WEB STATISTICS

Pew Internet Survey 2007

Demographics of Internet Users
Below is the percentage of each group who use the internet, according to our February-March 2007 survey. As an example, 70% of adult women use the internet.

Use the internet
Total Adults 71%
Women 70%
Men 71%

Age
18-29 87%
30-49 83
50-64 65
65+ 32

Race/ethnicity
White, Non-Hispanic 73%
Black, Non-Hispanic 62
English-speaking Hispanic 78

Geography
Urban 73%
Suburban 73
Rural 60

Household income
Less than $30,000/yr 55%
$30,000-$49,999 69
$50,000-$74,999 82
$75,000 + 93

Educational
Attainment Less than High School 40%
High School 61
Some College 81
College + 91

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project, February 15 – March 7, 2007 Tracking Survey.

Internet Use and Online Giving Continues to Rise (2005 statistics)
By Nancy Gregovich, Delaura & Associates Consulting

There is indisputable research that Internet use and online giving is increasing each year. Many nonprofits believe that their donors are not Internet users or would not use the Internet to make gifts to their organization. Such views may limit your opportunity to maximize your program's fundraising potential. It is more important than ever that you have an online communication and donation strategy.

What is known about online giving:

• Of $240.9 billion in contributions made in 2003, $1.9 billion were made online
• In 2004, online giving increased 58%, from $1.9 billion to $3.0 billion
• In 2004, 8.6 million households made online donations " 12% of all donating households in 2004 made some online donations
• More than 65% of donors visit a nonprofit's website before giving
• The average offline gift in 2003 was $89.25; the average online gift was $116.65
• What is known about Internet use:
• Americans spend an average of 1.5 hours online per day
• Nearly equal numbers of men and women are online
• Those online are affluent and better educated
• Women spend more money online; men spend more time online

Who is using the Internet:

• 87% - Online Teens (aged 12-17)
• 84% - Gen Y (aged 18-28)
• 87% - Gen X (aged 29-40)
• 79% - Trailing Boomers (aged 41-60)
• 75% - Leading Boomers (aged 61-69)
• 21% - After Work (aged 70+)

The most popular online activities, by number of participants in the U.S.:

• 182 million: the number of people on email
• 169 million: the number of people web browsing
• 157 million: the number of people researching products
• 155 million: the number of participants searching for information
• 145 million: the number of people reading news
• 135 million: the number of people shopping online
• 22 million: the number of people giving online

Most popular Internet activities:

• 88% - e-mail and instant messaging
• 76% - web surfing or browsing
• 52% - reading news
• 46% - accessing information
• 45% - shopping and buying online

What is known about nonprofits using the Internet:

• The number of nonprofits vying for philanthropic resources doubled from 1994 to 2004
• In 2003, 52% of nonprofits accepted only offline donations; 48% offered online and offline donations.
  Sources: Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2005

Pew Internet and American Life Project - reported 2/19/01 in the New York Times: A report released last night by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that the number of American adults with Internet access grew by 16 million the last six months of 2000. That brings the total number of adults using the Internet in the United States to 104 million, or 56 percent of the adult population.

"We have developed a very rich picture of what we call a typical day online," said Lee Rainie, the project's director. "And every day, there are more people online, and they're doing more things."

During an average day at the end of 2000, the survey found, 58 million Americans were logging on, 9 million more than the average daily Internet population in the middle of last year.

NCPG's 2000 Survey of Donors
The following were found about motivations for making charitable gifts. Note that it is emotions and relationship, not just tax concerns, that motivate donors. Percent of donors citing:

• "a desire to support the charity" as an important factor in their decision to make a gift. Charitable Bequest Donors 97% CRT Donors 91%
• "the ultimate use of the gift by the charity" as an important factor in their decision to make a gift. Charitable Bequest Donors 82% CRT Donors 79%
• "desire to reduce taxes (income or estate)" as an important factor in their decision to make a gift. Charitable Bequest Donors 35% CRT Donors 77%
• "long-range estate and financial planning issues" as important factors in their decision to make a gift. Charitable Bequest Donors 35% CRT Donors 76%

The donor samples for this survey were balanced to reflect the US population, so people from all walks of life are represented.

NetValue October 2000 Key Findings: Senior Surfers are Active Internet Users
From NetValue.com press release

While those 65 & older are only 4.6% of the online population in the US, what they lack in size they make up for in Internet activity, according to Internet measurement company NetValue. This is, of course of prime interest to nonprofits, most of whom depend on seniors for their contributions.

In October, seniors surfed the web for an average of 14.7 days, more than any other age group. During this time, the average senior visited more than 74 unique domains, viewed more than 500 unique pages and clicked on an average of 1.8 banners.

Gartner Group October 2000 Average Internet User: The study finds the average Internet user is 41, makes about $65,000, with the genders equally represented.

The Internet's not exactly ready to go gray, but its denizens appear to be a bit older than is suggested by conventional wisdom. At least that's one of the conclusions in a survey released 10/30/2000 by the Gartner Group. Forget about that image of a twenty-something youth who stays on the net until 4 am.

NetValue July 2000 General Web Statistics on usage.
The US remains way ahead in terms of Internet penetration with over 51 million households connected (49.8 percent of the US population). The average US user is connected an average of 11.9 days per month. Women currently represent only 46 percent of the US online population but are more active on the Internet than their male counterparts. Over the past three months, women have consistently spent 32 percent more time surfing the web and have viewed 30 percent more unique pages than men.

June 16 2000: A report from Jupiter finds that the digital divide reflects differences in household income and age, rather than differences in ethnic origin.

15 million households with incomes of US$ 75,000 upward per annum will be online by the end of 2000 (20 million by 2005) compared to 3 million households with incomes of US$ 15,000.

Adults ages 50 and older will account for 23 million users by the end of 2000, comprising a market larger than any of the youth segments: kids (14 million), teens (13 million), or college students (12 million).

April 11, 2000: Older Internet users now comprise the fastest growing demographic group in the US Internet market, according to Media Matrix.

One fifth of US Internet users are aged between 45 and 64 and more and more people in this age group are going online. The Media Matrix study shows that users in this age group access the Internet more often, stay online for longer periods and visit more web sites than younger users.