Donors between the ages of 40 and 59 are increasingly likely to give online, with 67 percent doing so as compared to 47 percent in 2014. By comparison, donors younger than the age of 40 are just as likely to give online as those 60 and older, with 54 percent of those in both populations doing so.
The data comes from a recent study commissioned by Dunham+Company and conducted by Campbell Rinker. The study was part of a Campbell Rinker Donor Confidence Survey that was conducted between Sept. 9 and 11, 2015 among 400 U.S. donors who gave at least $20 in the previous year.
“It’s easy for organizations to have in mind a 20- or 30-year-old when they think of their online donations, but in fact it is the aging donor that is now the most likely to give online,” according to Rick Dunham, president and CEO of Dunham+Company.
Other notable findings in the study include:
* Social media is becoming an increasingly important part of online giving, with 26 percent of donors indicating that they had given to a charity’s website because they were asked to do so by an individual on social media. This is up from 20 percent in 2014;
* Online giving as a result of an email from a charity is also up, from 6 percent in 2010 to 20 percent in 2015;
* Donors ages 66 and older are more likely to give in response to an appeal letter than a donor under the age of 40, 19 percent to 8 percent. Overall, 11 percent of donors gave in this way; and,
* When receiving a mailed request for support, 51 percent of donors will go online to make their contribution, while 36 percent will mail a donation. Approximately 18 percent will donate using a mobile device.
