Blackbaud Index Indicates Slow Nonprofit Fundraising Recovery in 2013

Regular review of the latest nonprofit fundraising reports is useful as they serve as a benchmark to measure performance results against like-organizations and overall. I have recently written about some industry reports that I have found particularly helpful in posts like Nonprofit Fundraising Insight from Next Gen Donors Research Guide, Applying Benchmark Study on Social Care to Nonprofit Fundraising Donor Relations and 3 Factors Impacting Nonprofit Fundraising Confidence According to Report. Another report I regularly review and write about is the monthly Index from Blackbaud.

Last month, I wrote about Blackbaud’s year-end report which indicated 2012 results were flat but the latest Index which includes the last two months of 2012 and the first of 2013 shows consistency in 2013 and an improvement over the same period last year. This data is based on 3,000 organizations which generate an approximate $8 billion in donation revenues and the index reveals an increase of 3.6% for the three month period ending January 2013. Despite the decrease of -0.3% from the previous month’s results what is interesting is that the results represent a 4½% increase over the 0.8% increase results we saw in the same period in 2012. The International Affairs subsector and smaller organizations (donation revenues under $1 million) had the strongest numbers with an increase of 18.1% and 7.6% respectively, while Public and Society Benefit and Environment & Animal Welfare saw the only decrease of -7.8% and -0.2%.

Online giving experienced similar results in that they had an increase of 13.7% over the same three-month reporting period in 2012 that showed a decrease of -1.7% from the previous month. Online giving statistics were based on 2,500 nonprofit organizations that generated $500 million in online donation revenues and showed that all organization types and subsectors across the board experienced gains, a trend that is likely to continue as this donation channel gains acceptance by both nonprofits and donors. K-12 Independent Schools and Human Services had the largest increases with 23.3% and 18.3% and large organizations and International Affairs had smaller gains with 11.2% and 11.9% respectively.

A lot of the blame on the inconsistent 2012 results can be blamed on the economy and as 2012 research The Effect of the Economy on the Nonprofit Sector by Guidestar conducted this past October would suggest there was little improvement in the first three quarters of the 2012 over 2011. In fact, the results in 2012 were very similar to those of 2011. The survey results of 500 nonprofit professionals revealed that while 34% of respondents saw an increase in their organizations contributions, 28% responded that it was about the same and 37% saw a decrease. Combined that is 65% of respondents that did not see an increase at all.

What is in store for fundraisers in 2013 remains to be seen but hopefully it will see the end of the 2011 and 2012 trend. The Blackbaud Index results are somewhat reassuring as it could represent a steady recovery to increased growth. Although the results include the end-of-year fundraising push from November and December of 2012 they still point to steady economic gains that will hopefully shape a stronger 2013.

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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.