Casual social giving has grown by 6% between 2018 and May of this year. And, some 74% of people polled said that they already gave this year at an in-person event, a jump from just 49% of respondents participating in live fundraising events in 2021.
A majority (85%) of social donors — those who give or participate in such activities as fun runs, walkathons, galas, peer-to-peer fundraising, challenges and giving/awareness days — are currently very or somewhat comfortable with attending in-person fundraising events compared to 22% feeling comfortable at in-person events in 2021.
Nearly one in three Americans (29%) sponsored, participated in, donated or solicited donations for a cause on at least one occasion, according to the online survey of 1,029 people conducted by Edge Research between April 26 and May 12, 2022. The data is those self-identifying as a social donor in relation to U.S. Census representation.
The findings on how social donors are responding now to giving opportunities compared to five years ago and last year when people were still adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic were part of the report The 2022 Giving Experience Study released by Indianapolis-based OneCause, a fundraising software company.
Average annual social donations in 2022 ($1,010) on the system were on par with average annual donations five years ago ($1,094). In between, in 2021, there was a surge in COVID-relief giving with the average at $1,277, data in the report shows.
Nearly one in three Americans (29%) sponsored, participated in, donated or solicited donations for a cause on at least one occasion, according to the online survey of 1,029 people conducted by Edge Research between April 26 and May 12, 2022.
Other key findings of the study include:
- Donor diversity remained relatively steady, with a 5-point jump in the number of Black donors and a 5-point drop in the number of Hispanic donors from 2021 to 2022. Of the donors surveyed, 59% are White, 19% are Black, 17% are Hispanic and 4% are Asian American and Pacific Islander, a group not previously tracked.
- In OneCause’s social donor studies of 2018 and 2021, top motivators for giving were ease, mission and impact. This year, trust took the top spot, with 59% of donors indicating trust in an organization is their prime consideration when donating.
- Millennials (those 25 to 40 years old) continue to give higher average social donations ($284) compared to other generations and their average social donation amount went up $7 from 2021 while all other generations saw a drop of $30 or more in annual gifts.
Since the 2018 study, direct outreach and advertising by organizations has grown as the source of information about events used by social donors. Word of mouth, meanwhile, has dropped from 68% in 2018 to 54% in 2022, most likely due to increased efforts to digitally reach donors while social distancing was occurring, according to the study’s authors.
And while many social donors are comfortable with in-person events, particularly if COVID-19 safeguards are in place, at least 13% of the surveyed donors want to exclusively engage virtually with giving events.
The study can be accessed by following the link:
https://www.onecause.com/ebook/the-2022-giving-experience-study/
