# Online donations up 85% in three years

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2011/09/16/online-donations-85-three-years/
- Published: 2011-09-16T14:07:10+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

Online donations have risen 85% from 2% to 3.7% in just three years, according to
new research from nfpSynergy.

The second edition of the report ‘Passion, persistence, and partnership: the secrets
of earning more online’ sponsored by MissionFish and ebay for Charity with the Institute
of Fundraising, shows that online donations still lag behind online retail sales,
which account for almost 10% of UK retail. However, the research, which follows 
on from the first edition published in 2008, reveals that charities are taking a
more sophisticated and ‘holistic’ approach to online communications and not just
trying to turn clicks into cash.

A huge 71% of the sample use Facebook to engage with supporters, 62% use Twitter
and 50% use YouTube. More charities say they use the web for education than as a
fundraising tool. The report says that “social media platforms have become tools
for listening and learning, not just broadcasting ‘at’ people”.

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EBay itself has seen total funds raised through eBay for Charity up by 213% in two
years, donations from eBay users up 500% and trading by charities on eBay up 123%.

More than half the charities surveyed said that senior staff are driving online 
strategy, whereas three years previously this was not the case. Many said they were
undergoing radical website redesigns or launching new social media strategies, indicating
an acceptance of the need to invest in online activity.

The research also says that the internet is the biggest chance to engage the next
generation of givers. “Connecting and interacting online with the younger generations,
and building new relationships, offers charities the single greatest hope of increasing
participation in giving over the long-term, and is therefore vital to the health
of the sector as a whole,” says the report.

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