[November 29, 2012] |
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Human and Social Service Organizations, Churches Look to Receive Most Holiday Donations This Year
CHARLESTON, S.C. --(Business Wire)--
Giving during the holiday season is crucial for many nonprofits, with
estimates that one-third of all charitable giving happens in the last
three months of the year. This year is no different as nonprofits look
to overcome a sluggish economy and other challenges. #GivingTuesday
kicked off the heart of the holiday giving season this week with
Blackbaud reporting a 53 percent increase in online donations totaling
more than $10 million on November 27 compared to the Tuesday after
Thanksgiving last year.
Giving trends this holiday season In a recent survey of more
than 1,000 US-based VolunteerSpot members conducted by Blackbaud and
VolunteerSpot, 96 percent of the survey respondents said they plan to
donate to charity this holiday season. However, that number is tempered
with 46 percent of the respondents that plan to donate to charity this
holiday saying they will either give to fewer charities or give less to
the same number of charities as last year. Thirty-nine percent plan to
give the same amount as last year, while 13 percent plan to give more.
"It's encouraging to see that such a large percentage of donors are
planning to give to charity this year," said Steve MacLaughlin, director
of Blackbaud's Idea Lab. "With the nonprofit sector representing more
than 5 percent of gross domestic product and employing about 10 percent
of the American workforce, the year-end giving season is critical to the
success of the many organizations that have a significant impact on our
culture and communities."
Survey highlights show that:
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Effect of presidential election and Superstorm Sandy: The US
election appears to have little bearing on giving during the holiday
season, with 89 percent of respondents saying the it didn't change
their plans to give. Superstorm Sandy will likely have a greater
impact on giving this holiday season, with 28 percent of respondents
saying Sandy influenced which organizations will receive their
donations, while 22 percent of respondents claim they will donate more
this year due to Sandy.
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Donors are giving: 82 percent of those that plan to give say
they will donate between $1 and $500 dollars this holiday season, with
a fairly even breakdown between: $1 - $50 (21 percent), $51 - $100 (20
percent), $101 - $200 (21 percent), $201 - $500 (20 percent). 3
percent plan to give more than $3,000.
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More than one charity benefits: 37 percent of survey
respondents indicated they plan to give to two charities this holiday
season. 25 percent said they plan to give to three charities. Only 16
percent of survey respondents plan to give to one charity.
Most popular charity sectors: Human and social service
organizations look to be the largest beneficiaries of donations during
the holiday season, with 56 percent of respondents planning to give to
those organizations. Faith-based organizations are a close second with
48 percent of the respondents' support. Education (29 percent) and
disaster relief (28 percent) follow farther behind. Membership
organizations (3 percent) and public affairs organizations (3 percent)
will likely receive the least amount of donations.
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Giving is overwhelmingly multichannel: Most donors will give to
charity through a variety of methods and channels. The most popular
will be to donate goods and services (74 percent), followed by mailing
in a check (54 percent), adding a donation at checkout from a retail
store (37 percent), online donation (28 percent) and making a product
purchase where a portion of proceeds help an organization (27 percent).
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Appeals that work: The most effective appeals that work are
those that either explain the a charity's need for the funds right now
(72 percent) or appeals that focus on people, animals or places in
need of help (70 percent).
About the survey Blackbaud and VolunteerSpot joined forces
to conduct an online survey of more than 1,000 VolunteerSpot members
from November 9 to November 12, 2012. The survey focused on 14 questions
about giving to charities this holiday season.
About Blackbaud Serving the nonprofit and education sectors
for 30 years, Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) combines technology and expertise
to help organizations achieve their missions. Blackbaud works with more
than 27,000 customers in over 60 countries that support higher
education, healthcare, human services, arts and culture, faith, the
environment, independent K-12 education, animal welfare and other
charitable causes. The company offers a full spectrum of cloud-based and
on-premise software solutions and related services for organizations of
all sizes including: fundraising, eMarketing, social media, advocacy,
constituent relationship management (CRM), analytics, financial
management and vertical-specific solutions. Using Blackbaud technology,
these organizations raise more than $100 billion each year. Recognized
as a top company by Forbes, InformationWeek, and Software Magazine and
honored by Best Places to Work, Blackbaud is headquartered in
Charleston, South Carolina and has operations in the United States,
Australia, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For
more information, visitĀ www.blackbaud.com.
About VolunteerSpot With more than 2 million volunteers in
service, VolunteerSpot makes it easy for people everywhere to join
together and make a difference. Founded by 'mompreneur' and PTO leader,
Karen Bantuveris, VolunteerSpot's free online coordination tool saves
time, streamlines communication and makes it simple for more people to
get involved at their local schools, teams, faith groupsĀ and nonprofits.
VolunteerSpot was recognized by Inc. Magazine as the number one Top
Time-Saving App for Moms in 2012 and as a Cool Mom Picks - Coolest
Websites for 2011. Launched in 2009 and funded by ffvc and angel
investors, VolunteerSpot is headquartered in Austin, Texas. For more
information, visit http://www.volunteerspot.com/Sign-Up-Form.
Forward-looking Statements Except for historical
information, all of the statements, expectations, and assumptions
contained in this news release are forward-looking statements that
involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Although Blackbaud attempts
to be accurate in making these forward-looking statements, it is
possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on
which such statements are based. In addition, other important factors
that could cause results to differ materially include the following:
general economic risks; uncertainty regarding increased business and
renewals from existing customers; continued success in sales growth;
management of integration of acquired companies and other risks
associated with acquisitions; risks associated with successful
implementation of multiple integrated software products; the ability to
attract and retain key personnel; risks related to our dividend policy
and share repurchase program, including potential limitations on our
ability to grow and the possibility that we might discontinue payment of
dividends; risks relating to restrictions imposed by the credit
facility; risks associated with management of growth; lengthy sales and
implementation cycles, particularly in larger organization;
technological changes that make our products and services less
competitive; and the other risk factors set forth from time to time in
the SEC (News - Alert) filings for Blackbaud, copies of which are available free of
charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov
or upon request from Blackbaud's investor relations department. All
Blackbaud product names appearing herein are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc.
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