Survey Finds the Majority of Americans Are Giving to Charities, Motivated More by a Desire to Give Than Personal Passion for a Cause

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Nov 5, 2012) - Eventbrite, the online registration and ticketing platform popular among nonprofit organizations, today announced a new survey revealing trends among Americans who support nonprofits with donations of time and money. The findings, drawn from a uSamp online survey of 1,772 American adults commissioned by Eventbrite, reveal that while 72% of those surveyed have supported a cause with a donation of time or money in the past year, only 21% describe themselves as being personally passionate about the cause they supported.

Eventbrite's diverse selection of charitable events offers anyone the opportunity to find a way to get involved with a cause that they care about -- in a way that reflects his or her interests. From concerts, to walks and runs, to food and wine festivals, organizations are using Eventbrite to create events that raise money and awareness for a cause, while building a community of engaged supporters. So far, in 2012, over 30,000 fundraising events have been created on Eventbrite. In aggregate, these events have raised over $35 million for philanthropies so far this year.

"Eventbrite has become a go-to resource for nonprofit organizations and their supporters who want to host events that raise money for their cause," says Laura Coltrin, Nonprofit Lead at Eventbrite. "What really excites me about the survey findings is that they reveal the widespread dedication to supporting philanthropic organizations -- and the need for a platform like Eventbrite to help connect these generous Americans to a nonprofit that they are passionate about." 

Other findings from the survey include:

• There is an even split between those who prefer to donate money and those who prefer to donate time: 41% of respondents prefer each. Others had no preference.
• The frequency with which people volunteer time is distributed: 12% volunteer a few times a week; 15% volunteer once a week; 14% volunteer once a month; and 22% volunteer every few months.
• The most popular motivation for people who do volunteer is the sense of 'I feel like it's something I should do,' which resonated with 25% of respondents. Other motivators include encouragement from a friend, family member, or coworker (10%); or supporting a cause that directly affected a friend, family or coworker (13%).

The survey also reveals how eager people are to share information about nonprofit organizations on social media networks. 40% of Americans have shared information about a cause on Facebook in the past year. In addition, 14% of Americans have shared cause-related information on Twitter; and 8% of Americans have shared on Google+. This sharing activity is particularly useful for nonprofits that use Eventbrite for their programming. With integrated social sharing tools, Eventbrite makes it easy for supporters of these nonprofits to share information with their personal networks, and elevate the visibility of these organizations and their missions. In a recent Social Commerce Report, Eventbrite found that, on average, every time a person shares event information on Facebook, it drives an additional 14 visits back to that event page and $4.15 in additional revenue back to the organizer or fundraiser.

Thousands of nonprofit organizations have turned to Eventbrite for Causes to learn how they can best leverage events to raise awareness and money for their community. Eventbrite also offers reduced rates to 501(c)(3) organizations.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by uSamp (a provider of business and consumer insights) on behalf of Eventbrite among 1,772 adults ages 16 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Vanessa Schneider at Eventbrite.

About Eventbrite
Eventbrite enables people all over the world to plan, promote, and sell out any event. And Eventbrite makes it easy for everyone to discover events, and to share the events they are attending with the people they know. In this way, Eventbrite brings communities together by encouraging people to connect through live experiences. Eventbrite's investors include Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, DAG Ventures, and Tenaya Capital. Learn more at www.eventbrite.com.