The sector is facing challenging times, with growth declining in recent years, coupled with an increased demand for services across causes. Fewer UK organisations have reported an increase in fundraising for three consecutive years.
A persistent challenge is recruiting and retaining fundraising talent, as staff churn and turnover are high, making longer term planning a struggle.
In response, raising additional resources and diversifying income streams is an urgent priority. Charities are focussing on creating a smooth donor experience, improving conversion rates, and increasing donation amounts. With the voluntary sector under pressure, balancing business-as-usual activities and service delivery with long-term sustainability planning can be a battle.
Despite these challenges, there is a gradual positive trend in technology investment among nonprofits. Over half (56%) invest in technology, and two-thirds (67%) understand how technology can help their fundraising efforts. Those who leverage technology effectively are more collaborative and able to adapt to changing donor behaviours. On the flipside, there are a significant number who feel they are not getting the most out of their technology.
To do more with less, working towards digital maturity is vital. Leveraging available automation, and streamlining work processes, to enhance fundraising effectiveness.
Donors' preferences and behaviour are continually evolving, changing what success looks like for charity fundraising campaigns.
In Donor Behaviour Insights (2023) we saw, somewhat surprisingly, that cash donations came out as the most popular method of giving, with online donations as a close second. This varied across regions, but the key takeaway was that understanding your donors and catering to their preferences is essential to your donor relationships.
Donors today expect more; they want to hear about meaningful events and understand the impact of their gifts. Insights from the report showed that it’s much less about the frequency of communication and far more about delivering compelling content.
Personal and emotional connections play a vital role in triggering donations, with family member requests being the most effective. We see this too with emotive campaigns from fundraisers like Sir Captain Tom and Deborah James. The outpouring of support for both, shows that even outside of our own social circles great story telling and human connection can inspire extraordinary generosity.
At the recent Chartered Institute’s Fundraising Convention, we were delighted to be joined by Dawn Ingram (Director of Fundraising) to discuss how Royal Navy Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC) are moving through their digital transformation journey. RNRMC’s ambition is to increase income by 50% over the next three years. To do this, building capacity within the team and rebalancing their funding model between short term and multiyear income streams is a priority.
Dawn shares that making the business case for technology investment and demonstrating the return on investment to the board is crucial. Her small team has seen rapid growth in donations, handling high volumes of gifts within a short time window. This can make managing income and donor data overwhelming.
Working with Blackbaud as a technology partner to provide best practice guidance and capacity relieving support where needed has enabled progress towards strategic business outcomes. Utilising automated workflows is helping Dawn’s team save time and provide tailored stewardship to RNRMC donors. Leaning on providers to upskill internal teams is a way to invest in your team and support their professional development goals.
Healthy data management empowers organisations to make informed decisions. Automation has proven to be a time-saver for their team, enabling them to provide exceptional stewardship to supporters. Collecting the right data and understanding its significance is crucial for measuring and demonstrating the impact of fundraising efforts. The goal is to further optimise fundraising operations by using Raiser's Edge NXT as a single source of truth for reporting and forecasting across fundraising metrics.
Increasingly organisations must continue to learn and adapt, insights gained from data can be transformational in informing evolving fundraising strategies. This adaptability enables charities to reach new audiences and forge deeper connections with donors. By partnering with your technology provider and leveraging data-driven strategies, nonprofit organisations are maximising social impact and driving towards their fundraising goals.
Rebecca is a highly experienced fundraiser, data manager and researcher. She was previously research lead at Philanthropy Company, bringing data insights, data management and data protection expertise. Among others, her projects include leading on the implementation of systems and processes for the National Emergencies Trust £100M+ Coronavirus Appeal and managing the migration to Raiser’s Edge NXT for charity Childhood First.
She has worked with a wide range of social good organisations, national charities, public bodies and grantmakers. She has an in-depth knowledge of the fundraising landscape and a passion for the power of data to maximize fundraising potential.