MobileCause client, The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) wanted to find out how the tough economic times are impacting charitable giving and organizations in general, so they put together an informal survey of nonprofit organizations through their non-profit arm (www.nonprofitfederation.org). Below are the results of the survey which give a snapshot of the nonprofit fundraising industry as of October 2008.

How are your response rates now compared to the same period last year?
Worse [63.0%]
Same [24.1%]
Better [13.0%]

What are you seeing with regards to individual donations compared to the same period last year, please select one:
Smaller gifts, fewer individual donors [40.7%]
Larger gifts, fewer individual donors [33.3%]
Smaller gifts, more individual donors [13.9%]
Larger gifts, more individual donors [8.3%]
User Provided No Response [3.7%]

Are you planning to change your marketing strategy because of the economy?
Yes [65.7%]
No [31.5%]
No Response [2.8%]

Is your organization making any changes due to the economy such as (select all that apply):
No Response [31.5%]
Other – please comment below* [21.3%]
Hiring freeze [18.5%]
Reduction in marketing budget [13.0%]
Reduction in staff [8.3%]
Reduction in programming [6.5%]
Change in mission [0.9%]

Are you planning to use newer marketing techniques in the near future? (Web 2.0, blogs, social marketing, mobile marketing)
Yes [67.6%]
No [22.2%]
No Response [10.2%]

Overall, how is your organization doing financially now compared to last year?
About the same [40.7%]
Worse [38.9%]
Better [19.4%]
No Response [0.9%]