The Membership Revenue Index for the three-month period ending Sept. 30 showed a very flat 0.6% decrease in revenue — performing better than last month’s -2.4% result. Revenue declines were greatest for stations with fewer than 40,000 donors, while larger stations experienced a 0.6% increase.
The High-Dollar Gifts Index saw a reversal in a two-period decline trend, with an increase of 4%. TV/Joint organizations experienced an increase in high-dollar gift counts of 5.3%. High-dollar gift counts for Radio were flat at the absolute median with the same period last year. High-dollar gifts increased for stations with 15,000 or more donors, while small stations had flat results. High-dollar gifts are defined in the index as gifts of $500 or more. At that level, pledge and pledge timing could be a factor.
Pledge is certainly a factor in the New Donor Index, which declined by 14.9% overall, an improvement over last period’s 20.9% decline. Declines were in the double digits across organizations of all sizes.
As reported last month, a careful review of public media organizations with strong new donor growth reveals that pledge is the primary factor for Radio, while TV/Joint licensees tend to see more channel diversity across their new donor acquisition strategies and successes. However, TV/Joint licensees’ reliance on Passport for new donor acquisition is ever-increasing. Thus, a declining rate of growth in the Passport Users Index (less than 3% in this period) is exposing cracks in TV/Joint licensees’ new donor programs, as many are waiting for the next blockbuster viewing event.
A positive trend that continues among new donors is a growing share making sustaining gifts, with Radio surpassing 30% for the first time since the pandemic. The overall number of sustaining donors for Radio continued to see the same decline of less than 2% that we’ve been seeing all year, largely due to the longer-term trend of a declining total number of new donors. The overall Sustainer Index showed a 4.2% growth rate this period due to TV/Joint licensees. At these stations, Passport continues to drive new sustainers and conversion of current and former donors to sustainer giving.
As we head toward the end-of-calendar-year giving season and a changing presidential administration, public media’s role in fact-based, in-depth reporting and respite in the form of quality entertainment will be front and center in the minds of your loyal audience members. To quote Dan Rather, stay steady.
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.