The first “Donate Now” button was released in 1999 by Groundspring, a nonprofit founded by San Francisco-based Tides Foundation, and throughout the early 2000’s young Gen-Xer nonprofit professionals pioneered the use of “Donate Now” buttons. They experimented with placement and color, SEO, and new email marketing services, such as ConstantContact and MailChimp. At the time, making an online donation was a radical concept that executive staff and donors resisted, but it was a new technology that Gen X knew would change fundraising forever – they just didn’t think it would take this long.
Now, nearly two decades after the launch of Groundspring’s fundraising service (acquired by Network for Good in 2005), online fundraising averages 8% of a nonprofit’s total annual revenue. Online fundraising is growing, but slowly and that serves as an important reminder that even in an age of technological advances (then and now), mass adoption of new technology can take decades. Looking forward, online fundraising is set for exponential growth and despite all the buzz about social media and mobile tech, good ole email still rules.
1) On average, nonprofits raise 7.6% of their total revenue online.
Source: Charitable Giving Report
2) 30% of online giving occurs in December. 10% on the last three days of the year.
Source: Network for Good
3) Email accounted for 26% of all online revenue in 2017 and grew 15% over 2016.
Source: Benchmarks
4) The average monthly donor will give 46% more in one year than those who give one-time gifts.
Source: Network for Good
5) In 2017, 21% of online donations were made on a mobile device.
Source: Charitable Giving Report
6) 66% of donors would use a mobile app that allows two-tap giving and earns badges and redeemable points. This app does not exist.
Source: Global Trends in Giving Report
7) Over the last 10 years, donor retention rates have been consistently weak – averaging below 50%.
Source: Bloomerang
8) 66% of donors have volunteered within the last 12 months. 85% donated to the nonprofit that they volunteered for.
Source: Global Trends in Giving Report
9) The average online donation on #GivingTuesday is $120.40US.
Source: #GivingTuesday
10) 45% of donors give to nonprofits located outside of their country of residence.
Source: Global Trends in Giving Report
Newly Released! The 2018 Global NGO Technology Report
Published in العَرَبِيَّة, English, français, português y español, the 2018 Global NGO Technology Report is based on the survey results of 5,352 NGOs from 164 countries.
