From time to time we still hear the claim that donors are inflexible and will only give through one platform. But as donors ourselves, we know that’s not true. We give when we’re inspired by a candidate or cause—it doesn’t matter where they are. That belief is exactly what prompted this donor poll.

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What We Learned from Our Donor Survey: The Golden Rule Applies - People Give to People

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We recently asked donors how they give, what they value in a donation platform, and whether they’d follow a candidate to a new tool. The results? We see clear patterns emerging.

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Most donors give a few times per year.

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About 41.5% of respondents donate “a few times per year” during election seasons. Another 19.5% give multiple times a month, and 17.1% give once a month. A smaller group—12.2%—rarely donate, while 9.8% say they never donate during election years.

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Donors juggle a couple of platforms—but not too many.

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Over half of donors (53.7%) said they use two or three donation platforms in a typical election cycle. About 14.6% stick to just one platform, while 2.4% use four or more. A sizable group (26.8%) isn’t even sure how many platforms they use.

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Donors are flexible about where they give.

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A full 100% of respondents said they would NOT refuse to donate just because a candidate used a different platform than the one they’ve used before. (We knew that though!)


And a note about fee cover vs. tips:

When asked if they ever noticed being asked to tip a platform, almost 70% of donors responded "Yes. And I don't like it!". Nearly 20% said they did notice but didn't mind, while the rest hadn't ever noticed being asked.

But, when asked if they prefer covering the fee over tipping? A whopping 81% stated their preference to cover the fee over leave a tip. Why? Because it makes their dollars go further.
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19% said they had no preference, and no one polled indicated they wanted to tip.

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Key Takeaway: The golden rule of fundraising still applies - people give to people and causes they care about, and people like to know their contributions are being stewarded carefully. Nothing else matters.