4 Nonprofit Giving Predictions for 2015

My company, Fashion Project, is the industry leader in online clothing donation and supports thousands of charities. It is a marketplace for new and gently used women’s designer clothing and accessories where 55 percent of the net proceeds go to the donor’s charity of choice.

Here are four nonprofit giving trends gleaned from data pulled from thousands of donations made last year through Fashion Project to a wide variety of nonprofit types:

• Online donations: increased by 14 percent in 2013. We’ll see a continued upward trend in 2015.
• Social media sharing: Along with music, books and brands, etc., charitable giving will soon become one of the many ways people showcase themselves via social media. Causes will be something they’re proud of and excited to share with friends and social networks.
• Immediate impact: Donors want to see their impact immediately. Our most successful charities allow for personal connections to those benefiting from the donations.
  • Example: The National Education for Assistance Dog Services (NEADS) provides dogs for deaf and disabled Americans. During a campaign with Fashion Project, it showcased Jessica Kensky’s amazing story. After losing her leg in the Boston Marathon bombing, she received a NEADS dog that helped her by opening doors and pushing elevator buttons with his nose and paws. He also gave her a reason to get out of bed in the morning when she was incredibly depressed about what had happened to her. Her personal story resonated with donors.
• Charity transparency: With the advent of resources such as Charity Navigator, donors are becoming smarter and about how charities are spending their funds. As such, we’re seeing increasing support toward charities that are transparent about where funds go.

In addition, here are some giving trends from 2014:

• Localized giving: particularly to religious organizations and local services organizations like food banks and homeless shelters
• Individual education: enables trackable donation impact
  • Example: In 2014, Fashion Project provided 76 girls hands-on programming and mentoring through donations to Girls Inc.
• Health organizations: People provided support for people who can’t afford health care and that focus on research.
  • Example 1: In 2014, Fashion Project supported 210 blood cancer patients through Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Patient Financial Aid process.
  • Example 2: In 2014, Fashion Project helped fund 180 hours of innovative childhood cancer research through CancerFree KIDS.

Christine Rizk is co-founder and president of charity re-commerce destination Fashion Project.