Local Impact Outweighs National Causes When It Comes to Nonprofit Fundraising

Brand Federation's Inaugural 'Voices for Good' Index Benchmarks Attitudes, Behaviors and Motivators for the U.S. Nonprofit Donor

RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- With the current climate surrounding nonprofit organizations, a new report has come out detailing attitudes, behaviors and motivations of the typical American donor. Voices for Good, a report commissioned by brand consultancy Brand Federation, surveyed recent donors across the United States to better understand why, when and where they donate to nonprofit organizations.

"In today's world—when cuts to critical funding and economic uncertainties impact both organizations and donors—understanding philanthropic motives is essential to sustaining the nonprofit community," said Rian Chandler-Dovis, chief operating officer at Brand Federation. "We believe we're on the precipice of radical shifts in the sector, with nonprofits consolidating nationwide. Donors want more impact at a time when they're most fatigued, and to survive, nonprofits must embrace collaboration, transparency, and clear results."

Through 512 interviews, spanning 213 hours of conversation, Voices for Good explores the attitudes, behaviors and motivators of nonprofit donors living in the United States. The report breaks down findings into six core themes: personal connection; transparency and impact; economic pressures; planned vs. spontaneous giving; donor fatigue; and credibility.

Here are some highlighted findings:

• Local organizations have a stronger appeal than national organizations, with 81% of donors indicating increased motivation to give when the impact is local or close to home.
• In order to continue supporting an organization, 83% of donors say they need to see clear impact or outcomes.
• Economic uncertainties and pressures are impacting donors. More than half of respondents (54%) feel torn between their own financial needs and the desire to donate or have a social impact.
• Almost three-quarters (72%) of respondents have a hybrid approach (mix of planned and spontaneous giving) to philanthropy, leaving room for ad hoc asks in addition to regular campaign giving.
• New organizations will have a harder time with fundraising, as 61% of donors prefer to donate to organizations with long track records.

Brand Federation, which has worked with nonprofit organizations like Mercy Corps, Colonial Williamsburg, MIT and Harvard, conducts a variety of research services including virtual community studies, in-depth and intercept interviews, value gap analysis, focus groups and ethnography-based research. The research design deployed for Voices for Good marries a human and technology integrated approach that can cost-effectively scale qualitative and quantitative research.

"Nonprofit organizations are the backbones of our communities," Chandler-Dovis said. "We embarked on this research to give back to the organizations that have given their all to keep our communities healthy and whole. The Voices for Good report affirms that generosity endures even in unsettled times. Our hope with the report is that there are one or two actionable takeaways that can be implemented right away to start making a difference to get more dollars back into these organizations."

To read the full report, visit https://www.brandfederation.com/resources/voices-for-good.

Voices for Good Methodology

Using EmpathixAI's CultureChat platform, Brand Federation generated a statistically sound (n=512) panel of respondents across gender, age, income, religious and education brackets. CultureChat, built and monitored by Ph.D.-trained social scientists, an interview was designed with both open and closed-ended questions. The qualitative interview had an n of 512, which yielded 213 hours of conversation. The interviews followed a 17-question semi-structured guide. CultureChat then codified and cataloged the interviews to yield the quantitative results presented in the final Voices for Good report.

About Brand Federation

Brand Federation is a team of nationally-recognized marketing leaders backed by a global network of the world's best independent specialists. Strategy-focused, Brand Federation leads a proven process to capture what sets organizations apart and shape it into a brand strategy that inspires culture, customers, and prospects. More at brandfederation.com.

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SOURCE Brand Federation