The Membership Revenue Index for the three-month period ending June 30 showed a 1.7% increase in Membership revenue compared to the same three-month period in 2023 — a welcome reversal from last month’s reporting. The overall index saw improvements in all key areas driving revenue: less decline in new donors and growth in high-dollar giving and sustainers.
The moderate Membership revenue increase was driven by TV/Joint licensees, which enjoyed a 2.2% increase in revenue. Radio was essentially flat, with a little more than 1% decline. Stations of medium size (15,000–40,000 12-month donors) once again outperformed stations of other sizes, with a %2.7 lift in revenue. This group of stations again experienced the strongest growth in high-dollar gifts at 9%. Overall, the High Dollar Index saw a nearly 1% increase in gifts this period.
The New Donor Index decline of 12.1% is the smallest drop in new donors this quarter. That’s encouraging, but it must be noted that all three monthly reports this quarter have seen the largest declines in new donors this fiscal year. Though stations of all sizes and types are experiencing new donor declines, small stations (less than 15,000 donors) are being hardest hit, with a 17% decline. These stations often have less diverse acquisition strategies due to resource constraints, and acquisition investments may be the first budget line item to take a hit when belts are tightened.
Sustaining donors have been a bright spot for new donor acquisition. In other CDP reporting, we have seen since the days of COVID quarantines that both TV and Radio have growing shares of new donors making sustainer gifts. In the most recent period, TV/Joint licensees had 38% of all new donors making sustainer gifts, and Radio surpassed 30% for the first time since the pandemic.
Despite an increase in the proportion of sustainers among new Radio donors, the overall number of sustaining donors for Radio decreased by 2.6%, largely due to significant drops in the total number of new donors. Otherwise, the Sustainers Index has been relatively stable this year, with about 5% growth each reporting period. TV/Joint licensees have driven this growth, likely due to Passport signups. For these stations, Passport continues to drive new sustainers and conversion of current and former donors to sustainer giving. The Passport Users Index saw a slight increase in growth for the first time since January 2024.
The results for the 12-month period look hopeful for stations with a July–June fiscal year. Membership Revenue for the 12-month period is up a healthy 2.4%, driven partially by high-dollar gifts (up 2.6%) and consistent increases in both sustainers (5%) and Passport users (6%). Stations of all types and sizes reported positive gains, with the strongest growth among TV and Joint stations. Only the New Donor Index showed declines for the period, a sign for stations of all types and sizes to renew and refocus acquisition efforts.
As stations continue to seek out new audiences and acquisition strategies, a heightened focus on retention and donor upgrading can help stabilize revenue. Growing sustainer files and improving revenue retention among our most loyal and generous donors are two areas to review and strategize on for the coming year.
This monthly report on the fundraising performance of public media stations is provided through an editorial collaboration between Current and Contributor Development Partnership (CDP). The collaboration draws from CDP’s National Reference File, which collects monthly membership and revenue data from more than 170 public media stations. (Read more about the methodology.)
Deb Ashmore joined CDP as Analytics Strategist in September 2023. With more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and public media fundraising, she is passionate about working to help clients understand their fundraising data to inform strategies for long-term file health and growth. Her previous public media experience includes 10 years as director of individual giving for WXPN in Philadelphia.