What 76 Giving Days Taught Us: The 2026 Giving Day Benchmark Report
Every Giving Day team asks the same questions: when to send, who to target, and where to focus their energy. To find the answers, Gravyty analyzed 2026 Giving Day results from 76 advancement organizations across higher ed, K-12, and affiliated foundations. Together they raised $120.7M, including $42.6M from nearly 169,000 online gifts. Join Brandon Stec and Craig Batson, the analyst behind the report, for a candid, data-driven conversation about how donors really behave on Giving Day and what the most successful teams do differently.
You’ll learn:
- Why small gifts matter most. 88% of online gifts were under $250, and more than half were made on a phone. We’ll show how to design for volume and mobile ease.
- When donors actually give. See which days, hours, and pre-day windows capture the most gifts, so you can time your key sends.
- Which format performs better. Compare midnight-to-midnight and noon-to-noon campaigns on dollars raised and donor behavior.
- How loyalty compounds. Repeat donors made up 17% of givers but drove 48% of dollars. Learn the stewardship moves that pay off in a single campaign.
- Where ambassadors and directed giving fit. Find out how peer-to-peer expands your reach, and why donors increasingly give to specific programs over general funds.
Whether you’re preparing for Giving Tuesday, a spring Giving Day, or your next annual push, you’ll leave with real benchmarks to measure against and practical strategies for raising more.
Craig Batson
Solutions Architect
Brandon Stec
VP of Marketing