At Care2, we are always learning from our clients and partners. For example, in the first weeks of the pandemic, we began to see trends that demonstrate how strongly donors and advocates feel about supporting the causes they care about, even in unprecedented times.
Here’s what we’ve noticed about online giving from a Care2 perspective: Twenty per cent more Care2 members gave in March 2020 than they did during March of last year, and their rate of giving has been increasing.
In fact, the last two weeks of April were the best weeks of 2020 for 46% of partners who have shared data with us.
When comparing the first half of April, to the last half of March, 69% of partners using our donation pixel saw an increase in donors.
We know this result is tied to consistent and honest communication.
Charities have been talking to supporters throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and those who are communicating with honest and engaging emails are seeing the strongest response rates.
And that communication goes both ways. Donors, volunteers, and advocates for good causes want to hear from the organisations they support, even if those groups are not directly involved in pandemic relief efforts.
Here at Care2, it’s common for members to tell us: “I want to know how I can help.”
There’s another important insight we’d like to share. It’s what we’ve noticed about the types of organisations receiving support from individuals online.
It’s not surprising that volume across our platform has been up. Social distancing has driven people to spend more time on laptops and smartphones where they are paying more attention to emails and online appeals.
However, we were surprised to see that petition and pledge-signing traffic on the Care2 platform remains strong across multiple verticals, including non-health categories like wildlife, social justice, and international development.
Donors are responding to the causes they care about. They are not abandoning organisations they already support in favour of a different cause.
Care2.com is a social enterprise, using business as a force for good to connect charities with supporters who are passionate about the causes they support. Petition-driven community-building has added more than 20 million Care2 members to the lists of more than 2,700 organisations, resulting in millions raised for good causes.