It Was a Very Good Year for Social Giving

CHARITABLE GIVING ONLINE

Raising money for good causes through social media has more than doubled in the last 5 years. With the ever-increasing usage of social media and the viral nature of online events, such as #GivingTuesday, social giving is becoming very popular and effective among nonprofits.

Friends and followers share a great deal of information and content with each other on social networking sites, which gets passed on and becomes visible to many. In fact, shared content makes up more than 10% of all Internet traffic, and it accounts for nearly half of all search traffic, according to Share This. As Facebook is the leading channel for shared conent, it’s no wonder that nonprofits have made the most effort to build a presence on the site and spread their fundraising message.

SOCIAL MEDIA DONORSSocial networking sites’ users have responded to the growing presence of nonprofits and the expanding trend of young donors. In October 2012, Facebook added the charitable donation option to Facebook Gifts, making it easier for users to give. The long list of participating nonprofits at Facebook Gifts’ launch included:

#GIVINGTUESDAYSocial giving has breached a new frontier with #GivingTuesday. Following the shop-happy holidays of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving has become a charitable movement powered by social media. In 2012, the holiday brought in $10 million in online donations, a 53% increase over the same day in 2011.

ADDRESSING THE CROWDOnline crowdfunding platforms, such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, have made a tremendous impact on the online fundraising world, and both industry growth and total amounts raised continue to be bigger and better than the year before.

SOCIAL GIVING TIPSWhen nonprofits were asked what the reasons were for their success using social media, they provided 3 clear responses, according to the 2012 Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report.

More nonprofits will look to use the most popular social networking site, Facebook, to raise money.

Google’s social networking site will help social giving by allowing nonprofits to integrate their pages with other Google features, such as mail and documents.

With large followings, most nonprofits will take better advantage of communicating their fundraising needs, as Twitter hashtags become an increasingly reliable way to spread the word about charitable causes and needs.

Coming up with a detailed social media strategy.

Dedicating a current or new position specifically to social media.

Having executive management make social media a priority.

SOURCES: NONPROFITSOCIALNETWORKSURVEY.COM, ONLINEGIVINGSTUDY.ORG,

BLACKBAUD.COM, UNFOUNDATION.ORG, PHILANTHROPY.COM, NPENGAGE.COM,

MASHABLE.COM, SHARETHIS.COM, CROWDSOURCING.ORG

For nonprofits, the most common fundraising tactic on Facebook is to ask for an individual donation.

Percentage of Nonprofits on Social Networks:

If a friend posts a charitable donation on a social media site, people tend to:

3 trends to watch for, according to the benchmark report, are:3 trends to watch for, according to the benchmark report, are:

Incorporating social media can dramatically benefit a fundraiser, with the addition of Twitter GENERATING ALMOST 10 TIMES MORE MONEY RAISED.

Take time to learn more about a charity if they see a friend posting about it.

Ask the friend for more information about the cause.

Have more respect for a friend that posts about a charitable donation.

Would donate.

Would repost the donation request.

Would do nothing.

The average donation through social media increases each year.

$161.30 is the average value of a Facebook like for a nonprofit over 12 months. This number climbs to $214.81 when combined with other channels.

Normal online donation average

#GivingTuesday donation average

Social media is becoming an integral part of fundraising and donations.

2012

Nonprofits have strong a presence on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.Nonprofits have A strong presence on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Fundraising on FacebookFundraising on Facebook

Social EndorsementSocial Endorsement

To Tweet or Not To TweetTo Tweet or Not To Tweet

On #GivingTuesday 2012, organizations around the world used social media sites to reach out to their followers and saw some impressive numbers.On #GivingTuesday 2012, organizations around the world used social media sites to reach out to their followers and saw some impressive numbers.

98% 74%

33% 20%

17% 11%

66% 48% 32% 26%

Individual Donation Event Fundraising

Causes Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

68%

51%

39%

34%

10%

58%

NOTE

NOTE

NOTE

2010 $38

2011 $55

2012 $59

$256.72 $225.90

$22.97

$3,305 $1,875

45%

530 M854 M

1.47 B

2.81 B47%

54%

60%

$6,720

$784$620$0

$70.55

Average Fundraising Goals

With Twitter Without Twitter With Twitter Without Twitter

Average Total Online Donations

Total amount raised Tuesday after Thanksgiving, 2011Total amount raised Tuesday after Thanksgiving, 2012

20090%

20%

40%

60%

$0

$1 Billion

$2 Billion

$3 Billion

80% $4 Billion

2010 2011 2012

$161.30

The Fishing School, youth development

charity

Manna Food Center, food

bank

Project Hope, international health charity

$62 $101.60

By the end of 2012, there will be an estimated 536 crowdfunding platforms around the world, and the year-over-year industry growth is increasing.

The amount of money raised through crowdfunding sites during 2012 is estimated to be 91% higher than 2011.

41% 37% 28%2012

BENCHMARK

REPORT1 2 3

Monetization of Facebook

Success of Google+

Twitter Evolution

Top Fundraising Tactics on Facebook

Year-Over-Year Industry Growth Growth and Total Amount Raised by Crowdfunding Sites