Charity Auctions     |     26 October 2026

Fundraising During a Recession: 5 Tips for Fundraising in This Economy

Practical nonprofit fundraising strategies to raise steady money when wallets get tighter

7 minute read

Grocery bills are up, layoff headlines keep coming, and your board wants to know if this year's gala will hit its goal. When money feels tight for everyone, asking for donations can feel awkward, but shouldn't stop you. Your cause doesn’t take a break during a recession. 

Fundraising during a recession works when you change how you raise money, not when you stop asking. Donors don't disappear when the economy slows. They get choosier. The groups that come through strongly hold on to the supporters they already have, make giving easy at every budget, and spend less to raise each dollar.

At Silent Auction Pro, we've spent more than 20 years helping schools, churches, clubs, and charities run their events through the Great Recession, the pandemic, and every bumpy stretch in between. Let’s look at what actually happens to giving when the economy dips, then walk through five tips for keeping your fundraising steady in this economy.

What happens to charitable giving when the economy slows?

Giving usually dips in a downturn, but it rarely stops. During the Great Recession, total U.S. giving fell roughly 13 percent across 2008 and 2009. It was the steepest drop the report had seen in decades, and many charities felt it for years. Even so, Americans still gave more than $300 billion in each of those years.

Today's picture looks different. Giving USA's latest report found that Americans gave a record $617.2 billion in 2025, the first year total giving ever topped $600 billion. Individuals gave about 64 percent of that money.

The number of people giving tells another story. The Fundraising Effectiveness Project found that dollars raised grew 4.3 percent in the first quarter of 2026, while the number of donors fell 0.8 percent. That's the latest in a multiyear slide in donor counts.

More of the money is coming from fewer people. Wealthier donors are carrying a bigger share of the load, while many everyday households feel squeezed by higher prices and an uncertain job market. That's the economy most nonprofits are raising money in right now, and it shapes every tip below.

Should you still ask for money in a tough economy?

Yes, keep asking, and ask with care. Many groups go quiet when the economy dips because asking feels insensitive. Going quiet is the bigger risk. Need often grows in a downturn. Food pantries serve more families, scholarship requests climb, and community programs fill up. Supporters who stop hearing from you assume you're doing fine.

The way you ask matters more than ever. Acknowledge that times are tight for a lot of people. Thank every donor no matter the size of the gift, and give people real choices about how to help. Skip the guilt and the pressure. A warm, honest ask keeps the door open, even for supporters who can't give much this year.

Here are some strategies that can help you make the ask, even when times are tough. 

1. Hold on to the donors you already have

Your current donors are your strongest source of support when money is tight. Keeping a donor takes far less time and money than finding a new one, and new donors are harder to find right now. The Fundraising Effectiveness Project saw this in early 2026, when growth came from repeat and returning donors, while the number of new donors continued to fall.

Start with thank-yous. Send one quickly, make it personal, and tell the donor what their gift will do. Then stay in touch between asks. A short update, a photo from your program, or a note about what last year's event paid for all remind donors why they gave. Supporters who only hear from you when you need money tend to drift away. Supporters who see their gift at work tend to stay.

Pay close attention to anyone who gave last year and hasn't given yet this year. A friendly check-in with no ask attached can bring them back.

Your most generous supporters need care too. When a bigger share of giving comes from a smaller group of people, losing one generous family can shake your whole budget. Call them. Invite them to see your program in person. Ask what they care about most, and listen. Steady donor cultivation is what keeps those relationships strong through a rough year.

Silent Auction Pro's donor and donation tracking lets you see who gave, how much, and when, so you can pull a list of past supporters before your next event. Our built-in email and text tools can send custom thank-you letters to donors and bid winners, which takes one more task off your plate.

2. Make room for every budget

When budgets shrink, guests still want to help, as long as they can find a level that works for them. The events that hold up best in a slow economy give every guest a way to take part.

Look at your event through the eyes of a guest who is watching their spending. If the cheapest auction item starts at $300 and your paddle raise ends at $500, a lot of people in the room have nothing to do. Give them options like these:

• Lower-priced auction items and baskets with buy-it-now prices, alongside your big-ticket trips and experiences
• Games like 50/50 and heads or tails, where a few dollars buys a spot in the fun
• A paddle raise ladder that ends low, at $100 or even $25, so every guest can raise a paddle
• Text-to-give, so a supporter can send $20 from their phone in a few seconds
• Small gifts add up fast. Eighty guests giving $100 each brings in $8,000, and every one of those guests leaves feeling part of the cause. Those modest givers often become next year's larger donors once their own finances recover.

Keep your top levels in place, too. Wealthier guests are still giving, and a strong opening ask sets the tone for the whole room. The trick is building a ladder with plenty of rungs at the bottom. 

3. Turn one-night guests into year-round donors

Monthly giving provides your budget with a steady base when one-time gifts become harder to predict. A donor who hesitates to write a $300 check will often give $25 a month without a second thought. By the end of the year, both gifts land in the same place, and the smaller monthly amount fits a tight household budget far better.

Recurring donors also tend to stick around. Their gifts arrive on schedule, they stay connected to your work, and they're less likely to drop off when the news gets gloomy. That kind of steady income is worth a lot when you can't count on a big year-end check.

Event night is one of the best times to ask. Guests are warm, the story is fresh, and their phones are already in their hands. Mention monthly giving from the stage, add a recurring option to your donation page, and follow up the next week with a thank-you that invites event donors to keep their support going all year.

Silent Auction Pro's Giving Campaigns give you a branded landing page with its own web address, where supporters can make one-time or recurring gifts any time of year. You can share the link in emails, on social media, and in your thank-you notes. 

4. Show exactly where every dollar goes

Donors give with more confidence when they can picture what their money will do. In a slow economy, people think more carefully before they give and tend to choose causes where the impact is easy to see. A vague appeal like "help us continue our work" loses out to a specific one.

Tie your asks to real things. "$50 fills a backpack with school supplies,” or "$500 covers a month of tutoring for one student." Put lines like these on your auction display sheets, your ticket pages, and your paddle raise script. Use real numbers from your own budget, not guesses, so every promise holds up.

Be honest about what the economy means for your mission. If your pantry is feeding more families this year than last, say so, and share the real numbers. Donors respond when they understand that need is growing and their gift fills a real gap.

Then close the loop. After the event, tell supporters what you raised and what it paid for. A short nonprofit impact report with a few photos and clear numbers builds the trust that brings people back next year. Silent Auction Pro's detailed during-event and after-event reports give you the totals you need to share those results quickly.

5. Cut costs without shrinking your event

Every dollar you save on the event goes straight to your mission. Lower costs raise your net as surely as higher bids do, and donors notice when an event feels thoughtful instead of lavish.

Start with the biggest expenses. Ask local businesses to donate food, drinks, decorations, or venue space in exchange for a thank-you in your program. Swap printed bid sheets and catalogs for an online catalog with mobile bidding. Think about a virtual or hybrid format, which can trim venue and catering costs and lets supporters who can't attend in person still bid and give. 

Look at your software costs too. Paying for separate ticketing, auction, donation, and email tools adds up quickly. Silent Auction Pro covers auctions, tickets, seating, donations, payments, communications, and reporting on a single platform, and our annual packages let you run multiple events in a year under a single annual fee. 

People count as a cost as well. A tight economy often means fewer volunteers and a smaller staff stretched across more work. Every Silent Auction Pro customer gets free phone and email support, a personal event coach, and free night-of-event support that lasts until your event ends, even if it runs late. Those are real people who help you plan, so your team doesn't have to figure everything out alone or burn out along the way.

Build a fundraising plan that holds up in any economy

A slower economy changes how you raise money, but it doesn't have to shrink what you raise. Keep your donors close, make room for every budget, build steady monthly support, show your impact, and run a leaner event. People may not have as much disposable income to donate, but they still want to give. They just need the opportunity. If you'd like to see how our auction and giving tools fit your next fundraiser, request a free demo and we'll show you around.