• by Masha Geller , August 21, 2003

What is the best way to get people to donate money to charitable causes? According to a recent poll, 62% of nonprofits agree that the Internet (email or website) is the best way to generate online donations.

Harry Gruber, CEO and founder of Kintera, which recently conducted an informal web poll asking "What is the key means your nonprofit is using to generate online gifts in 2003," says, "Using the Internet, including email campaigns and engaging websites, is a nonprofit's best resource in generating online donations. It's also interesting that our research shows an increasing reliance on the Internet for marketing."

Although the majority of nonprofit respondents relied on email or their website to motivate contributors to give via the Internet, it was interesting to note that 31% said direct mail was their primary tool to generate online donations, while 3.5% each used telemarketing and advertising/public relations.

Some of the largest nonprofits in the U.S. -- including The Salvation Army, American Lung Association, Special Olympics and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, among others -- are finding that the Internet plays an integral role in their fundraising efforts.

Rusty Burwell, assistant vice president at the American Lung Association's national headquarters in New York, said, "With online donations on average larger than the traditional gifts we get in the mail, the American Lung Association is changing our donor outreach programs to find those willing and able to give more online."