New Report from Classy Uncovers Online Giving Patterns from The Virtual Fundraising Environment of 2020 Across 9.4 Million Donations

SAN DIEGO, May 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Classy, a Certified B Corp that creates world-class fundraising software for nonprofits, released its fourth-annual The State of Modern Philanthropy 2021 report today. The report, subtitled "Future-Proofing Your Fundraising," provides a breakdown of the latest online fundraising trends by analyzing Classy's proprietary platform data from more than 9.4 million unique donations, totaling over $1 billion across 46,000 active nonprofit campaigns throughout 2020. The data explores how the events of 2020 accelerated the shift to online fundraising, and how nonprofits can safeguard and ready their organizations for an unpredictable future.

"Every year, we look at the millions of transactions that occur on our platform to provide nonprofits with data-driven insights through our The State of Modern Philanthropy report. Our hope is these findings spur new and impactful strategies for nonprofits to add to their fundraising portfolios and to explore how technology can improve supporter acquisition, drive more recurring revenue, and help build lasting donor relationships," said Soraya Alexander, Senior Vice President of Customer Growth and Marketing at Classy. "This year's report takes key learnings from an uncharacteristic year of fundraising and showcases ways nonprofits can future-proof their operations to tackle the next challenging moment and insulate themselves from further crises."  

Key findings from this year's report include:

• Inviting event attendees to fundraise on your behalf leads to 4.5 times greater revenue: Events, even virtual ones, that offered a peer-to-peer fundraising option raised a median amount 4.5 times greater than offering a ticketed event alone. Not only did this option lead to increased fundraising revenue, but it also helped organizations acquire new donors. In fact, the report revealed that four out of five donors who gave to an individual fundraising on behalf of an organization were first-time supporters. This data demonstrates the power of offering supporters more engagement options, especially during a time when many craved connection.
  
• Recurring giving continues to serve as a powerful tool for boosting supporter conversion and retention rates: Organizations with revenue greater than $50 million grew their percent of total revenue collected through recurring gifts from 26% in 2019 to 37% in 2020. As nearly 20% of total giving on Classy's platform is done by donors who "subscribe" to nonprofits and pledge to give on a regular basis, this new data reinforces the importance of recurring giving to an organization's ability to scale, and underscores that organizations should continue to look for ways to boost recurring donations in an effort to provide a more predictable revenue stream.
  
• Donation matches present a huge opportunity to increase funds raised: Campaigns that leveraged donation matching raised 3 to 5 times more than those that did not. While many organizations believe a corporate partnership is the only way to secure a match, nonprofits can also strategically structure one large gift or a group of gifts as a match challenge to instill a sense of urgency for donors and encourage them to stretch their dollar. Organizations that tap into donation matches as a regular strategy stand to raise more throughout the year.
  
• The convenience of multiple payment methods, such as automated clearing house processing (ACH), help boost donor retention: The average monthly recurring gift made through ACH was 55% larger than recurring gifts made with credit cards. In a similar vein, Classy saw an 11-14% lift in mobile conversion rates when digital wallets were enabled. If nonprofits want to future-proof their organizations, they must optimize the giving experience by offering multiple payment options that meet donors where they are and how they want to engage.

To download The State of Modern Philanthropy 2021 report, click here.

About Classy
Classy is a social enterprise that creates world-class online fundraising software for nonprofits, modernizing the giving experience to accelerate social impact around the world. Based in San Diego, CA, Classy is trusted by organizations of all sizes, from the fastest-growing nonprofits to some of the world's largest social organizations. Classy also hosts the Collaborative conference and the Classy Awards to spotlight the innovative work nonprofits are implementing around the globe. For more information, visit www.classy.org or follow Classy on Twitter @Classy.

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