Silver Lining
The stats on giving released over the past few weeks haven’t been anything to write home about. By and large giving is flat and in some sectors – health care, arts and culture – the data are downright nasty for these sectors, which are clearly hurting.
This week Blackbaud released its monthly Index of Charitable Giving, reporting a 1.4% increase in giving for the three months ending in August, 2010 over the same period a year earlier. No champagne cork popping here, although the trend is hopeful as we all look to year-end giving.
What is worth a champagne cork or two is that the Blackbaud Index of Online Giving reports that overall online revenue increased by 20.4% over the three month period ending in August compared to a year ago.
This is significant. The Index covers captures $407 million in giving to 1,676 organizations. An impressive sample.
Today I’ll be sharing the platform at the Blackbaud Conference for Nonprofits in Washington, D.C. with Steve McLaughlin, Blackbaud’s Director of Internet Solutions, in a session on “Trends in the Nonprofit Industry”.
I know Steve will be gloating. And he has every reason to be tossing high fives all over the place. Despite the piddling share online activity represents compared to the rest of the fundraising pie, the reality is that month after month, year after year, the once-thin-sliver called “online giving” is steadily growing more significant.
For Agitator readers who wonder why Tom and I devote so much attention to online and social media trends the answer lies in the steady, inexorable upward climb of the online numbers.
This stuff is becoming real as the hype from a decade ago transforms itself into serious money.
Are you seeing the same trend in your bottom line.
Roger
One response to “Silver Lining”
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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Can someone explain what Blackbaud’s Index of Online Giving actually means? Is this 20% more total gifts to nonprofits or is this channel just being used more than, lets’s say sending checks via snail mail. If total giving is up 1.4% than this index is an interesting spin by whoever is selling online tools at Blackbaud. I would love to see Blackbaud’s index for face to face solicitation, how about an index for wire transfers of money. I would never suggest that the nonprofit community should not focus on building their online skills this index from Blackbaud appears kind a useless, unless of course your compensation was connected to how much product you moved for Blackbaud’s online tools.
ps My IIBOLI is -14% IIBOLI= Interest In Blackbaud’s Online Index