Mobile Gifts Make Up Large Portion of Online Contributions, New Report Says

Mobile gifts made up a significant portion of online donations in 2016, including contributions to “peer-to-peer” and giving-day campaigns, according to a new analysis of online transactions made through the digital-donation platform Kimbia.

Mobile devices were used for 29 percent of donations to peer-to-peer campaigns — fundraising drives led by supporters on behalf of nonprofits — and 24 percent of giving-day contributions.

That finding is key as nonprofits prepare for Giving Tuesday, in which thousands of groups will rally support online on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

Mobile’s importance was not limited to special fundraising drives, however: Some 25 percent of “everyday” gifts online — donations made throughout 2016 that were not part of a giving-day or peer-to-peer drives — were made on mobile devices, according to the report, which analyzed online contributions from about 1.2 million donors.

“Just having a mobile-responsive donation form that’s easy to scroll through and to fill out on your phone or your tablet is important,” says Taylor Shanklin, senior product manager at Kimbia. “That’s just the way that the world is moving.”

Giving-Day Advice

For giving days, emails drive the most contributions of any digital tool, while Facebook attracts the most gifts of any social-media platform.

The average giving-day donation in 2016 was about $147, higher than both everyday and peer-to-peer gifts, which averaged roughly $142 and $93, respectively.

Popular giving-day incentives, like matching contributions, likely spur supporters to give more during the campaigns, Ms. Shanklin says.

Online Revenue

Colleges and other education groups dominated total giving-day donation revenue in 2016, accounting for 70 percent of online dollars, with human-service groups making up 12 percent and health organizations 6 percent.

It’s not surprising that education groups are on top, as many colleges hold their own giving-day campaigns or participate in Giving Tuesday, Ms. Shanklin says.

Other findings:

• Education organizations made up 51 percent of everyday gifts last year, followed by public-society-benefit groups — a broad category that includes professional associations, research institutes, and other nonprofits — which accounted for 18 percent, and health groups, which made up 15 percent.
• Human-service nonprofits accounted for 43 percent of online revenue for peer-to-peer drives, followed by education nonprofits (16 percent) and public-society-benefit groups (15 percent). Kimbia’s clients include many human-service groups, which might skew those figures, Ms. Shanklin says.

Donors Demographics

Older donors gave a significant share of online gifts last year, and nonprofits need to make more efforts to get younger people involved and ensure their appeals are attractive to women. The report notes:

• People 55 and older made up 47 percent of everyday online donors, 38 percent of giving-day supporters, and 31 percent of peer-to-peer donors.
• About one in four peer-to-peer donors was age 34 or younger. That age group also accounted for 20 percent of online giving-day donors and 18 percent of everyday supporters.
• Nonprofits “need to better engage younger donors,” said Kelly Frost, marketing manager at Kimbia, adding that fun, interactive campaigns like peer-to-peer drives might help attract their support.
• Women gave more than men online last year, making up 66 percent of everyday donors, 69 percent of giving-day supporters, and 70 percent of peer-to-peer donors.

Nonprofits should consider using more images of women in their appeals to attract an audience that’s more inclined to give, Ms. Shanklin says.