Research Library for Mission-Driven Businesses
Looking for research on nonprofits? On fundraising? Or on any other number of topics related to the mission-driven sphere? Here at Nexus Marketing, we know how hard it can be to find relevant information for that next project. We wanted to make it easier for our clients, partners, and other members of the mission-driven space to be connected to much-needed information. So the Mission-Driven Sector Research Library was born.
Below, find trustworthy resources on the following topics:
Research on Fundraising and Nonprofits
Double the Donation’s “Corporate Giving and Matching Gift Statistics”
Updated annually, Double the Donation’s webpage offers data addressing the impact of matching gifts, matching gift promotion, and employee participation. This resource will be most lucrative for those looking for matching gift research.
Double the Donation’s “Nonprofit Fundraising Statistics”
Also updated annually, this Double the Donation webpage includes information on online and mobile donations, as well as marketing and email. They also provide their own list of recommended resources for fundraising statistics. Turn to this resource when looking for general fundraising statistics.
Fundly’s “Crowdfunding Statistics [Updated for 2020!]”
Fundly’s resource provides data points in areas such as general crowdfunding statistics, the growth of crowdfunding, how crowdfunding’s impact varies depending on the geographic region, and more. Use this resource when looking for data on crowdfunding as a fundraising tactic.
GrantStation’s “2022 The Annual State of Grantseeking Report”
GrantStation’s 2022 State of Grantseeking Survey highlights recent developments in funding to allow organizations to become more strategic in their grant seeking. This resource helps organizations review their grant-seeking efforts, report on performance, and plan for the future.
OneCause’s “The 2021 Giving Experience Study”
OneCause’s 2021 report takes the information learned from surveying 1,026 social donors on topics related to motivation to give, interest in returning to in-person events, engagement tactics, and donor retention. Find relevant stats to your work such as, what percent of donors find the opportunities through advertisements, what factors donors find the most important in a run/walk/ride fundraising event, and what percent of donors plan to engage in-person post-pandemic. Turn to this 32-page report when looking for the opinions of donors on giving in 2021.
OneCause’s “The 2022 Giving Experience Study”
OneCause’s 2022 report reveals the findings of surveying over 1,000 social donors, capturing their evolving expectations, generosity motivators, giving patterns, and future intentions. Find relevant stats to your work such as current social donor trends, how the social giving experience has evolved since 2018, what donors of all ages find most important to the giving experience, best practices to grow ease, trust, and engagement to unlock generosity, and what makes social donors want to give again. Turn to this 45-page report for insight into donor expectations and patterns of generosity in 2022.
OneCause’s “The Fundraising Outlook: 2021 Insights & Planning for Post-Pandemic Engagement”
In this brand new report OneCause looks back at the nonprofit experience in 2021 with data from 1,954 nonprofit professionals taken in the fall of 2021. Find sections on successes and challenges in 2021, post-pandemic engagement, and technology. Turn to this report for insight on effective strategies for 2022 based on what was seen in 2021.
OneCause’s “Fundraising Through a Pandemic: Virtual Pivot Insights & 2021 Outlook”
This 2020 report was based on the surveys of 1,997 nonprofit professionals and features insights on the Nonprofit experience in 2020. This resource will be helpful for those searching for information on the impact of the pandemic on nonprofit professionals in 2020.
OneCause’s “Social Donor Study: Understanding Motivators & Giving Behaviors”
Looking specifically at fundraising event or peer-to-peer campaign donors, this report report features chapters such as: “Social Donors: Who They Are,” “Retaining Social Donors,” and “Converting Social Donors.” Check out this report when looking for information of fundraising events and peer-to-peer fundraising.
RaiseDonors and NextAfter’s “The State of Nonprofit Donation Pages”
Donation pages are an essential part of any nonprofit’s digital presence. In this report learn about the techniques put in place by 200+ nonprofits and what that means for nonprofits as a sector. This report will prove helpful for those looking for donation page-specific research.
Salesforce.org and NextAfter’s “The Global Online Fundraising Scorecard”
Based on an examination of 630 organizations across 9 countries NextAfter’s report addresses online fundraising today. Use this report for insight on fundraising communication topics.
Salesforce.org and NextAfter’s “The Nonprofit Recurring Giving Benchmark Study”
Always wondered how others in the industry acquire and cultivate recurring donors? This report uses the experiences of 115 organizations to explore effective tactics for accomplishing just that. Those looking for information on recurring donor cultivation and acquisition will be interested in this report.
1832 Communications’ “Employee Giving: Does charity begin in the office?”
This free ebook written by Ephraim Gopin explores why employees of nonprofits either give or don’t give to their own organization. This resource includes chapters such as, “Giving Starts at the Top,” “The Case for Oh Hell No,” and “Inviting Employees to Increase Mission Impact.” The “Key Findings” chapter will be particularly beneficial for those looking for data on employee and board giving.
Achieve’s “the Millennial Impact Report: Final Report: Understanding How Millennials Engage with Causes and Social Issues”
For 10 years Achieve’s research team tracked how millennials interacted with the causes they cared about. This report provides suggestions for how nonprofits can effectively interact with millennials as well as data and graphs on millennials’ giving and participation habits. Turn to this resource when looking for data on millennial giving.
Concord Leadership Group’s “The Nonprofit Leadership Report: The Wake Up Call”
With data-backed insights, this report addresses many facets of nonprofit leadership including leadership styles, strategic planning, leadership development, and more. This report will be most useful to those searching for insight into the internal workings of nonprofits.
Fundraising Report Card’s “Live Benchmarks: Fundraising Metric Reports”
Get truly up-to-date info on the state of fundraising. This resource provides insight such as average donation amounts, donor retention rates based on giving amount, first-time donor retention rate, and more. Those looking for current statistics on nonprofit fundraising will find this resource helpful.
GiveGab Insider’s “Giving Day Data Report 2020”
Looking for data on giving days in a particular sector, the power of giving days, the impact of repeated giving days, or the results of seasonal giving days? GiveGab may have just what you are looking for! Having tracked data on Giving Days since 2015, GiveGab’s report is the perfect place for those looking to discuss the impact of a Giving Day on fundraising.
Blackbaud’s “Luminate Online Benchmark Report 2019”
This report features information on recent trends related to online fundraising and communication. This report will be useful for those looking for data divided by sector, as well as those looking for research related to nonprofit communications.
CommunityBrands’ “2021 Nonprofit Financial Health Study”
This resource features sections such as “a deep dive into nonprofit financial health,” “growth and challenges,” “revenue, funding, and grants,” “technology needs, IT and cloud solutions,” “security and risk management,” and “good news on the horizon.” Each section includes data and helpful statistics. As a comprehensive look at nonprofit financials, this resource could be helpful for anyone looking to speak to the state of nonprofits in 2021.
Dorothy A. Johnson Center’s “11 Trends in Philanthropy for 2021”
This report aims to look at all the changing facets of philanthropy over the past year. The report’s contributors speak to the forces impacting philanthropy right now, globalization’s relationship to philanthropy, and more. If what you are looking for is not mentioned directly in this report, it may lead you to the research that does! This report will be most useful for those looking for information on the relationship between philanthropy and our society.
Fidelity Charitable’s “The Role of Volunteering in Philanthropy”
With a section dedicated to “Volunteering and COVID-19” this resource provides helpful data on the current state of volunteering. Check out this twenty-page report when looking for recent data on volunteering and how it has shifted over the years.
Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies’ “2020 Nonprofit Employment Report”
Nonprofits currently are the 3rd largest employer in the US. This report provides data on the employment practices of nonprofits including an examination of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the nonprofit sector. Turn to this report for recent information on nonprofit employment.
Nonprofit Finance Fund’s “State of the Nonprofit Sector Survey 2018”
Based on responses from 3000+ nonprofit leaders, this report provides information on the financial health of nonprofits. This resource will be relevant for those looking for general information on the state of nonprofits.
NonprofitHR’s “2021 Nonprofit Talent Retention Practices Survey”
We all know that retention is a hot topic right now, but what is currently going on in the nonprofit world? In this report find data on talent retention metrics, turnover trends, and more. Take a look at this report when looking for information on retention in the nonprofit sector.
Nonprofit Tech for Good’s “82 Fundraising and Social Media Stats for Nonprofits”
Featuring data from as recently as 2018, this resource compiles information on fundraising, international giving, email fundraising, recurring giving, mobile giving, tribute gifts, matching gifts, P2P fundraising, crowdfunding, #GivingTuesday, giving’s relationship to gender and generations, and more from various sources. This resource will be helpful for those looking for data ranging across all facets of nonprofit fundraising.
NPSource’s “Volunteering Statistics and Trends for Nonprofits”
This resource provides various percentages related to the current state of volunteering in the United States. Looking for data on volunteers? Check out this resource.
Rogare’s “United States of America: Critical Fundraising Report #3”
This 2019 report features sections written by experts such as Taylor Shanklin (Pursuant), Marc A. Pitman (Concord Leadership Group), and Barbara O’Reilly (Windmill Consulting) with topics like: “the misalignment of social fundraising data sources and donor relations,” “stagnant donor retention rates and national giving levels,” and “state of public trust and the nonprofit starvation cycle.” This resource will be best for those looking for research to back up conversations on fundraiser career development, language to use in donor conversation, the state of US nonprofits in the past few years, and nonprofit professional practice.
Research on Associations
ASAE’s “Association Global Maturity: Critical Actions for Successful International Growth”
For less than $10 access research on association global success in recent years designed for CEOs and chief global officers. Use this report when looking for information related to association growth.
Research on K-12 Education and Youth Welfare
Blackbaud’s “Using 2020 Data to Transform Your K-12 School’s Strategy”
This report from Blackbaud uses their data from their Charitable Giving Report to examine best practices for K-12 fundraising. Turn to this report for information on the current status of K-12 fundraising.
Blackbaud’s “The State of the K-12 Education Subsector”
This August 2020 report addresses the upheaval faced by the education system in the early months of the pandemic including discussion of “The Long View,” the current trends of the time, and a look at the future. This report will be useful for those looking for information on the pandemic’s early impact on education.
CASEL’s “Respected: Perspectives of Youth on High School & Social and Emotional Learning”
This resource addresses topics such as “Young People’s Views on the High School Experience” and “The SEL Effect in American High School.” Check out this report when looking for the impact of education styles on learning outcomes.
EdSurge’s “Education in the Face of Unprecedented Times”
This 60-page report uses research to address topics such as, informed practices, current challenges for educators, and instructional technology. Featuring data on educator satisfaction with edtech, on which skills educators prioritize when teaching, and on what event convinces educators to change their current teaching practices this report will be most useful for those looking for current research on the state of education from the perspective of educators.
National Runaway Safeline “2020 Crisis Services & Prevention Report”
The report examines the characteristics of the individuals who contacted the National Runaway Safeline (NRS) in calendar year 2020, the channels through which these individuals connected with NRS, the problems identified that warranted crisis intervention, the services that NRS provided, and how connections with NRS differed before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data in this report provides critical information about the needs of youth who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, and how NRS can best meet the needs of youth in crisis and those who care about them. This resource will be useful to anyone looking to better understand the issues surrounding runaway, homeless, and at-risk youth.
Research on Higher Education
CASE’s “Voluntary Support of Education Key Findings, 2019-2021”
Using research from their Voluntary Support of Education survey CASE examines college and university giving in research years. Those looking for information on giving practices related specifically to higher education will find this resource helpful.
Research on Small Businesses
FinancesOnline’s “63 Crucial Small Business Statistics for 2021/2022: Data Analysis and Projections”
This 2021/2022 research features sections such as, “Small Business Sector Statistics,” “Small Business & Finance Statistics,” “Small Business & Technology Statistics,” this resource will be helpful to those searching for recent data associated with small businesses.
US Census Bureau’s “Small Business Pulse Survey”
This resource includes charts and infographics related to COVID-19’s impact on the sector including a breakdown by geography and sector, as well as over time. It is updated regularly. Check out this resource when looking for info on the current state of small businesses.
Research on Museums
UNESDOC’s “Museums Around the World: In the Face of COVID-19”
In this comprehensive report, UNESDOC addresses topics such as “museum activities in times of crisis” and “public measures in support of museums”. Includes key findings such as how much revenue dropped for museums since 2019, the number of museums around the world, etc. Take the time to peruse this resource when looking for information on the current state of museums.
Research on Technology Usage
The RW Institute’s “Corporate Volunteering, Giving and Grants Technology Review: 2021 Edition”
This review is the only one of it’s kind in the industry. It offers CSR practitioners with an overview of platforms from around the world that support employee giving, volunteering, and grant programs. It provides insight into technology procurement, implementation, and adoption. This resource will be most helpful for CSR practitioners exploring platforms that pertain to employee giving, volunteering, and grants as well as managers responsible for corporate community investments.
IMPACT’s “14 Case Study-Fueled Statistics & Web Design Trends of 2019”
Want data on what design choices make a website successful? Check out this 2019 report to learn what draws web goers in. Use this resource for when you need data directly related to effective website design.
Pew Research Center’s “Mobile Fact Sheet”
We all know smartphone usage is a major part of daily life for the majority of Americans. But, have you ever wondered specifically the role of mobile devices in American society? Pew’s research provides insight on who owns smartphones, as well as smartphone dependency. Insight from this resource can be useful for anyone discussing the role of mobile presences.
The Verge’s “Tech Survey 2020”
It is hard to imagine American life without an abundant use of technology. But how do Americans actually feel about the technology, the companies behind the popular platforms, or the various social media platforms? The Verge’s research provides clear numbers on all of these topics. This resource will be most helpful for those looking at the role of technology, tech companies, or social media in American society.
Research on Camps
American Camp Association’s “CampCounts 2020 Report”
This annual report is comprised of research based on 486 camps that operated during the summer of 2020 and speaks particularly to the health and safety measures put in place and the success of these measures. Use this resource when looking for information on the pandemic’s impact on summer camps.
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