2020 Global Giving Trends

Nonprofit Tech for Good recently released their 2020 Global Giving Trends. We've studied the report, and are giving our key takeaways from the Canada and United States trends. We encourage you to download the full report if you are interested.  The trends were broken down by regions- Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Canada and the United States, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Out of the 133 countries in those regions, there were 13, 468 donors.

Between Canada and the United States, there were 7,004 Donors throughout the past year. There are three parts of this report that we are going to dive into. First, who is giving, the actual donation itself and which fundraising method works best for those donating. You can see the breakdown below: 

9% of donors gave $100 or less

38% of donors gave $101-999

35% of donors gave $1,000- 4,999

11% of donors gave $5,000-9,999

7% of donors gave $10,000 or more

Please note: the currency is USD. 

  1. Hunger and homeless (15%)
  2. Health and wellness (13%)
  3. Faith and spirituality (12%)
  4. Animals and wildlife (10%)
  5. Children and youth (9%)
  6. Environment and conservation (7%)
  7. Human and social services (7%)
  8. International development (7%)
  9. Arts and culture (6%)
  10. Women and girls (4%)

33% of donors are also giving to Nonprofits located outside of the country that they live in. The top 5 countries are:

  1. Australia (8%)
  2. India (7%)
  3. Israel (6%)
  4. UK (6%)
  5. Kenya (5%)

67% Female

32% Male

1% Non binary

Overall, 57% of donors in Canada and US are enrolled in a recurring giving program. This is up from 46% in 2018. This a great sign for Nonprofits. People really do want to give! Here is the breakdown of what the recurring donations look like:

94% of donors prefer to give monthly

3% of donors prefer to give annually

1% prefer to give quarterly 

Email continues to grow in its power to impact donors in Canada and United States. 33% say that email is communication tool that most inspires them to give. This is up from 31% in 2018. Wondering how many times you should email to fundraise? Here's what the data suggests:

  • 29% say Monthly
  • 10% say Weekly
  • 9% say bi- Monthly
  • 4% say Daily
  • 3% say bi- Weekly

Social Media is iffy- Only 18% say that social media is the most inspiring, which is down from 25% in 2018. Don't get discouraged, though, because Facebook and Instagram Fundraising Tools are continuing to grow in power. 40% have donated through Facebook, 12% through Instagram. Of the 40% who give via Facebook Fundraising Tool, 80% say they are likely to give again through that. 

Crowdfunding is down- 34% of donors in Canada and US give through crowdfunding and 10% create peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, which is down from 36% and 16% respectively.

In addition to these, people like to email, social media and crowdfunding, people like these methods: 

19% of people like Printed materials

16% of people give through websites

7% of people give through TV ads

4% of people give through radio ads

2% of people give through phone calls

1% of people give through texting (Our experts believe this will increase because texting is a new and effective way of fundraising if done right. See our tips here)

Communication methods donors also like once they've given or enrolled as a regular donor (meaning- not only soliciting money, other notable things about your Nonprofit): 

  • 48% like regular email communication
  • 18% like regular social media communication
  • 16% like regular print communication
  • 12% like a handwritten note
  • 16% like a personal phone call

What donors are saying: 

94% say that Nonprofits effectively express gratitude for their donations 

93% say that Nonprofits effectively keep them updated on their programs

Keep it up, Nonprofits!

63% of donors prefer to give online with a credit/debit card 

Other preferred method of giving: 

  • Direct/Post mail
  • PayPal 
  • Bank/wire transfer
  • Cash 
  • Digital Wallet
  • Text-to-give
  • Stock or mutual fund

91% say Nonprofits are ethical and can be trusted.

68% of donors in Canada and the US volunteer with Nonprofits

44% attend fundraising events (galas, luncheons, etc)

15% participate in endurance fundraising events (marathons, runs, bike-a-thons)

65% sign online petitions 

36% participate in marches and protests

81% donate food and needed goods to Nonprofits

47% participate in online sweepstakes/online raffles

45% buy in online stores that benefit Nonprofits

24% participate in online auctions

8% give through gaming

  • A mobile app that allows two-tap giving that earns badges and redeemable points 
  • Facial recognition giving through a smartphone
  • Point-and-tap giving through a digital billboard on public transport 
  • Voice-command giving through a smart speaker on car radio 

If you leave with one thing after reading this article, it should be this- feel inspired. Feel inspired that people are wanting to give. Feel inspired that people ARE giving. Feel inspired by all of the knowledge you have from these trends. And, most importantly, use these trends to create effective fundraising. There is a lot of exciting trends to put to work!

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