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'Wired Wealthy' Give Online, But Find Web Sites Boring
New research into the online behaviors, experiences and expectations of major donors and the role the Internet and electronic communication plays in their giving process shows that major donors are very active online with the intention of becoming even more so when it comes to their philanthropic support.
The study, "Wired Wealthy - Using the Internet to Connect with Your Middle and Major Donors" conducted by Convio, Sea Change Strategies and Edge Research, concludes that a tremendous opportunity exists for nonprofit organizations to better leverage their online presence to better connect, motivate and retain these donors.
"While online marketing will never replace the need for person-to-person contact, it can augment and support an organization's efforts to help source new major gift prospects and cultivate constituents in a scalable fashion," said Vinay Bhagat, founder and chief strategy officer of Convio.
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The study surveyed more than 3,000 "wired wealthy" donors who had given at least $1,000 to a single charity during the previoud 18 months and who had an email address on file with one or more nonprofits. This constituency represented approximately 1 percent of the participating charities' email files, but accounted for nearly 32 percent of their annual gifts.
Some 23 major nonprofit organizations representing Advocacy/Public Affairs, Animal Welfare, Christian Ministries, Environment, Health, International Relief and Development, and Public Television sectors participated in the study.
Highlights of the study:
- "Wired wealthy" donors have been using the Internet for an average of 12 years, and are online an average of 18 hours a week.
- 80 percent have given online and 51 percent said that they prefer online giving.
- 66 percent said they visit the Web site of a cause or charity before donating for the first time; of those, 49 percent said they visit in nearly every instance when they are considering a donation to a new cause.
- 42 percent responded that they are somewhat more likely to give if they received email communications; 18 percent are a lot more likely to give again to a charity if sent email with news of recent accomplishments; 41 percent said that they are somewhat more likely and 33 percent are a lot more likely to give again if sent email about how their donation was spent.
- Only 8 percent of donors agreed strongly that charity Web sites are inspiring, and just 7 percent agree strongly that charity Web sites make them feel personally connected to their cause or mission.
- Only 8 percent of respondents agree strongly that emails from causes they support to be inspiring or report that these emails make them feel more connected to the cause.
- High-value donors want to have more control over their online experience, controlling both the type of content they receive/see and the frequency of communications.
The study found that not all high-value donors are the same. Three groups emerged: constituents who want a high touch relationship; those who prefer an efficient giving experience with limited communications; and those who show some interest in sustaining an online relationship, but also want a smooth and simple process.
See the full report at http://www.convio.com/wiredwealthy
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This article is from NPT TechnoBuzz, a publication of The NonProfit Times.
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