"With the exception of the months immediately following the Haiti earthquake, the Index shows that human services organizations have struggled to maintain positive year-over-year growth in 2010," said Steve MacLaughlin, Blackbaud's director of Internet solutions. "Online fundraising has been the exception to this trend and has continued to have year-over-year growth for the past 12 consecutive months. As nonprofits enter the final months of the year, it will be important to watch for signs of recovery and stability. The vast majority of online fundraising takes place during the final three months of the year, and year-over-year growth during this timeframe will be very important to organizations."

The Blackbaud Index of Charitable Giving launched in June 2010 and was followed by the release of The Blackbaud Index of Online Giving in July. These indices are updated on the 15th of each month and are based on a three-month moving average of year-over-year percent changes in revenue. They represent the most comprehensive and timely sources of charitable giving available. (Read more about the methodology at www.blackbaud.com/blackbaudindex.)

The Blackbaud Index of Charitable Giving

The Blackbaud Index of Charitable Giving reports that overall revenue increased by 1.4% for the 3 months ending August 2010 as compared to the same period in 2009. This was a move back into positive territory from July's 4.5% decline. This trend is based on $2.2 billion in 12-month revenue accumulated from 1,364 nonprofit organizations.

Blackbaud also provides additional data and analysis that reports on organizations by size. Here, the Index found that three-month overall revenue for small organizations (prior year revenue of < $1 million) increased 11.2 percent during the 3 months ending August 2010, while overall revenue at medium organizations (prior year revenue of $1 - 10 million) decreased 1.9 percent, and overall revenue at large organizations (prior year revenue > $10 million) decreased 0.2% percent during the same period.

The newly released Blackbaud Index of Charitable Giving for human services organizations reports an overall revenue decrease of 19.3% for the 3 months ending August 2010 as compared to the same period in 2009. This trend is based on $640 million in 12-month revenue from 431 human services organizations.

The Blackbaud Index of Online Giving

The Blackbaud Index of Online Giving reports that overall revenue increased by 20.4% for the 3 months ending August 2010 as compared to the same period in 2009. This was an increase over July's positive trend of 12.4% growth. This trend is based on $407 million in 12-month online revenue from 1,676 organizations.

The Index found that three-month online revenue for small organizations (prior year revenue of < $1 million) increased 28.7 percent in August, while revenue at medium organizations (prior year revenue of $1 - 10 million) increased 14.3 percent, and revenue at large organizations (prior year revenue > $10 million) increased 23 percent.

The Blackbaud Index of Online Giving reports that human services organizations had an overall revenue increase of 20.5% for the 3 months ending August 2010 as compared to the same period in 2009. This trend is based on $48 million in 12-month revenue from 511 human services organizations and was an increase from July's 10.3% growth trend.

Lynn Edmonds, president of LW Robbins, a direct response fundraising agency serving national and regional nonprofits, provided commentary on The Blackbaud Index in a report that accompanied this month's update. "The summer months were particularly difficult as the economy took a hit and people's attention was brought back to the economy," said Edmonds. "The economy was starting to show some good signs, and then in May through July, the market dropped thousands of points, people stopped spending, and unemployment hit a high; that particular period was very difficult. The economy is bouncing back a little now. People who have some discretionary income will hopefully support their charities in the final months of 2010."

According to Edmonds, online giving in general (without emergency giving) is a small percent of overall giving, but is becoming a channel that donors are becoming more comfortable with. "For a while, it was almost optional, but now, it is essential," she said. "Most donors give to five to seven like-minded organizations." She commented that organizations need to stay in front of the donor in multiple channels to keep their awareness and brand front and center.

Mark Crozet, Habitat for Humanity International's senior vice president of resource development reported that the organization did see a spike in revenue earlier this year, largely around its Haiti response. "We haven't seen the dip over the last few months although revenue has flattened," he said. "In direct mail, we're still up over last year at this time, although our corporate and major gift numbers are definitely down. We're hoping year-end giving reverses that trend."

Visit www.blackbaud.com/blackbaudindex for further data on The Blackbaud Index, for monthly updates on the 15th, to view a video about benchmarking and metrics, and to download the latest report.

About Blackbaud
Blackbaud is the leading global provider of software and services designed specifically for nonprofit organizations, enabling them to improve operational efficiency, build strong relationships, and raise more money to support their missions. Approximately 24,000 organizations - including University of Arizona Foundation, American Red Cross, Cancer Research UK, The Taft School, Lincoln Center, Tulsa Community Foundation, Ursinus College, Earthjustice, International Fund for Animal Welfare, and the WGBH Educational Foundation - use one or more Blackbaud products and services for fundraising, constituent relationship management, financial management, website management, direct marketing, education administration, ticketing, business intelligence, prospect research, consulting, and analytics. Since 1981, Blackbaud's sole focus and expertise has been partnering with nonprofits and providing them the solutions they need to make a difference in their local communities and worldwide. Headquartered in the United States, Blackbaud also has operations in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com.