Blackbaud Charitable Giving Report reveals 32% rise in UK online giving during 2020

Online giving grew by 32% in the UK last year, although overall giving decreased by 6%, according to Blackbaud’s annual Charitable Giving Report.

Predominately a US-focused report, based on data from 8,833 of the country’s nonprofit organisations, and online data from just over half that (4,964 organisations), it also includes sections on Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.

In the US, it reveals that in 2020, charitable giving grew by 2%, while online giving grew by 20.7% compared to 2019.

In the UK however, where it tracks more than €360.3 million (£310 million) from approximately 300 organisations in charitable giving, it found that overall charitable giving decreased by 5.9% year-on-year, but that online giving grew more than in the US, with a 32.0% increase. Overall, it shows, UK organisations received 4.3% of their total fundraising from online giving.

This year’s report also includes international figures from JustGiving, which has helped people in 164 countries raise over €3.75 billion ($4.5 billion) for good causes since 2000. Supporting Blackbaud’s findings, it reveals that while the pandemic impacted large charity participation events, the online fundraising platform saw strong giving rates throughout the year as more individuals launched appeals, with the number of donations to charity appeals rose 199% year on year. In-memory appeals also saw an increase in donations of 56%, while donations from active events such as marathons fell 48%.

Steve MacLaughlin, vice president, product management, Blackbaud, and senior advisor to the Blackbaud Institute commented:

“Each year, we produce the Charitable Giving Report to give social good organisations a comprehensive look at how giving performed and to provide best practices that will help organisations boost their fundraising, While 2020 presented a multitude of hardships, we saw significant resiliency in the social good sector and growth in giving. It was truly a year of digital transformation as online giving growth proved to be an integral part of the modern nonprofit’s strategy.”