Blackbaud’s Charitable Giving Report Shows Online Giving Continues to Outpace Traditional Giving as Donors Shift Channels

February 4, 2015

In 2014, overall giving increased 2.1 percent while online giving grew 8.9 percent on a year-over-year basis

CHARLESTON, SC — Leveraging findings from The Blackbaud Index, Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLKB) today released its Charitable Giving Report, providing the nonprofit sector with the latest data on overall and online charitable giving in 2014, as well insight from industry experts and case studies. The Report includes overall giving data from nearly 5,000 nonprofit organizations representing $16.2 billion in total fundraising and online giving data from nearly 4,000 nonprofits representing $2 billion in online fundraising from 2014.

“Blackbaud’s analysis of over $16.2 billion in actual giving data found that charitable giving increased for the third consecutive year in the United States,” said Steve MacLaughlin, presenter of the Charitable Giving Report and director of Analytics at Blackbaud.” MacLaughlin added that, “we continue to see that donors are shifting to giving online at a particularly strong growth rate.”

For more in-depth analysis, view Steve MacLaughlin’s recent blog at npengage.com/nonprofit-fundraising/the-2014-charitable-giving-report/.

Key observations from the Charitable Giving Report include:

  • Overall giving grew approximately 2.1% in 2014
  • Online giving grew 8.9% in 2014 compared to 2013
  • Online donations were 6.7% of all fundraising in 2014
  • Small organizations had the greatest increase in overall fundraising in 2014
  • Higher Education institutions had the greatest increase in online giving during 2014

According to the Report, 2014 may represent the new normal in giving. Unlike 2013 and 2012, there was a noted absence of the high profile episodic events that previously drove an increase in giving. An accelerating economy fueled the stock market to new highs in 2014 and fears of changes to the charitable deduction never materialized.

About the 2014 Charitable Giving Report
The Charitable Giving Report leverages findings from The Blackbaud Index to provide the largest analysis of actual overall charitable giving and online giving data in the nonprofit sector. The aim of the Report is to provide a benchmark for giving and help inform nonprofits’ fundraising strategies in 2014. It also provides valuable insight from experts in the field, exploring trends and successful fundraising tactics in the A Closer Look section. View more charitable giving trends, and take a closer look at strategies for success by downloading the report at www.blackbaud.com/charitablegiving.

To stay up-to-date on the latest fundraising trends as reported by The Blackbaud Index, visit www.blackbaud.com/blackbaudindex where you can sign up for monthly email and mobile alerts.

About Blackbaud

Serving the nonprofit, charitable giving and education communities for more than 30 years, Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) combines technology solutions and expertise to help organizations achieve their missions. Blackbaud works in over 60 countries to support more than 30,000 customers, including nonprofits, K12 private and higher education institutions, healthcare organizations, foundations and other charitable giving entities, and corporations. The company offers a full spectrum of cloud and on-premise solutions, and related services for organizations of all sizes, including nonprofit fundraising and relationship managementeMarketingadvocacyaccountingpayment and analytics, as well as grant managementcorporate social responsibilityeducation and other solutions. Using Blackbaud technology, these organizations raise, invest, manage and award more than $100 billion each year. Recognized as a top company, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina and has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com.