Salesforce.org Delivers the First-Ever "Connected Nonprofit Report" for an In-Depth Look Into the Current State of Giving

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Salesforce.org, the philanthropic arm of Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), today released its "2016 Connected Nonprofit Report," surveying more than 1,500 U.S. adults who have donated and/or volunteered at nonprofits in the past 12 months, to understand the current state of giving and how people engage with nonprofit organizations.

There is a cultural shift happening in the nonprofit sector where the measure of nonprofit success is no longer based on the amount of dollars raised, but on the impact they're making on the communities they serve. Consequently, donors and volunteers expect more transparency, and want to know how their time and money is impacting the causes they support. Salesforce.org's "2016 Connected Nonprofit Report" found that 90% of donors think it's important to understand how their money is impacting the nonprofits they support, but more than half (52%) don't know how their donations are being used.

Greater use of technology has also played an important role in changing the landscape of the nonprofit sector. Because of this, many volunteers and donors expect organizations to tailor communications and experiences to their personal preferences. In fact, the report found that 65% of donors would give more money and 75% of volunteers would give more time annually if they felt their nonprofit knew their personal preferences.

The study was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Salesforce.org from September 9-13, 2016. To download the Salesforce.org "2016 Connected Nonprofit Report," please visit: http://salesforce.org/connected-nonprofit-report-16

Key Report Findings:
Nonprofits could be losing volunteer time and money by not engaging with their constituents in more personalized and modern ways

• 65% of donors would donate more money annually if they felt their nonprofits really knew them—and 75% of volunteers would give more time annually
• 80% of donors and/or volunteers believe that their nonprofit only somewhat knows or does not at all know them or their personal preferences
• Millennial supporters (aged 18-34) agree that they would engage more with nonprofits (46%)—and would be more likely to donate (41%)—if they had a mobile app

While supporters are still engaging with nonprofits in more traditional ways, they want to engage with nonprofits through modern technology

• 30% of millennial supporters are learning about opportunities through social media, nearly triple the percentage of baby boomers aged 55+ (11%)
• 48% of millennial donors would prefer to donate through an organization's website, and 19% via a donations mobile app
• The top two ways donors give money today are in-person (51%) and by mail (43%)

Comments on the News

• "The expectations of volunteers and donors are changing—they want more transparency, personalization and modern forms of communication from their nonprofit organizations," said Allyson Fryhoff, Chief Customer Officer at Salesforce.org. "There's a clear opportunity for nonprofits to leverage technology to improve the relationships with their donors and volunteers, which ultimately can help them achieve their critical missions."
• "At DonorsChoose.org, our project recommendation emails are some of our best donor engagement tools. These emails suggest a unique classroom project each donor might like to support based on their past donations and searches," said Katie Bisbee, chief marketing officer at the education crowdfunding nonprofit. "Everyone donates time and money for different reasons. Nonprofits need to understand what motivates their supporters to give, and use every tool available to demonstrate real impact and make giving personal."

Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Salesforce.org from September 9-13, 2016. There were a total of 2,093 U.S. respondents, ages 18 and older, among whom 1,609 had supported a nonprofit in the past 12 months. This online survey is not based on a probability sample, and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Annie Vincent at [email protected]. To download the full "2016 Connected Nonprofit Report," please visit: http://salesforce.org/connected-nonprofit-report-16

About Salesforce.org
Salesforce.org is a nonprofit social enterprise with a mission to empower its community of stakeholders to accelerate impact in a whole new way. It impacts thousands of organizations and the millions of people they serve by delivering the world's best nonprofit and educational technology solutions at affordable rates. It also inspires employee giving by matching their donations and driving volunteer engagement in the community. And it leverages a unique self-sustaining model to generously re-invest the revenue generated back into the community through strategic grants focused on education and workforce development.

Since 1999, Salesforce technology has powered more than 30,000 nonprofit and education institutions; Salesforce and its philanthropic entities have provided more than $137 million in grants; and Salesforce employees have logged more than 1.8 million volunteer hours around the world.

Salesforce, Salesforce.org and others are among the trademarks of salesforce.com, inc. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

© 2016 salesforce.com, inc. and Salesforce.org. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Salesforce.org

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