It’s that time of year again: the trees are bare, everything
is pumpkin spice-flavored, and Americans are thinking about end-of-year giving.
In the years that we’ve been keeping track, November and December have
generally been our busiest months. (Hi-res graph)
The graph above shows the percent of visits that take place
within each week of the year. For each week, vertical column, multiple points
represent observations over multiple years. The data shown are from the years
2007 through 2015. In a subsequent blog post, I’ll be talking about some of the
outliers.
Now, you’ll often hear this end-of-year spike as “holiday
giving.” Taxes, however, may also have something to do with it; over the years,
23% percent of December traffic has
come in the week from Christmas to New Year’s Day. (Hi-res graph)
Demand varies over the year for different kinds of
charities. The chart below shows the same data as before, but now each line
represents a particular category of charity. We se, for example, that , health
charities see a slow build over the second half of the year, while animal
charities see a big spike at the end of the year. (Hi-res graph)
In my next blog post, I’ll be exploring the geography of
Charity Navigator’s user base. Until next time, keep warm—and keep on giving
wisely!
David Bruce Borenstein
is Charity Navigator’s lead data scientist. He holds a PhD in Quantitative and
Computational Biology from Princeton.
As a 501 (c) (3) organization itself, Charity Navigator depends on public support to help donors make informed choices. Please consider investing in the future of Charity Navigator by making a donation today. Donate now >>
As a 501 (c) (3) organization itself, Charity Navigator depends on public support to help donors make informed choices. Please consider investing in the future of Charity Navigator by making a donation today. Donate now >>
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