2019 Online Fundraising Trends

Atlanta nonprofits are focused on serving their mission of ensuring the programs, services, and benefits offered to deliver the highest value and organizational return on investment. To accomplish this goal requires to focus on program management, volunteer recruitment, staff development, robust marketing, and fundraising. While all are vital to the health of an organization, fundraising is the one area where organizations spend significant time looking for innovative ways to identify new sources of funding. Many go online to bolster fundraising through activities such as social media, email marketing, and even digital advertising to get the attention of potential donors. While the strategy has been effective, it appears that online fundraising is quickly slowing. According to the 2019 M&R Benchmark Study, online revenue for nonprofits grew by 1% in 2018. (a sharp decline from 2017 of 23% growth). This important change is one of many uncovered in the study. To help clients, prospects and others understand the trends (and potential impact on their organization), Wilson Lewis has compiled a summary of findings below.

About the Study

The study included responses from 135 nonprofit organizations of various sizes ranging from those with online revenue of less than $500,00 to those with online revenue of over $3M. There was a diverse source of participants including those focused on cultural, environmental, health, poverty, public media, rights, wildlife, and other issues.  A complete participant list is available with the survey data.

Online Revenue Generation Trends

• Online Revenue Growth – As mentioned above, the median growth for all organizations of online revenue was 1% in 2018. According to the study, environmental organizations experienced a 6% growth rate, international organizations -9% growth rate, rights organizations a -14% growth rate, and cultural organizations a 1% growth rate. When analyzed by size, large organizations experienced a 4% increase, medium organizations a 1% increase and small organizations experienced no change. The data shows a significant change in online revenue generation and demonstrates the need for organizations to innovate with their online practices.
• Web Engagement – The study wanted to identify how organizations are using their website to drive engagement. According to the study, nonprofits raise $.83 per website visitor in 2018 with 1% of site visitors donating. When analyzed by organizational type, international organizations raised the most with a reported $1.60 site visitor, while cultural and rights organizations only generated $.50 and $.60 per site visitor. It’s also interesting to note that while a majority of visitor types were mobile, 63% of donations came from those using desktop computers.
• Email Messaging – The survey also evaluated how email played a role in changing revenue numbers. According to the survey, email list size increased by 5% with an average of 59 email messages sent per subscriber. While the overall list size grew, the response rate experienced a simultaneous decline. It was found that advocacy emails response rate declined sharply by 15% to 1.8%, while fundraising emails declined by 13% to .06%. What makes these figures interesting is there was also a decline in the number of unsubscribes.
• Social Media – Essential to understanding online revenue generation is how organizations are leveraging social media to share their story and drive engagement. According to the study, Instagram is the fastest growing platform with a 34% increase in the number of followers, then Twitter with a 26% and Facebook with 6%. While showing a small increase in followers, Facebook showed strong promise as a source of online funding. The increasing popularity of “peer-to-peer” fundraising on Facebook has made a strong impact on the bottom line.
• Digital Advertising – Given the decline in online revenue growth, the study wanted to determine how organizations are using digital advertising to fill the gap. According to the study, digital ad budgets grew by 144% with a focus on branding, awareness or education, direct fundraising and lead generation. Participants revealed 44% direct their budget to display advertising, 16% to search advertising, 35% to social media advertising and just 5% to video. It’s obvious from the data that organizations are shifting their strategy to include paid advertising to bolster other efforts.

Contact Us

The need for fundraising innovation is essential to the long-term vitality of nonprofit organizations. The findings outlined to reflect the changing strategies and tactics organizations can explore to capture additional funding. If you have questions about the survey, it’s findings, or need assistance with a nonprofit audit or tax issue, Wilson Lewis can help. For additional information call us at 770-476-1004 or click here to contact us. We look