understanding donor behavior: insights from firstgiving 2007 - 2010
DESCRIPTION
The first comprehensive study of FirstGiving donors and fundraisers from 2007 through 2010. The presentation includes insights and trending about who gives to online fundraisers, the timing of donations throughout the year, which types of nonprofits receive the most donations, how much money FirstGivers raise, and the demographics of FirstGiving donors and fundraisers.TRANSCRIPT
Understanding Donor Behavior
Presented February 17, 2010
Fundraising insights 2007 - 2010
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About the presenters
Andrew UrbanHead of Sales and Business [email protected]
Debra AskanaseCommunity Engagement [email protected]
Who is FirstGiving
82% - the average year over year increase in online donations a nonprofit sees that utilizes FirstGiving
Fundraising solutions
Online Donations
Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Pagesand Event Registrations Donor Analytics and
Market Research
Personal Support for your nonprofit, donors, and fundraisersEasy, tested, and secure transaction processes for the donor
Webinar Overview
• Event and direct donor trends 2007 – 2010• When donors give• Amounts and frequency of donations• Where donors give• Demographics and donor activity• The Future of Online Fundraising• FirstGiving Insights Donor Profile Report
The 10,000 foot view
Event and direct donation trends
http://www.flickr.com/photos/flickrmarcus/3382920952/in/photostream/
Total event donations 2007 – 2010: 130% growth
2007 2008 2009 2010
$22,349,601.29
$31,356,784.10
$40,482,682.00
$51,466,531.06
Total dollars donated 2007 - 2010
27%growth
Total direct donations 2008 – 2010: 175% growth
2008 2009 2010
$279,055.16
$499,761.38
$767,095.35
Direct Donations 2008 - 2010
Direct Donations 2008 - 2010
59% growth
Number of event donations over time
2007 2008 2009 2010 -
100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 700,000 800,000 900,000
1,000,000
386,266
552,587
744,148
920,505
Number of Donations 2007 - 2010
Number of Donations 2007 - 2010
Average event donation
2007 2008 2009 2010 $50.00
$50.50
$51.00
$51.50
$52.00
$52.50
$53.00
$52.02
$52.66
$50.96
$52.44
Average Donation 2007 - 2010
*overall event average donation is $51.38
2.9% growth
Grassroots events receive larger average donations
2007 2008 2009 2010
$64.37 $65.61 $63.74 $66.08
$49.51 $49.75 $48.45 $50.11
Average Donation
Grassroots Official
Average direct donation 2008 - 2010
2008 2009 2010
$104.38
$106.36
$108.37
Average Direct Donation2008- 2010
Average Direct Donation
Donation Trends Takeaways
• Overall online event donation dollars grew 27% in 2010, and 130% from 2007 - 2010
• Overall direct donation dollars grew 59% in 2010, and 175% from 2007 - 2010
• Average event donation dropped in 2009 with the economy but average direct donation did not
• Encourage direct donations• Grassroots event average donations are higher than for
official events• Encourage fundraisers to create grassroots events!
The 5,000 foot view
When donors give
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38117207@N03/4947207018/#/
Event donors are driven by events
Jan Feb Mar April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec0
5,000,000
10,000,000
15,000,000
20,000,000
25,000,000
Total number of event donations by month
*total number of event donations mirrors the monthly totals
Direct donors are driven by tax incentives to give
Jan Feb
Mar
AprilM
ayJu
neJu
lyAug
Sept
OctNov
Dec0
50000100000150000200000250000300000350000400000450000
Total number of direct donations by month
Total
Dol
lars
28% of all annual direct donations are given in December
Average event donations are highest in the summer and December
Jan Feb Mar April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec0.00
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
60.00
70.00
80.00
Aggregate average donation 2007 - 2010
Total
$69.96
$46.26
Average direct donations are highest in November and December
Jan Feb Mar April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec0.00
20.00
40.00
60.00
80.00
100.00
120.00
140.00
160.00
Average donation by month
Event donations by the week: the week of the year affects the donation amount
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 520.00
10.0020.0030.0040.0050.0060.0070.0080.0090.00
100.00
Average donation amount by week
Total
$44.79
$92.49
$63.11
*calculated on a 53 week year
Last week of the year is the most popular direct donation week
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 520
20000400006000080000
100000120000140000160000180000200000
Total dollars donated by week
Most donate Mon – Fri to event pages
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday0
5000000
10000000
15000000
20000000
25000000
30000000
Total donations by day of the week
Most direct donors give during the work week
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesd
ay
Thursday
Friday
Satu
rday
0
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
300000
Total amount donated by day of week
Most event donors give from 9am to 3pm
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23$0
$500,000
$1,000,000
$1,500,000
$2,000,000
$2,500,000
$3,000,000
$3,500,000
$4,000,000
$4,500,000
Total number of donations by the hour
2007200820092010Axis Title
…but event donation amounts are highest in the middle of the night
* Central Standard Time
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 230.00
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
60.00
70.00
80.00
Average donation amount by time of day$67.76
Weekend donors give more to event pages
Sunday Monday Tuesday WednesdayThursday Friday Saturday48.00
49.00
50.00
51.00
52.00
53.00
54.00
55.00
56.00Average donation by day of the week
$50.71
$54.88
Most direct donors give from 8am - 4pm
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 230
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
Total number of donations by hour
A great time to ask direct donors is 5pm CST
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 230.00
20.0040.0060.0080.00
100.00120.00140.00160.00180.00
Direct average donation by hour
*times are in CST
Event and direct donors give more generously the last month of the year:• Event donation Dec average is $69.86• Direct donation Dec average is $140.34Last week of the year:• Event donor average donation is $92.49• Direct donor average donation is $228.86
• Think about creating an event in December!
Timing of Donations Takeaways
Timing of Donations Takeaways (2)
• Send reminder donation emails during the week and sometime Friday – Sunday Weekend donors are more generous
• Ask direct donors to give before Wednesday
The 1,000 foot view
Amounts and frequency of
donations
http://www.flickr.com/photos/98214568@N00/485888204/
99.72% of all donations are less than $1,000
0.281434213120719; 0%
99.72%
Total event donations
No. of donations equal to or greater than $1,000No. of donations less than $1,000
Furthermore, most event donors give less than or equal to $100
6%
94%
Total event donations 2007 - 2010
No. of donations greater than $100
No. of donations equal to or less than $100
Popular event donation amounts
$1.00
$5.00
$10.00
$15.00
$20.00
$25.00
$30.00
$35.00
$40.00
$50.00
$60.00
$75.00
$100.00 0
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
Donation Amounts $0 - $100
2007200820092010
The majority of total event and direct dollars donations are
equal to or less than $100
• Primarily in $25, $50, and $100 increments = 55% of the total dollars raised 2007 – 2010
• Most online donations are less than $1,000
Most direct donors give in $25, $50, and $100 amounts
65%
35%
Total number of direct donations
top 3 donation amountsother donation amounts
However, direct donors will give large donation amounts online
• Five donors gave $5,000• Single donations of $9,000, $7,500, $6,200
and $6,000 appear• Two donors gave $10,000
Breakdown of common donation amounts from $101 to $1,000
$125.00
$150.00
$175.00
$200.00
$250.00
$300.00
$350.00
$400.00
$500.00
$1,000.00 02000400060008000
10000120001400016000
Donations $101 - $1,000
2007200820092010
Donation Amount Takeaways
• Encourage fundraisers to ask for specific donation amounts of $25, $50, and $100
• Consider setting up projects that can be funded for these amounts ($50 buys a week’s worth of food for one person)
• Don’t be afraid to ask for higher amounts: $200 is the most popular amount over $100
Donation amount takeaways (2)
• People ARE willing to give large sums online but the overall percentage, however, is small
• Large dollar donors could bring in a significant percentage of overall revenue
• Know your donor base, and what amounts to ask for
Most donors give only once
1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36 41 51 650
100000
200000
300000
400000
500000
600000
700000
800000
900000
1000000
Number of times an event donor has donated
2007200820092010
1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 11 12 13 15 21 25 31 40 420
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
Number of times direct donors donate 2007 - 2010
More than 12 donations/year…it’s a very long tail
7 11 15 19 23 27 31 35 39 43 47 51 56 66 78 940
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
Frequency of repeat event donations 6 - 125 times
Total
In general, repeat event donors donate at higher amounts
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 120.00
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
60.00
70.00
80.00
Average donation of repeat event donors
*event donations 2007 - 2010
Donor Frequency Takeaways
• Most donors are unique. They probably donate because a friend asked them to Huge opportunity to turn one-time donors into regular fundraisers
• Those who give at least twice a year, give more generously
• How can you turn unique donors into loyal repeat donors?
The 500 foot view
Where donors give their dollars
http://www.flickr.com/photos/97844770@N00/3481448984/
4%1% 0%
1%
1%
6%
0%
1%
0%
34%
0%
15%
3%
8%
1%
0%
5%
0%
1%
3%2%
0%
0%
2%
11%
2%
Where donors give their money – total dollars donated
Animal-Related Arts, Culture & HumanitiesCivil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy Community Improvement & Capacity BuildingCrime & Legal-Related EducationEmployment EnvironmentFood, Agriculture & Nutrition Health CareHousing & Shelter Human ServicesInternational, Foreign Affairs & National Security Medical ResearchMental Health & Crisis Intervention Mutual & Membership BenefitPhilanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Founda-tions
Public & Societal Benefit
Public Safety, Disaster Preparedness & Relief Recreation & SportsReligion-Related Science & TechnologySocial Science UnknownVoluntary Health Associations & Medical Disciplines Youth Development
Higher average donations from community Improvement, Medical Research, and International NTEE category donors, lowest from Animal-related
donors
0.0020.0040.0060.0080.00
Avg event donation of most popular NTEE categories
Total
*most popular NTEE categories had at least 10,000 donations per category
Community Improvement, Human Services receive highest average direct donations
0.0040.0080.00
120.00160.00200.00
Average direct donation by parent NTEE
Largest average donations go to grassroots events
Anniversa
ries
Birthday
s
Bowling
Christenings
Cyclin
g
Memoria
ls
Moto
rcycli
ng
Other O
ccasio
ns
Other s
porting e
vent
Running
Swim
mingTreks
Triath
lons
Ultram
arath
onsW
alk
Weddings
0.00
20.00
40.00
60.00
80.00
100.00
Average event donation amount 2007 - 2010
Total
*walk and running are the two most popular event types on FirstGiving
Donor Dollars Takeaways
• Encourage grassroots fundraisers, which tend to bring in much higher average donations!
• If your nonprofit category does not receive high average donations, plan more events and/or encourage grassroots fundraisers
• Use NTEE average donations to set fundraising event goals
• Consider partnering with other NPOs that receive higher average donations, or more yearly donations
The 100 foot view
Demographics and donor
activity
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pandiyan/2154937296/
40-49 year-olds donate the most to events
18 21 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45 48 51 54 57 60 63 66 69 72 75 78 81 84 87 90 93 96 990
500000
1000000
1500000
2000000
2500000
3000000
3500000
Total event donation dollars by donor age
Total
But donors age 64+ give more, on average
18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 980.00
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
60.00
70.00
80.00
Average event donation by age
Event donors with HH Donor income between $50K - $125K, $250K give the most dollars to events
$1,000 - $14,999
$15,000 - $24,999
$25,000 - $34,999
$35,000 - $49,999
$50,000 - $74,999
$75,000 - $99,999
$100,000 - $124,999
$125,000 - $149,999
$150,000 - $174,999
$175,000 - $199,999
$200,000 - $249,999
$250,000 +$0
$5,000,000$10,000,000$15,000,000$20,000,000$25,000,000
Total donations by HH income
Total
Average event donation increases with HH income
$1,000 - $14,999
$15,000 - $24,999
$25,000 - $34,999
$35,000 - $49,999
$50,000 - $74,999
$75,000 - $99,999
$100,000 - $124,999
$125,000 - $149,999
$150,000 - $174,999
$175,000 - $199,999
$200,000 - $249,999
$250,000 +$0.00
$10.00$20.00$30.00$40.00$50.00$60.00$70.00$80.00
Total
Total
Demographics Takeaways
• Most donors and fundraisers are over age 30• The higher the household income, the higher the
average donation• Household income of FirstGiving fundraisers is
primarily between $50,000 and $125,000• Event donors age 65+ give higher average donations
online (online donors are not all young!)• Direct donors, as a whole, tend to be younger than
event donors
FirstGiving Insights
• Uses data from Experian ® and Donor Trends• Identifies the hidden philanthopic potential and
interests of your donors• Offers analysis of key demographic and giving
trends from amongst your nonprofit donors• Paid report specifically identifies your donors,
segmenting them into FirstLeaders, FirstGivers, and reveals their charitable gifts
Applying Trends to the Future of Online Fundraising
• Emphasize online fundraising in your fundraising plan: this segment continues to grow yearly, both peer to peer and direct
• Partner with your fundraisers to create grassroots fundraising opportunities: receive higher average donation amounts
• Target donation amounts: targeting specific donation amounts that occur naturally, and suggested amounts
Applying Trends to the Future of Online Fundraising
• Unique donors: missed opportunity not capturing them and turning them into repeat donors
• Targeting who donates: largest number of donors are in their 40s, earning from $50K to $150K
• Targeting when donations occur: create events in December, remind donors to donate over the weekend
Thank you!
Community Engagement Manager, Debra [email protected]@askdebra, @firstgiving
Andrew Urban, Head of [email protected] inquiries: [email protected]
FirstGiving Insights specialist, Debbie [email protected]