By the Numbers
A tumultuous year will end with what promises to be one of the most challenging December fundraising seasons in recent memory.
With the pandemic still disrupting our daily lives, high rates of joblessness, the echoes of a divisive election still reverberating, and newfound urgency driving the national discourse on racial and social justice, fundraisers will have a lot to compete against for the attention of American donors.
While the jury is still out on how 2020 giving will wind up, we’ve compiled a list of articles to give you insight into how donors are thinking about their giving going forward, based on data-driven insights from researchers studying philanthropy and nonprofits. Here are a few of the highlights:
36%
— Share of donors who say they will give more generously this month than they did last December
An August survey of more than 1,000 people who contributed at least $100 in 2019 found many still plan to ramp up their giving toward the end of the year. Sixty-one percent of donors who plan to give more in December have already given more in 2020 than in all of 2019, according to the poll, conducted by market research firm McQueen Mackin & Associates. What’s more, nearly 80 percent said in July they had already matched or exceeded the amount of money they had donated to charity in 2019.
Forty-four percent of donors plan to give the same amount, and 20 percent plan to reduce their giving.
7.5%
— Year-over-year increase in giving in the first half of 2020
In March, as much of the economy slowed down because of the pandemic, no one knew exactly how donors would respond to the disruptions. But this analysis from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project is one of a growing number to suggest how generously donors responded during the first half of the year.
The increase over those first six months marked a big shift from the first quarter, when the same data showed giving down 6 percent compared with the first quarter of 2019.
More donors at all levels have given during the pandemic, but small donors have been a major driver of growth. The number of donors who gave less than $250 increased 19 percent year-over-year in the first half of 2020. Likewise, the number of midlevel donors — those who gave $250 to $999 — increased 8 percent.
433 %
— The response rate of new food-bank donors over existing donors
Many food banks have had a surge in new donors in 2020 as the need for food assistance skyrocketed during the pandemic. Some fundraisers at these charities worry whether the new donors will continue to support their cause. GivingTuesday offered a first glimpse at whether nonprofits would be able to retain new 2020 supporters.
RKD Group analyzed fundraising results for 20 food banks that participated in the giving day both this year and in 2019. Over all, they raised $6.05 million on GivingTuesday, up from $1.28 million in 2019. The food banks identified different behaviors from donors who made their first gifts since the pandemic began compared with existing donors.
It’s a limited sample, to be sure, but it points to the potential of these new supporters.
Read more data-driven reports and analysis about giving and fundraising.