A growing share of donors are holding their giving steady rather than increasing their philanthropy, although more of them say they could contribute more.
The findings come from the latest Burk Donor Survey, produced by Penelope Burk, president of the consulting firm Cygnus Applied Research. The survey was conducted from August through October 2019 and asked donors how they gave in 2018 and what their giving intentions were for 2019 and beyond.
The report drew on anonymous responses from more than 18,500 donors who were contacted through charities they had supported in the previous two years. Donors also responded to open-ended questions. Some of their comments are interspersed on these pages.
Donors’ own financial stability and their tendency to budget the same for philanthropy from one year to the next far outweighed all other reasons for maintaining their contributions at the same level.
34% of donors who gave more than $10,000 in 2018 planned to give more in 2019 and into 2020. That’s up from the 25 percent of major donors who said that in the previous year’s survey.
“Tell me how you need me personally. Don’t send a request for me to give to the general fund. Be specific.”
“I give to a local food bank twice a year, but they solicit me twice a MONTH. This year I won’t give to them at all.”
“I was invited to an all-expenses-paid retreat at a five-star resort to listen to expansion plans for a homeless shelter. The irony was not lost on me.”
Average number of causes supported by age group
Why it matters: Fundraising programs that rely on volume may be less successful in the future. Burk recommends that organizations diversify their development operations to sustain net revenue over the long term. She argues nonprofits should dedicate more people and financial resources to expanding major and planned-gift programs, which rely less on the volume of donors and more on sustaining and increasing the average gift size.
75% of donors supported the same number of causes in 2018 as they did in 2017
“I make small donations to many organizations because there are many nonprofits that I would like to support. But I think I need a financial adviser who could help me determine how much money I could safely donate, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it were more than I give now.”
Don’t Underestimate Low-Dollar Donors
85% of donors made at least one gift of $10,000 or more to one cause and at least one gift of less than $100 to a different cause.
Why it matters: Fundraisers often assume that donors who give modestly are not capable of contributing more. Donors who make big contributions tend to receive better acknowledgments that include information about what the charity is accomplishing with their gifts. That leaves more modest donors out of the loop, making them less likely to give more — or at all — the next time they are asked.
“After making a gift to support a local science center, I attended an event for donors. I noticed staff from the organization who were focused on a few donors and spoke with them all night, but no one interacted with me. I decided to stop giving after the second year.”
Online Giving Is Mainstream
For the first time in the survey’s history, online giving, direct mail, and recurring-gift programs were equally popular. Donors over age 65 were still more likely to have responded to a direct-mail appeal. They were also more sensitive to oversolicitation.
Social-media giving is on the rise.
27% of donors gave through a social-media campaign in 2018.
16% of donors gave through a social-media campaign in 2018.
