Schools got a big boost from online giving last year

Schools raised 27% more money online last year than they did in 2017, driven by more donors and higher giving, particularly via mobile devices, according to a new report from GiveCampus.

Highlights from the report include:

• Schools received support from 14% more online donors than in 2017, including 22% during December
• Fundraising in December was up 48% in 2018 compared to the previous year
• On average, online donors gave 11% more than they did in 2017, including 20% more in December
• Almost 30% of all donations tracked via GiveCampus in 2018 were online, compared with just 13% and 11% in 2017 and 2016, respectively
• In 2018, the size of the largest online donations in a single transaction increased by almost 17% compared to 2017 and almost 40% compared to 2016, up from $50,000 to $70,000 over the two years
• The average first-year value of a recurring gift increased by almost 35% year-over-year and was 2.5 times the average value of a one-time gift

Founded in 2014, GiveCampus is used by more than 600 colleges, universities and K-12 schools. The six-page report is based on data collected during the past four years. Total giving was about $450 million during those four years, with almost $100 million raised online.

The most recent Voluntary Support of Education survey from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education estimated giving to colleges and universities at a record $43.6 billion in 2017, up more than 6%. The 2018 survey is expected to be released in the next several weeks.

More than 50% of prospective donors on a giving page accessed it through a mobile device, and as many as 55% in the second half of 2018, according to Linder. Of that mobile traffic, more than 80% was from an Apple device (iPhone or Ipad). One in 10 donors used Apple Pay to donate last year, which jumped to almost 17% on #GivingTuesday.