Part 2: A New Donor Study in Near-Real Time
Working with data from the Members Services Bureau fundraising co-op we performed an in-depth demographic analysis of 180,000 new donors acquired since January 1, 2025. We knew we had to move as quickly as the news cycle to engage these new donors now and retain them in 2026 and beyond.
In Part Two of this series, we’re sharing some insights to help you do just that.
The Rise of the Millennials (and Hello, Gen Z!)
In Part One of the series, we learned that nearly half of the new donors to public media in 2025 are below the age of 60, falling into Gen X (23%), millennial (21%) and Gen Z (3%) generations.
In this post, we’ll take a closer look at how they gave and the path they may have traveled.
The Revolution May Be Televised, but the Reactionary Giving is Online
Much of the increase in new donors in 2025 is likely attributable to the loss of federal funding. Like other crisis giving in the last decade, online giving saw the sharpest increase. The share of new donors acquired online doubled in 2025.
For Gen X, millennials and Gen Z — more than 70% of all new gifts in 2025 were made online. If we include gifts made online during a pledge drive, it approaches 80%. Also important, pay close attention to the small share of younger donors who gave at all during pledge drives in 2025.
| First Gift Channel | Silent | Boomer | Generation X | Millennials | Generation Z |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Mail | 27.0% | 15.0% | 3.8% | 2.4% | 2.3% |
| Digital/Web/Email | 42.3% | 56.1% | 71.3% | 73.6% | 74.8% |
| Pledge | 24.3% | 22.0% | 14.2% | 10.9% | 9.9% |
| Canvassing | 3.4% | 3.8% | 7.5% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| Other | 3.0% | 3.1% | 3.3% | 2.9% | 2.8% |
Taking a deeper dive into Passport viewing data for the TV and Joint licensees in our study, there is a marked increase in activations and viewing among these younger cohorts, as well. However, the difference between the rates of activation and streaming is wider. Both data points stress the importance of programming choice that includes the interests and tastes of younger viewers.
| Generation | Activated Passport | Streamed in 2025 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silent | 35% | 22% | 13 points |
| Boomer | 49% | 33% | 16 points |
| Generation X | 57% | 42% | 15 points |
| Millennials | 59% | 39% | 20 points |
| Generation Z | 57% | 40% | 17 points |
Monthly Giving Even More Popular with Younger Donors
Donors younger than 61 are much more likely to make sustainer gifts, with over 55% of millennials and Gen Z’s making sustainer gifts in 2025.
That means we should be able to retain these donors for years to come, especially if we focus now on engagement. Quality engagement starts with knowing who your donors are.
(For more on retaining reactionary donors, read this blog post from SVP of Fundraising Strategy, Daren Winckel.)
How’s Your TikTok Game?
If you’ve ever seen a human being, of any age, anywhere, then you don’t need me to tell you the importance of social media in 2025. Mastering social media — all social media — is key to being front and center with your current and potential donors, especially your new, younger, highly connected donors of 2025.
Take a look at this chart from Pew Research Center to get a sense of the most popular social media apps for younger people and ask yourself, “How many videos has my organization posted today?”
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/01/31/americans-social-media-use/
Much has been written about the new era in which public media suddenly finds itself. We think this analysis sheds light and hope on what the future may look like as this new generation takes on the mantle of supporting noncommercial local journalism and content. We’re excited to welcome these new donors by meeting them where they are and getting to know them better.
Methodology:
Our new donor dataset for calendar year 2025 included 180,000 donors across 45 public media stations (21 TV, 20 Joint, 9 Radio) making their first donation in the first eight months of 2025. These accounts were matched to consumer demographic characteristics, including wealth and income characteristics, to gain insight into new donor behavior and profiles. Additionally, a dataset of nearly 1 million first-year donors to 57 public media stations (24 TV, 22 Joint and 11 Radio) across five years of historical giving data (2020-2024) provided the basis for our historical analysis of first-year donor demographic profiles and first-year giving channel trends. These combined datasets represent the largest single source of new donor giving to public media and offer a diverse and discerning lens into this generous and evolving base of donors offering their financial support to this critical sector.