A recent report ‘The Future of Online Giving’ found that eighty-nine percent of donors said they would prefer to donate via a charity’s own website rather than via a third party fundraising platform.

The report which was commissioned by Charity Checkout and carried out by independent research company Maru/Usurv surveyed 1000 members of the public in Q1 2018 and found that almost half of donors said they were put off donating to charity if they have to join a third party fundraising platform to do so.

Founder of Charity Checkout Chester Mojay Sinclare said: “The results from the survey clearly indicate issues that we have known for some time; that donors greatly value the direct relationship with the charity itself over an intermediary platform.

Issues like the ease of giving, trust and transparency have for some time been considered key barriers to giving. Providing a seamless donor journey through a dedicated website can not only attract more donations but actually increase the level of giving – nearly half of donors said they would give more generously via a charity’s own website.”

Other findings in the report indicate that there are other areas of concern around donor loyalty, charity brand, identity and consent which has direct implications on the level of giving that a donor makes to their charity of choice:

  • Almost half of those donating directly via a charity’s website agreed or strongly agreed that they would be more likely to give again; this is compared to just 19 percent of donors saying they would give again after using third party fundraising platforms
  • 47 percent of donors don’t even remember the charity they donated to when they last sponsored a friend online. and of those who were willing to receive follow-up communication after making an online donation
  • Of those who were willing to receive follow-up communications after making an online donation, 76 per cent  were only happy to be contacted by the charity itself, while just 10 percent preferred to hear from a third-party fundraising platform
The future of online giving

Peter Suchet the former Director of Saatchi and Saatchi, turned Fundraising & Marketing Director at Honeypot Children’s Charity added: “Currently, the status quo is to encourage charities to use third-party fundraising websites who insist on putting their consent statement before the charity. This results in charities missing out on obtaining permission to contact their donors in future, as donors are often unwilling to provide their consent to both parties. The data shows that the vast majority of donors only want to receive communications from the charity, yet the third-party fundraising platforms are attempting to put themselves first in the relationship.

Overall the report provides very actionable and useful insights including evidence that people are more likely to give generously when they engage directly with a charity’s own website and donors are more willing to be contacted if the subject matter coincides with their existing interests. Charities cannot afford to ignore or underplay this shift towards online activities.  They need to understand and act upon the opportunities these present – from how people prefer to be contacted to the information donors want to receive about the impact of their gifts.”