Online Giving is 12% of Total Fundraising

As websites, social media and other online communications continue to take a growing part of our daily lives, many assume that charity fundraising is also dominated by online transactions. While it is likely that technology will eventually lead to that result, the current reality is far from it. The Blackbaud Institute, which is associated with a cloud software and services company that works with nonprofits, has been measuring online giving for over 20 years. An analysis of 4,535 organizations by this group showed that in 2021, online giving was only 12% of total fundraising.

This 12% statistic, however, incorporates a significant diversity of circumstances. For example, smaller organizations with less that $1 million had 17.8% of their funds raised online during 2021. In contrast, larger nonprofits of $10 million or more completed 11.1% of their fundraising online. There are also different experiences depending on the type or charity. Religious organizations raised 16.8% online while environmental groups raised 5.1% online during 2021.

Also, the prevalence of smart phones has impacted online giving as a growing part of online donations. Back in 2015, 14% of online donations were made on mobile devices. In 2021, 28% of these gifts were made on mobile.

For now, direct mail, fundraising events, and other fundraising methods, particularly for nationally soliciting charities, still dominate. While donors should not expect that to change overnight, the online giving trend will continue to pick up speed as younger generations of givers are more likely to make their transactions online. At the same time, charities might help encourage more growth if more charity websites were optimized for mobile devices to make it easier for donors to contribute using their phones.

There are other influences that could help grow online fundraising even faster. As reported in the NonProfit Times, new postal rate increases might loom due in part to the drop in U.S. mail volume.

No matter how one chooses to contribute, we encourage donors to make sure the chosen charity meets the 20 BBB Standards for Charity Accountability.

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Heart of Giving Podcast

For this week’s Heart of Giving Podcast, BBB WGA interviews Kateryna Zhuk, co-founder of Charity Turner, a Ukraine charity monitoring organization. She talks about the current situation in Ukraine, what charities are doing, and how we can contribute to help the people of Ukraine.

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We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:

• Urban Alliance 
• Fonkoze USA
• ICNA Relief USA

Finally, remember to let us know by going to give.org/charity-inquiry if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.