Last week, ArtsJournal listed, among the stories on the left of the page, an article from the Chronicle of Philanthropy about online giving: “Non-Profits Lure More Online Donors, But Donors Give Less.” The total raised grew but the average gift dropped.
Digging into the details proved more interesting. In its paper copy, the Chronicle broke down the numbers for 211 organizations, including eight arts/cultural/public broadcasting groups. The star of that class was undoubtedly the Metropolitan Museum, which in FY 2008 not only boosted the amount raised online by 30.4% but also hauled in nearly $2.7 million online. Its closest competitor, the Smithsonian Institution, raised about $1.1 million online.
I visited the Met site to see if I could learn the secret of its success. One thing was clear — it offered many ways to give, with fewer clicks to do it, and higher suggested contributions. At no other site I visited can one buy tickets to a fancy benefit, as you can on the Met site. Its top suggested contribution is $10,000 or fill-in-the-blank vs. $1,000 or fill-in-the-blank at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The Met’s highest membership category, online, is the President’s Council for $20,000 — vs. $500 for a Muse membership at LACMA. At the Huntington Library, top membership is $2,500.
It’s hard to generalize from such a small sample. The top Smithsonian “enter a gift amount” is $250 or fill-in-the-blank, and that doesn’t square with the other examples. And we don’t know how much of this money is “new” money, adding to the pot.
But the Met is clearly doing something right. And why not offer as many ways to give online as possible? It can’t hurt, can it?
Photo Credit: Courtesy Metropolitan Museum of Art