The Pew Internet Project has released new figures on home broadband penetration in the U.S.
Their key observation is that broadband penetration is increasing most dramatically in population segments that have traditionally lagged — older Americans, lower income households and rural residents. For example, between May 2008 and April 2009:
- Broadband usage among adults ages 65 or older grew from 19% to 30%;
- Among adults ages 50-64, broadband usage increased from 50% to 61%;
- 35% of respondents living homes with annual household incomes of $20,000 or below now have home broadband, compared to 53% of those with HH incomes of $20,000 to $30,000, and 85% penetration for those with household incomes over $75,000;
- Among adults whose highest level of educational attainment is a high school degree, broadband adoption grew from 40% to 52% (compared to broadband penetration of 83% in homes where a college degree or more is highest level of education); and,
- Adults living in rural America had home high-speed usage grow from 38% in 2008 to 46% in 2009
Why is this important to nonprofits?
From a fundraising and issue education standpoint, more and more of the Boomer and older population — the demographic sweet spot for fundraising — now has broadband. And Internet usage studies indicate consistently that access to broadband terrifically increases both the amount of time users spend online and the range of online activities they engage in (e.g., more information searching, watching of videos, purchasing online and using social nets).
It also means that if your target audience is older, lower income or rural people, the online medium is reaching the critical mass to play a more meaningful role in your communications and program delivery strategies.
Pew observes that a majority of home broadband users see a home high-speed connection as “very important” to at least one dimension of their lives and community, such as communicating with health care providers and government officials, or gathering and sharing information about the community.
For example, 68% of home broadband users said such a connection is “very important” (31%) or “somewhat important (37%) for finding out what is going on in their community. And 58% of home broadband users said such a connection is “very important” (23%) or “somewhat important (35%) for sharing their views with others about key issues.
Speed and the "always on" aspect of broadband really count!
Tom
This article was posted in: Boomers, charities, communications, demographic trends, Don't Miss these Posts, fundraising, media usage, nonprofit management, online activism, online fundraising, online publishing, pew internet project, research.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Tom,
With all the discussion on so very many fronts these days about the importance of web-based communications for nonprofits, and whether online fund raising really will work (perhaps even supplant direct-mail), it’s research results like this from Pew that help to confirm the emerging realities. We might experiment and debate findings for yet quite a while on the issues and arcane questions related to online philanthropy. But, there is little doubt, in my own view anyway, that broadband penetration into U.S. homes, and the continuing explosion of web-based communication, means that every nonprofit organization wanting to survive MUST have or begin developing a corporate/constituency communications plan that includes a pre-eminent, online component. To ignore this reality is to risk failure in an organization’s efforts to communicate effectively and have any impact on the larger, external audience. An audience, by the way, that is being bombarded with information (and “noise”)every single day! Since building and cultivating loyal, supportive and generous constituencies begins with and is based on a core foundation of communication, the equation is clear — particularly in the case of Baby Boomers and the others who possess so much of the resources. To get to them with a compelling message on mission, and make an equally compelling case for their financial support, a nonprofit has to pursue them WHERE THEY ARE (or will be) — at the keyboard of a computer! Just the thoughts of one guy who has been around this stuff since annual appeal letters were individually produced on typewriters (all of them now in museums or serving as doorstops)!