May CDP Index: Data shows ‘jaw-dropping’ donor gains this spring

A comparison of key giving trends from February–April 2025 compared to the same period in 2024 has elicited the seldom-used data analysis term “Holy guacamole!” across CDP internal communications. The remarkable growth reported last month continues, with the Membership Revenue Index showing a year-over-year increase of 7.6% for the three-month period ending April 30 compared to the same three months in 2024. Radio experienced a nearly 10% increase in revenue, and Television/Joint licensees had a 6.8% increase.

Of course, this is very likely driven by threats to federal and, in some cases, state funding. The impact is most notable in the New Donor Index. Over the three-month period, the median increase for all public media organizations was 16.8% compared to the same period last year. For the 12-month period ending April 30 compared to the same 12 months in the prior year, new donor counts were flat for the system for the first time since March 2024. Radio had a 12-month year-over-year increase in new donors of 16.4%.

Increases for new donors for Radio in the most recent three-month period are driving the increase for the entire 12 months. The median increase for all Radio organizations in the 3-Month index was 45.8%, with medians reaching over 100% for the largest organizations by active donor counts.

Coming off a year of new donor declines, TV/Joint licensees experienced a welcome 13.7% increase in new donors for the three-month period. We are cautiously optimistic that we’ll see 12-month increases in new donors in the next quarterly report. The funding threats are likely the primary driver here, too. However, the Passport Users Index did show the first noticeable increase (approaching 2%) since October.

As mentioned last month, when we compare the most recent 12-month period to the prior 12-month period, new donors by source are still trending downward, with online acquisition the notable exception.

We are encouraged by the growing share of these new digital donors that made sustainer gifts, exceeding 40% overall. This is very important, as one-time–gift donors acquired during a period of heavy reactionary giving are often less reliably retainable. Converting one-time–gift donors to sustainer giving, testing annual sustainer offers and refining stewardship of these donors will be areas to focus on in the coming months.

Finally, the High-dollar Gifts Index, tracking gifts of $500 or more, increased by 23.1% in the three-month comparison period. TV/Joint had gains of 24.3%, and Radio saw an 18.9% increase. High-dollar gifts for organizations with more than 15,000 donors grew by more than 20%. Again, stewardship of these donors will be critical in the months to come for a healthy revenue retention rate in 2026.

The increase in donations from our audiences at all giving levels has been jaw-dropping and soul-filling. Yet it needs to be said that giving from individual donors will not replace federal and state funding for the system. System leaders are springboarding from this base of community support to continue to push for funding from all available sources as well as making space to reimagine funding models for 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.