% send fundraising appeals. | Nonprofit Tech for Good’s 2026 email statistics summary, referring to its 2026 report. Source and underlying-source attribution. |
| Donor communication preference | 48% prefer email for organizational updates and appeals, compared with 21% for direct mail and 17% for social media. | The 2026 Nonprofit Tech for Good summary attributes these preference figures to Neon One’s Nonprofit Email Report. This is a preference measure, not channel performance; the summary does not establish that it uses the same respondents as the email-use figures above. Nonprofit Tech for Good summary. |
| Digital-channel use | 90% of respondents use one or more digital channels. | Salesforce’s 2025 Nonprofit Trends Report, seventh edition. Report. |
| Digital and traditional channels | 87% use digital channels and 67% use traditional channels for fundraising or supporter engagement. | European Nonprofit Pulse 2025, reflecting its European respondent mix. Report. |
| Donor and gift trend | Active donors were down 2.0% year over year and total gifts were down 1.3%. | RKD Group’s 2026 Mid-Year Benchmark Report, with data through June 30, 2026, from 219 client organizations in the United States and Canada across selected causes. This is a scoped client benchmark, not a whole-sector estimate. Report. |
| Satisfaction with marketing-related technology | 36% reported satisfaction with the value of their social media presence, 40% with website experience, and 32% with email marketing efforts. | Infoxchange’s 2025 Digital Technology in the Not-For-Profit Sector report, in an Australian context. Report. |
Which fundraising channels work for nonprofits?
The available figures show use and preference, not a universal ranking of fundraising returns. Salesforce’s seventh-edition report lists social media, websites and email among leading fundraising channels in its 2024–2025 comparison. European Nonprofit Pulse 2025 also lists social media, websites, email and paid social among frequently used channels. Those findings establish that these channels are common in the respective respondent groups; they do not show that every organization will raise more through them than through other methods.
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Traditional and relationship-based outreach still belongs in the picture. In the European survey, 67% reported using traditional channels for fundraising or supporter engagement, alongside the 87% using digital channels. The measures allow overlap: they do not mean organizations choose one side or the other.
Salesforce cautions that “Digital maturity and readiness remain uneven across the nonprofit sector.” In practice, a channel’s value depends on audience fit, execution and the organization’s ability to measure and sustain it—not adoption alone.
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How to apply nonprofit marketing benchmarks to your organization
- Choose a comparable peer group. Compare organizations with a similar region, cause, size, donor mix and operating model. A survey of professionals or a service provider’s clients may not represent small, volunteer-led organizations or every cause.
- Define the outcome before comparing channels. Track the measure that answers your question: reach, email engagement, donation conversion, cost per acquired donor, repeat giving or net revenue. Do not treat channel use or donor preference as proof of fundraising return.
- Read email preference as a reason to respect the inbox, not send more by default. Segment messages by audience and purpose, maintain list quality, and assess engagement and unsubscribes alongside donations. Nonprofit Tech for Good’s 2026 summary says 34% regularly remove unengaged subscribers; that is a reported practice rate, not a recommended target or a universal sector rate. Summary.
- Assess capacity as well as channel presence. A website, email program or social account is not evidence by itself of a mature digital operation. Consider whether staff can create accessible content, maintain accurate data, connect giving tools and use results to improve campaigns.
- Compare your own year-over-year results. Keep definitions consistent across reporting periods, and separate changes in donor counts from changes in gift totals. The RKD benchmark illustrates that the two measures can move by different amounts; it does not explain why they changed.
How to read the 2026 donor trend carefully
RKD Group’s midyear benchmark is useful context for participating US and Canadian organizations in the causes represented, but its 219 clients are not the entire nonprofit sector. The report’s year-over-year figures cover data through June 30, 2026; they are not a full-year result. Do not infer that nonprofits everywhere lost donors, or that a marketing channel caused the reported movement.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesLikewise, the Australian Infoxchange satisfaction findings are not interchangeable with US, Canadian or European usage statistics. They measure reported satisfaction in a different context, rather than the share of organizations using a channel or its fundraising return.
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