Giving Increases Despite Financial Setbacks

There’s something about Christmas that warms the heart and touches the soul. Whether it be the traditions that we continue to honor year after year or the spirit of giving that swirls around us like a crisp winter breeze, there’s just something that unites us and transforms the mundane into the spectacular.

From the twinkling lights draped on the Christmas tree, to the eyes of a child that sparkle with anticipation on Christmas morning, the season is aglow with generosity and brotherhood. With the warmth of the season, many charities and non-profits are feeling the prosperity of the holidays and the sacrificial giving of thoughtful donors.

At this time of year, it’s interesting to note that the less fortunate are on giving lists right next to beloved family members. It’s well known and accepted that Christmas is the season when charities reap the largest amounts of donations and this is the month when these organizations play catch up for the shortcomings of the 11 not as prosperous months. The American Red Cross confirms these notions with the following facts:

• 80 percent of respondents felt their finances are either the same or worse than they were last year.
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• Sixty-eight percent of Americans believe that because of the economy, it’s important to give something to charity a 10 percentage point increase over the 58 percent who felt that way last year.
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• More than half (55 percent) say they feel bad about spending money on gifts people might not use.
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• 79 percent agreed that they would rather have charitable donation in their honor than get a gift they wouldn’t use.

I think what we can glean from these statistics is that although people seem to be stagnating on their overall income, they are feeling more compassion for their less fortunate counterparts and are willing to make sacrifices to help the less fortunate.

I can’t help but ponder what has made donors more aware of the plight of those in need: is it celebrities highlighting causes that fuel their passions, television commercials that bring the harsh realities of life into the living rooms of the common man, or social media which keeps donors abreast of the victories and fundraising challenges their organization is facing?

Regardless of the cause, it seems like many in our nation are becoming more compassionate, and that is always a good thing for the non-profit industry (regardless of the time of year.)

SplashMedia Highlights Fundly’s Impact on Holiday Giving

I had the privilege of sharing with SplashMedia the exciting work that is being done here at Fundly to aid non-profits in social media fundraising. With the holidays upon us, Fundly has been a vehicle in promoting holiday giving campaigns and we are eager to share success stories. This is the best time of year to raise funds, and social media is the best way to do it!

SplashMedia is a team of marketers who mix technology and creativity to reach the masses. Always on the cutting edge, SplashMedia promotes companies via social media networks with stellar results. It was an honor to be interviewed by writer Renay San Miguel and to have the spotlight on Fundly this week.

The holidays inspire people to go the extra mile to help those who are down on their luck or need an extra little boost. I was eager to share some examples of the charities that we are privileged to help with our social media online giving program. We are promoting some really inspirational campaigns, all the way from helping people with illnesses to buying kids bicycles for Christmas to getting equipment into schools for end-of-year drives. It really is a magical time of the year!

In addition to holiday campaigns, I was also thrilled that I was able to share how easy Fundly is to use. Fundly takes the promise of social media for non-profits as an inexpensive, user-friendly way for these organizations to raise money and ties it to a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform. Organizations can set up campaign microsites in five minutes using Fundly, which then helps manage their social media pages for fundraising and recruiting purposes. Fundly also provides a Facebook app that can help incentivize the donation process. Since 2009, Fundly has helped non-profits raise more than $230 million.

The word is getting out that social media is the key to success in non-profit fundraising, and Fundly is the best way that I can think of to accomplish that goal – especially during the holidays. Our mission is to bring world-class, best of class fundraising tools to all non-profits, no matter what size or budget.

Holiday Giving Looks Promising

The holidays are busy for everyone, but I think non-profits are somewhere at the top of that list. The holidays tend to be the time when financial donations increase, outreach programs are set on the calendar, volunteers are knocking at the door and direct mail campaigns are flooding donor mail boxes. It seems a great time to catch up on a depleting budget when many people are feeling the generosity of the season. Even with a sagging economy, it is projected that donations will be going strong from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

The American Red Cross conducted a survey that had some pleasantly surprising results. The Huffington Post reports the findings which state that, “seven in 10 Americans plan to give more, or about the same, this holiday season. That’s a 10 percentage point increase from last year.”

Many Americans are cutting back on gift giving and party plans, but their generosity has been impacted by the high unemployment rate. “Despite the difficult economy Americans want to give to help others in need,” said Red Cross President and CEO Gail J. McGovern. “With so many people out of work, they want to give something that means something.”

There are some interesting results that also came from this survey of 1,020 adults:

• 79% agreed that they would rather have a charitable gift given in their honor than receive a gift they wouldn’t use. (What does this mean for the “As Seen on TV” market?!)
• 7 out of 10 people say they plan to give about the same or more this holiday season as they did last year.
• 4 in 5 people said helping someone less fortunate is an important part of their holiday traditions
• 68% of people agreed that because of the economy, it’s important to give to charity
• While about 40% will spend less on entertaining, travel and decorations, only 30% will spend less on gifts and 26% will spend less on charitable donations.
• Here are the gender differences in giving: “Seventy percent of women said helping out the less fortunate gets them get through the holidays, while only 61 percent of men agreed. But, men hardly turn into the Grinch when it comes to opening up their wallets. One-third of men plan to donate more than $100, while one-fifth of women said they’ll offer up that much.”

The bad news: it looks like the holidays are going to be as busy as ever. The good news: it looks like the holidays are going to be as busy as ever!

Start up your own or join and support a fundraising campaign to benefit a charity that is close to you this holiday season and make giving fun on Fundly!