What does FEP Q2 2026 mean for charities?

If your charity raised more this year, your board will want to hear about it. They also need to know whether more people gave, or whether a smaller group provided more of the money.

That is the main concern in the FEP Q2 2026 report. Giving increased, but donor numbers fell. For your team, the practical task is to understand who is still giving and where relationships need attention before the next appeal.

The Fundraising Effectiveness Project, a GivingTuesday and Association of Fundraising Professionals initiative, compares January 1 to June 30, 2026 with the same period in 2025. This edition was released October 29 and is available in the FEP archive.

The headline findings, read together

Use this diagram with the Your Donor Journey Blueprint (guide).

The FEP Q2 2026 overview reports three measures worth reading alongside each other:

That last figure needs care. A donor who normally gives in December may still return later in the year. The midyear rate does not mean everyone else has stopped supporting their charity.

The typical organisation also saw income rise while donor numbers fell: median dollar growth was 4.4%, with a donor decline of 1.8% (FEP Q2 2026 overview). The median is the middle result when organisations are ranked. It gives a different view from the overall totals.

For your next board report, show income, donor count and retention over the same dates. If income rose while your donor base shrank, explain both. Our donor-base health guide helps you work through that pattern.

Larger donors carry most of the income

Use this diagram with the Your Donor Journey Blueprint (guide).

FEP's Major and Supersize donor categories supplied 76.4% of the money while making up 2.9% of donors (FEP Q2 2026 overview).

For a charity that relies heavily on a few supporters, one delayed gift can affect programme spending. A strong income total therefore needs a closer look at which gifts are likely to return.

Ask finance and development to review your largest donor relationships together. Record who will follow up, when the next conversation is due and which spending commitments depend on the gift. The Major Gift Playbook can help organise that review.

Keep room in the budget to welcome new supporters too.

Small gifts are an early warning

Micro donors, people in FEP's US $1 to $100 segment, made up 51.6% of donors (FEP Q2 2026 overview). Their numbers fell 4.2% and their giving fell 4.4%. This was the only gift-size segment to decline on both measures (FEP Q2 2026 overview).

The report does not establish why these donors gave less or stopped giving. Start with what your team can check: the experience of making a gift and hearing from your charity afterwards.

Make a small donation on your phone. Check the number of fields, the confirmation message and the options for receiving updates. Then read recent supporter questions and complaints. These checks can reveal problems your team can address, without assuming every lost donor had the same reason for leaving.

We recommend assigning an owner to review and resolve the problems these checks reveal.

The second gift needs its own plan

Use this diagram with the Your Donor Journey Blueprint (guide).

Among donors who first gave in 2025, only 11.3% had given again by June 2026 (donor-type retention). FEP also reports a 9.5% fall in the number of New Retained donors, meaning first-time donors who returned (Q2 2026 overview).

The first figure is the proportion who returned. The second is the decline in the number of returning donors compared with the previous period.

To check your own follow-up, choose one group of recent first-time donors. Read the thank-you and updates they received. Did you explain what happened after the appeal? Was someone responsible for contacting them again?

Use the Donor Journey Blueprint to record any gaps and assign the next contact. When comparing groups, give each the same amount of time to make a second gift. Look at how they first found you and when they gave, alongside second gifts, complaints, unsubscribes and failed deliveries.

Frequent giving is associated with stronger retention

FEP found that 90% of donors who gave seven or more times in 2025 returned by June 2026. Among those who gave once, 14.4% returned (frequency comparison).

This does not prove that asking someone to give monthly will produce the higher rate. People who already feel committed may also choose to give more often.

If you offer monthly giving, review what happens after registration. Supporters should be able to change or cancel a payment easily and see what their continued support helps achieve. Our monthly donor community guide explores how to keep that relationship meaningful.

Track active monthly payments separately from FEP's retention measure, which counts any repeat gift. Someone who cancels a monthly payment but later gives once may still count as retained, even though their regular support has ended.

What the methodology can and cannot tell you

Who was studied? The dataset includes approximately 5.7 million donors, $8.1 billion and 17,000 organisations. These figures describe the participating organisations, not all US giving (FEP Q2 2026 overview).

How are the comparisons made? From Q1 2026, FEP rebuilds its US sample each quarter. It uses 2023 IRS Form 990 filings, US nonprofit tax returns, to adjust the balance of charitable cause areas. It also allows equal reporting time for gifts entered late (methodology and methodology changes).

To qualify, organisations must report every month for the preceding 24 months. They must also have a median delay of under 90 days when entering gifts in each month, and raise under $25 million in both comparison years (methodology).

What is missing? The sample is not random or fully representative. It does not capture donor-advised funds, peer-to-peer fundraising, crowdfunding or informal payment-app giving (FEP Q2 2026 strategic insights). Dollar growth is not presented as adjusted for inflation. Reports through Q4 2025 used the old method, so use this edition's own comparisons (archive).

For charities in Canada, the UK, the EU or other markets, the findings can guide questions about your own donors. They do not set a local retention target.

Turn the report into a board decision

Use this diagram with the Your Donor Journey Blueprint (guide).

The board needs to know where support is weakening and what the team proposes to do about it. Bring one page showing your own income, donor count and repeat giving over matching dates.

We suggest sharing the preparation:

Record the decision in the Board Meeting Fundraising Agenda Template or annual development plan guide. Choose an improvement your team can deliver with the resources available.

Your homework

The FEP Q2 2026 findings show why an income total alone cannot explain the health of your fundraising. Review the donors behind it, then use what you find to decide where follow-up or recruitment needs attention. Give your team these concrete assignments:

1. By Friday: Ask finance and development for a one-page comparison of income, donor count, retention and the share of income from your largest donors, using matching dates.

2. This week: Have donor services trace one group's first gift through the next invitation. Mark any missing thank-you, update or follow-up owner.

3. Next board meeting: Choose and fund one retention or acquisition improvement. Name the person responsible and review the same group's results after 90 days.

These deadlines and actions are our suggested working arrangements, not research benchmarks.