The NonProfit Times - The Leading Business Publication For Nonprofit Management

By Marla E. Nobles
More than simply build it and they will come, a nonprofit must promote the availability of an online-contribution option on its Web site if the organization wants donors to give through the Internet.

A recent study found that when asked why they did not give online, the single most common reason donors gave -- after not having a computer -- was that they were unaware the option existed. The finding mirrors results of similar studies of other forms of giving, where when asked why people didn't give to charity, the answer was simply: they were not asked.

"The social dimensions of giving are just starting to be researched," said Melissa Brown, associate director of research at The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University (CPIU), who guided the American Express Charitable Gift Survey.

"We used to (ask) door-to-door and at work. Now our society's changed and we went to direct mail." People want to give, added Brown, they just need "something that has to move them from wanting to actually doing, and asking seems to be the one thing that really works."

Brown wasn't only surprised by the study's findings of a perceived disconnect between wanting to give and being asked to give; she also noted the relatively low percentage of people who said they gave more during the holiday season.

"Most people think their giving is fairly even throughout the year," said Brown, "and I've seen (charity) figures that say 70 percent of the gifts come at this time of year." One explanation, she said, is that respondents were asked amount, whereas charities might be tallying the number of transactions, not the dollar total.

Brown said the group embarked on the study to address two "Frequently Asked Questions" in the charity world: 1) How much do people give at any one time to types of charitable recipients?; and, 2) Do online and offline donations differ in size? The study also asked people about their motivations for giving online.

Moreover, by collecting information about gift amount - not total giving, as prior studies have done - the research demonstrates the importance of relatively small contributions.

The study, completed in September, reached 1,300 households nationwide. Another 205 contacts were made to get a sample from 300 online donor households. Research was completed by CPIU, along with Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based Innovative Research Group Inc., with sponsorship from American Express Merchant Services, in New York City.

More than one-quarter (28 percent) of offline-only donors said they did not give online because they weren't asked, couldn't find an online donation site, or it just didn't occur to them.
About two-thirds (65 percent) of Americans in this study gave to charity in the past year, and 6 percent gave online. This means one in every 10 donors gives online currently.
Fifty percent of online donors are aged 35 to 54.
The study examined more than 900 online and offline gifts. Overall, the average gift amount was $172. When comparing the average online amount ($165) to the offline amount ($174), there was no statistically significant difference.
Two-thirds (66 percent) of donations were below $100, and 45 percent were below $50.
The median charitable donation was $50.
Nearly 23 percent of the gifts were for religious purposes. These donations averaged $284, nearly $150 more than the average gift to other causes.
For secular (non-religious) giving, there's no statistical difference between online ($144) and offline ($137) gift amounts.
Donors who contributed using a credit card made larger gifts - $297 average offline and $267 online - than donors using check or cash.
Nearly six in 10 donors said they give about the same during the holidays as during the rest of the year. Among all donors, on average 24 percent of donated dollars are given between Thanksgiving and New Year's.
Sixty-four percent of online donors gave for reasons of convenience.
One in five (20 percent) online donors received an appeal from the charity with a link or easily found an online giving option.
Offline gifts were larger from donors who gave both online and offline.
Only four of the 102 donors made gifts online and offline for religious causes; 27 donors made one gift to religion and one to a secular cause.
Internet security concerns, which were grouped with concerns about gift processing security - whether the gift would be received by the organization or directed to the right purpose - accounted for 24 percent of people who chose not to give online.
The biggest reason donors aged 18-34 and 35-54 gave for not giving online was "not enough knowledge/information about online" (34 percent and 33 percent, respectively). Donors aged 55+ cited "no computer/Internet."
Residents of the South are less likely to give online than are people in other regions. This is likely because Internet use is less widespread in the South.
Ten percent of male donors and 9 percent of female donors reported making online donations in the past 12 months.
Half of all donors (49 percent of men, 48 percent of women) reported their most recent gift was to a "charitable cause" group, including human services, combined fund like United Way, an association serving public safety officers or veterans, or a health charity.

This article is from NPT Instant Fundraising, a publication of The NonProfit Times.