3 posts tagged “online giving”

Guidestar summarizes recent Giving USA online fundraising survey:

• while Internet giving is widely used, it still represents a small portion (under 5%) of overall fundraising
• most common way organizations raise money over the web is through an online donation page
• best results come from organizations that combine an online donation page with email appeals

Overall, social networking tools aren't contributing much - yet, but an organization that utilizes online 'communities' is likely to improve results.

Care2's FrogLoop blog interviews Phillip Artez, President of Artez on how to choose an eCRM.  Phillip says that successful nonprofit fundraisers "aren't afraid to share brand, content and promotion with their supporters" and reminds us that a large portion of funds will come from a small group of fundraisers so we should "treat them differently."  He mentions three areas where nonprofits should especially pay attention to: potential of social networking sites such as Facebook, donations originating from mobile devices and more organizations utilizing SalesForce (which has excellent connectivity to other systems and provides up to 10 free licenses to nonprofits).

Finally, the Nonprofit Times explains the importance of using multiple channels since many donors will visit the web before making a donation - even if it's offline and, surprisingly, even more so for constituents 65 and older.  Per Donordigital's Nick Allen, "more people are online, more people are doing research online, checking out charities they support or are thinking about supporting."   But NPAdvisor's expert Rick Christ warns that "nonprofit's Web site should try to support direct mail, but not replace it." and that direct mail is still how many first hear about a nonprofit.  Convio's Vinay Bhagat adds that while blogs and social networking are getting more attention, the core web site is still the main way constituents will evaluate a nonprofit.

Many contributors to the Nonprofit Times article, including Nten's Holly Ross stressed the importance of integrating the web site with email appeals.

mStoner provides an interesting look at How Donors Use the Internet.  Interestingly, success of a nonprofit's web site can't only be judged by the level of online donations, since many visitors will check out an organization online but continue to give offline.

Nonprofit Times reviews a study which discusses the value of email addresses: Get an Email Address, Generate Income, as well as other trends in online giving.

Association of Fundraising Professionals discusses a survey that suggests that Integrated Fundraising Activities (are a) Key to Success and that using a variety of approaches is best, although reminds us that developing relationships and major gifts are still critical components.. 

Finally, the blog A Small Change suggests that fundraising no longer needs to be restricted by geography in Fundraising Without Borders.
  

In the recently released American Express Charitable Gift Survey, there are some surprising insights about online fundraising.

Through a two week sample of donors in September 2007, the survey analyzed how much people give to charity in single donations and the differences between online and offline donations.  Below are some of its major points (with my comments in italics):

• about 2/3 of Americans gave to charity in the past year, but only 6% gave online.  This is much lower than I would have expected, but surely this will continue to grow rapidly.
• convenience or speed is the top reason for giving online. This is why it's so important to make the online donation process as simple as possible, e.g. not having too many steps and not asking for too much information.
• most contributions are below $100, regardless of the method of donation. While many nonprofits focus on major gifts, it's clear that small donations play a critical role.
• on average, the online gift is about the same amount as offline gifts. This is the most surprising conclusion.  At most presentations I've heard on this topic, online gifts are always described as being higher than offline gifts.
• the most frequent response for not donating online was not having a computer or Internet access.  This will change as Internet connectivity becomes more universal.
• although people under 35 are more likely to make online gifts, the greatest share of Internet donors (50%) are between 35 and 54 years old.  This also is a surprise, but the survey explains that more people in this age range give to charity than any other age group.
• there is little difference between the percentage of men and women giving online, and little difference in the types of charities they support.  This suggests that segmenting constituents by gender may not be helpful in stimulating online giving.

Thanks to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, the Innovative Research Group, American Express Merchant Services, and Ted Hart, founder of the ePhilanthropy Foundation and now head of the Hart Philanthropic Services Group for preparing this insightful report.