Increasingly digital donations for Italian non-profit organisations

The digital tools used by non-profit organisations to raise funds through private donations are growing. Cash remains the main fundraising tool when meeting with donors, but year after year the proportion of people choosing bank transfers or credit cards to support shared causes increases. This is what emerges from a comparison of the results of the survey on digital fundraising, promoted by Nexi in collaboration with the Observatory on Donation, carried out by the Istituto Italiano della Donazione, which will be presented during the eighth edition of the annual report "Noi doniamo", edited by the Istituto Italiano della Donazione with the support of Bper Banca, which will be presented in Milan on 24 September at the bank's headquarters.

The survey takes a snapshot of the digital tools used by associations to raise funds. With the aim of highlighting and analysing the main trends, the barriers still present and the opportunities related to the adoption of these tools to donate. The analysis shows that, in presence initiatives, the tool still most used today is cash for 44 per cent of respondents, followed by Pos for 17 per cent and digital payment platforms for 10 per cent. The updated data contained in the report says that digital tools to raise funds (not only initiatives in presence but in general) are used by 49 per cent of the sample, up by 7 per cent compared to 2023: among these, 70 per cent raise through online bank transfers, followed by digital payment platforms for 44 per cent, Pos for 29 per cent and credit cards for 22 per cent.

Compared to last November, the uptake of digital tools and related income is slightly increasing. There has been a decrease in the number of non-profits reporting that they did not use digital fundraising tools: 51% in 2024 compared to 58% in 2023. Digital donations for 34% of respondents have remained stable or changed marginally (28% in 2023), for 12% they have increased significantly while for only 4% they have decreased significantly (7% in 2023).

The use of digital fundraising tools appears to be especially widespread among large NPOs with dedicated fundraising staff. Among the most used digital channels for promoting payment tools, the "Dona Ora" web page takes first place (87 per cent of the sample), followed by crowdfunding platforms (45 per cent) and online shops (26 per cent). Bank transfer is confirmed as the tool most used by NPOs (70 per cent), followed by digital payment platforms (44 per cent). This is followed by Pos with 29 per cent and credit cards with 22 per cent. On the part of donors, online transfers are also the most widely used tool (36 per cent). While credit/debit cards (31 per cent) surpass digital payment platforms (21 per cent). 

Among the digital tools that non-profit organisations would like to introduce and make available to donors are: digital payment platform (29 per cent), donations from the NPO website (28 per cent) and crowdfunding platforms (24 per cent). Among third sector organisations, 73 per cent of respondents indicate a need for information and support in the use of digital tools. In particular, 24 per cent say they feel the need to receive more information. 22% require easier access procedures and 13% highlight the need for dedicated people.