May 21, 2009 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The total amount of money that charities raised online rose in 2008, as charities attracted more donors to their Web sites, according to a new study that analyzes online fund raising and advocacy at 32 nonprofit groups.
Together the organizations in the study — 26 large national charities, such as Children’s Defense Fund and CARE USA, and six state organizations, such as the Colorado Environmental Coalition — raised 26 percent more money through the Internet in 2008 than the previous year, as the total number of online gifts climbed 43 percent.
But the average size of those contributions decreased by 17 percent, from $86 in 2007 to $71 in 2008.
Average gift size held relatively steady until the last three months of 2008, according to the study.
“Online fund raising isn’t seeing the same kinds of declines that other channels are,” says Marc Ruben, a vice president at M+R Strategic Services, a consulting company in Washington, and one of the report’s three co-authors.
“However,” he says, “in the fourth quarter of 2008 things looked a lot worse than they did in the rest of the year, so that may portend more dark days to come.”
Contributions of less than $50 accounted for 61 percent of the gifts made to the organizations in 2008, up from 51 percent in 2007. But while donations of $250 or more represented just 3 percent of all gifts, those gifts accounted for 41 percent of online revenue.
The study’s findings suggest that online activity by charities that operate in a single state is catching up to that of their national counterparts.
The number of online gifts made to such groups rose 85 percent in 2008, and the amount of money they received through the Internet increased by 27 percent.
The average size of the online gifts they received dropped sharply, to $61 in 2008, however, compared to $132 in 2007.
To read the report: Go to http://www.e-benchmarksstudy.com.
