Global donor survey spotlights key trends by region

• Published date: 01 February 2018
• Date: 01 February 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30413

NONPROFIT BUSINESS ADVISOR FEBRUARY 2018

6© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

DOI: 10.1002/nba

Nonprot Research

Global donor survey spotlights key trends by region

A recent survey of over 4,000 individual donors

from around the world reveals some key insights into

global charitable giving preferences, including the role

of technology, the most common giving areas and the

popularity of fundraising events and volunteering,

among other topics.

The 2017 Global Trends in Giving Report, spon-

sored by the Public Interest Registry and researched

by Nonprot Tech for Good, examines how donors

prefer to give and engage with their favorite causes

and charitable organizations around the world. The

report summarizes a host of key donor data from

across six continents:

• Africa. According to the report, most nonprots

in Africa do not have access to basic digital technolo-

gies commonly used by charities. Many don’t have

websites, and few have the ability to accept dona-

tions online. However, donors on the continent favor

mobile giving more than anywhere else, the study

showed. Some 16 percent of donors in Africa prefer

to give through mobile devices, which is the highest of

any region. As explained in the report, mobile tech-

nology is how most people in Africa rst get access to

the internet—wireless technology essentially leapfrogs

the infrastructure requirements of landline com-

munications, allowing for geographically dispersed

and isolated communities to get online. Giving to

and engaging with nonprots and nongovernmental

organizations (NGOs) on mobile devices will see fast

growth, and will expand the continent’s donor base

accordingly, the report said.

• Asia. According to the study, giving to charity

is an integral part of cultural norms and religious

practice throughout Asia. Notably, the giving of alms

is common, but not done via third parties or online.

But that’s going to change as access to the internet

and digital technologies expands in the region, the

report said.

“Almsgiving is a part of daily life in much of

Asian society, but it’s not done through technology.

It’s literally person-to-person, though I believe that

will change over the next decade or two,” explained

Heather Manseld, the lead researcher for the report.

“There are vast swaths of Asia that do not have

access to the internet or just recently got access to

the internet. Without a doubt, when you combine

the practice of giving alms with a rising middle class

throughout Asia, online giving will be transformative

in Asia,” she said.

• Australia and Oceania. According to the report,

donors in Australia and New Zealand have embraced

online giving, but organizations in the Pacic Islands

are struggling to build their online presence. One of

the main issues is connectivity—internet access can

be unreliable, so nonprots are reluctant to invest

heavily in this arena.

Having just returned from a working trip to Fiji/

Oceania where she trained Fijian organizations how

to get online for the rst time, Manseld witnessed

this digital gap rsthand.

“There were organizations in attendance that have

been in existence for more than 20 years, but without

a website or even a Facebook page,” she said.

However, these donors are the most likely to attend

fundraising events of all the regions studied. There

might be a cultural component to this—fundraising

events may also serve as popular cultural or social

events in small Oceania communities, especially where

populations spend signicantly less time online.

• Europe. European donors are the most likely

to give to nonprots and NGOs located outside of

their country of residence—something that is tied to

Europe’s cultural diversity, geography and history.

“Europe’s close proximity to Africa and Asia

and its connection to their colonial past does play

a role,” Manseld said. Many European countries

were colonial powers in Africa and Asia, and that

past relationship manifests today in greater knowl-

edge and understanding of these other countries

and regions—and, ultimately, greater willingness to

contribute to social causes in those countries.

Manseld also said the rise in international travel

has had an impact over the last 20 years in how Euro-

peans give internationally, and the refugee crisis con-

fronting Europe more recently is also playing a role.

• North America. Online giving in North America

is higher than in other parts of the world for a simple

reason—fundraising technology and social media

originated in North America, so Canadian and U.S.

donors have had two decades to acclimate themselves

to giving online and using technology to engage

(See GLOBAL on page 8)