The surprising top three ways people give money

Russ Reid just sent me this interesting data from their Heart of the Donor study:

—Collection boxes (e.g., Salvation Army kettles or countertop piggybanks) at 64% and direct mail at 61% clearly stand out as the most common methods of giving—the majority of all donors have used one of these in the past 12 months.

—34% of donors have made a gift online. And more than 1 in 4 have given through a presentation at their job or place of worship.  (Note: This does not include giving to the church itself.)

—Most interestingly, the average donor used 3 of these 10 channels over the last 12 months (e.g., 55% of donors who gave online also gave via mail, and 20% gave to a phone call).

I agree with their conclusion: “This type of donor behavior strongly urges simultaneous multi-channel communications with donors to maximize revenue.” Or as I’d put it: Connect with your supporters in many ways, online and off, if you want to build the deepest connections. 

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