BALTIMORE, March 30, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The latest survey by The Nonprofit Research Collaborative finds that 73 percent of charities met their fundraising goals in 2014, the best result since the group began asking the question in 2010 and a marked increase over the 63 percent that met goal in 2013.
In addition, 63 percent of 2014 respondents saw growth in funds raised (most nonprofits increase their annual fundraising every year), the best result since the annual surveys began in 2010.
The Nonprofit Research Collaborative's (NRC) Winter 2015 report asked organizations to compare their 2014 fundraising results with what they raised in 2013. The NRC survey collected data from more than 1,200 organizations in the U.S. and Canada about charitable receipts in 2014. The Winter 2015 report is the fifth annual report using the same methods and same questions.
"The strong growth the nonprofit sector is experiencing aligns with the broader economic recovery," said Andrew Watt, FInstF, President and CEO of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, which is one of the seven members of the NRC. "We've been seeing a slow and steady recovery since the end of the recession, but with marked improvements in the stock market, household incomes and consumer confidence in 2014, the slow recovery turned into dramatically increased giving."
Canadian organizations in the survey were less likely to report meeting their fundraising goals and less likely than American charities to see growth. Even so, using both measures, Canadian charities fared better in 2014 than they did in 2013. Two-thirds (66 percent) of Canadian respondents said they met fundraising goals in 2014, markedly above the 52 percent of responding Canadian organizations that met fundraising goals in 2013.
"With generally strong giving across the board, CFRE credentialed fundraisers report more concerns about specific local economies and issues," said Eva Aldrich, CFRE, President and CEO of CFRE International, another of the NRC sponsors. "With public unease about the economy slowly subsiding, charities now must work even harder to engage donors more fully, identifying specific challenges and opportunities for their giving. We've come through the worst of the recession and its impact—now it's time to invest resources into reaching out and creating stronger connections with our supporters."
While one region showed slower growth in giving in 2014 compared with 2013, one method in giving—social media—showed a dramatic shift from prior NRC surveys. Among the 46 percent of organizations that reported using social media for fundraising, 79 percent reported an increase in the amount received. Typically, only about half of organizations using social media experience an increase.
Social media was one of 15 fundraising methods discussed in the survey. While used by less than half of all respondents, it was the method most likely to raise more funds among those organizations using it. The social media question asked about receipts from appeals raised via Facebook, LinkedIn, and other forms.
"While social media is not very likely to generate a vast majority of total charitable giving, it is an important supplement to more traditional channels," said Anne Peyton, CFRE, of Yellow Brick Road Consulting, which is a member firm in the Association of Philanthropic Counsel, another NRC partner. "Charities that use social media to communicate their mission and effectiveness position themselves well for the longer-term gains in the future."
OTHER KEY FINDINGS
70% of participating Arts charities reported an increase in gifts received in 2014, compared with 2013. This is the first time since NRC began collecting data in 2010 that more than 55% of arts organizations have seen growth in charitable gifts. The arts subsector was the most likely of all subsectors to see growth in the amount received in 2014.
Just 56% of health charities reported an increase in gifts received in 2014, a marked decline from the 65 percent that reported growth in 2013. This subsector was the least likely of all studied in 2014 to see a growth in the amount received.
Approximately 60% of bequests are from known, consistent donors. Among surveyed organizations, on average, 41% of bequests received were from people who had made three or more gifts in the prior five years; and an average of 17% came from estates of people who had made one to two gifts in the prior five years.
ABOUT THE SURVEY
The Nonprofit Research Collaborative (NRC) conducts surveys twice a year. Reports are available at www.NPResearch.org (the new report will be available March 30, 2015).
This survey was conducted online and respondents form a convenience sample. There is no margin of error, as it is not a random sample of the population studied. Reported results are statistically significant using chi-square analysis.
ABOUT THE NONPROFIT RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE (NRC)
The NRC is a coalition of fundraising and charitable organizations dedicated to gathering and analyzing the most accurate data possible to help charities become more effective at fundraising. NRC members have direct experience collecting information from nonprofits concerning charitable receipts, fundraising practices, and/or grantmaking activities. NRC partners are the Association of Fundraising Professionals; Association of Fundraising Counsel; CFRE International; Campbell Rinker; Giving USA Foundation; the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning; and the National Center for Charitable Statistics at the Urban Institute.