Online giving to churches and other nonprofits continues to increase. Read on to discover what’s happening in the world of online giving—and why online and text giving is important for your organization.
Total Giving is Up—Sort of
Before we focus on online giving in particular, let’s look at giving in general. According to Giving USA, total giving increased 1.9% from 2022 to 2023, to a total of $374.4 billion. However, when you take inflation into account, that represents a 2.1% decrease in inflation-adjusted dollars. So giving is up—and down.
Email and Social Media Fundraising
How do nonprofits fundraise online? Email marketing is still important, with 68% of nonprofits using email to solicit donations, even as email open rates dropped 16% from 2022 to 2023. That said, it’s important to optimize your email fundraising efforts for smart phone screens, as 81% of all emails are read on mobile devices.
Even as email declines as a fundraising vehicle, social media fundraising is becoming more important. Almost a third (32%) of donors who give online say that social media is the channel that most inspires them to give.
As to which social media are used by nonprofits, it breaks down like this:
- Facebook (used by 99% of nonprofits)
- Instagram (96%)
- X/Twitter (88%)
- LinkedIn (86%)
- YouTube (77%)
- TikTok (39%
- Facebook Threads (32%)
- Snapchat (6%)
- Reddit (2%)
Online Donations
Monthly giving makes up 31% of all online fundraising revenue, up from 27% in 2022. Almost two-thirds (63%) of donors prefer to give online (with either a credit or debit card), compared to 16% who give via direct mail, 10% who give via PayPal, 5% who give via EBT, and 4% who give cash. Only 1% use text-to-give services.
Not surprisingly, 91% of nonprofits have a website. Visits are split about 50/50 between mobile users (52%) and computer users (48%), even as 67% of online donations and 78% of online fundraising revenue comes from computers users. The average donation from a computer user is $118, compared to $79 from mobile users.
Interestingly, only 14% of nonprofits prompt donors to make a recurring gift during the donation process. This represents a lost opportunity for most nonprofits, as only 57% of donors are enrolled in a recurring giving program.
Bottom Line
The bottom line is that online giving, whether via computers or mobile devices, should be an important part of your nonprofit’s revenue portfolio. The efforts you expend (via email, social media, and other methods) return significant dividends—and there is plenty of upside to solicit recurring donations.
To maximize your organization’s online fundraising efforts, you need a robust digital giving platform, such as Give Back Gateway by Higher Standards. Give Back Gateway lets your organization accept and manage online and text donations. It’s easy to set up and easy to use for non-profit organizations of any size.
Contact us today to learn more about Give Back Gateway and online giving.
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