Online donations accounted for under 7% of all giving in 2014. That’s right, under 7%. This, despite all the hoopla surrounding peer-to-peer, crowd raising, mobile-optimized payment forms, and more.

Should we stop worrying so much about online giving?

Even though that 7% looks awfully easy to ignore, it would be a big mistake to ignore it. Here’s why: online fundraising was at just under 7%, even though charities were doing a bad job at encouraging it! As charities are learning to leverage online giving, we’re seeing double-digit growth in online giving.

Is the pie really getting bigger?

7% of a small pie might not be that exciting, but the overall fundraising pie increased by 11% last year, to over $360 billion. And online giving grew at 13%, meaning that online giving helped drive the overall increase in giving. Simply put, more people are giving more online, and nonprofits that move to capitalize on this trend can expect to see strong returns on their investment.

What are the low-hanging fruit of online giving?

As we mentioned, online giving grew by 13%. How did that happen? One-time giving grew by 9% – slower than giving overall – but monthly giving online grew by an eye-popping 32%! Organizations that have set up recurring giving on their websites are seeing significant increases. If your organization is looking to make one simple change to yield benefits, ensuring that donors can make monthly gifts easily on your website is a great place to start.

How can you make online giving easier?

Start with mobile. Make your site, and your donation form, mobile friendly. What does that mean? It means a donation form that lets you give in three clicks or less, and a site that loads in less than 3 seconds on a phone. 60% of users will abandon a site from their phone if it doesn’t load within 3 seconds. While you’re at it, make sure the site is mobile-optimized, without any scrolling or zooming required, or risk losing 80% of your mobile-browsing audience right away. Mobile giving has grown by over 200% in the last 12 months. Don’t let that growth pass you by!

Today there are more options than ever for getting mobile and making online donations easy. Fully-featured payment platforms that handle web, mobile, SMS, and peer-to-peer donations are available, as well as more targeted solutions for simply taking a gift online. Ready to get serious about online giving? Contact Sage70. We can optimize your donation forms to increase your gifts, and have you accepting mobile donations in as little as two business days! Why not talk to us today?

 

Research and Statistics from http://mrbenchmarks.com/ and the 2015 Benchmarks Report