Index Reports Continued Growth in Charitable Giving to Nonprofits

According to Strauss, the consistent double digit growth in online fundraising in 2010 is only the beginning. “In the next two to five years, we’re going to see even larger shifts to online channels,” said Strauss. “Nonprofits should evaluate their online contact strategy and integration between on and offline as it is critical to understanding how an organization is interacting and reacting with its supporters.”

Diane Clifford, senior vice president of marketing and constituent development at Defenders of Wildlife reported that the organization saw a similar online trend identified by The Blackbaud Index with a Q2 bump in fundraising revenue related to the BP oil spill, then smaller increases through year-end. “Our offline revenue followed the overall Index trends,” she said. “With the drop in consumer confidence and the stock market over the summer, we experienced declining offline response rates, which stabilized in November and ticked up in December. We’re most strongly feeling the impacts of reduced acquisition over the last several quarters and plan significant investments in 2011 to build back both the online and offline files.”

According to Anne Senft, vice president of membership and online marketing at National Wildlife Federation, 2010 was a very solid year for the organization, largely because of fundraising around the oil spill. She noted that even pulling out disaster-related giving, the organization’s year-over-year fundraising revenues were still steady. “We saw an increase in revenue in May, June, and July and again saw an increase in year-end fundraising,” she said. “A lot of that had to do with the residual effect of the oil spill and the fact that we received a lot of national media because of our work in the Gulf.”

About Blackbaud
Blackbaud is the leading global provider of software and services designed specifically for nonprofit organizations, enabling them to improve operational efficiency, build strong relationships, and raise more money to support their missions. Approximately 24,000 organizations — including The American Red Cross, Boston University, Cancer Research UK, The Taft School, Lincoln Center, The Salvation Army, Tulsa Community Foundation, Ursinus College, Earthjustice, International Fund for Animal Welfare, and the WGBH Educational Foundation — use one or more Blackbaud products and services for fundraising, constituent relationship management, financial management, website management, direct marketing, education administration, ticketing, business intelligence, prospect research, consulting, and analytics. Since 1981, Blackbaud’s sole focus and expertise has been partnering with nonprofits and providing them the solutions they need to make a difference in their local communities and worldwide. Headquartered in the United States, Blackbaud also has operations in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com.