Research :: older donors + digital

YOUR OLDER DONORS WANT TO GIVE ONLINE

At Parachute Digital, we notice that too many organisations still seem reluctant to use digital pathways to communicate with and ask their donors to give. We had an inkling this was mainly because they believed this will alienate their largest donor base – people over 70.

So, we formulated this hypothesis, “charities believe donors over 70 years of age ‘are not online’ and prefer traditional methods – mail and phone – to donate and be communicated with”. From this we decided to do some research to find out what were the digital behaviours and usage of people over 70 and whether they gave online?

What Fundraisers think

What older donors said

What the donation data shows

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

  • We documented our perceived industry assumptions about people over 70 years of age
  • We consulted with fundraisers about their beliefs of how people over 70 use digital devices and the internet
  • We conducted surveys and face-to-face interviews with and about people over 70
  • We reviewed independent third-party data as well as actual website and donation data from Google Analytics for 20 Australian charity websites.

What we found… WE are the problem!

 

Bottom line: younger generations and fundraisers underestimate people over 70’s ability and adaptability when it comes to technology.

Fundraisers and the adult children of people over 70 see and treat this group as though they are completely clueless.

But the overwhelming majority of people over 70 stated they are comfortable in the digital world.

So, are you underestimating your older donors?

Download to read the full report and the actionable steps you can take right now to get more of your older donors to give online.