Study: Number of Donors Giving Online Increases to Almost 60 Percent
Having an ample supply of financial contributors is the lifeline of charities and many nonprofit organizations. It should be no surprise that during our sluggish economy the past several years these organizations have been feeling the impact of the economy. But there is some noteworthy news. According to a recent study commissioned by Dunham+Company, the number of donors who give online has jumped to nearly 60 percent.
The percentage of donors who say they have given online has increased from 48 percent in 2010 to 57 percent in 2012, according to the study. The most dominant demographic accounting for the overall increase in the percentage of online contributors is the Baby Boomer generation (those born between 1946 and 1964). Among this group, the increase in online giving rose from 44 percent in 2010 to 58 percent in 2012. According to the study, even donors over the age of 65 increased online giving from 29 percent in 2010 to 36 percent in 2012, but no significant change in giving online was seen for those under the age of 40.
This news on the increase in online giving, however, does not change the bottom line that overall charitable giving is down. Last month, the Barna group released the results of a survey aimed at assessing the impact of the economy on charitable giving. The group has been tracking such impact at regular intervals since late 2008, when the economy started going south. Based on this study, 41% of all U. S. adults say they have reduced giving to nonprofit organizations during the past three months due to the poor economy. As for giving to churches, in the same study, one-third of Americans (34%) say they have dropped the amount donated to churches in the last three months, the highest this indicator has been since tracking began in 2008.
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