By Rob Whittle, CEO, Williams Whittle

I’ve always believed that if you’re the person who can say, “I just spoke to your customer base; wanna hear what they had to say?”, you get the microphone. That is what Williams Whittle, in conjunction with Karen Beck from KB Insights, has done with our study of nonprofit donors. We’ve attempted to answer questions like, what are the primary motivators to giving?; what are the most favored categories of charities?; which age cohorts are most likely to give?; what are the new opportunities open to nonprofits with respect to donations? And much more.

For example, while email is the preferred method by which donors wish to communicate, snail mail is a close second. TV, not digital, remains the number-one source for news. While the majority of donors give to the same causes, a big opportunity for first-time gifts still exists. Most donors prefer to give locally, pointing out the need for national nonprofits to find a local angle when they solicit donations. Of nonprofits most favored by donors, poverty/human services and health charities top the list.

Some other important questions that are answered in this survey: Not surprisingly, a nonprofit’s mission is the number-one motivator in giving. But what are the other, very compelling motivators? What population gives at a great rate, and where does your nonprofit type rank? How did COVID affect giving, and what is its likely impact going forward? How impactful are PSAs to giving? Which social media platforms are most influential? 

These and many other issues are addressed in the Williams Whittle KB Insights Donor Survey. For your free copy of the full report click here.     

For more on “Ideas that Generate Change for Nonprofits”, visit our website. 

Williams Whittle is a Capitol Communicator sponsor.