People pay attention when nonprofits reach out.

Would anyone actually pay attention to our app?

It's a reasonable question for a nonprofit considering one. There's already so much competing for space on a phone. Why would your organization break through?

Here's something that surprised me: in Airship's 2025 report, the nonprofit category led every industry on the Android high-performer direct-open benchmark. Ahead of retail, media, even travel.

The number was 20.1%.

That's worth stopping over. An organization doesn't have to sell something irresistible to give people a reason to open a notification. Its work may already matter to them.

What the number means

This is the 90th-percentile Android benchmark for Charities, Foundations, and Non-Profit apps. It's a high-performance reference point, not an average or a prediction for your organization. The report uses 2024 activity; this is the 2025 edition, rather than the newer 2026 report.

Airship measures direct opens when people tap a notification to open an app. That makes this evidence about attention, not completed donations or volunteer sign-ups.

Read the original chart and metric definition, pages 14–15.

People have a reason to care

My interpretation is that nonprofits can begin with an advantage that's easy to overlook: people have a personal reason to stay connected.

A volunteer wants to know when help is needed. Someone using a service needs the latest details. A supporter wants to see what their contribution makes possible.

These are possible reasons for engagement, not causes the chart proves. But they make the finding feel less mysterious. The notification might concern something the recipient has already made room for in their life.

That's a different starting point from trying to manufacture interest in another promotion.

It also creates a responsibility. If someone invites your organization onto their phone, the messages should earn that invitation. Send something relevant, at a useful time, with enough information to decide whether to act.

The tap is the beginning

Imagine a notification about a community cleanup. A willing volunteer opens it. Now what?

If they arrive at a general homepage and have to hunt for the event, you've handed them another task. They still need the date, location, requirements, and a way to respond.

An app can put those details and the next step together. The notification brings someone to the opportunity, and the opportunity makes participation straightforward.

That's an illustrative journey, not a measured result. It's also the part worth designing carefully. A notification about service availability should lead to service details. An event invitation should lead to that event. Where a response uses an external form, make the handoff clear.

Give attention somewhere to go

Email and text can also link people to useful next steps. The app's additional value is a place they can return to for your organization's information and opportunities, even when no message has just arrived.

That's the connection GrovLink is designed to support. Relevant updates, useful content, and a clear way to continue. The available response tools depend on the organization's configuration.

For your next announcement, try following the whole path on a phone. Open it as a volunteer would. Can you find the details? Is it obvious what to do? Can you complete that step without getting lost?

Then measure the response you actually care about, alongside opens. Did someone register, submit a request, or show up?

The benchmark gives us a reason to take nonprofit attention seriously. A useful app gives us a way to do something with it.