Giving crept up by just 0.2 percent during the three-month period ending in April 2017 as compared to the same three-month span during 2016. Online giving increased to a greater extent between the two periods, up a total of 9.9 percent, highlighting a potential shift in giving methods.
The data comes from the Blackbaud Index, which tracks approximately $23 billion in charitable giving on a month-to-month basis based on three-month moving averages on year-over-year percent changes. The April statistics are slightly less than March, in which the three-month overall average was 1.7 percent greater than the previous year and 10.2 percent greater online. Both figures are improvements when compared to the three-month span ending in February, which saw a 0.9 percent decrease in overall giving and 6.9 percent increase in online giving as compared to 2016.
Small organizations, those defined as having revenue of less than $1 million, performed considerably better as compared to last year than medium-sized (revenue of $1 million to $10 million) and large organizations (revenue of more than $10 million), according to the index. Small organizations saw an overall growth in giving of 4.9 percent, including a 14.6 percent increase in online donations during the three-month span ending in April.
Meanwhile, medium-sized organization saw a 0.2 percent decrease in overall donations and 9.4 percent increase in online donations as compared to 2016 and large organizations experienced a 1 percent overall decrease and 8.4 percent increase online.
Broken down by subsector, organizations focused on international affairs experienced the greatest increase in overall giving as compared to the same three-month span in 2016, increasing by 5.6 percent followed by public-society benefit organizations with 4.5 percent. Faith-based organizations saw the greatest growth online (14.5 percent, 0.5 percent overall) followed by environmental and animal-rights organizations (13.6 percent, 2.5 percent overall).
Trending in the opposite direction were organizations dedicated to health and education. Organization focused on K-12 education saw the greatest overall decrease at 8.4 percent followed by arts and culture organizations (5.5 percent decrease) and healthcare (down 4.5 percent). Medical research charities were the only subsector to see a decrease in online giving, down 5.5 percent as part of a 3.7 percent overall slide. K-12 nonprofits saw the most modest increase in online donations among some sectors at 4.4 percent.
The Blackbaud Index is updated at the first of each month or next business day. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com/blackbaudindex
