3 Proven Techniques to Boost Performance

Love him or hate him, when author and activist Dan Pallotta pointed out that giving has remained flat, at 2 percent GDP, for the past 40 years, he caused many in the nonprofit sector to take a long, hard look at how we evaluate fundraising performance.

Yep, you read that right. Flat. Not a pretty picture. But there is a bright side. And that bright side is online giving.

While online giving accounts for only 7 percent of total giving, we’ve seen funds raised online grow by double digits for the past four years with an 11 percent jump in 2012. In a few weeks, we’ll know how 2013 ended up, but for now let’s just assume it’s going to be a much bigger jump than overall fundraising.

It’s no surprise, right? I mean, what’s the first thing you do in the morning — after your coffee? Check email? Facebook? Twitter? All of the above? Maybe that doesn’t totally describe your routine, but it absolutely describes the habits of a large and growing population of people around the world. And it’s spot-on when you talk about Generations X and Y — your future major donors, sustainer givers and biggest advocates! If that fact alone doesn’t move you to build your online fundraising program, then I’m not sure what’s going to!

Now, there are some who suggest that the growth in online giving is simply a shift of funds from one channel to another versus a shift in overall giving or sign of greater possibilities. It’s a logical conclusion, but it’s also a flawed one. You see, if we choose to live in a world where new opportunities like that of the Internet and online giving are squashed, then we might as well close up shop and go home.