Charity Websites Play Key Role in Online Giving

US online giving to nonprofit organizations is expected to top $4 billion during the 2009 holiday season of 2009, according to a study commissioned by Convio, which found that charity organizations’ websites are playing an increasingly influential role in donations this year.

The survey also found that more than 63% of the 175 million online adult consumers in the US plan to use the internet to donate to charities of their choice during the upcoming holiday season, up from 51% in 2008

Nearly six out of 10 people surveyed plan to give the same amount or more to charity this season, while the current state of the economy will lead 23% to give less this season. One in five (20%) are still undecided about the size of their gifts, Convio said.

Holiday Giving Priorities

For the US consumer, helping other people through human and social services organizations such as food banks and homeless shelters will be the top priority during this holiday season with 37% of the people expecting to support that type of organization.

Other findings about charities getting support and the demographics of giving:

• 36% percent of consumers will support faith-based organizations and/or disease and health service organizations.
• 26% will support animal welfare organizations as expected recipients.
• Men and women plan to donate at virtually the same level, with 64% of men and 63% of women saying they plan to donate this season.
• Of the men and women who plan to donate, 62% of men plan to give the same or more, compared with 53% of women.
• 23% percent of the women plan to donate, but have not determined the amount, compared with just 16% of the men.
• Younger Boomers (ages 44-53) and Gen Xers (ages 30-43) are the most likely to donate online, at 66% and 65% respectively.
• 59% of older Boomers (ages 54-64) and 60% of Seniors (65+) also report that they plan to give online.
• Those with incomes of $100k+ (78%) plan to be the most generous online this holiday season.

Most Useful Tools

In terms of the most useful communications tools in the giving process, the survey found that a charity’s website is the most useful among those who plan to donate online this holiday season, with 44% saying the website influences their gift regardless whether the gift is made online or offline. This was followed by word-of-mouth (40%), postal mail (28%), email (27%) and email from a family or friend (23%). Charity evaluator sites also play a role for 10% of online adults in their decision making process, Convio said.

“When you look at what consumers are saying, nonprofits need to make sure that their website is optimized to tell their story, explain why giving is important, make sure the user experience matches consumer needs, then make giving easy and secure,” said Gene Austin, Convio’s CEO.

Other study findings:

• More than half (56%) think nonprofits have made it easier to donate online, while less than half (46%) think that charity websites make it easy to find the information they need to make a giving decision.
• When it comes to taking actionm, 39% of online consumers report making an online donation after visiting a charity site, while more than half shared their email address, registered for an enewsletter or otherwise opened the door to a relationship with the nonprofit.
• In addition to their online preference, 61% of consumers report mailing a check (most, after checking the website), 38% gave at an event, 17% used the internet to sponsor a friend or family member in a run, walk or ride, and 16% responded to a phone call in addition to their personal online giving.

Charity Support Remains High

The survey also found that while 65% of survey respondents have delayed spending on non-essential consumer products this season, their support for charities remains high.

“Despite the difficult economy, American consumers will be going online in record numbers to support charitable causes in the final four weeks of the year,” noted Austin.

Austin also said that charities that have focused on their online fundraising and marketing programs are benefiting from the changing demographics and online behaviors of today’s consumers. “While online giving totals are less than traditional channels, the real growth in online giving and the research continues to show that nonprofits that have invested in technology for online engagement will fare better this holiday season than their counterparts who are late to the online world.”

The findings from the Convio study come at a time when a separate survey from Weber Shandwick and KRC Research showed that while 88% of execs at US non-profit organizations are currently experimenting with social media, only 51% report using it actively and 79% are uncertain about how to demonstrate its value to their organization.

About the survey: The North American Technographics Omnibus Online Survey, Q4 2009 (US), is a commissioned omnibus survey conducted by Forrester Technographics on behalf of Convio.