PayPal Users Gave $8.5 Billion to Charity in 2017, a 16% Spike Over Last Year

People gave $8.5 billion to nonprofits through PayPal last year, a roughly 16 percent increase from 2016, the online-payment company announced Thursday.

Holiday giving grew more sharply than the annual total did. From November 27 through the end of 2017, donations made through PayPal increased 19 percent over the same period in 2016, to more than $1.1 billion.

On Giving Tuesday — held on November 28 last year — PayPal processed $64 million in gifts to nonprofits, 33 percent more than it did on the philanthropy day in 2016.

The last day of the year also saw a big spike in giving, with $91.8 million donated through PayPal, about 18 percent more than on December 31, 2016.

Mobile Donations Jump

Giving on smartphones and tablets also continued its yearslong growth: About 21 percent of contributions through PayPal in the holiday season were made through a mobile device — a 14 percent increase in the number of mobile gifts over 2016’s year-end fundraising period.

Last year’s strong economy, plus nonprofits’ increased focus on digital giving, likely contributed to the spike, said Sean Milliken, head of the global social innovation at PayPal. “Enabling that type of giving has really spurred some of the growth that we’re seeing,” he said.