Research finds digital giving holding up

More than half of fundraising directors have seen an increase in the proportion of income from digital donations and fundraising in the past year, according to a new survey carried out for the Institute of Fundraising and BT MyDonate. Only 4% of respondents said they had seen a decrease, compared to 56% who reported a rise.

The results suggest that digital income is holding up comparatively well and contrast the results of the last UK Giving Survey, which found no change in digital giving during 2010-11.

Overall, 52% of respondents had experienced an increase in fundraising income, while 29% experienced a decrease.

Key findings

Most respondents are investing in digital giving, but spending relatively modest amounts.

Digital donations appear to be holding up well compared to other sources of income.

A wide range of technologies are used, from email marketing to SMS messaging.

Although still in its infancy, there has been relatively high take up of text from respondents over the last year.

Respondents recognise the potential of digital techniques to increase supporter engagement and raise awareness of their cause as well as to raise money.

Almost a fifth of respondents (19%) said that income from digital donations and fundraising had increased by more than 10%, a further 37% said it had increased slightly (by less than 10%).

The vast majority of respondents(90%) said their charities had invested in digital giving, but of those, 81% had spent less than £10,000 in the past year.

Most used their own web page (83%) or Facebook page (55%), while half used peer-to-peer websites such as BT MyDonate or JustGiving. Nearly a half of respondents said they used email marketing, while relatively high proportions used text giving (45%) and text giving services (43%).

The survey, based on 258 responses from fundraising directors, found that most of those whose charities were not currently using digital fundraising, were currently considering it. But for a small number who were not, nearly half (47%) said a lack of development fees were the main hurdle.

Targeting donors by age and boosting digital giving by age group

Targeting the right people was important; 37% of respondents said that their charity targets donors by age and of these, half (49%) target older people. Those that do target different age groups, said they spent more on older people.

The survey also found that:

Only 30% of respondents think that improving the economy will have some effect on both younger and older donors.

Increasing awareness of the organisation's work is most likely to boost giving from both older and younger donors greater security of on-line fundraising sites may boost digital giving by older donors but is less important to younger people a tailored Facebook page is seen as appealing to younger rather than older donors.

Other digital techniques may boost giving amongst both age groups, but are likely to have more impact on younger donors.

Other responses to the survey highlighted a need for more targeted campaigns, engaging supporters rather than just asking for money, and promoting more personal involvement with the charity.

The survey was based on 258 complete responses. 50% were from charities based in London and the south-east and 58% have a fundraising income of more than £1m. Most worked in the areas of health (30%); social care (26%); education and training (16%); and overseas development (12%).

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