First and foremost, a very warm welcome to 2013 from WeDidIt! Hopefully everybody enjoyed the holidays and new year's celebrations. We're back in the office, looking full steam ahead into 2013 and what's coming up. As online fundraising becomes more prevalent, it also becomes more measurable and quantifiable. This provides us with increasingly accurate insights into how, why, and where people are giving.

To itemize what to expect in giving trends for 2013, let's take a quick look at 2012. For anybody interested in an in-depth look at giving statistics, I highly recommend you read through this awesome report by Blackbaud:

Donor Perspectives: An Investigation into what Drives Your Donors to Give

The trends they identified can offer huge insights into online & social media strategies for non-profits in 2013. To name a few of the heavy hitters:

28% of Americans said they'd stopped making regular donations . The biggest reason given for this (besides a change in the donor's personal finances) is "a feeling that the charity was not making the best use of its financial resources." Another big motivating factor for this trend was "Access to information that proved the impact of their contributions." This should be a strong argument in favor . The biggest reason given for this (besides a change in the donor's personal finances) is "a feeling that the charity was not making the best use of its financial resources." Another big motivating factor for this trend was "Access to information that proved the impact of their contributions." This should be a strong argument in favor the transparency of all-or-nothing crowdfunding campaigns, where every donor knows exactly where their money goes.

40% of Americans under the age of 35 said they used a mobile device like a phone or a tablet to make a donation . Another half of them said that they used their smart phone or tablet to browse non-profit websites and emails. As mobile fundraising becomes a prominent way that donors connect with organizations, it's essential that non-profits capitalize on the trend by looking towards mobile fundraising solutions.

. Another half of them said that they used their smart phone or tablet to browse non-profit websites and emails. As mobile fundraising becomes a prominent way that donors connect with organizations, it's essential that non-profits capitalize on the trend by looking towards mobile fundraising solutions. Donors don't feel acknowledged by the organizations they support. 20% of donors said they'd never heard back or been thanked for their donation , according to NTEN. Again, integrating rewards into your campaign is a seminal reason that crowdfunding campaigns dig deep to engage your donors.

, according to NTEN. Again, integrating rewards into your campaign is a seminal reason that crowdfunding campaigns dig deep to engage your donors. Donors give nearly 70% of what they donate annually to their favorite charity. If you're a non-profit, you need to discern what makes you somebody's favorite. There are over 1.8 million IRS-recognized-tax-exempt organizations in the United States, and chances are there are non-profits with a mission similar to yours. What makes yours somebody's favorite? If you can't answer that, ask and find out.

Learning from these trends is how we improve fundraising efforts moving forward. For some more quick figures, take a look at this very useful infographic on Social Media's Impact on Giving in 2012. As we look forward to the rest of the new year, it's important to have past trends in mind so that you know how to plan for the months ahead. How are you going to grow your online fundraising in 2013?

@mdshreve

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