December 2006

Last month's Newsletter included an article profiling on-line donors ("The Young and the Generous: A Study of $100 Million in On-line Giving"). That piece inspired the November Question of the Month: "What's your donor profile—what characterizes you as a donor?" Here's what our totally unscientific survey found:

How Readers Choose Charities to Support

(Participants could choose more than one answer)

I give to charities I am familiar with or have heard of before.	71%
I research my giving, using a resource such as GuideStar, JustGive, or Network for Good to identify the charities I want to support.	23%
Other	20%

Half of the participants who said they research their giving also reported that they give to charities they are familiar with or have heard of before.

How Readers Give

(Participants could choose more than one answer)

I usually give off-line—write a check, put money in the collection plate, etc. Occasionally I give on-line.	40%
I give in person by volunteering my time.	40%
I always or almost always give off-line—write a check, put money in the collection plate, etc. I never or very rarely give on-line.	37%
I usually give on-line through a donation portal (e.g., JustGive, Network for Good) or a charity's own Web site. Occasionally I give off-line.	11%
Other	9%
I always or almost always give on-line through a donation portal (e.g., JustGive, Network for Good) or a charity's own Web site. I never or very rarely give off-line.	3%

When Readers Give

(Participants could choose more than one answer)

I give throughout the year, but not on a regular basis.	46%
I give when an event in my life or in the news inspires me to.	37%
I give on a regular basis throughout the year.	34%
I give through payroll deduction throughout the year.	17%
I do most of my giving at the end of the year.	9%
Other	0%

How Readers Plan Their Giving

(Participants could choose only one answer)

I give, but I don't have a giving plan.	69%
I have a giving plan that I follow fairly closely.	14%
I have a giving plan that I (sometimes) follow.	14%
Other	3%

Closing Thoughts

An anonymous participant suggested, "I think good giving is a mix of the impulsive/emotional and the rational. The impulse to help needs to be tempered with the knowledge that one person can only give so much—and that a larger gift to a few organizations can sometimes be the best way to do things."

Mitch Beauregard of the ACCESS Community Action Agency could have been speaking for GuideStar when he wrote, "In order to generate the maximum amount of donations groups, organizations, and charities need to clearly delineate their mission and vision. They need to make it clear to the public what they expect to accomplish with the donations and how they will measure their successes. Lastly, they need to let donors know when and to what extent they've had successes."

Suzanne E. Coffman, December 2006
© 2006, Philanthropic Research, Inc. (GuideStar)

Suzanne Coffman is GuideStar's director of communications and editor of the Newsletter.