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Young donors are more likely than their older peers to donate spontaneously, and nonprofits can still retain these donors through regular detailed updates, according to new research from the Blackbaud Institute.
“First Impressions: Spontaneous Giving Insights” surveyed 1,003 spontaneous donors in June to see what led them to give and what would inspire them to give to the same cause again. The report defined spontaneous gifts as “unplanned, first-time donations to a nonprofit.”
Many nonprofits assume that spontaneous giving is largely to disaster and emergency-related charities, but the report found that a wide variety of causes benefit from such gifts.
“Smaller and more resource-constrained nonprofits might feel like spontaneous giving isn’t a path for our organization to focus on because people give spontaneously in reaction to something that they see in the news or a major disaster,” says Lori Poer, director of the Blackbaud Institute. “But that’s actually not what we saw in the data. There’s something for all organizations.”
In fact, the top three causes supported by spontaneous donors were children’s charities, animal welfare, and health. Emergency and disaster relief came in fifth on the list.
While spontaneous giving can go to any charity, a small share of donors accounts for most of the contributions, the study found. Just 12 percent of all donors give spontaneously, but the share is a little higher among Gen Z (16 percent) and millennials (15 percent).
The survey found 72 percent of spontaneous donors had previously heard of the charity before giving. A quarter of spontaneous Gen Z donors learned of the giving opportunity from social media. This suggests it’s important for nonprofits to maintain lots of touchpoints, including social media, even if they aren’t receiving direct donations via social channels, Poer adds.
“Even though the gift is often not made there, the spontaneous donors report often going from social media to an organization’s website to learn more and to make the gift,” she says.
Rebecca Sparenberg, vice president of digital marketing at the Humane Society of the United States, says that in her experience, spontaneous donors are often the “blank spots” fundraisers have in their data. “We couldn’t see and we couldn’t track them, but they’re finally showing up because they’ve been engaged.”
People who made spontaneous gifts most often gave to one charity (50 percent) or to somewhere between two and four charities (38 percent), according to the survey. The average annual amount given spontaneously was $160 — out of $684 total given during that period. When boomers and older donors gave spontaneously, the amount they contributed was higher, an average of $181 compared to $128 for Gen Z.
From Spontaneous to Longtime Supporters
The survey also asked donors what it would take to get them to give again. Fifty-five percent said they were very likely to give again but had not done so, and 7 percent had already made a repeat gift. Thirty percent of respondents said they either had already or were very likely to become regular donors who give on either an annual or monthly basis.
When asked what would make them want to give again, donors pointed to five key points:
- They trust that the organization will do the right thing (74 percent)
- The organization has a good reputation (72 percent)
- It’s easy to donate (69 percent)
- The organization uses its money wisely (69 percent)
- Support will help those in need right now (66 percent)
“Those are the factors that spontaneous givers say matter a great deal in their decision about whether or not to give again,” Poer says.
Spontaneous donors also want follow up. Of those who intend to become regular donors, 44 percent say they want regular updates, 32 percent say they just want to hear the big news, and 9 percent prefer few updates. The remainder don’t want to be contacted or are unsure the amount of contact they want.
Spontaneous donors are an important constituency to watch, says Anne Bell-Fysh, associate director of digital fundraising at Share Our Strength, a charity that fights against hunger. Her organization hosts a campaign called Lunchbox Notes, where supporters provide notes of cheer, support, or humor to go in children’s lunchboxes. Last year, 300 people sent notes. This year, Bell-Fysh noticed the idea caught on, and supporters sent 5,000 notes. These are the types of folks likely to make spontaneous gifts.
“It can start out small, but then, like lunchbox notes, it can grow exponentially rather quickly,” Bell-Fysh says. “If you find a donor segment or a donor audience is responding to your content, you want to follow up.”
