We shop at Amazon.com, we check on our 401Ks online, and now some of us make our donations via the Web. Boston University is part of a national trend in greater online giving, with cumulative totals for online gifts at the end of December running 30 percent ahead of the same time the year before.

This October, the University received its largest online gift yet. Alan Granwell (LAW’68,’69), a longtime Law School donor, decided to give online for a simple reason: convenience. A member of the LAW Board of Advisors since it began, he regularly gives to the school. “We like making payments through our credit card; it’s just easier — and there’s the frequent flier miles aspect,” he says. His is a BU family, too, with his wife, Sheila (SED’68), and younger daughter, Alexis (CFA’03).

“We are pleased with the success so far of the online giving program at BU,” says Coleen Resnick, director of annual giving. “The Web is a tool of both immediate and growing importance, especially as we see an increase in the comfort level of our constituents with e-philanthropy.”

With a recent Web site redesign, giving to BU has never been easier. Just go to www.bu.edu/alumni/giving and follow the links to the secure site for online giving.

— Taylor McNeil