Last month, City of Hope’s online donation site (at www.cityofhope.org/donate) drew more visitors and generated more dollars than in any other month since the site was launched in 2001. In December, monies raised totaled more than $108,000, representing an increase of 25 percent when compared to December 2004. The number of donors visiting the site that month increased by 36 percent compared to the same period in 2004, as well.

"December is typically our first or second most active month of the year because of holiday giving," said Toni Pogue, manager of Web Marketing. "But even taking that into account, to have a 25 percent increase in dollars raised is phenomenal." She added the average online donation to City of Hope amounts to approximately $75.

Internet users are becoming more comfortable with donating and buying online, which may account for some of the surge, according to Pogue. She said general visits to the main City of Hope Web site have consistently increased each year since tracking began in 2001.

In the nonprofit world, online giving is growing quickly. According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s sixth annual survey of online fundraising, online donations to the nation’s largest charities grew sharply in 2004, with many groups receiving at least twice as much money via the Internet as they did in 2003.