Some highlights of the study include:

• Just as the strength of the donor-nonprofit relationship heavily influences offline giving, the online giving experience has a significant impact on donor loyalty, retention, and gift levels. Small improvements to the online experience can make a big difference in donations.
• Giving on social networks is significant, but donor loyalty is highest on nonprofit websites that build strong connections with donors. Personality matters on these websites: The loyalty factor for donors acquired through generic giving pages is 66.7 percent lower than for donors who give via nonprofit-branded giving pages.
• Analysis of cumulative online giving via different pages powered by Network for Good shows that donors who gave via nonprofit websites started at the highest level and gave the most over time. Those who used giving portals started lower and gave less over time. Those who used social giving opportunities gave the least initially and added little afterward.
• Recurring giving is a major driver of giving over time and should be strongly encouraged in the giving experience.
• A third of all online giving occurs in December, and 22 percent of annual giving happens in the last two days of the year. Online giving (by dollars) on December 31 is concentrated between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. in each time zone.

Click here to access the full study and accompanying data, including stand-alone charts and a discussion forum.

Last week Guidestar shared encouraging results from its November 2010 Fundraising Survey.  The survey shows more organizations are reporting increased contributions for the first three quarters of 2010 compared with the same time period in 2009. However, as the graph below shows, nearly the same percentage of organizations reported that giving was up as those that reported giving was down. Larger organizations (those with annual expenses of $1 million or greater) were more likely to report increased contributions.

The study also shares that organizations are feeling cautiously optimistic about giving for the end of 2010 and starting into 2011. Of the organizations who receive the bulk of contributions in the last quarter of the year, 36 percent predict that contributions received during the fourth quarter of 2010 will exceed those from the last quarter of 2009 and 43 percent expect end-of-year contributions to be about the same as last year. Only 22 percent anticipate that end-of-year contributions will be lower. Additionally, most organizations were hopeful about 2011. About 47 percent planned budget increases and only 20 percent anticipated a lower budget for 2011.

At The Collins Group, we know that overall charitable giving is influenced by major campaigns – whether for capital, program expansion, or endowment fundraising. In 2009, few major campaigns were launched and there was a significant decrease in the number of campaign feasibility studies being conducted in our region and around the country.

Our firm’s experience this year also holds promise for increased giving in our region for 2011. We have conducted more feasibility studies in the fall of 2010 than in all of 2009, and many have come back with positive results. Several of our clients will launch campaigns next year – donors are ready and invested in their visions and strategic initiatives.

It may be slow-going, but I am hopeful that philanthropy will help signal confidence that economic recovery is underway. The results of these investments will undoubtedly help our communities bounce back.

What has your organization experienced this year? Are you hopeful about this giving season, or 2011? We’d love to hear from you.

Focus groups and an online survey (Hope Consulting conducted the research) tapped the opinions of more than 4,000 individuals, half of whom were from high net worth households. Their methodology, in Hope Consulting’s words, “investigated behaviors, not simply stated preferences” and “forced individuals to make trade-offs to mirror real life decisions and minimize pro-social responses.”  Based on this research, the report develops six different donor segments and provides advice for reaching each one.

The survey’s key findings overturn some conventional wisdom in fundraising:

• Donor demographics, in particular, age and gender, are not reliable predictors of high net worth donors’ actions
• While donors care about the quality and performance of nonprofits, few take the time to research them
• High net worth donors are not behaving differently from other donors

And some less surprising findings:

• Donors, once connected to a nonprofit, are very loyal to it
• Donors feel they are being asked for support too often

The Money for Good project is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, the Aspen Institute of Development Entrepreneurs, the Metanoia Fund, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Click here to download the full report.

Perhaps we are nervous, but I question the long-term value of this worrying.  After all, who among us got into the industry because we didn’t think we would succeed?  I’m reminded of a clip from the Conan O’Brien show that my brother sent me a couple months ago.  In the clip, comedian Louis C.K. says in regard to current feeling and attitude, “Everything is amazing and nobody is happy!”  Louis goes to reminds us that we have a lot to appreciate about the world around us – life and technology have advanced in incredible ways and will continue to do so. Check the video out here:  \”Louis CK: Everything is Amazing, Nobody is Happy\”

So if you are still flummoxed by the state of donor confidence and its impact on your work, here are four things you can do to help pull yourself out of this rut:

1.  Accomplish something within the first hour of work.  Shut off your phone or email, logout of Facebook or Twitter, and concentrate on getting at least one thing done.  It’s amazing how motivating the sense of accomplishment can be.

2.  Focus on the positive.  There is always bad news out there if you go looking for it – so don’t.  Think about the parts of your job that you really love and dedicate some time to them.  We’re in the unique position in this world of positively impacting both donors and the clients or audiences our organizations serve.  That’s a lot of good to go around.  Your happiness and contentment may even be contagious.

3.  Take a few minutes to celebrate your accomplishments.  Take a moment at the end of the day to appreciate the good work that you’ve done and the best parts of the day.  Sure, there are those days when the very best thing is the 2:30 coffee break.  That was really good coffee, wasn’t it?

4.  Repeat.  They say that Rome wasn’t built in a day.  Nor will we see an overnight shift in the how we feel about our daily work.  But with patience, confidence, and a willingness to give ourselves a break, it will seem like no time at all.

http://www.charitablegift.org/docs/Gender-Study-Executive-Summary.pdf

http://www.givingforum.org/s_forum/bin.asp?CID=611&DID=25090&DOC=FILE.PDF

The first, from the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, found that fully half of women donors surveyed reported that they make the philanthropic decisions in their households, including the amount to give and the charities to support. Furthermore, 92% of male respondents identified their wives as significant influencers of charitable gift making decisions. The second, The Impact of Giving Together, documents the rising importance of giving circles. How do the two connect? Both remind us to take another look at giving circles—groups of donors who pool their funds to support various organizations and causes—who happen to attract more female donors than male.

The Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers estimates the number of giving circles around the nation doubled between 2004 and 2006 and currently stands at approximately 800. Giving circles have raised an estimated $100 million since 2004, generating significant impact. All five of the states served by The Collins Group have giving circles in at least one community.

Largely grassroots, these organizations attract a diversity of donors in terms of age, gender, and ethnicity—the “hidden” pools of donors that nonprofits want to reach. Giving circles appeal especially to women, individuals younger than 50, and members of various ethnic and cultural communities who may feel traditional philanthropy does not match their values or meet their interests. The Impact of Giving study showed that giving circle members give more and more strategically; give to a more diverse group of nonprofits; and tend to have a deeper knowledge of philanthropy and nonprofit structure, operations and issues.

In other words, in a challenging fundraising environment, giving circles offer nonprofits another way to expand the philanthropic pie by providing access to new donors and strategies.

For more information on giving circles and to locate one in your region, visit the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers website at:

http://www.givingforum.org/s_forum/index.asp