How Donors Use the Internet

Wondering how donors use websites when they give? Here are some key references that provide insights into their thinking and behavior:

“Every nonprofit must learn to regard the Internet as its most powerful direct marketing medium. Why? Because the Internet allows an organization to engage in a kind of dialog marketing that creates opportunities to develop conversations with prospects and donors. Engaging in conversations with people, over time, gives nonprofits the ability to make more and better friends, turn those friends into donors, and grow those donors into loyal donors.”
— ”Nonprofit Websites: Cutting Through the Emaze,” Grizzard Communications Group, Inc., 2001 (emphasis added)

That early prognostication might have seemed a bit grandiose in 2001. The Internet? A nonprofit’s most powerful direct marketing medium? Back in 2001, the power of the web to engage donors hadn’t been proven nor experienced.

Research conducted during the intervening years, though, has validated that assessment.

Consider the following collection of research findings, all of which point to the power of engaging donors and would-be donors online.

2003:

58 percent of Internet users have engaged with nonprofits online. Three-quarters of those visiting charity-oriented sites take action.
39 percent – Donated offline
37 percent – Signed a petition online
37 percent – Referred friend
23 percent – Signed a petition offline
20 percent – Donated online
— ”Toward E-engagement:  Non-profits and Individuals Engaging Online,” Network for Good, The Bridgespan Group, and GuideStar

2004:

Online givers are better givers than regular givers. Median lifetime giving for online givers is 50 percent higher than regular givers.
— “Getting to Know Your Online Donors Can Pay Off,” Peter B. Wylie

2005:

More than 75 percent of donors who go online before making a donation noted that their web visit had some impact on their decision whether or not to give, whether online or offline. More than 25 percent said the impact was significant.
— Kintera/Luth Nonprofit Trend Report

2006:

Many fundraisers [from the 60 participating colleges and universities] cited ePhilanthropy as a factor causing higher revenue per donor. Average online gifts tend to be higher than those given in the mail or on the phone, and the economics of email and widespread web access facilitated more communication and cultivation with donors.
— ”Index of University Fundraising Performance,” Target Analysis Group

Treat your online donors as your most valuable members. Your online donors, if they follow the pattern we see in the data, probably already make larger and more frequent contributions than your mail/phone donors, and they hold the most promise in terms of loyalty and retention.
— ”Keep Your Postage Meter: The Status of Online Giving in America,” Craver, Matthews, Smith & Co. and The Prime Group

2007:

There is an untapped pool of donors who are influenced by a charity’s online presence, and charities could benefit by proactively reaching out to them.
— American Express Charitable Gift Survey

2008:

The wired wealthy represent the future of middle and major donor giving. These donors, most of whom are in their early 50s, are comfortable online. Clearly there is a major shift from the mail to the web, and any major gifts program that fails to account for this transition has quite a bit of catching up to do.
— “The Wired Wealthy: Using the Internet to Connect with Your Middle and Major Donors,” Convio, Sea Change Strategies, and Edge Research

The Digital Future Report found that the Internet is perceived by users to be a more important source of information for them—this over all other principal media, including television, radio, newspapers, and books.
— ”2008 Digital Future Project,” USC Center for the Digital Future

The takeaways from these research findings?

• The Internet has become a top source for information, and that extends to donors seeking information about nonprofits.
• Online gifts aren’t the best way to judge a website. After donors visit your site, they’re more likely to make an offline donation or contact a development officer than an online gift.
• The act of having made a gift online will help identify a donor as a future major gift prospect.
• Donors’ use of the Internet to make philanthropic decisions is significant and will continue to grow.

Request a copy of mStoner’s white paper, “Developing an Internet Strategy for Your Capital Campaign,” by contacting .

Posted by Hilery Livengood
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Categories: Content and writing / Fundraising

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