10 Most Generous Cities Online

Based on online giving to charity, Alexandria, Va., Cambridge, Mass. and Arlington, Va., topped the list as the nation’s most generous large cities based on per capita giving during 2009. Compared to 2008 rankings, Arlington was the only newcomer to the top three, trading spots with Minneapolis, which fell to number five.

The report by online fundraising firm Convio ranks 273 large cities (with total population of more than 100,000) based on per capita online giving and based on the total amount donated online through Convio.

Despite a drop in average gift size in most cities, more than $284 million was donated by the 273 major cities in 2009, up from almost $240 million in 2008. “The growth of online giving, particularly in the nation’s most generous cities shows that donors will increasingly turn to the Internet to build and manage relationships with charities and in turn use technology to help the nonprofit reach and inspire more people,” said Convio CEO Gene Austin.

The 2009 rankings are based on the more than $921 million in online donations processed by Convio during the calendar year. The current rankings come from donations processed between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2009.

The most generous large cities (greater than 100,000) in 2009 based on per capita giving:

Alexandria, Va. (avg. gift $75.05, donation amount per 1,000 people $20,244)

Cambridge, Mass. (avg. gift $100.37, donation amount per 1,000 people $14,729)

Arlington, Va. (avg. gift $76.65, donation amount per 1,000 people $14,362)

Washington, D.C. (avg. gift $93.51, donation amount per 1,000 people $13,746)

Minneapolis, Minn. (avg. gift $99.33, donation amount per 1,000 people $13,372)

Seattle, Wash. (avg. gift $66.88, donation amount per 1,000 people, $11,030)

Berkeley, Calif. (avg. gift $71.62, donation amount per 1,000 people $10,640)

St. Louis, Mo. (avg. gift $60.26, donation amount per 1,000 people $10,613)

Bellevue, Wash. (avg. gift $90.55, donation amount per 1,000 people $10.091)

Ann Arbor, Mich. (avg. gift $70.85, donation amount per 1,000 people $9,996)

“Many of the nation’s nonprofits understand that their donors, volunteers and other supporters use the Internet and digital technology to shop, buy, communicate, entertain themselves and access information, as well as manage personal relationships. That is carrying over to their charitable giving and the relationships they have with their favorite causes,” said Austin.