As nonprofit fundraising enters the holiday season, a new survey projects results

As the calendar turns to December in many cases nonprofit fundraising enters into its most critical time of the year as the season of goodwill usually reflects in-kind with increased donations received by nonprofits. Many nonprofits receive as much as 30 to 40% of their annual contributions just during the holiday weeks. While 2010 has not been quite as difficult as last year the economy still remains in a fragile condition which naturally impacts fundraising activities. A new national survey *(US) published by Edge Research on behalf of fundraising firm Convio revealed that this year’s numbers show signs of promise. Very pertinently the survey was conducted very recently taking place from late October through to early November and contacted over 1,100 prospective donors to compile the data.

According to the results the average American adult will donate an average of $281 to charities during the forthcoming holiday season, if an online relationship already exists with the nonprofit that figure escalates significantly to $378. The research shows that those categorized as high dollar donors (those who gave more than $1000 to a single charity in 2010) are forecast to donate a further $952 this month. The contributions are often spread across the board with some 55% saying they will donate to two or three nonprofits whilst 23% are looking to help four or more organizations. Also encouraging is the report that 66% intend to donate the same totals as last year and a further 12% expect to increase their donations during this time.

Year-end giving remains a vital component of nonprofits overall results and the CEO of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) explains just how vital the sector is in overall terms:

“The results are encouraging as Americans seem to put aside the economic challenges to support the nonprofit sector and the good work charities do in our society. With the nonprofit sector representing more than 5 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) and employing about 10 percent of the American workforce, the year-end giving season is critical to the success to the many organizations that have a significant impact on our culture and communities.”

The survey in its entirety provides a wealth of interesting information about the impact of online donation methods and how holiday giving impact different demographics of potential donors to quite varying degrees. The diversity in giving continues to grow with more than 70% of those surveyed explaining that they will donate in various different ways, including online, donation of time, purchasing from charity retailers plus responses to telephone fundraising and mail campaigns. Whilst gift-giving and shopping seemed to dominate the overall perception of the holidays it’s apparent that the season of goodwill remains a time that many who may not contribute to and the rest of the year tend to become more involved, while those who are active donors seek to help more when possible. The statistics on the survey provide an encouraging picture of holiday giving for 2010, let’s hope that expectations are exceeded.

To read the full report compiled by Edge Research on behalf of Convio please follow this link.