Progression of The Online Donor

Network for Good, a fund-raising and volunteerism website, charted the evolution of the online donations over the past ten years. A list of how online donations today compare to online donations in 2001 is below:

• Four percent of people gave online in 2001, compared to 65% in 2011
• One-in-ten disaster relief gifts were given to help after September 11, 2001, compared to the one-in-three disaster relief gifts that were given after the earthquake in Japan 2011
• The average online gift in 2001 was $226, while the average online gift in 2011 is $73 (the network notes that “giving has gone mainstream”)
• The amount given through the Network for Good was $3 million in 2001, compared to the $140 million that has been given in 2011
• No one advanced causes through social media in 2011 because the technology was not prevalently used or known; in 2011, 40% of people advance causes through the use of social media

Cody Switzer, Charting a Decade of Online Donations, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Nov. 23, 2011.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (WealthCounsel) for bringing this article to my attention.