Billing Services Group

I learned an interesting fact just the other day.  If you’re donating money to an organization, you’re most likely to do it on a Tuesday.  Yes, Tuesday is THE most popular day of the week for non-profit donations according to the Network for Good.

In general, they say weekdays are better than weekends. And if you want to really zero on absolutely the most beneficial time of day?  10 a.m.- noon would hold the top spot.

These facts may seem trivial, but donor’s habits are important when you’re looking to raise money for your cause.  According to the IRS, there are 1,010,400 charitable organizations in the U.S. who are raising funds.  Last year, their combined giving reached $303.75 billion dollars, 75% of that coming from individual donors (Source: Charity Navigator).

The number one reason why people donate to a particular charity?  A personal experience or connection.  According to StepbyStepFundraising.com, donors often feel connected to causes that relate to their own life experiences.  Health is one major example.  If you have a loved one who died of cancer, you’re likely to feel more connected to causes that raise money for cancer research. 

How people are giving is another interesting phenomenon. In the past few years, experts have noticed a significant uptick in giving online.  In 2009, online giving grew 46% compared to 2008; the average online donation for all of 2009 was $144.72 (Source: About.com Nonprofit Charitable Orgs).

Online giving is particularly cost-effective for charities. While it can cost $1.25 to raise a dollar

from a new donor through direct mail and more than $.63 through telemarketing, the costs

per dollar of raising money online can be as little as five cents.  (Sources: Fund-Raising Cost Effectiveness/James Greenfield, Cost-Effectiveness of Nonprofit Telemarketing Campaigns/Keating, Parsons & Roberts, and Network for Good.)

Multiply $144.72 by the millions (dare we say billions?) of potential donors currently online?  We did the math and can safely say the fundraising possibilities for non-profits are enormous!

Learn about new ways to grow online donations with alternative forms of payment like Bill2Phone Giving.