News/Stats/Studies

People expect nonprofits that provide disaster aid to use social networks to communicate, according to a new survey by the American Red Cross.

Eighty percent of Americans said they expect national relief groups to monitor their social-media feeds and websites where disaster victims might make urgent requests for help. And they expect those groups to act quickly. About 35 percent of respondents said that it is reasonable to expect assistance to arrive within an hour after a request for help is posted online.

A new survey reports that two out of three Americans (68 percent) say they will cut back on giving to charity in the coming months because of economic uncertainty or personal financial blows.

The study of 487 adults who donated at least $20 in the past year was conducted in mid-August by the market-research firm Campbell Rinker for Dunham+Company, a Dallas firm that advises nonprofits on fund raising and management.

The Meyer Foundation and CompassPoint Nonprofit Services released The Board Paradox, completing a series of three briefs based on a national study of more than 3,000 nonprofit executive directors. The briefs report survey results and findings not included in the Daring to Lead 2011 main report, which was released in late June. The three briefs in the series are:

• Leading Through a Recession
• Inside the Executive Director Job
• The Board Paradox

After about two years of turmoil and uncertainty, Radio KDNA in Granger, Wash., may be headed for better days under the reins of a west-side nonprofit. Sea Mar Community Health Centers based in Seattle could officially begin operating the Spanish-language station known as "the voice of the farm worker" Aug. 12, said Sea Mar Executive Director Rogelio Riojas.

Sea Mar is waiting for the station's board of directors to officially sign off on the deal, which could happen as early as this week.

When brands exhibit inconsistencies, consumers find it hard to swallow proclamations of corporate social responsibility (CSR), according to a forthcoming Journal of Consumer Research study.

Researchers found that CSR messages from brands associated with excitement and openness (Apple) or tradition and conservation (Aunt Jemima) are swiftly understood and accepted. On the contrary, when brands that suggest luxury, power, or status (Rolex) espouse their good deeds, their efforts aren't as well-received.

While ninety-six percent of Americans say they can identify two to three causes that are important to them personally, only 37 percent of Americans actually have purchased a produced associated with a cause in the last year, a new survey says.

And 74 percent of 1,000 adults age 18 and older who took an online survey conducted by communications company MSLGROUP agree there often is too much of a disconnect between the causes companies support and the brands and products they sell, while 67 percent believe companies only support causes to sell products.

The results of an online poll allowing fundraisers from around the world to shape sessions at the International Fundraising Congress (IFC) have been announced, giving the Resource Alliance, which organises the IFC, a fascinating insight into the views of the fundraising community. Fundraisers were asked to share their opinions on issues which will form the basis of sessions at the IFC delivered by six well-known speakers – Karen Osborne, Stephen George, Anne-Marie Grey, Fiona Duncan, AJ Leon and Nick Allen.

The number of Americans who volunteer dropped slightly in 2010, according to a new federal report.

Nearly 63 million Americans, slightly more than a quarter of the population, volunteered for charities last year, providing services valued at nearly $173-billion. That’s down from 2009, when 63.4 million adults, or nearly 27 percent of the population, donated their time.

The volunteer rate has not changed significantly since 2006, hovering around 26 percent. Volunteerism reached nearly 29 percent from 2003 to 2005 and has been as low as 20.4 percent in 1989, says the report.

Convio offers six recommendations in a new study to successfully integrating all marketing channels to communicate with donors and supporters.

Network for Good has updated The Network for Good Online Giving Index with insights and trends from the first two quarters of 2011. This Index builds on data and observations from The Online Giving Study released last December and is updated quarterly to provide timely and relevant snapshots of the state of online charitable giving.