January 6, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Online giving remained relatively strong in 2008, despite the creaky economy, according to a post by Steve MacLaughlin on the blog maintained by Blackbaud, a major provider of charity-solicitation software.
In a survey of clients of Blackbaud, charities saw steady growth in the first half of the year, a slight drop in the third quarter, and online giving rebound at the end of the year. December and June were the two biggest months for donations made via the Internet.
Nonprofit groups in the study of approximately 2,000 charities received an average gift online of $152.12. Education, health care, religious, and grant-making organizations had higher average gift amounts, according to Mr. MacLaughlin.
Online giving grew four times as quickly in December as it did in other months, a trend that is consistent with the past several years. Despite the economic turmoil, December accounted for 21 percent of the total transactions made during the year and 48 percent of the total dollars raised. The average gift in December was $248.82, writes Mr. MacLaughlin.
How did your charity’s online giving fare last year?
