Skip to main content

Technology

Index Reports Continued Growth in Charitable Giving to Nonprofits

Blackbaud study looks at several specialty indexes

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB) today announced the
release of a report focused on fundraising trends based on monthly findings
from The Blackbaud Index and featuring commentary from Dave Strauss, president
and chief executive officer of SCA Direct. Additionally, Blackbaud announced
the release of a new specialty index focused on environmental and animal welfare
organizations.

“With the elections behind us, and the economy and markets improving,
fundraising results have started to stabilize,” said Chuck Longfield,
Blackbaud’s chief scientist and creator of The Blackbaud Index. “The
Blackbaud Index of Charitable Giving has shown positive growth for four consecutive
months, however, the U.S. is still a long way from putting its economic house
in order. I expect 2011 to continue the trend of the past 4 months with slow
but steady improvement across most industries and organizations.”

The Blackbaud Index of Charitable Giving and The Blackbaud Index of Online
Giving are updated on the 15th of each month and are based on a three-month
moving average of year-over-year percent changes in charitable giving. They
represent the most comprehensive and timely sources of charitable giving available.
(More on the methodology is available at www.blackbaud.com/blackbaudindex.)

The Blackbaud Index of Charitable Giving
The Blackbaud Index of Charitable Giving reports that overall giving remained
relatively flat with a small increase of .3% for the three months ending November
2010, as compared to the same period in 2009. This trend is based on $2.2 billion
in 12 months’ charitable revenue from 1,468 nonprofit organizations.

Blackbaud also releases additional data and analysis that reports on organizations
by size. The Index found that three-month overall giving for small organizations
(prior year revenue of < $1 million) increased 18.2% in November, while overall giving at medium organizations (prior year revenue of $1 – 10 million) decreased 10.1%, and overall giving at large organizations (prior year revenue > $10 million) decreased 0.3%.

The Blackbaud Index of Online Giving
The Blackbaud Index of Online Giving reports that online giving increased by
8.7% for the three months ending November 2010, as compared to the same period
in 2009. This was the first time in 2010 that online giving dropped below double
digit percentage growth. This trend is based on $421 million in 12 months’
online charitable revenue from 1,679 organizations.

The Index found that three-month online giving for small organizations (prior
year revenue of < $1 million) increased 20.2% in November, while online giving at medium organizations (prior year revenue of $1 – 10 million) increased 4.8%, and online giving at large organizations (prior year revenue > $10
million) increased 8.3%.

The Blackbaud Index – Environmental and Animal Welfare
The Blackbaud Index of Charitable Giving reports that environmental and animal
welfare organizations had an overall giving increase of 3.2% for the three months
ending November 2010, as compared to the same period in 2009. This trend is
based on $259 million in 12 month online charitable revenue from 93 organizations
and indicates an increase after three negative months.

The Blackbaud Index of Online Giving reports that environmental and animal
welfare organizations had an online giving increase of 15.8% for the three months
ending November 2010, as compared to the same period in 2009. This trend is
based on $18 million in 12 month online charitable revenue from 109 organizations
and continued the double digit percentage online growth trend.

Dave Strauss, president and chief executive officer of SCA Direct, a direct
marketing agency specializing in programs that build donor/member loyalty, provided
commentary on The Blackbaud Index in a report that accompanied this month’s
update. “There are two events that greatly affected conservation and environmental
organizations in 2010,” said Strauss. “First, the bump you see in
May, June and July has to do with the BP oil spill. Many environmental organizations
promoted the work they were doing in Louisiana and the Gulf, and it showed in
the donations they received during those months. Second, when the climate bill
didn’t pass in July, the wind came out of the fundraising sails, which
sent organizations into a three-month dip. If it would have been passed, there
would have been a new momentum in the environmental community, creating expectations
for organizations to help lead the way.”

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.