Game-Changing Nonprofit Statistics That Will Help You Set Goals For 2023

As we enter into 2023, a few questions might be emerging within your organization:

• How do we make this year even better than the last?
• How do we attract even more new donors?
• How do we retain the donors we already have?

One of the ways we like to answer these kinds of big vision questions is by taking a look at statistics. By focusing on data, you can make the most educated decisions possible about the year ahead versus you throwing spaghetti at the wall hoping that something sticks.

The only strategy this is good for is checking whether or not your pasta is ready to serve!

Today, we’re going to focus on three specific areas:

1. How the modern day donor makes decisions about where to spend their savings
2. Why and how you should be spreading the word about the impact your donors are having by, well, donating
3. The role the internet is playing in donor experiences today, plus why you should care

At the end of this blog, you will be able to take the non-profit statistics and make concrete plans to help grow your organization and impact in 2023.

Modern Day Donor Decision Making:

Psychology today states that the average person is faced with 35,000 decisions per day. That’s approximately one choice per second.

Let’s take a minute to really think about how taxing that is on us as people. Among those decisions is whether or not you want to spend your hard earned money on a specific organization. How do people make those decisions? What goes into their decision making process and how can you, the organization, help them in that process?

Here are some donor behavior statistics to help you better understand their decision making process:

• 74% of people state they like to compare charities side-by-side before making a decision
• In a recent Fidelity Charitable study, nearly three-quarters (74%) of Millennials said they consider themselves philanthropists—compared to just 35% of Boomers.
• Spurred by natural disasters and racial injustices in the headlines, charitable giving soared to a record-breaking $471 billion in 2020, according to the Giving USA 2021 Study. This was a 5.1% increase over 2019.
• 70% of Millennials would like to work more closely with a financial professional, compared with 59% of those in Generation X and 18% of Boomers, according to a study done by AIG Life & Retirement last year.

What do these statistics tell us?

Firstly, younger generations, such as millennials, are more likely to donate to a cause when compared to their more senior generations, such as boomers. It’s important to keep these generational factors in mind since things like technology play a much larger part in the everyday lives of younger generations.

A big motivator for today’s donors is large-scale issues or injustices. This means it’s crucial to share more about your “why” and the reason you have chosen to raise awareness and aid for a particular cause. Being more open and transparent about what is going on in the world as it relates to your cause will motivate more people to get involved.

Finally, more and more millennials are wanting to become strategic with their finances, which will include how they choose to donate funds. They will want to leverage their donations for tax purposes and be more thoughtful about where they choose to spend their money. The days of sporadic spending are becoming less and less, so make sure you are positioning your organization as that next best choice for donors.  

Impact Sharing:

It’s no secret that people want to have an impact on the people and communities around them. In fact, scientific studies show that generosity stimulates dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter and hormone that plays a vital role in our pleasure and motivation systems.

This explains why people are motivated to donate to causes they are passionate about. But, how do we get them to make their first donation so they can get that hit of dopamine and continue donating?

One of the best ways you can do this is by sharing not only the impact your organization is having on the world but also how your donors are having an impact on your ability to create change.

You can do this through:

• Weekly and monthly newsletter updates
• Live updates on social media platforms
• More personalized donation options, which could have dollar amounts associated with certain outcomes ($20 will feed five dogs for one month)

The more impact you can share, the more likely you are to acquire donors.

Here are a few statistics to help you share more impact based information with your donors:

• Approximately 63 million Americans — 25% of the adult population — volunteer their time, talents, and energy to making a difference.
• 75% are seeking information about the nonprofit’s impact
• 45% of population does not donate, because, they don’t know, how their donations will be used

In addition, of the donors who are actively looking for this information before choosing to make a donation, 31% or less are able to actually find this information.

What do these statistics tell us?

Donors are not blindly giving their money away to organizations. They want to know about your cause and how your organization is creating change. They want to know you are legitimate and that their money is going somewhere useful.

To stand out from the crowd and get more donors, it’s important to be completely transparent about your organization:

• Where you’re focusing your efforts
• What you’re doing with donor funds
• How those funds are fuelling your impact

We encourage you to provide more details than you think necessary because more donors are looking for those nitty gritty details before hitting “donate”.

Nonprofits and the Internet

We can all agree that the internet isn’t going anywhere and it’s becoming more and more prominent in the world of spreading the word about your cause and getting online charity donations.

While it’s become significantly easier to accept donations using the internet, it can also seem daunting to have to set up an entire platform online. You might be wondering if it’s worth it or if you should just stick to in-person connections.

Well, we’re here to burst your bubble just a little bit and hopefully get you on the path to embracing the world of the internet so you can use it as a TOOL for your nonprofit.

Here are a few statistics to help you gain more online donations for your nonprofit:

• 40% of Millennial donors are enrolled in a monthly giving program.
• 16% give through Facebook fundraising tools.
• 47% of Millennials gave through an organization’s website
• 36% of people stated they received no communication after their first donation
• 61% of Gen Z donors and 62% of millennials are likely to learn about causes on social media

What does all this mean and how can you use it to set smart goals for your nonprofit and get more loyal donors in 2023?

Donors have options. They like to shop around and find the cause(s) that lines up with their values and the impact they want to have through their donations. We know you’re passionate about your cause and you might even feel like it speaks for itself.

But, to stand out from all the other nonprofits that are also looking to draw in new, and loyal, donors, you need to prioritize:

• Being transparent about your organization to help donors make a decision
• Sharing your impact and how your donors have helped you achieve that impact
• Using the internet as a tool to spread the word and create an amazing community online just like you have offline.

In 2023, sign up for Givecloud where we can help you build a roster full of loyal donors who want to help you grow your impact this upcoming year.