Online FundraisingLast month, I highlighted some benchmarks in both social media and email marketing that were released in recent reports so that you could see how your nonprofit stacked up. Today, we are going to look at online fundraising.

Using the 2012 Online Marketing Nonprofit Benchmark Index Study by Convio and the 2012 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study published by M+R and NTEN, we see that online fundraising continues to grow in importance, especially to smaller nonprofits.

Here are the key findings from each report:

2012 Online Marketing Nonprofit Benchmark Index Study (Convio, which includes orgs of all sizes in the study)

  • The impact of online fundraising continues with the median growth rate at 15.8%. This compares unfavorably to the 20% growth rate achieved in 2010, but is up from the 14% achieved in 2008 and 2009. The disaster in Haiti is a part of that decline as well as a slower growth of event fundraising. When excluding special events, overall online fundraising comes in at 19.7 %.
  • Online giving continues to grow fastest for smaller organizations. Organizations with 10,000 or fewer email addresses grew by 26.7% in median revenue, similar to 2010’s growth rate.
  • First time online gifts represented 37 % of total median online revenue at $136,625 of a total $366,572.
  • The average online monthly gift amount was $31.96, with Performing Arts orgs receiving an average monthly gift of $63.22 and Public Broadcasting Stations averaging only $14.56.
  • The percentage of online advocates also making an online donation grew from 6.4 % in 2010 to 11.9 % in 2011. Get people involved and they give more!

2012 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study (M+R and NTEN, which includes only very large orgs in its study)

  • On average, nonprofits increased their dollars raised online by 19% from 2010 to 2011.
  • The number of gifts rose by 20%, with the typical gift size remaining roughly the same, falling by 2% between 2010 and 2011.
  • Between 2009 and 2010, the international sector saw a huge 163% increase in the total raised online, likely due to two major emergencies – the earthquake in Haiti and massive flooding in Pakistan – that received substantial media attention and resonated strongly with donors.
  • Between 2010 and 2011, rights groups had the highest increase, with the total revenue online jumping by 56% and the number of gifts by 63%.
  • For organizations with a monthly giving program, while one-time gifts remain the largest source of online revenue, online revenue from monthly giving has grown at a much faster rate over the past few years. On average, online monthly giving accounted for 8% of total online revenue in 2011, up from 5% in 2010.
  • On average, 35% of online revenue was sourced to direct email appeals. The remaining 65% came from other sources, such as unsolicited web giving and peer referrals.

In addition, Network for Good has released first quarter stats for 2012 on their Quarterly Digital Giving Index. Here are some highlights from that:

  • Overall giving, excluding disaster relief donations for Japan in March 2011, was up across all channels in Q1 2012 vs. Q1 2011, increasing by 16%.
  • Charity websites continued to comprise the bulk—over 60%—of digital donations. Following charity websites, social giving (19%) overtook portal giving (10%) for the second most used form of digital giving.
  • Average gift size on social networks increased 90% in Q1 2012 vs. Q1 2011.

Other sources for online fundraising trends:

Netwits Think Tank by Blackbaud
The Blackbaud Index
April 2012 Nonprofit Blog Carnival: Social Fundraising Tips and Best Practices

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Tonia Zampieri

Tonia Zampieri is back with some more advice on how to get your nonprofit’s mobile marketing strategy in place. Also, she shares how you could have the chance to win a mobile marketing strategy session with Atlantic Business Technologies.

Guest Post by Tonia Zampieri of Atlantic Business Technologies.

I love nonprofits, well heart them actually.  I love the idea behind why they exist, the feeling I get when I witness people doing loving acts, helping others in need — the whole sha-bang.

But I’m concerned.

Most US nonprofits are not addressing mobile technology adoption by creating a clear strategy to meet demand.    Mobile devices today are an extension of our desktop computers, whatever can be done there is heading to their purses and back pockets.  This is not a fad.  This is our new reality.  Websites will be built to suit mobile screens before computer screens sooner than later – mark my words. 

Whether donor or client focused in your marketing efforts – each and every nonprofit needs a mobile integration strategy to achieve desired results, making the most of limited budgets.

Here’s some tips on how to get started:

1.  Build a mobile matrix. 

Include every distinct audience you talk to – donors and clients, if applicable.

For one nonprofit your list might include: teens, single professionals, stay at home moms, health care professionals and hispanics.  Reaching these groups may require different mobile channels – texting vs. mobile web content, vs. mobile-rendered forms, vs. apps – and how they receive your information may be different too. Creating an easy spreadsheet where matching up different groups with their respective channel of choice will help understand where to focus.

2. Do your homework and pick your most pressing need. 

To avoid being overwhelmed pick the audiences that you need to engage with most and work on developing a mobile strategy for them.   For example, if your 2012 mandate has been to reach and educate a certain number of people on how to decrease incidence of diabetes, you know your younger audiences and discover they are buying/using smartphones at growing rates.  Funding for this would go under programing not operations so could open up more funding.

3.  Write copy easily consumed via mobile.

In our above example, will your new pamphlet be read right there on the phone or is it best to have it sent via email as a mobile download?  Matching content to how it will be best received is key to achieving desired results.

Every organization has different audiences requiring different priorities and needs.

But every organization has one thing in common – they all must ACT on mobile to stay relevant, continuing to serve their mission most effectively.

The AtlanticBT “Gives Back” mobile grant contest is a perfect opportunity to start.  Fill out a short form sharing a bit more about your cause and how mobile MIGHT help on or before Friday May 18th.   Twelve nonprofits will be awarded complementary Atlantic BT mobile strategy sessions to better guide where time, technology and resources will be best spent.

There’s also a brief video of yours truly explaining a bit more.

Need inspiration for ideas?  Check out last week’s featured entry on getting behind cancer or our sample ideas at Inspiration Station.

Good luck!

Tonia Zampieri is the Mobile Strategist for Atlantic Business TechnologiesShe has nearly 10 years of digital fundraising and marketing experience and launched one of the very first nonprofit iPhone apps, Tap-n-Give on iTunes in 2009.  She tweets regularly via @iheartcharity and can be reached directly at tonia.zampier [at] atlanticbt.com.

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Mixed Links for Nonprofit Marketers

May 11, 2012

Another Friday, another round of Mixed Links… Volunteering Did you know volunteers give up to 10 times more than a non-volunteer? With new perspectives on the value of your volunteers, Convio is offering a free on-demand webinar called 5 Volunteer Trends that Can Improve Your Fundraising Bottom Line. And to help you get those volunteers, [...]

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How to Blog Daily

May 10, 2012

I’ve been blogging Monday – Friday (or darn close) for about 18 months now.  It’s not easy, but it’s worth it. Here are a few tips based on what I’ve learned along the way: Sketch out an editorial calendar. Even if you don’t follow it exactly (and I rarely do), it helps you keep on [...]

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But What If . . .

May 9, 2012

I just sent our weekly e-newsletter out with an article about a guy who got fired for liking his boss’s political opponent’s Facebook page, and a federal judge upheld the firing.  (Here’s the newsletter if you aren’t already subscribed.) I urge you to not let these and other “but what if . . .” scenarios [...]

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Your Boredom is a Bad Way to Measure Success

May 8, 2012

I get this question a fair amount, and it came up in the Direct Mail for Small Nonprofits E-Clinic this week: Once we find the voice and style that works for us, how much do we need to get creative every month? By that I mean, as long as we have the high energy and [...]

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Annual Report How To: A Different Way to Present Your Print Report Online

May 7, 2012

Annual reports – when they are done right – can be a great marketing tool showcasing your nonprofit. I cover nonprofit annual reports quite a bit, and thought I would share how this nonprofit went about creating both a print and online version of their annual report. This step by step description will give you [...]

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Mixed Links for Nonprofit Marketers

May 4, 2012

Happy Friday! It’s time for some Mixed Links! First off, a reminder that our Quarterly All-Access Pass Summer Special expires tonight at midnight. Sign up today and get an extra month free – that equals 3 extra webinars at no additional cost. Read all about our All-Access Pass and sign up today. Three sign-ups have [...]

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The Nonprofit Marketing Mentoring Program

May 3, 2012

Online training is great, but for many of you, it’s not enough. You are left to figure out how to apply what you’ve learned on your own, and that’s tough. You could hire a consultant to do the work, but that’s problematic too — it’s expensive, and honestly, you need to know how to do the work yourself. [...]

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Quick Reminders about Writing Real from Claire

May 2, 2012

Claire Meyerhoff  and I share a passion for helping nonprofits talk in real language to their audiences. She is doing some really great work helping nonprofits talk about planned giving in very easy-going, fun, and natural ways — and if she can do that for planned giving topics (read=the really dry, boring stuff), she can [...]

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Should Your Nonprofit Use Pinterest?

May 1, 2012

Should your nonprofit be using Pinterest? Surely someone in your organization has brought that question up by now, and you, like Andria below, may be wondering just how to use Pinterest effectively, if you use it all. Here’s Andria’s specific question . . . Hi Kivi, Thank you for all your helpful tools – webinars, [...]

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What’s Up in May

April 30, 2012

Summer All-Access Pass  - Get an Extra Month Free this Week Only! Dive into our nonprofit training all summer long! Our quarterly All-Access Pass normally gives you access to our Weekly Webinar Series, Webinar Archive and E-book Library for 90 days, and at only $145, we think that’s one of the best deals around. But we [...]

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