Google for Nonprofits Blog: Ready, set, give! Giving season is here

For Nonprofits Blog

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Ready, set, give! Giving season is here

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

It’s that time of year again. While shoppers gear up for the holiday season, nonprofits are preparing for a season of their of own: giving season. From October to December, more than a third of nonprofit fundraising happens, according to Blackbaud’s Charitable Giving Report. But interest starts even earlier. In fact, from August to September of 2012, we saw a 21% increase in donation related searches on Google.¹

So, we're kicking off an occasional series full of tips to help you get the most out of giving season. We'll cover best practices to engage donors, strategies to increase donations online and offline and how to make sure your organization stays organized and efficient through the busy season. Check out our Google+ page, Twitter and blog for these tips and tricks tagged #givingseason. To get started, we're sharing insights from a new survey from Google and Millward Brown Digital about the digital path to donation. The team surveyed roughly 1,000 donors and analyzed their online behavior from October 2012 through March 2013. They also analyzed Google query data to uncover major trends in donor behavior online.
Here’s a few key takeaways.

Research starts online. 75% of respondents said they started their donation research online.²

Mobile is a constant companion. 40% of respondents conduct research and 25% donate on a mobile device.³

Mission and brand influence the final decision. 74% donate because they believe in the mission.⁴

If you want to explore more of the data from this study, check out our interactive databoard. We'll also be inviting the folks who conducted this research to share more about their findings and what nonprofits can do to take advantage in 2013. If you’re excited about a particular opportunity, make sure to visit us throughout the season as we discuss these ideas.
Posted by Katie Kellogg, Google for Nonprofits team

^{^{[1] Google Internal Data}}

^{^{[2] Compete/Google Nonprofits Study, July 2013; RT1: Which of the following sources, if any, did you use to look for info on non-profit orgs?}}

^{^{[3] Compete/Google Nonprofits Study, July 2013; M5: Which of the following, if any, did you do on your mobile device while interacting with non-profit orgs?}}

^{^{[4] Compete/Google Nonprofits Study, July 2013; O2. Why did you donate to this nonprofit/charitable organization? Please select all that apply. N = 827}}