A recent study conducted by Beth Kanter, Society for New Communications Research Fellow Geoff Livingston, and Qui Diaz of CRT/tanaka, reveals that “high dollar donors --especially 30-49 year-olds -- use the social web, but have yet to be engaged by strong, trustworthy philanthropic organizations.”
The main objectives of the research were:
- “To determine if high dollar donors use social media
- To see if those currently using social media could become potential high dollar donors
- To examine if cultivation of high dollar donations is possible online
- To determine what kinds of social media would serve this user base”
Highlights from the study:
- While online donors are very active in the social media world, their activity is fragmented.
- Philanthropy on social networking sites is still in the early stages. This is seen by the absence of a dominant voice for online charitable giving.
- A trusted source is needed along with authoritative philanthropic conversations
- Online community-oriented social media is preferred over most other types of online conversations
- Social media will be best used to target donors in the 30-49 year-old age group
- 80% of 30-49 year-olds would participate in social media with nonprofits if the information was credible and good quality
- 77% of 30-49 year-olds would participate in social media with nonprofits if the information came from a trusted source
- Over 50% of the 30-49 year-olds are interested in these topics:
- Whether a nonprofit is successfully making an impact (75%)
- Learning about nonprofits working on issues the donor cares about (62%)
- Success stories and updates on the progress of nonprofits the donor supports (54%)
- Information/updates on issues and causes the donor cares about (54%)
- Financial accountability and governance of nonprofits the donor supports (51%)
The full executive summary of the report can be viewed
here.
Where is your nonprofit at online? Perhaps your organization could become the dominant, authoritative voice in online philanthropy?
Source: Jennifer McClure. “Social Media Provides Untapped Opportunity to Engage High Dollar Non-profit Donors, According to Community Philanthropy 2.0 Research.” 31 July 2009. New Communications Review. 4 August 2009. <www.newcommreview.com>.
-- Ashley High is a Research Assistant at Christian Foundation Grants (www.christianfoundationgrants.com) which is a subscription database of foundations that provide grants to faith based organizations. iDonate.com is a website (www.iDonate.com) that allows ministries to receive non cash gifts online