The Transparency Premium
In Candid's study of nearly 149,000 U.S. nonprofits, organizations displaying a Seal of Transparency received, on average, 62% more in contributions the following year than comparable organizations without one, after adjusting for size, financial health, age, and governance. The pattern held for small nonprofits too (61%).
The Seal is free. It depends on how complete your public Candid profile is: mission, programs, financials, and leadership. Candid notes that a Seal is associated with higher giving, not a guarantee of it. Still, keeping your profile current is one of the cheapest trust signals a nonprofit can send. Funders read your public Form 990 the same way, so the governance answers there matter too.
Source: Candid Research, "Study confirms nonprofit transparency: Candid Seals boost donor contributions"
Find your path to a Candid Platinum Seal →The First-Gift Cliff
Nationally, roughly 4 in 5 first-time donors never make a second gift: first-time donor retention sits around 18%, well below the 43% overall average.
A structured stewardship process in a donor's first 90 days is one of the highest-leverage, lowest-cost fixes most nonprofits have available.
Source: Fundraising Effectiveness Project, Association of Fundraising Professionals & GivingTuesday
Score your donor retention →The Recurring-Giving Advantage
After one year, 71% of monthly donors are still giving, compared to just 24% of new one-time donors.
Converting even a portion of one-time donors into monthly sustainers does more for long-term revenue stability than acquiring new donors at the same rate.
Source: M+R Benchmarks, an annual digital fundraising study
See where your revenue stands →The Planned-Giving Gap
Charitable bequests have made up roughly 7-9% of all U.S. giving in most years over the past four decades, and reached just over 10% in 2025, yet most nonprofits still don't have even a basic planned-giving program.
At one studied institution, realized bequest gifts averaged 21 times a donor's lifetime annual giving, so a planned-giving conversation is also a marker of a donor's deepest capacity, not just a future line item.
Source: Giving USA; the Chronicle of Philanthropy; PG Calc planned-giving research
Score your fundraising program →
Frankly Inspired