8 Fundraising Trends Your Nonprofit Needs to Know for 2019
As 2018 winds down
It’s time to reflect on the past year and begin to prepare for 2019 has in store
SINCE THE 2010S
Fundraising trends have swiftly advanced
Fundraising Trend #1
Mind the Gen Z Nonprofits should continue to account for millennials, since they are the largest part of the current workforce, it’s now time to start examining the gen Z
iGen Denotes the digital and cloud natives that make up this generation
Gen Z makes up a quarter of the U.S. population and by 2020 will account for 40% of all consumers
2017 Global Trends in Giving Report ďƒź Gen Z members are interested in giving to many different causes ďƒź Gen Z members are also quite passionate and willing to help as volunteers
Be concise and grab their attention Engaging and immediate experience and keep your messaging brief and compelling
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Mobile mobile mobile Members of Gen Z spend a lot of their time on their phones, preferring to conduct all online activity that way
Visuals matter Gen Z spends a lot of time on visual-based platforms like Instagram
Fundraising Trend #2
From Generalization to HyperPersonalization
Increasingly so, donors expect a hyper-personalized and customized approach
2017 Trends In Personalization study 96% of respondents believe personalization helps build customer relationships, while only 45% agreed that marketers are actually getting personalization right
Make the “ask” personal Don’t recommend a donation of $50 to a prospective major donor worth millions
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Pay attention to your giving/donation page Get to know your audience before refining your messaging
Specialize your messaging Specialize your messaging. Account for generational differences and other demographic data
Fundraising Trend #3
E-mail is Not Dead In 2017, global e-mail users amounted to 3.7 billion users. This figure is set to grow to 4.1 billion users in 2021
Naturally, the way e-mails look and sound has been constantly changing throughout the years. For example, emails today are much more visual than before
Make sure your e-mail marketing strategy is top-notch Segment your audience
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Pay attention to your e-mails Your e-mails should have a clear call to action
Use storytelling Stories are one of the most powerful tools at your disposal.
Fundraising Trend #4
The Growth of Corporate Giving Research has confirmed time after time that there is a positive relationship between how employees perceive their company’s contributions to the community and employees’ commitment to their work
2016 study by Cone Communications Revealed that 58% of americans consider a company’s social and environmental commitments when deciding where to work
Look into donation matching programs Companies often offer donation matching as an employee benefit
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Corporate sponsorships and partnerships Think about your audience and how they would receive the news about the partnership
Offer volunteering opportunities More and more corporations allow and encourage their employees to volunteer
Fundraising Trend #5
Recurring Giving is the Way to Go When a donor sets up a recurring donation, they choose to give a pre-determined amount of money on a regular basis
Recurring giving can have an enormous positive impact on the long-term financial sustainability of your nonprofit
Invest in an online donation system like Donorbox Donorbox is a powerful and efficient donation management system that is specifically optimized for recurring donations
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Promote your recurring giving program Drive program awareness by passively and actively promoting the program
Engage with your donors through regular e-mail communication and social media Consider incentivizing your one-time donors with gifts
Fundraising Trend #6
It’s All About Communities With peer-to-peer fundraising, fundraisers often have their own donation pages. Peer-to-peer fundraising has another powerful advantage – social proof
Social proof is a powerful psychological and social phenomenon where people assume the actions of others in an attempt to reflect correct behavior in a given situation
Attempt peer-to-peer fundraising Mobilize your supporters and donors in a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign by clearly explaining its benefits
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Go the extra mile Offer tours of your offices or your program locations
Build a community Create a strong brand that others will want to be a part of
Fundraising Trend #7
Artificial Intelligence is Rising AI broadly refers to programs, computers, and machines that perform ‘intelligent’ tasks
Chatbots are services that sometimes use artificial intelligence and that you interact with via a chat interface
Consider creating a chatbot Messaging apps are growing fast
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Personalize the communication with your prospects and donors AI can nurture donor journeys by personalizing their donor journey
Use AI to become a data expert Smart use of data can help push what’s possible in an organization
Fundraising Trend #8
Impact Transparency Matters Donors today care about where their money is going. There’s a lot of momentum around impact transparency
Donor due diligence is going to be a key fundraising trend driving how people will contribute. Donors — especially millennials — want more personal involvement with the causes they support.
Invite your donors to visit your program location Let them witness first-hand how their gifts are changing the lives of the beneficiaries
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Explore live streaming Live streaming is one of the most immediate and authentic tactics you can employ to increase the transparency of your organization
Use infographics Infographics help you talk about complex ideas to your audience
The key is for nonprofits to take a step back and understand how these fundraising trends can boost their organizations’ goals and further their missions in 2019 and years to come
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