The Membership Revenue Index for the three-month period ending Oct. 31 was largely flat overall, with just a modest 0.5% decrease in revenue compared to the same three-month period in 2024 — a return to the flat revenue results we’ve seen most of this calendar year. TV and Joint licensees saw a drop in membership revenue of 0.8%. Radio had a slight increase of 0.7%. Revenue declines exceeded 3% for organizations with 15,000–40,000 donors, while those with 40,000+ donors had an increase of 1.5%. Stations with fewer than 15,000 donors saw a 1.8% decline in revenue.
The High-Dollar Gifts Index saw a nice increase in gifts of $500 or more of 5.2%. Both TV/Joint and Radio-only organizations experienced an increase in high-dollar gift counts, with increases exceeding 7% for Radio and 5% for TV/Joint. Organizations with fewer than 15,000 donors had the greatest increase at 11.2%, followed by the largest stations with a 6.6% increase. Only mid-sized programs saw a decline in high-dollar gifts — essentially flat at -0.6%.
The New Donor Index continues to be an area of concern, declining 16.2% overall. Radio declined 8.7% for the three months compared to the same period in 2023, while TV/Joint experienced a steeper drop of 17.7%. All station sizes experienced declines of more than 15%.
While TV and Joint licensees generally have a greater diversity of acquisition channels than Radio, TV’s success with Passport for acquiring a high percentage of its new donors has been waning. The Passport Users Index, which measures the number of unique Passport streamers, showed the smallest growth in any report period in the last year at just 0.1%. We will be looking carefully for any Passport bounce related to the release of new seasons of Miss Scarlet and the Duke and the addition of past seasons of All Creatures Great and Small to FVOD, as well as following up on some early reporting that Giving Tuesday performed well in many markets.
At 3.2%, the Sustainers Index growth rate was the smallest in the last 12 rolling three-month comparisons. As has been the case all year, TV/Joint organizations experienced all of the growth (almost 5% this period), while sustaining donors are in decline at Radio-only organizations (down by almost 3% this period).
The ongoing and worsening decline in the most stable and loyal group of donors is a growing concern, and every effort should be made to encourage new and returning donors to make sustaining gifts. Stations should also monitor lapsing donors for processing issues. Annual sustainer giving options for one-time donors should also be tested.
In addition to stabilizing the sustainer population, organizations are leaning into mid-level and major-donor gift cultivation. Building on the successes and continuing to explore interesting donor segments, partnerships and collaborative efforts will be front and center for many in 2025. Our loyal sustaining donors and our higher-level donors will be instrumental in any challenges to donor funding in the future.
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.