Online support is fastest growing source of revenue for nonprofits

Online support is fastest growing source of revenue for nonprofits
by Jim Abernathy
From - 

• The Founding Fathers Write a Proposal - {Centered}: August 2013 (Vol. 6, No. 8)‏

  Online donations to charity rose 14% in 2012, while the amount charities received from foundation grants, corporate support, and individual giving through more traditional avenues rose only 1.5%.

  
  

  These figures come from a survey conducted by The Chronicle of Philanthropy and discussed in its June 27, 2013, issue. In "$1 Out of $5 Could Soon Be Donated Electronically," The Chronicle's Raymund Flandez and Emma Carew Grovum report that while most of the organizations surveyed received little more than 2% of their total contributions online, some brought in as much as 30% that way. Many respondents expect to see online donations amount to between 10% and 20% of total contributions within the next few years.

  
  

  The Chronicle's suggestions for getting the most benefit from online giving:

  • Try to convince your donors to give every month or every quarter.
  • Make monthly payments the default option on the donation section of your web site.
  • Encourage donors to use Twitter and Facebook to tell their friends about their gifts.
  • Promote monthly giving in all your print solicitations and other non-electronic contacts with donors. 

  Flandez and Grovum also recommend ways to make giving easy for donors who use mobile devices:

  • Take advantage of events to promote giving by texting or using quick response codes that take the event participants to your website's donation section.
  • Send mobile phone users easy-to-read email messages that link to your website's donation pages.
  • Design your campaigns to play into the ways people view and share information on their mobile devices.