Giving Totals for 2006
In case you missed it over the holidays, a survey for the Wall Street Journal conducted by Harris Interactive found that 83% of Americans contributed to a charity in 2006, with average total giving of $1220 (down about a hundred bucks from 2005).
Here are the categories used, with percentage of respondents giving to each.
Religious 35%
Hunger/food 34%
Health/disease 31%
Disaster 27% (down from 49% in Katrina’s 2005)
Shelter 26%
Animal 23%
Education 20%
Arts 10%
Other 15%
Some demographic breakdowns are avaliable in the downloadable PDF, but nothing remarkable overall (unless you’re struck by the fact that we contibute more to the welfare of beleaguered pets than to our childrens’ education). It’s unfortunate that these generic polls do not distinguish cause giving from charities; nor do they include contributions to political campaigns.
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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Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
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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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