The 2018 Trends in Giving Report by Nonprofit Tech for Good and PIR.org sheds some light on how U.S. residents are taking to new online giving trends such as Facebook fundraisers. This is interesting information for nonprofits who may still be on the fence about whether or not to embrace Facebook fundraising tools as part of their strategy.

2018 Online Giving Trends

60% of donors in North America prefer to give online with a credit or debit card

Giving online is easy, especially with Facebook’s slick two-click process.

46% are enrolled in a monthly giving program

Recurring donations are the Holy Grail for nonprofits. Now that Facebook offers recurring donations, people who want to give on a regular basis, can. 

80% don’t want anything in return (such as a free gift)

Surprising? Last year Facebook users gave over $300 million dollars to nonprofits without expecting anything in return.

68% prefer to be thanked via email

Few people want paper in their mailboxes, and fewer want phone calls.

43% have donated a tribute on a friend or family member’s birthday

Americans like being able to show love and respect for a friend or family member by donating to meaningful causes.

16% have created a peer-to-peer fundraiser

People aren’t just giving online – they’re creating new fundraisers and encouraging others to give.

67% of donors volunteer locally

56% attend fundraising events

72% of donors worldwide have charitable giving in their wills

56% say they are more likely to give repeatedly if they receive regular communication about the organization's impact

These numbers illustrate the value that could be missed if you can’t get contact information for people who donate to online fundraisers or start fundraisers for you. Donors also want to interact with nonprofits long term.

51% say Facebook is the social media platform that most inspires them to give

That’s an important number for nonprofits. Clearly Facebook users like Facebook fundraisers.

28% of donors have given through Facebook fundraising tools, and 87% of them say they’ll give again

Facebook fundraisers aren’t a flash in the pan. Most people who have given plan to give again.

49% of micro-donors ($100 USD or less) prefer to give online, which is about the same as major donors ($10,000 USD or more) at 45%

Major donors want to give you $10,000 or more online, via credit card. Are you making it easy for them?

This year’s Giving Report makes it obvious that Americans like giving online, and they really like giving online via Facebook fundraising tools. Smart nonprofits will line up a plan to ride this trend and make these a part of their annual strategy. Facebook doesn’t always make it easy for nonprofits to manage the tools, however.

If you’d like to harness the power of Facebook fundraisers, but don’t have the staff to manage them, we can help. Contact us for a free demo of how our managed services for Facebook fundraisers can increase revenue and the number of emails you gather, and the way you find and thank donors.