Individual Giving
According to Giving USA, giving by individuals totaled $292.09 billion in 2018, which represented 68% of all charitable giving.1 Adjusted for inflation, this represented a 3.4% decline in giving compared to 2017, and marked the first time within the last 50 years that individual giving represented less than 70% of overall annual giving.
Overall, these numbers are situated within a growing body of research, which suggests that while the total population of givers is contracting, the value of giving is rising at rates higher than inflation. Given the concentration of wealth in fewer and fewer hands, this evidence reinforces the importance of retention and sustainable stewardship as tenets of any organization’s fundraising strategy.2
1 2019, Giving USA, Giving USA 2019: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2018
2 2017, Blackbaud Institute, Vital Signs: Monitoring Giving Patterns in the Donor Marketplace
Average Donor Age and Median Gift Amounts
In addition to Giving USA, Blackbaud Target Analytics® leverages data insights to answer some of the most common questions asked by fundraising and nonprofit professionals. the average donor age was 62 years old and the median donation amount for gifts above $1,000 was $2,049 and $20 for gifts below $1,000. Additionally, the average online donation amount was $147.3
3 2019, Blackbaud Institute, 2018 Charitable Giving Report
Individual Retention and Attrition
Source: Blackbaud Institute 2018 Charitable Giving Report
According to the 2018 Charitable Giving Report, in 2018, 29% of all first-year, offline only donors were retained, whereas 22% of first-year, online-only donors were retained. For multi-year donors, 60% of offline-only donors were retained and 64% of online-only donors were retained. As giving and engagement channels continue to proliferate, donors and fundraisers alike have a harder job staying connected, and fundraisers struggle to measure the real impact of various efforts. These figures reassert the need to meet your supporters where they are as they continually occupy the driver’s seat of constituent engagement.