5 Key Findings from 2014 Burk Donor Survey that are valuable for nonprofits

Many of the nonprofit fundraising surveys that come across our desks at Miratel focus on data compiled from the charities themselves, therefore I was keen to share some of the key findings from a survey that researches donors instead. The 2014 Burk Donor Survey compiled by Penelope Burk via Cygnus Applied Research offers deep analysis of how donors are thinking, acting and supporting nonprofits today and is well worth a look. The entire report is available for $75 at Cygnus but even without that the key findings are very illuminating.

What adds weight to the report is the sheer volume of respondents, more than 800,000 active donors were invited to take part in the poll earlier this summer which consisted of 63 questions about their behaviour, feelings and experiences. Below I’ll outline what I see as some of the key findings from the report.

Donors are also Volunteers: According to the poll some 69% of all of those who donated to nonprofits (the poll was sent to those who donated at least once in 2013 and/or in 2012) also volunteered or currently volunteer. Resounding evidence of the correlation between donors and volunteers with the vast majority doing both even if for different nonprofit organizations.

Good Economic Conditions Clearly Help Nonprofits: As the graphic above demonstrates there are very strong links between the ability to give more and the overall economic conditions in the United States. While this data isn’t a surprise,  to be able to see such a visual representation for the trends for donors giving more, giving the same or giving less provides striking confirmation. Much like the economy the trends are slow and subtle with more gradually being in a position to provide more support with 47% in 2013 (versus 43% in 2012) the high water mark of the six year span.

2014 Intentions Are Encouraging: When the year-end numbers for 2014 arrive it should be another strong year for nonprofit fundraising growth as the research indicates that some 55% expect to give the same amount as the year prior, yet more importantly four times as many donors expect to donate more rather than less to charities this year. Very interesting data then as shown below which also shows that younger donors are more likely to increase giving this year compared to other age demographics.

Donors are more informed, discerning: Very telling data showed that 57% of donors spend more time today researching nonprofits than they would have done five years ago. This points to both the improved access to information and hopefully better transparency, all if this of coupled with a more discerning donor audience. There’s also a marked preference for email/electronic communication versus printed materials with 65% preferring the former. Also included are important warning signs that indicate what donors don’t respond well to; including ‘over-solicitation’ which 64% of donors say will negatively impact their desire to support a nonprofit however the worst impact to a nonprofit in the eyes of the donor is an organization that spend excess amounts on administration thereby reducing the cost effectiveness of the donated funds reaching the purpose. In all some 81% said this was ineffectiveness was likely to see them stop/reduce support for a given charity.

Donors can give more: One other piece of data that is very interesting is that a large amount of donors (40% overall and 50% for those aged under 35) say that they could give more. Interpreting that information opens up dozens of possibilities but at the core is the fact that nonprofits who are excelling at donor retention, excellent communication  and reaching measurable goals while clearly explaining their impact could certainly be doing even better than they currently are. As we discuss constantly here on the blog there are a myriad number of ways to focus that message and use social media to better drive engagement but it’s encouraging to know that further growth is possible or even likely.

You can find out much more by reviewing the executive summary of the report which I’ve uploaded to the site and you can download here (*PDF). My warm thanks to Cygnus/Penelope Burk for such informative work.
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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including inbound telephone fundraising, outbound telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery fundraising services, donation processing and receipting and direct mail fundraising services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all our business decisions and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.