On-line Giving to Charity By the Wealthy

On March 24, 2008, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported on a new study that shows that wealthy people are more likely than not to use the Internet to make charitable donations.  The article also explains that the study reveals how charities are turning off big donors by sending too many messages to donors who don’t want them and not taking advantage of the interest of many donors in expanding the charity’s on-line presence.  Here are the key findings from the survey:

• Four out of five donors said they had made a charitable gift online, and a little more than half, 51 percent, said they prefer to use the Internet for their donations. Some 46 percent said that they expect to make a greater percentage of their charitable gifts online within the next five years.

• Fifty-six percent said that charities send too many e-mail messages, and 47 percent said they do not read as many messages from charities as they did in the past.

• Seventy-four percent said it’s inappropriate for a charity to obtain their e-mail address from a commercial database, while 82 percent said they don’t think it’s right for charities to send them messages about another organization.

• Ninety-two percent of donors like getting year-end tax receipts by e-mail, while 83 percent want to get electronic updates on a charity’s finances and spending. Seventy-four percent said e-mail messages are appropriate when notifying donors that it’s time to renew an annual gift or to explain how a donation has been spent.

• Eighty-one percent of donors dislike messages that take an urgent tone in seeking a repeat donation.

• Forty-six percent of donors said the charity’s messages do a good job of making them feel connected to the organization, whil 43 percent said the messages are well-written and inspiring.

For the entire article see “Wealthy People Increasingly Give Online, Study Finds” in the March 24, 2008, issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy.  To see the entire study, “The Wired Wealthy: Using the Internet to Connect with Your Middle and Major Donors,” go to http://my.convio.com/?elqPURLPage=104.

DAB