Dusty Rhodes “Donors Keep Disappearing…”
Donors Keep Disappearing, Discouraged More Than Ever
Yet Christian Radio Is Uniquely Positioned For Such A Time As This
During the most generous time of year, you will easily find the classic Christmas film “It’s A Wonderful Life” on a million movie channels, starring Jimmy Stewart as the loveable ‘everyman’ George Bailey. You may remember the story opens with a celestial scene. Viewers eavesdrop on a conversation with an angel named Clarence. He is in training and anxiously anticipating his next assignment, which finally comes…
Clarence: “You sent for me, sir?”
Sir: “Yes, Clarence. A man down on earth [George Bailey] needs our help.”
Clarence: “Splendid! Is he sick?”
Sir: “No—worse. He’s discouraged.”
Right now your database likely contains a significant number of people similar to George Bailey – honest, good-hearted, hard-working Americans with a history of generosity, but who have stopped giving or – worse – are discouraged about giving!
Many in the fundraising world are heralding 2025’s record-setting charitable giving amount just reported in the new annual Giving USA study – a whopping $617.20 billion total dollars given, which breaks $600 billion for the first time.¹ Indeed, Americans continue to make our country, celebrating 250 years this month, the most generous nation on earth.²
A deeper dive into Giving USA’s report shows a striking paradox: while total giving grew 5.7% over the previous year – in fact giving from Individuals has grown at an annualized average rate of 4.0% the last 5 years – donors keep disappearing! The total number of donors in 2025 dropped again by -3.6% and for the 5th consecutive year! Every year we see more dollars from fewer donors.
This annual dollars up-donors down pattern matters for Christian radio because it means the landscape is both more promising and more precarious: larger gifts and new giving vehicles are lifting totals, but fewer everyday givers are sustaining the broad base that stations tend to rely on.
What’s driving the split? Three forces stand out:
- Wealth and markets. A strong stock market and rising asset values pushed up giving from wealthy households, foundations, and donor‑advised funds (DAFs).
- Bequests. Bequest giving jumped 19.7% in 2025 to about $62.2 billion, signaling that legacy gifts are becoming a larger share of philanthropy.
- Consumer Sentiment.3 This is an economic indicator representing the population of your average broad based donor-type person including their giving decisions. Their sentiment plunged -20.6% – a 60‑year low – affecting everyday donors who give from income rather than assets. Back to our George Bailey example, perhaps worse than the declining number of donors is that they are more discouraged than ever.
For donor-supported Christian radio, these trends create both risk and opportunities.
Risk: Christian radio funding depends on many broad-based micro gifts and mid-level gifts, the support base this study revealed as shrinking, weakening again an already vulnerable support area. If your data reflects the same and you haven’t already begun to increase broad participation, now is the time to be more intentional about donor retention and reactivation strategies – efforts I believe Christian radio can excel at – because that pool of donors just got smaller and have become less confident.
Opportunity 1: Help Christian radio donors grow their generosity by using authentic engagement aided by technology. Practical actions to take now:
- Lead with heart and mission just as your content does. Whether you play music or broadcast bible teaching, it is impacting the hearts of your listeners and donors. Your appeals will be more effective if they are in alignment. Communicating authentically and with stories demonstrating mission accomplishment will touch their hearts deeper than announcing repeatedly “your gift keeps us on-air.” And when you share impact, credit the donors for the impact so they are reminded their gift mattered because of what it accomplished.
- Segment your data and use technology to tailor your print, digital or more personal communication streams: one stream for monthly or recurring donors to keep them feeling connected, another for active single gift donors to help them make their next gift sooner, another to re-engage lapsed donors, and one for new donors welcoming them to the ministry.
Opportunity 2: Engage DAF holders and adapt to tax‑driven timing. Donor‑advised funds surged during 2025. A huge spike in them last December shows donors do respond to tax incentives even when they say they don’t. This may be new territory for some but now that you know, meet these donors where they are:
- The donors behind a DAF gift (from a donor-advised fund) will usually have more funding capacity. For the ones who disclose to you who they are, that can be a signal they want a relationship. Follow up in a timely manner with DAF-friendly communications and appeals such as naming projects or programs, underwriting an event or funding a scholarship.
- Create year‑end DAF messaging that explains how to recommend their DAF grants to your station.
Opportunity 3: Double down on planned giving and legacy conversations. Last year’s near 20% rise in bequests is a positive wake‑up call. Legacy gifts are often the result of thoughtful stewardship and deeper relationships. Christian radio’s daily relationship-building nature positions you to potentially excel at this if you equip yourself to serve these donors well. Start by:
- Identifying likely legacy prospects in your major‑gift pipeline such as longtime monthly givers, board members, and on‑air supporters with multi‑decade relationships.
- Training donor relations staff and leadership how to weave legacy language into stewardship conversations with your major gift donors and others.
- Creating a legacy society and simple, donor‑friendly bequest language that donors can use in their wills and beneficiary designations.
Christian radio is uniquely positioned to increase their donor bases and retain donors longer than many other types of nonprofit ministries. Unlike a child sponsorship organization which must find donors outside of its mission field, our donors tend to come from our mission field – most donors first began their relationship with us as listeners – benefiting from the ministry impact first-hand. And with Christian radio’s consistent positive, uplifting and encouraging brand, we stand a greater chance of keeping our donors encouraged and moving forward in their spiritual life and in their generosity.
1 – 2026 Annual Giving USA Report on 2025 charitable giving. $617.20B was a record-setting year.
2 – Based on 2025 estimates originating within each country and following the methodology of the Giving USA report of charitable giving totals from individuals, foundations, corporations, and charitable bequests. Estimates outside the United States are synthesized because no global equivalent of Giving USA exists: 1) USA – $617B, 2) UK – $115B, 3) Canada – $65B.
3 – University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index; December 19, 2025; a 20.6% year‑over‑year decline, lowest level in six decades.
Dusty Rhodes is a strategic executive leader. Having served in executive roles at Way-FM and WGTS-FM, he now helps Christian media and other nonprofits grow revenues to fulfill their missions for wider and deeper impact! He is a certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), a member of the global Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and the national faith-based executive peer organization CEO Experience (CXP).
Contact Dusty: Dusty.Rhodes@MissionGrowthStrategies.com and at www.LinkedIn.com/in/DustyRhodes777
