Online giving is exploding!
As a nonprofit or charity, it’s the easiest time in the history of the world to raise funds for causes that you care about.
In fact, in 2017, Americans gave more than $400 billion to charities, up 5% since 2016. Pretty wild, huh?
Today, I want to compile data from a few difference sources to give you a complete idea of how online giving is growing and the statistics that you can rely on to chart a course forward.
As you’re navigating this new online terrain, I want you to remember that there are resources and coaches out there (like me) who can help you implement some of these effective fundraising strategies.
I’m putting together a book right now on the previously unheard of psychological triggers that get millennials, baby boomers, and virtually all walks of life to give money to charity.
I’ll tell you when this book comes out. All you gotta do is get on the pre-order list here to discover proven psychological fundraising hacks.
Now, let’s talk about the latest online giving and fundraising statistics.
Online Giving Grew By 12.1% in 2017
According to Nonprofitssource, online giving in 2018 has grown by 10.6% already and is projected to do even more than in 2018!
This is consistent year-over-year growth, and more than 60% growth since 2012, when I started writing this very blog.
When it comes to 2017, $31 billion was raised through online giving. There are a few important key facts I want to note:
- Giving Tuesday raised $274 million dollars online
- $128 is the averageonline donation amount.
- $326 dollars is the average annual donation total for recurring donors.
- Only 67% of nonprofits across the globe are set up to accept online donations.
- The average nonprofit crowdfunding campaign raises $9,237.55
- 21% of donations are directly through social media.
- Email messaging drove 28% of all online fundraising revenue
- 25% of donors complete their donations on mobile devices
“Trends in the 2017 Charitable Giving Report show very positive signs for the emergence of digital and mobile giving,” said Steve MacLaughlin, vice president of data and analytics at Blackbaud and senior advisor to the Blackbaud Institute.
You can read about the full statistics here.
30% of Online Giving Occurs in December
… and 10% in the last three days of the year. Woah!
This is according to Network For Good and their stats, citing that the average gift size is $236.
In 2017, nonprofits raised 7.6% of their total fundraising revenue online, and 13.9% for smaller nonprofits. This is according to the 2017 Blackbaud Charitable Giving Report.
As you read these statistics you should be thinking… so… online giving is seasonal.
If you’re a traditional nonprofit organization and are just now venturing into the online giving arena, then it might make sense to concentrate most of your efforts on a #GivingTuesday campaign or a fundraiser throughout the month of December.
This could also be true of launching a peer to peer fundraising or crowdfunding campaign. It might pay to wait until one of these months, where your existing donors will be most likely to give to the initiative.
85% of Volunteers Donated to their Nonprofit
Charitable giving isn’t just about wanting to help. It’s also about wanting to see that your help is effective.
Your hardcore donors must believe in the mission of the nonprofit, believe that your work produces results, and care or empathize with the demographic you’re helping.
The easiest way to accomplish these three tasks is to get them to volunteer with your charity. It gives them a first-hand experience of the kind of work you’re up to and, what’s more, makes it more likely they will become annual donors.
In 2018, 66% of donors volunteered within the last 12 months and 85% of them donated to the nonprofit that they volunteered for. You can learn more here.
A successfully nonprofit fundraising strategy is not only about using these new mediums, like online giving, but also engaging members of the community in you’re nonprofit’s work. Ironically, this will help you raise more money over time!
I’ve put together a new GUIDE that’s packed with science-backed nonprofit fundraising methods, resources, strategies, and killer marketing methods.
You should check it out if you want to get more donations and you want to fast-track the entire process.
29% of Donors Say Social Media Gets Them To Give
One of the critical findings in the 2018 giving report is that 29% of donors say that social media inspires them to give to charities and nonprofits.
I urge you to download this report and learn about all the other findings related to nonprofit giving.
As you can see, most of the communications that inspire giving happen online, including social media, email, and a nonprofit websites.
If you’re running a nonprofit organization, then you can’t afford to NOT be online. Think of Facebook as your own personal TV channel where you can post videos, images, and even communicate with your donors. The same goes for other social networks.
Social media is the primary way that users find out about what their friends are up to, cool new events they can attend, neat products to buy, and of course, new causes they should support.
TV and Radio Inspire Only 9% of Donors to Give
If I had a tv-soundtrack for “crickets,” then I’d play it right now.
TV is DEAD. People are cutting the cord in greater numbers and almost everyone is tuning out of advertisements.
The funny thing is that when an advertisement comes on, you pick up your phone and start to browse Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Instagram.
Think about that… existing TV viewers are taking their attention during the commercials and directing it towards social media. You should be “advertising” on social media, not on TV.
I think it’s clear that:
- Netflix and YouTube have replaced TV
- Blogs have replaced newspapers
- Podcasts have replaced radio
- Online giving is beginning to replace traditional giving
It’s only a matter of time folks. You can either step up and take advantage of this new opportunity or continue to struggle with the old methods, which are quickly proving to be outdated and ineffective.
I’ve put together a new GUIDE that’s packed with science-backed nonprofit fundraising methods, resources, strategies, and killer marketing methods.
You should check it out if you want to get more donations and you want to fast-track the entire process.
What Gets Donors to Give?
In my last book, Nonprofit Crowdfunding Explained, I shared with you a step-by-step strategy for raising money from the crowd. We went into exactly what you gotta do to launch a killer crowdfunding or peer to peer fundraising campaign. This book is now available on Amazon and Audible.
After I wrote this book, I became saddened.
I felt like I was leaving out SO MANY nonprofits that can use online fundraising to bring extra fundraising revenue into their organization.
The problem is that nonprofits are not used to the “marketing” skills and “technology” know-how that comes easy to the for-profit marketplace.
I want to share with you the key psychological triggers that get someone to actually give you cash and donate to your cause.
This was the genesis for my new book, on Nonprofit Psycholgical Fundraising Hacks. You can join the pre-order list at that link. Just sign up and I’ll let you know when it’s out.
I promise, you’re gonna LOVE it ;).
