Online Giving Is The New Direct Mail

"GiveDirect" is the online credit card gift processing system my company developed for Independent Charities of America/Local Independent Charities of America.  462 charities use it on their respective web sites.

In calendar year 2006 the GiveDirect system raised $9,364,446.  In 2007 it raised $12,399,546, a 32.4% increase.  What's really interesting is not the revenue increase per se.  It is that the increase came about with only a 20% increase in the number of contributors and only six more charities using the system in 2007 than used it in 2006.   Yes, there is a healthy increase in the number of people giving online, but there's an even greater increase in the size of their gifts.  The average gift in 2006 was $164.  In 2007 it was $180.

Another interesting trend.  Every year the number of recurring gifts increases, too.  Recurring gifts are those where the giver instructs us to automatically deduct a specified amount from his or her credit card each month or each quarter.  Recurring gifts now account for seven percent of the total amount GiveDirect raises.

If our experience with GiveDirect is indicative of growth in online giving for the nonprofit sector as a whole  --  and I believe it is --  we are in for a sea change in how contributions are solicited and collected.  Online giving is the new direct mail.