Charity Donors Prefer to Give Online

Nearly two-thirds of donors worldwide prefer to make charitable contributions online, and social media can be a big motivator, especially for younger donors, according to new research sponsored by the Public Interest Registry and Nonprofit Tech for Good.

Ninety percent of nongovernmental organizations, always on the lookout to engage their followers and attract new ones, maintain a website, and 70% use a dot-org domain.

The new study is based on an online survey of 2,780 NGOs worldwide, conducted in September and October. It also incorporates insights from 355 donors around the world who were asked about their giving preferences; of these, 28% were millennials, 37% Gen Xers and 29% baby boomers.

Sixty-two percent of donors surveyed said they preferred to give online. Twenty-three percent gave through direct mail, and 6% through a mobile app or via text. Nine percent used various other methods.

Researchers found that social media most often inspired 27% of donors worldwide to give. Another 23% said they were prompted to do so by email, 14% by an NGO’s website and 12% by print materials.

Others cited face-to-face contact, workplace giving, fundraising events and telemarketing as prompts to give.

Nearly three-quarters of millennials reported that they gave online, and said they were most often motivated to do so by social media; only 15% said they responded to direct mail. Their chief areas of interest were children and youth, women and girls, human and civil rights, education and animals.

Two-thirds of Gen Xers preferred to give online, mainly in response to email pitches, and 18% responded to direct mail. The main causes they supported were education, children and youth, human services, animals and the environment.