Many fundraising strategists assume the millennial age group, as digital-social-mobile junkies, should be the top target of online giving strategy. Not so, according to the latest survey commissioned by Dunham+Company, a nonprofit marketing firm. The study found that older donors, those aged 40-59, now are the most likely to give online, with 67% donating online in 2015, a 20% rise since the survey started in 2010. A smaller 54% of those under 40 years old reported donating via website in 2015, down from 60% in 2014 and mirroring the 54% online giving by those over 60. Which channels are driving online giving today? E-mail appeals are growing response, with 20% donating online as a result of an e-mail in 2015, up from 6% in 2010. But direct mail continues to spur online donors, too, with 11% saying they gave online because of a direct mail appeal. Older donors, per conventional wisdom, are more influenced by direct mail, with 19% of those over 66 years old inspired to give online by a direct mail appeal, compared with 8% of those under 40. Social media, a presumed catalyst of millennial charity, is having more online-giving impact--but not because of charities' direct appeals. Community and engagement are the engine of social media fundraising, with more donors in 2015 (26%) making online donations at the urging of another individual (friend/influencer) on social media than in 2014 (20%). The basic lesson, per Dunham, is the importance of a multichannel strategy across age cohorts. The survey's direct mail trends support that conclusion: While 36% of those responding to a direct mail appeal sent their donation through the mail last year, the majority (51%) said they go online to contribute, and 18% will make that online donation using a mobile device! For more from the survey: http://www.dunhamandcompany.com/2016/01/survey-shows-aging-donors-most-likely-to-give-online/#sthash.38GD6IY2.dpbs
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