Survey Says: Nonprofits Have the Green Light to Keep Fundraising

The proof is in: High-dollar donors say they are likely to give as much or more in 2020 than before the pandemic. What does this indicate for nonprofits? Lots of things, but mainly that you have a green light to continue fundraising.

CampaignCounsel.org recently sponsored a new donor confidence study – essentially, who’s giving to what – and we gathered valuable insight that provides you, the nonprofit leader, with three quantifiable, salient points regarding donors during these challenging times:

• High-dollar donor attitudes are positive.

• High-dollar donors will give.

• Keep interacting with high-dollar donors; they base their giving on their knowledge and involvement with your organization.

Let’s break these down and highlight the data gathered among high-dollar donors who gave at least $2,500 total to charities in 2019, as reported in the online study conducted by Campbell Rinker in July and sponsored by CampaignCounsel.org.

High-Dollar Donor Attitudes are Positive

Campbell Rinker is an experienced and trusted market research firm for nonprofits. It uses an index to measure donor confidence. An index is basically a way of defining “normal” as a level of 100. In this way, we can compare other time periods or categories against the normal rating for a simple “better or worse” measurement. Campbell Rinker established its baseline index level of 100 in February 2008, prior to the recession that emerged in August of that year. 

Confidence in July 2020 among high-dollar donor stands at 97.9, despite the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic and prolonged social justice demonstrations in the country. That compares to 100 in April 2020 and 106.8 in August 2018. 

All donors – including those surveyed who had given less than $2,500 in 2019 –indicated a confidence level of 91.0 in July, slipping 0.7 points from 91.7 measured in April. In contrast, the index stood at 97.6 in August 2018. Again, the baseline of 100 was set in pre-recession 2008.

What this shows us is that donors are taking the current health, economic and social justice issues in stride. While there is an expected dip in the index in response to current crises, overall confidence remains strong, especially among high-dollar donors.

High-Dollar Donors Will Give

High-dollar donors surveyed indicate they are more likely to give now that they were before the pandemic. In fact, 18 percent of them expect they will give more this year than they have previously; 70 percent will give the same amount; and only 12 percent said they will give less than before. That’s 88 percent of high-dollar donors indicating they are still willing and able to give despite the pandemic, economic downturn and social justice issues facing the country.

The standard donor survey reveals similar findings: 11 percent said they’d give more, 58 percent said they would give at least as much as last year, and 23 percent said they’d give less than last year.

These pieces are further supported by high-dollar donors who indicated that they aren’t under economic stress at the moment. Eight in 10 said they are under no stress, and 13 percent said it is mildly stressful. Unfortunately, we are seeing the population split into two groups - those that have lost their incomes to COVID factors and those that have kept their jobs and may have fewer expenses right now. The second is a group of people that love your mission and are willing to give.

Along those same lines, people want to continue to give to nonprofits. Over one-third of respondents say philanthropy would be the last of their expenses to get cut, while another third would cut other expenses in order to continue giving to nonprofits.  

From the start of the pandemic, we’ve heard that lots of nonprofits have felt it is insensitive to ask for money right now. However, we’ve suggested that failing to ask a donor for support makes the choice for them. We feel – and these survey results show – that people will continue to give as much or more than they have before if they are asked. So please, keep asking! 

Direct mail campaigns we’ve observed also support the need to keep asking. Carl Bloom Associates’ May 2020 direct mail and email fundraising campaigns generated results that were not only higher than the same time last year, but were better than in March 2020, which is generally considered to be a stronger campaign. The May 2020 campaign also saw a higher than normal number of responses to the mailings. This means that more people are responding to direct marketing, indicating a healthy and interested donor base that wants to support nonprofits. 

Keep Interacting with High-Dollar Donors

We don’t deny that it is hard to educate, cultivate, solicit and steward donors right now. With many of us still avoiding face to face meetings, we’ve continued to rely on technologies like Zoom, Facetime and GoToMeeting to help us stay connected with family and friends. Donors are no different!

But do these kinds of relationships actually matter? We’ll always say YES to that question. According to this survey, millennials identify personal connections and relationships with the nonprofit as one of the most important factors in their decision to give. Gen-X donors indicated that the tangible impact of a project is the most important factor to them. 

Overall, the majority of all respondents were split between which is most important: prior involvement with an organization, or the organization’s mission. Either way, both of those factors come from relationships. We encourage you to continue building those through safe outreach like emails, thank you videos, and virtual calls. 

Whether you are cultivating and soliciting donors through direct mail or email for smaller individual gifts, or cultivating through relationship-building for large gifts, we know that retaining a current donor is much easier and more cost-effective than trying to re-acquire a lapsed donor. Taking action today by reflecting on the reasons why donors give, can help you keep more donors giving. You should continue to keep them involved, maintain the prevalence of your mission, share the impact you are having in your community, and, when applicable, keep that connection between leaders and donors strong.

Convincing Your Board

Nonprofits have asked, “How do we share this information with our boards without seeming self-serving? They don’t think we should be asking for money, but we want to fundraise again.”

We say, this isn’t anecdotal information. It’s a nationwide survey of donors who gave at all levels in 2019. Plus, it’s what we as capital campaign consultants are witnessing. Donors continue to engage with us and continue to give.

Boards are almost always reluctant, especially if they don’t have experience with fundraising. Educate them on the survey of donors, the necessity of moving forward and its importance to your nonprofit’s mission.

Is a capital campaign in your fundraising future? This data applies to these large-scale campaigns too. We’d love to help. Visit our free resources page or contact us today!

Updated March 10, 2021.