INDIANAPOLIS—Nonprofit fundraisers are having increasing success with Internet and e-mail
fundraising techniques in recent years, according to the latest Philanthropic Giving Index
(PGI) survey released today by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.
“We are seeing a strong upward trend in positive results from online fundraising. In the six
years since we first asked about Internet fundraising, the percent of nonprofits reporting
success with this technique has more than doubled, from 16 percent in 2000 to 34.4 percent
today,” said Patrick M. Rooney, Director of Research for the Center on Philanthropy.
“Reported success with e-mail solicitations has grown from 15 percent to 27.8 percent.”
Just under half (47 percent) of those surveyed reported that the average size of online
gifts to their organization is between $51 and $250 dollars. Almost a quarter (24 percent)
said the average online gift is less than $50, while 19 percent said it was between $251 and
$500. Ten percent of development officers said the average gift was more than $500.
“Fundraisers recognize that with the Internet, donors can turn an impulse to give into a
donation within seconds,” said Eugene R. Tempel, Executive Director of the Center on
Philanthropy. “Over the years, those participating in the PGI have predicted great future
success for Internet fundraising, but our study has found that those results have been
slower to materialize for some nonprofits than they had anticipated. These latest findings
indicate that organizations may be beginning to realize the hoped for success.”
Almost half (47.4 percent) of the fundraisers said that online contributions account for
only 1 percent to 5 percent of their nonprofit’s total contributions. Twenty-three percent
said their organizations do not receive any donations online, while 13.2 percent received 50
percent or more of their donations online.
Survey participants also continued to rank the Internet and e-mail as the least successful
fundraising techniques in the survey, behind major gifts, planned giving, direct mail,
foundation grants, special events, corporate giving and telephone solicitation.
“While online fundraising success is higher now than in any previous PGI survey, the
average online gift reported remains relatively small, and online giving represents a small
percentage of all dollars raised,” said Timothy L. Seiler, Director of Public Service and
The Fund Raising School at the Center on Philanthropy. “This indicates that online giving
offers donors additional, convenient ways to make their contributions but that it is not
replacing other, more conventional fundraising and giving strategies.”
The PGI, similar to a Consumer Confidence Index for charitable giving, includes three
indexes, on a scale from 0 to 100, based on a semiannual national survey of fundraisers.
The Present Situation Index gauges the current giving environment. The Expectations Index
assesses the climate for the next six months, and the overall PGI is an average of the
current and future indexes. Higher scores indicate more positive or optimistic attitudes
about the climate for fundraising.
In the latest survey, nonprofit fundraisers reported a fairly stable fundraising climate
with an overall PGI of 87.5, virtually unchanged from six months ago (down 0.1 percent)
and slightly less positive than one year ago (down 1.6 percent). The Present Situation
Index was 85.4, a decrease of 0.5 percent since December 2006 and down 1.4 percent from a
year ago. The Expectations Index held steady compared to six months ago, rising 0.2 percent
to 89.7, and down 1.6 percent from Summer 2006.
Fundraising professionals from health care organizations were much more optimistic about
the fundraising climate than they were six months ago; the PGI for that subsector reached
an all-time high at 91.6, a 3.9 percent increase from December 2006. Overall, fundraising
consultants and development officers from arts, health, and public benefit,
environment/animal and international nonprofits were more optimistic than their peers from
other types of organizations. Fundraisers for human services nonprofits reported more
success with major gifts and planned giving fundraising than did those from other types of
organizations. Slightly more than half (54.9 percent) of survey participants said that the
economy in the first six months of 2007 had a positive or very positive impact on the
giving climate.
Other key findings related to online giving include:
- Nearly 80 percent of fundraisers report that their organization communicates with constituents by e-mail, for example to send newsletters or invitations.
- Two-thirds of survey respondents say their organization includes an opportunity to donate in its e-mails.
- Just over two-thirds (67.9 percent) report that their organization has a donation button or link on the home page of its Web site.
- Sixty-three percent say they offer donors the opportunity to make automated online donations such as using credit cards or electronic funds transfers.
- Organization type or mission and total revenue had little-to-no effect on the size of online gifts received or the percentage of gifts that were given online. Nonprofits with predominately local donor bases were least likely to provide an opportunity to donate online, by e-mail or through their website and reported a lower percentage of their contributions came from online donations than did national organizations.
The full PGI report, including results by size of organization, donor base and subsector
(e.g., arts, education, environment, etc.), is available to premium services members of
the Center on Philanthropy’s Web site at
http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/PremiumServices/login.aspx
or may be purchased at
http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/Research/giving_fundraising_research.aspx#PGI.
Journalists who wish to access the full report may contact Adriene Davis at (317) 278-8972 or
or Josh Sprunger at (317) 278-8932 or .
PGI survey participants are chosen to represent a cross-section of nonprofits nationwide
in terms of geographic region, annual revenue size and type of organization. The survey
was mailed to 400 nonprofit development executives and fundraising consultants. Of those,
164 fundraisers and consultants responded, for an overall response rate of 42 percent. The
survey was sponsored in part by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy.
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, a part of the Indiana University School
of Liberal Arts at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, is a leading
academic center dedicated to increasing the understanding of philanthropy, improving its
practice, and enhancing participation in philanthropy through research, teaching, public
service and public affairs programs in philanthropy, fundraising, and management of
nonprofit organizations.
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