Nonprofit Fundraising Trends: Donor Exhaustion Is Up – What Nonprofits Can Do Next
TL;DR: Donor fatigue hit hard at the end of 2025, as supporters faced donor exhaustion and decision overload.
Here’s how you can overcome this fatigue:
- Pace your asks
- Limit giving options to reduce stress
- Make urgency feel trustworthy
If year-end giving felt slower in 2025, you weren’t imagining it. Donor fatigue hit hard in November and December, even for strong campaigns. It’s a mix of donor exhaustion and overload, where supporters still care but hesitate.
Below, we break down what causes it and how to overcome donor fatigue.
The clearest donor fatigue metrics
From November to December, the signs were hard to miss. Nonprofit donor fatigue was peaking, and it showed up in both behavior and results.
Here’s where it showed up:
- Intent dropped: Only 18% planned to donate again before year-end, while 30% had no plans to give.
- Email performance weakened: Email revenue fell 17% YoY, while email volume dipped by 5%.
- Major gifts dropped: Payments of $300 or more dropped by 15.8% compared to last year.
If your year-end felt heavier, these numbers explain why.
Why donor fatigue peaked end of 2025
Late 2025 was the perfect storm, and donor fatigue showed up fast.
Here are the biggest donor fatigue causes:
- Money pressure + inflation: People had less room to give more than once.
- Too many urgent appeals, all at the same time: Constant “emergency” messaging triggers donor exhaustion.
- Inbox overload and weaker response rates: Even when email volume stayed similar, revenue still dropped.
- Donors split gifts across more causes: In 2025, 33% supported 5+ causes, which spreads giving thin.
Much of this came down to the psychology of giving, where financial stress, constant urgency, and decision overload stack up.
What you can learn from campaigns that beat donation fatigue
Even with donation fatigue rising, some campaigns still pulled in serious dollars.
These wins happened right inside the year-end donation exhaustion, between November and December 2025.
1. Pace the ask so it feels collective, not constant
Colorado Gives Day raised $56.5M by turning giving into a shared state-wide moment, not hundreds of isolated appeals. Early giving opened on November 1, spreading pressure over weeks.
Do this: Stretch your campaign window, set mini-goals, and frame giving as something donors are part of together. This directly reduces donor exhaustion.
2, Reduce choice to minimize donor fatigue causes
Nicholas Kristof’s Holiday Impact Prize raised $35M+ by giving donors a short, curated list of nonprofit options instead of endless ones. When people are overwhelmed, fewer choices help them act.
Do this: Bundle impact, limit donation options, and guide donors to one clear next step. Removing decision stress is one of the simplest ways to reduce nonprofit donor fatigue.
3. Make urgency feel trustworthy, not desperate
The Trevor Project combined a major trust-based gift of $45M with clear emergency fundraising, backed by strong stewardship and credibility. Donors believed their money would land well.
Do this: Show impact quickly, communicate clearly, and prove reliability. When urgency feels grounded, overcoming donor fatigue becomes achievable and not forced.
Reducing donor fatigue starts with how you show up
How you communicate matters more than how often you ask. When supporters feel considered instead of chased, donor exhaustion eases and trust sticks.
It’s also important to understand donor fatigue vs peak. Not every drop in giving means supporters are burned out. Sometimes donations dip simply because a peak has passed.
Knowing the difference helps you respond with care instead of pressure.