Bumper Crop for #GivingTuesday. Crop. Picture of the Larger Harvest Mixed.
First, a quick summary of 2018 #GivingTuesday results (as of 11/29/18):
- Biggest #GivingTuesday ever raised $380 million in the U.S.
- 6 million donations were made with mean gift size of $105.55
- Facebook users, some using livestream Facebook video gaming, raised over $125 million; that’s $45 million more than last year.
- Blackbaud reported that its systems processed $62.6 million; a record year.
- PayPal reported that 1 million of its users contributed$98 million—a 51% increase over 2017.
We’ll report in more detail on this year’s #GivingTuesday later.
IN THE MEANTIME…while many folks focused on the $380 million #GivingTuesday, the Fundraising Effectiveness Project( FEP), representing $68+ billion in giving, released a favorable 2018 3rd Quarter Fundraising Report.
I won’t call it “great”, because it contains some disturbing news. Let me explain.
Those who follow the FEP with its view of more than 13,500 organizations, 154 million gifts totalling $68 billion in contributions will recall that when the 2ndQuarter ended there was ahint of doomand gloom. Both the number of donor responses (-6.6%) and dollars (-2.1%) were down compared to 2017. On top of that the long-term impact of tax reform threatened to tarnish fundraising halos.
Well, with the release of the latest report, Ben Miller, the Chief Analytics Officer at DonorTrends, who’s one of the volunteers who compiles the FEP, was sounding a little less than Chicken Little when I reached him.
But… he wasn’t breaking out the champagne either.
Here’s Ben’s take on where things stand:
Where We Were
- After the end of year push in 2017, there were two straight quarters where donations lagged behind the prior year. At the end of the second quarter the number of donor responses from January to June 2018 was down -6.6% compared to 2017 and donations were down -2.1%. In fact, every metric in the second quarter report was below where it had been the year prior.
Where Are We Now
- There has been a comeback in both donors and dollars in the 3rd quarter of 2018. Revenue is 2.6% ahead of the prior year and the number of donors donating also improved – moving from -6.6% to -4.3%.
- Despite all quarterly metrics making gains, there are only two metrics in the FEP Quarterly report that made enough gains to move to positive number.
- Revenue generated from Major Donors (Donors giving $1000+) is now +3.1% ahead of the prior year.
- Repeat Retained Donors is +0.0% ahead of 2017.
Ben warns, “Before you break out the champagne there are a few things you should consider:3rd quarter 2017 was relatively weak despite disaster donations.
- 4th quarter 2017 was exceptional. Led by the $1,000+ donors with a 47% increase over the 4th Quarter of 2016. In order to beat last year, we would need to see another exceptional 4th quarter in 2018
- It still remains unclear just how the new tax reform will impact donations from small, medium, and large donors, all three of which realized gains last year.
What does this mean for you?
The FEP is far more than just an interesting compendium of numbers. You can put it to work right now to improve your fundraising results.
Here are 3 steps you can take today to impact your fundraising results:
STEP #1: Dare to Compare
Check your numbers to see how you compare against yourself and the sector. Three vital metrics you should track:
- Number of New Donors
- Donor Retention
- Revenue Change for your Major Donors
Click the link below to get your own free metrics or contact the folks at DonorTrends and they’ll will run a free report for you. It takes only minutes and costs absolutely nothing! PLUS… with this same link you’ll find a treasure trove of FEP goodies.
How Does Your Organization Compare?
STEP #2: Put This In Your Pipe(line)
Pay extraordinary attention to larger gifts. The importance of large donations grows greater every year. Building a pipeline to cultivate and engage your mid-level donors will keep a constant stream of new candidates for your major gift officers. Download a case study or send us a message so we can connect you with experts that are building these success stories every day.
Ben has prepared a brief and powerful summary outlining an effective and inexpensive way to approach the large/major gifts pipeline issue. See it here.
STEP #3: Engage Your Major Donors.
Finally, here’s Ben’s holiday gift of advice to Agitatorreaders: “With the smaller number of large donors providing the overall bump in revenue for the sector, you better make sure your biggest donors hear from you this holiday season. Treat these donors for what they are, a huge part of your success. Whether it is a personal phone call, a visit, or a handwritten thank you card, connecting with these donors to maintain your relationship with these important donors is a must.
“In working on the FEP over the years it’s clear that about 35% of the year’s donations come in the 4th quarter – with most of those donations received in December. So, now is the time to make sure you are making the most out of your data.”
What steps are you taking for this final, all-important month?
Roger
P.S. Ben and the folks at DonorTrends have volunteered to serve as Holiday Elves to the Agitator’s Grinch. If you want some help in turning your data into donations you can schedule a free session with them here.
3 responses to “Bumper Crop for #GivingTuesday. Crop. Picture of the Larger Harvest Mixed.”
Behavioral Science Q & A
Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
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I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
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Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]
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There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
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I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
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Outstanding post Roger!
Everyone must keep the big picture in mind. Yes, Giving Tuesday was a success and the percentage increases over last year were even larger than the overall report within the Bloomerang customer base, so there is much to celebrate. A key celebration should be relishing the number of donors who were brand new to the charities receiving the gifts.
I love your suggestion or challenge to compare your charity’s metrics on Retention, New Donors and Major Donor change. This will bring the big picture into focus swiftly and accurately.
If I may add one more key metric, which is the year long actual dollars being applied to fund the overall mission of any nonprofit. This takes into account the total dollars raised plus bringing into the picture the amount of dollars utilized to raise those funds. The net amount is what is important to funding the mission.
Determining the increase or decrease year over year can be quite enlightening!
Dylan Matthews’s point of view in his VOX newsletter last week resonates with me:
“At a very macro level, it’s hard to find evidence that giving has gone up overall due to Giving Tuesday. In 2011, the year before the first Giving Tuesday, charitable giving by individuals in the US grew by 3.9 percent, or 0.8 percent after inflation. In 2012, the first year of Giving Tuesday, charitable giving grew by … 3.9 percent. In fairness, giving rose faster in 2013 and 2014, as Giving Tuesday gained steam, but a number of other factors, like the improving economy, might have accelerated giving growth as well.
I don’t know if there’s a good way to randomly test whether Giving Tuesday works. Ideally, you’d do an experiment showing Giving Tuesday ads to some random subset of the population, and then match those against information on those people’s (and a control group’s) total giving for the year. The best data on that would come from the IRS, which is understandably hesitant to share data for this kind of thing.
But there are a lot of clever social scientists out there, and I’d be interested to see one of them try to rigorously measure if Giving Tuesday is increasing aggregate donations or not. It’s an important question, whether you’re a Scrooge like Ogden or an optimist about the holiday.”
[…] is starting to chip away at some of the returns for Colorado Gives Day. Giving Tuesday this year raised a record $380 on November 27th (just one week before Colorado Gives Day). Six million donations were made across […]