We applaud them and thank them for going the extra mile in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, The Vital Alliance Donate Life Run/Walk, and the National Down Syndrome Society “Buddy Walk”; for generously giving from their hearts to the United Way Campaign, SaMMinistries Santa’s Workshop and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Service’s “Three Christmas Families.”  We are honored to work with people who are committed to making our world a better place to live.

In the spirit of giving, we pause to wish our BSG family – and you – our BSG friends, customers and colleagues- a happy, healthy holiday season.

The good news is that, according to a recent study by Edge Research on behalf of Convio, 174 million adult Americans were planning to donate to a charity between Thanksgiving and the end of the year, with estimates predicting an increase of more than 30 percent over last year.

The research shows that when it comes to charitable giving, people like a variety of giving options by mail, online, at events or in person at events. What is most interesting are online donations, which, the research found, account for nearly half of all donations through any of the channels.

What charities have learned, however, is that donors of different ages differ in how and why they give. The younger generations give because of a sense of emotional connection, and tend to opt for frequent micropayments, smaller amounts spread out over a period of time often made online.

America’s big donor demographic at least to the top 100 U.S. charities- is women between 60-75 years of age who give out of a sense of obligation and habit. As a whole, they are uncomfortable with what they perceive as privacy and security risks of modern technology.

It is understood that many of these donors worry about identity theft and fraud and shy away from giving online or through credit cards, worried that someone will steal their information. The challenge for charities is to bridge that gap by providing these donors with a sense of security and privacy, so that they feel more comfortable giving in ways other than writing one paper check.

Our approach is to enable people to donate quickly and easily through a long-time trusted source: their local telephone company. Many donors and charities – may not realize that through Bill2Phone, there is a way for people to pay their donations through their home phone bill, which carries no interest charges or added fees, and allows donors to spread out their donations over the course of a year. The simple telephone bill is an existing payment vehicle sent to over 80 million households which is highly relevant in today’s world of giving. Have other creative ideas to share? Drop us a line or post it here!

Convio is a leading provider of on-demand constituent engagement solutions that enable nonprofit organizations to more effectively raise funds, advocate for change and cultivate relationships with donors, activists, volunteers, alumni and other constituents.  Their sold-out event is bringing more than 1,100 nonprofit professionals and technology experts together for a dynamic summit.

We’ll be sharing details about our convenient, user-friendly payment option,  Bill2Phone, and specifically how it can help non-profits.   With Bill2Phone Giving, donors can make charitable donations easily and securely and pay them later on their home phone bill; non-profit organizations gain access to more than 100 million potential donors, providing charities with a strong lift in donation conversion and sustained giving.  Charity and non-profit organizations can optimize the quality of lead generation with access to highly compatible donor target audiences and demographics accessible through BSG’s leading partnerships with U.S. phone companies.

It’s a perfect fit for charitable organizations and their constituents because donors can automatically add donations to their existing recurring phone bill, enabling charities to grow their sustained giving programs, and donors benefit from time savings, security and ease of use.

In today’s climate with many great charitable organizations struggling to maintain and grow their donor base, Bill2Phone can help establish a longer term and ongoing relationship between them and their valued donors.

Bill2Phone can be offered as a form of payment for multichannel contributions and fundraising initiatives, including for online donations; direct mail donations; both inbound and outbound telephone campaigns; DRTV and telethons; and event fundraising.

Other benefits of Bill2Phone?  It doesn’t require the use of a credit card or check; no log-ins, passwords or sign ups required to donate AND  Bill2Phone allows for both one time and recurring donations up to $100 monthly.

Want to learn more about Bill2Phone Giving?  Come see us at Convio or visit us online at www.bill2phone.com/verticals/giving.

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.