In its recent study, "The Young and the Generous", Network for Good, the largest nonprofit giving portal used on more than 6,000 nonprofit Web sites, revealed that the median age of donors is 38, with the average being between 39 and 40. For many schools, the bulk of your parents fit in that age range. Traditional-method donors average age is 60 and above.
Some other interesting findings from the Network for Good study include the following.
- The average online donation is higher than the traditional donation-by-check. Why? Possible reasons are people tend to give more using a credit card, online giving is generally impulsive, or wealthier donors may be choosing to give online.
- The number one reason donors use online giving is convenience—it's easier than writing a check.
- Donors tend to use the Internet for end-of-year giving. Network for Good funnels 40% of donations through its portal in December, with donors capitalizing for the end of the tax year. Online giving is easy with donations processed immediately.
- Donors seem to give more on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. For the study purposes, year-end giving was not included so the results would not be skewed.
Your Web site gives your school a tremendous opportunity to educate your constituents about your mission, and how their support makes a difference. The online giving mechanism is a tool to receive their support. If your donors and prospects choose to use the Web, you need to be prepared.
Wording can make a difference. While "giving," "fund raising," and "development" are common, and are certainly the right labels for your activities, choose words that showcase the broad spectrum of what a gift to your school represents. Some examples may be "Getting Involved," "Help Us Deliver the Mission," and "Support in Action." These words help put heart into the donation.
Use your Web site to clearly present ways your constituents can describe how gifts will be used. The Hotchkiss School (CT) (www.hotchkiss.org/Alumni/Giving/asp) clearly explains what each type of gift supports—such as The Hotchkiss Fund, capital gifts, planned gifts, and matching gifts.
Feature stories about programs funded by donors, to show how they make a difference in the life of your students. And, given the fluidity of the Web, change the stories often enough to promote return visits to your site.
Ask for the information you need, and nothing else. As we said earlier, the top reason donors give online is because it's easy. Don't make it hard with a long, interactive donation form. You want them to make the donation—and not give up before they submit it!
Make sure your site includes contact information—as much as possible. Development is still about relationships. Include names, e-mail addresses, direct phone numbers, photos, and bios of your Development people.
While the Web gives you "unlimited" space to educate don't forget the basic rules of fund raising. Ask for the gift! Use a "make a gift" graphic on every page, with a link directly to the donation page. (Your donors should not have to go through pages of information to donate if they don't want to.)
Make sure your giving area is technologically secure. As online giving is on the rise, there is still much distrust of putting personal and credit card information on the Web thanks to the prevalence of identity theft. Your Web team should build security measures into the site, and "https://" should appear on your secure pages. For a quick explanation, click here.
Online giving will continue to grow—and may have a big impact on your fund-raising processes. However, the Internet must never take the place of personal relationship building. Rather, the Internet can be one of your tools to bolster your efforts.
To download Network for Good's report "The Young and the Generous: A Study of $100 Million in Online Giving to 23,000 Charities," click here.
