Let joy be unconfined! The 2025 M+R and Rally UK & Ireland Digital Benchmarks Study has just been released. The Study is a brilliant way to see up to date, comprehensive digital benchmark data, covering metrics as diverse as website conversion, fundraising revenue, email click rates, where charities are spending their digital ad budgets and the returns they are getting from that spend.
It’s the fourth time now that Rally and M+R have collaborated to bring Digital Benchmarks to this part of the world. So big thanks to M+R once again for all their insight and analysis. And extra big thanks to the 39 charities who took part this year. Without them, there would be no study. Participants receive personalised reports and a richer dataset, but the summary report and data is available to all so the sector has a better understanding of the digital landscape.
Better data makes better decisions
Good data helps us make decisions based on facts rather than opinions or gut feel. In a challenging environment where budgets and resources are squeezed, data can be our best friend. It tells us what good looks like so we can understand how we’re performing, where we could be doing better and what we can do to make our programmes more effective. It helps us work smarter too because it points to where we need to focus our precious time and money and what to prioritise to make the biggest difference.
Data can also be a critical friend: it shows us what is possible and challenges us to do better. For example, the study states the median average: results for half the participants will fall below that figure and half of the participants above it. Which means that even if your organisation finds itself at the ‘median’ level, there’s plenty of room for improvement.
Our three big take outs
Each time we do the Study there’s a different number and mix of participants and, of course, a different external environment. But despite these differences over the years, it’s clear there are many consistent themes, so a lot of the key challenges and opportunities in the digital engagement space are familiar.
1. Online revenue shows slight decline, but growth is happening for many
The Study shows that on average online revenue declined by 2% for UK and Ireland non profits in 2024. This comes after increases of 6%, 8%, and 3% in the previous three years. But this decline shouldn’t fill us with despair. Looking at the bigger picture, only four years before, in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, online revenue exploded. So despite fragile consumer confidence and a cost of living crisis that’s showing no sign of going away, there’s absolutely no going back to pre-pandemic levels. Online revenue generation has made a step change which has been sustained well beyond the unique circumstances of 2020.
Delve deeper into the data and it’s clear that growth is possible, it’s just not uniform: on average smaller charities increased both revenue (by 6%) and the number of gifts (by 5%) while large charities saw revenue decrease and gift volume stay flat. Revenue increased for health and animal welfare/wildlife charities but decreased in the international development and rights sectors.
Once again we’ve seen faster growth in regular giving revenue (up 8%) than cash (down 6%) in 2024. This suggests a way non profits can stabilise and grow revenue over time. But each organisation should look at its data carefully to establish what is really driving or holding back performance and take actions to grow that reflect its specific circumstances.
2. We still haven’t cracked the potential of email to mobilise support
You probably know that at Rally we’re obsessed with seizing the opportunity to unleash the full power of email as an incredible engagement and activation tool. We’ve been going on about it for some time now. Why? Because we can control email’s performance so much more than any other digital channel. We aren’t at the mercy of an algorithm or tech-bro (more on them later), we know exactly which inbox it’s going to land in and when.
So we were happy to see that charities have continued to grow their email lists (up 4%) and frequency of communications (up 31%, but still well below average for US non profits). But although more messages reached more people, response fell meaning revenue per 1,000 fundraising emails sent fell by 39%.
Taking a step back, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that on average 8% of UK and Ireland online income is driven by email. Despite the fall in response, the growth in list size meant the overall percent of revenue from email stayed relatively flat year on year.
Email continues to be a key part of our digital ecosystems. It’s a critical way to communicate, educate, engage, mobilise, and build relationships with supporters - and of course raise money.
The message is clear: we need to make email communications inspire more action and mobilise more support. At Rally, we still stand by our thoughts from last year: we just need to focus on the four key factors: the number of email subscribers, the frequency of communications, the quality of the content and the level of engagement. And it’s in our gift to change all four. Imagine the growth we’d see if we finally nailed it!
3. In times of uncertainty let’s diversify and optimise what we can control
In a changing world, it’s vital that we focus on the things that we can control, like email. Because let’s face it there’s a lot going on out there that we can’t. Take our ‘friends’ Mr Musk and Mr Zuckerberg for example. Since the last Study, X has changed beyond all recognition and has seen a decline in users and advertising. Many non profits say they plan to exit the platform altogether. And Facebook turned off fundraising tools half way through the year in Ireland.
We need to try to protect ourselves from such changes that can happen on a whim. That means building a diverse, balanced and sustainable programme so we don’t have all our eggs in one basket. And having an integrated approach which reflects how audiences use different digital channels and is flexible enough to adapt as their online behaviours change.
We also need to redouble efforts to optimise our programmes and maximise their efficiency and effectiveness, focusing on constantly learning and finding ways to improve performance and returns. At Rally we believe there’s always room for improvement - even if your organisation finds itself at the ‘median’ level, it shouldn’t be something we should celebrate or be satisfied by.
Take for example the median cost per advertising lead on Meta of £2.86 for UK and Ireland charities. We’re always amazed at how high this number is, given what we see some of our clients achieve. In an uncertain world when we want to be in control of our own destiny, we should never settle for ‘good enough’ but be mindful of what is possible and always challenge ourselves to do better.
As always the Study is thought provoking and shows performance varies significantly according to an organisation’s size and sector. So the best thing to do is dive into the data, compare your own metrics to those of your peers and come to your own conclusions for how your organisation is getting on and where you should focus. Where might you have untapped potential you can invest in? Where could you improve efficiency? Is your programme diverse enough to be sustainable if the unexpected happens?
We’ll be taking a pause in 2026 - think of it as our fallow year, à la Glastonbury.
We’ll take that time to check in with the sector to make sure we evolve the Study to continue to meet your needs in these turbulent times. In the meantime, you can focus on implementing the findings of this year’s Study to make your digital programmes even more efficient and effective.
Before you know it next year we’ll be launching the 2027 Study, so keep your eyes peeled. If you’d like to chat before then, please drop us a line.