In late April, M+R shared the 2024 edition of their nonprofit Benchmarks Study, and…surprise, there was a LOT to take in. In our bi-weekly Beverages and Brains meeting—when we gather as a team to dream up big ideas for clients, or digest marketing trends—we discussed the benchmarks that stuck out to us the most from this year’s study.

Erin Riley Strong: TikTok! TikTok audiences for nonprofits increased by 112% in 2023, far faster than other social media platforms. 

Ilana Schreiber: Revenue per 1,000 email sends was down despite an increase in email volume across the board—it’s necessary to send more emails, because we’re earning less from each one. (But this creates a BIG opportunity for more testing!)

Jenn Lejano: It was super interesting to see more detail in the advertising data—very helpful they broke out the size of organization, and how the spends broke down. Larger organizations with bigger budgets can optimize more and drive down their cost per acquisitions. Can’t be apples to apples! 

Rachel Allison: I loved to see new Benchmarks that weren’t digital, like direct mail! Interesting to see a breakdown of social media followers per email subscriber, as well. 

Sara Cederberg: I was blown away by the reveal that users on desktop devices made up the majority of nonprofit donation transactions (67%). This flies in the face of what I’ve experienced in the political digital fundraising sector, where mobile donations make up a far bigger piece of the pie. I’m excited to continue helping clients optimize their mobile donation page experience!

Thelma Andree: Overall revenue hasn’t shifted since COVID! I remember the 465% spike in revenue growth for hunger and poverty nonprofits well in 2020—we’re certainly adjusting to a new normal. It was also fascinating to see that organizations are shifting away from legacy social platforms like Meta and Twitter/X.