Justgiving survey finds online fundraising does generate new donors
Howard Lake | 17 July 2005 | News
According to a survey by online fundraising site Justgiving, one in three online donors would not have donated at all if they had been unable to do so online. Also, they gave because they had been asked by a friend, not by a charity.
Almost a third (31.3%) of people sponsoring a friend online through Justgiving said they would simply not bother if they were asked to donate using cash or cheques. In addition, most of them gave because their friend had asked them to, not because they had been asked by a charity.
Justgiving say that their survey’s results show that charities that enable their supporters to donate and raise funds online are attracting more donations, and tapping into brand new sources of revenues.
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James Grieve, marketing manager at Justgiving, said: “This survey powerfully illustrates the attractiveness of online donations in our time-poor society. People no longer have the time or inclination to write a cheque, find an envelope, buy a stamp and walk to the post box. They want to make a donation in seconds online.”
The survey also demonstrated the effectiveness of online peer-to-peer fundraising for gathering new prospects. Each respondent to the survey had been asked by a friend to donate, rather than by a charity. Indeed, 41.5% admitted they had never even heard of that charity previously.
Grieve added: “a single page built for any event, appeal or occasion can reach hundreds or even thousands of new prospects worldwide with a peer-to-peer call to action that is far more compelling than any charity’s marketing material. Charities then have the opportunity to convert them to regular giving.”
Justgiving surveyed 1,209 people who visited justgiving.com to donate to a friend’s online fundraising page between 16/06/05 and 01/07/05.
Of the 1,209 people surveyed, half (49.9%) were 31 to 50-years-old. Just over a quarter (27.4%) were under 30 and 22.7% were 51-years-old or over.
To date, over 95,000 people have raised more than £30 million online for over 1,200 charities through justgiving.com.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.