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.

1. Understanding Donor Behavior Fundraising insights 2007 - 2010 Presented February 17, 2010

2. How This Webinar Works A link to the slides and a recording will be sentafter the webinar If you’d like to ask a question during the webinar, you can type it in the box on the right side of your screen Use the hashtag #fgwebinar to tweet about this webinar

3. Next Webinar March 30, 201110am PST/1pm EST The Power of Like: Understanding Facebook Plugins and other Social Sharing Tools Register for the webinar at http://bit.ly/gVZuB4 See our blogwww.OnlineFundraisingBlog.comfor a complete list of past and upcoming webinars

4. About the presenters Andrew Urban Head of Sales and Business Development andrew@firstgiving.com Debra Askanase Community Engagement Manager debra@firstgiving.com

5. Who is FirstGiving 82% - the average year over year increase in online donations a nonprofit sees that utilizes FirstGiving

6. Fundraising solutions Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Pages and Event Registrations Donor Analytics and Market Research Online Donations Personal Support for your nonprofit, donors, and fundraisers Easy, tested, andsecure transaction processes for the donor

7. 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

8. The 10,000 foot view Event and direct donation trends http://www.flickr.com/photos/flickrmarcus/3382920952/in/photostream/

9. Total event donations 2007 – 2010: 130% growth 27% growth

10. Total direct donations 2008 – 2010: 175% growth

11. Number of event donations over time

12. Average event donation 2.9% growth *overall event average donation is $51.38

13. Grassroots events receive larger average donations

14. Average direct donation 2008 - 2010

15. 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!

16. The 5,000 foot view When donors give http://www.flickr.com/photos/38117207@N03/4947207018/#/

17. Event donors are driven by events *total number of event donations mirrors the monthly totals

18. Direct donors are driven by tax incentives to give 28% of all annual direct donations are given in December

19. Average event donations are highest in the summer and December

20. Average direct donations are highest in November and December

21. Event donations by the week: the week of the year affects the donation amount $92.49 $63.11 *calculated on a 53 week year

22. Last week of the year is the most popular direct donation week

23. Most donate Mon – Fri to event pages

24. Most direct donors give during the work week

25. Most event donors give from 9am to 3pm

26. …but event donation amounts are highest in the middle of the night * Central Standard Time

27. Weekend donors give more to event pages

28. Most direct donors give from 8am - 4pm

29. A great time to ask direct donors is 5pm CST *times are in CST

30. Timing of Donations Takeaways 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 $140.34 Last 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!

31. 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

32. The 1,000 foot view Amounts and frequency of donations http://www.flickr.com/photos/98214568@N00/485888204/

33. 99.72% of all donations are less than $1,000

34. Furthermore, most event donors give less than or equal to $100

35. Popular event donation amounts

36. 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

37. Most direct donors give in $25, $50, and $100 amounts

38. 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

39. Breakdown of common donation amounts from $101 to $1,000

40. 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

41. 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

42. Most donors give only once

43. More than 12 donations/year…it’s a very long tail

44. In general, repeat event donors donate at higher amounts *event donations 2007 - 2010

45. 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?

46. The 500 foot view Where donors give their dollars http://www.flickr.com/photos/97844770@N00/3481448984/

48. Higher average donations from community Improvement, Medical Research, and International NTEE category donors, lowest from Animal-related donors *most popular NTEE categories had at least 10,000 donations per category

49. Community Improvement, Human Services receive highest average direct donations

50. Largest average donations go to grassroots events *walk and running are the two most popular event types on FirstGiving

51. 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

52. The 100 foot view Demographics and donor activity http://www.flickr.com/photos/pandiyan/2154937296/

53. 40-49 year-olds donate the most to events

54. But donors age 64+ give more, on average

55. Event donors with HH Donor income between $50K - $125K, $250K give the most dollars to events

56. Average event donation increases with HH income

57. 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

59. 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

62. 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

63. 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

64. Thank you! Community Engagement Manager, Debra Askanase debra@firstgiving.com @askdebra, @firstgiving Andrew Urban, Head of Sales Andrew@firstgiving.com Sales inquiries: sales@firstgiving.com FirstGiving Insights specialist, Debbie Brendemuehl 617-963-5123 Debbie@firstgiving.com