New study reveals insights on donor giving habits

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New study reveals insights on donor giving habits

Knowing your audience is critically important. Understanding their habits, interests, what motivates them and their charitable preferences are important pillars of your fundraising strategy. Knowing how, when, where and why donors give are key building blocks and questions you need to be able answer to successfully raise money for your organization.That’s why GiveCentral launched a benchmark national study to uncover and track Americans’ charitable giving habits. GiveCentral’s 2016 Insights on Nonprofit Giving report reveals key insights and motivators behind the more than $358 billion American’s give to charity annually.* Here are some highlights from the benchmark study:

Digital Dollars

One out of three Americans indicated a preference for online giving. What’s more, of those respondents, 34 percent said they are likely to donate MORE when using electronic payment methods.

Tech Age of Giving

Forty-three percent of Americans have used a computer, smartphone or tablet to make a donation.

More Dollars Digitally

When asked the dollar amount of their most recent contribution, those who prefer to donate online gave an average of $115 versus an average donation of $82 for those who prefer cash or check. Similarly, those donors who prefer online giving gave an average of $781 annually compared to a $559 average for those who prefer cash or check.

Motivating Factors

Approximately 30 percent of Americans donate for religious reasons. Other motivating factors include: To help people in need (58 percent), feel fortunate and want to give back (39 percent).

Time Out

Evenings (36 percent) and weekends (26 percent) are the most likely time in which donations are made. For 18 percent of survey respondents, early morning is the ideal time.

Moving Story

Storytelling is an art, and an a must-have part of fundraising. That’s because nearly 20 percent of survey respondents said they were emotionally moved to donate by someone’s story. Get your copy of the full report here:

GiveCentral’s 2016 Insights on Nonprofit Giving report reveals other interesting and actionable findings along with recommendations how you can put them into action to benefit your fundraising efforts.


*Giving USA 2015: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2014

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