2013 Blackbaud Index results show a difficult December closing a very good nonprofit fundraising year

We’ve just received the final Blackbaud Index report for 2013, one of the leading measurements of nonprofit fundraising trends available to the public. The Blackbaud Index studies the performance of almost 4,000 US-based nonprofit organizations in detail and as such is a benchmark report for the industry. This week I wanted to look at the performance by fundraising sector and size which I’ll do on Thursday of this week.

First things first though, the December results provided quite a shock in terms of the decline seen. The three-month rolling average saw growth in overall giving slump to 1.8% which was the lowest figure of 2013, meanwhile online giving stayed strong with growth for the three months at 12.6% which was completely in keeping with the rest of the year.

These numbers surprised me for two reasons, firstly,  as I wrote last month, we had apparently settled into the most stable/predictable period of fundraising growth that we have seen for years. Month-to-month change was very slight and consistent growth in overall giving had been witnessed over the preceding 12 months, then along came December which saw the figure fall from 6.8% to 1.8% the largest single monthly drop we’ve seen since 2010. Secondly, December normally sees results that are good or even great with large increases in 2010 & 2012 and just a small drop for the year in-between. I’m not certain if these results show a contraction due to tax changes, deferred giving moving into 2014 or a shortfall in disposable funds from the public at all levels as the year drew to a close. It could very well be a combination of all three factors. Either way it will be very revealing to see if January sees overall giving fall into a negative position for the first time since 2011 which looks possible, or if this was just a one month blip and January marks a return to more robust growth.

What is apparent is that online fundraising remains seemingly impervious to such results with 2013 showing monthly growth no lower than 9.7% and as high as 21.1% back in January. The not-so-hidden message seems to be that nonprofits should ensure that their online activities are as ‘donor ready’/’donor friendly’ as possible at this point in time. Although there is the possibility that the industry is heading into slower growth the same pattern is not readily emerging for online giving and charities both large and small must work to either improve their existing online tools for donors or expand their overall approach and reach.

Before digging deeper into the annual reports later this week I thought a quick summary of 2013 versus the previous years of the report would be valuable to have as a snapshot (see below). As you can see the December results do not detract from what has been a very healthy year overall especially when compared with 2012. There is a notable decline in the rate of growth during the course of the year but even Q4 results shine when compared with any period the year prior.

As you’ll see from the chart above there is still much to celebrate in the 2013 results even though the December numbers were a let down to some degree. The next sixty days will probably demonstrate whether 2014 is going to be a year where growth either flat-lines with very small positives or curves back upward. At this point I’m optimistic that we’ll see good results but please check back with me next month to find out.

Later this week we’ll take a closer look at the results of the index by both nonprofit sector and size.
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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.