Donor Giving Trends for Today and Tomorrow, Part 2

“People are very careful now in how they give money and where,” Holman said. “Donors are doing a lot more homework than in the past, doing research on charities before they decide to give.”

According to Russ Reid’s Heart of the Donor report, people research charities in the following ways:

• talk to someone who supports the charity;
• 62 percent of respondents visit the organization’s website, and 56 percent search the Internet for news;
• check with watchdog organizations (i.e., Charity Navigator, GuideStar);
• visit the organization in person.

Despite more research and more demands for efficiency, Holman said, “the No. 1 reason people make gifts is belief in the mission of the organization.” Thus, some traditional trends are still true: