Getting to the Heart of the Donor

Even among the youngest donors, 41 percent had still given by mail in the last 12 months. And among people 40 to 54, 57 percent had given by mail, while just 38 percent had given online. Now, add the annual value of these segments and here's the bottom line:

• 18- to 24-year-olds, the segment that strongly prefers online but still gives to mail: 30 million of them are donating, and they're currently worth $362 on an annual basis.
• 55- to 69-year-olds, the segment most predisposed to give via mail: 47 million of them are donating, and they're currently giving $805 on an annual basis.
• 70-plus-year-olds, the segment that is 71 percent responsive to mail: They give $1,186 annually, meaning the average older donor gives more than three times as much as the average younger donor.

These findings offer a different perspective than one we are increasingly hearing from marketers who declare, "We need to become less reliant on mail and move our fundraising online." Their motives are good; they want to be forward-thinking and responsive to what they think the market is telling them. But this viewpoint is not actually responding to the market, nor is it donor-centric, because the highest-value donors are still giving via mail and younger donors are still using both.