Young donors
One interesting aspect of online fundraising that the IPDI report mentions is the fact that, overall, internet users are younger than the general population, heavy internet users are even younger, and your typical off-line political donor tends to be older than the population average.
One might interpret this data to mean that the internet would be a poor medium for fundraising, as the people who tend to donate money to campaigns do not use the internet in large numbers. However, recent experience with online fundraising shows that this assumption would be wrong.
The internet didn't just make it easier for anyone with a credit card to donate to a campaign; it brought the idea of donating to a new audience of young citizens in the medium with which they are most confortable. I'm as likely to buy a book from Amazon.com as from my local Border's. I get nearly all of my news and information from the internet. Communicating with my generation through TV ads or direct mail may work to a certain extent, but doesn't it make sense to reach a community throught the medium they spend the most time with? Online donation systems meet young donors where they are, making it far more likely that they'll choose to become involved.
2 Comments:
I think the growth in online fundraising is due in large part to the growth in e-commerce. As the general population gets more and more comfortable making financial transactions online (i.e. shopping, renting movies, paying bills, etc) we will see more comfort in donating online as well.
I believe young people should be involve more in politics. I think that in developed countries more young people is more interested in politics because there are places where their voices can be heard. Is there any information on how much money and how often do young people donate money to their candidates? That will be interesting to know. I think that if you donate money is because you really believe in a cause and in your candidate, but that is not always the case.
In countries where citizens do not have faith in politics and people do noy believe in any word they say, it is difficult to encourage young people to donate their money.
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