In 2023, we brought you 7 trends in 7 minutes. In 2024 we had a dilemma: there were tons of trends to share, but time somehow hadn't expanded to accommodate us. What was a tired trendsetter to do? 

Well, in the nonprofit world, when we've got more to do than resources to do it with, we ask for help. 

So without further ado, we bring you 2024's trends from our friends. 

Some trends just stand out. These were our picks for the top nonprofit fundraising trends for 2024.

Top Nonprofit Fundraising Trends for 2024

Some trends just stand out. These are our picks for the top nonprofit fundraising trends for 2024.

1. Artificial Intelligence
2. Hyperpersonalization
3. Donors find a way
4. Year-round peer-to-peer fundraising
5. Strategic partnerships

1. Artificial Intelligence

As we asked around for the trends our friends were seeing, AI was the top response—by far. And there are so many reasons why! Here are just a few of the reasons that the nonprofit world is tapping into artificial intelligence:

AI as a team efficiency tool

Funraise's Chief Product Officer and Co-founder, Tony Sasso, says, "There’s a lot that AI can do in the donation experience, like what we’re doing with AppealAI, but some of the biggest benefits that orgs can lean into are incorporating AI into your team’s daily work habits. My favorite, easy to use, example of adopting AI into your team’s workflows: Before you write a fundraising email, donor update, or new website copy, use your preferred AI tool to provide a quick draft—you may be surprised at the speed at which you can gain new clarity or spark a new direction."

As a timesaving trial-and-error tool

Katelyn Baughan, nonprofit email marketing expert explains, "It's no secret that AI is one of the main trends in 2024. By utilizing AI, the copywriting process is more efficient, allowing marketers to focus more energy on strategy and testing within their digital campaigns."

2. Hyperpersonalization

There's a lot of emphasis on building strong donor relationships these days—even from our friends who eschew trends. And one thing that allows nonprofits to build relationships is hyperpersonalization. 

Now, you may be reading this and thinking we're just talking about adding a name to your emails, and if that's what you have, definitely do that. But think about it: this is exactly what your donor data is for. Literally... why else are you collecting this information?!

Try segmenting your data in a way you haven't before. Or go deeper than you have before, until you have a segment with only a handful of donors. Then think big and ask yourself how you can surprise and delight these special donors. You may surprise and delight yourself.

3. FOMO extends to giving

With more and more causes to support, donors don’t want to miss out on being a part of changing the world. But soaring costs of living may mean they need to change the way they’re giving. Enter the membership, or recurring donation to charity.

Think about it: Donors can commit to giving $10 each month and consider themselves true supporters of your cause. While you gain

• more cash each year
• predictable revenue
• a more engaged donor segment
• increased donor retention rates

So how to invite donors to forgo their FOMO?

Funraise Sales Manager Andrew Webb says that “having a call to action and steps like Funraise's recurring upsell incentivizes people to commit to a recurring gift versus a one-time gift.” 

4. Year-round peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns

Why save peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns? When we relegate P2P to urgent needs or larger project funding, we close the door that allows people to support our day-to-day or smaller-scale programs.

Yes, traditionally, great P2P fundraisers incorporate urgency, goals, emotion, and momentum, but Funraise's Fundraising Specialist Dani Lockard is seeing nonprofits buck that tradition and engage peer-to-peer fundraisers in ongoing, year-round P2P fundraising campaigns. 

Dani says, "Of course, ongoing P2P campaigns require a careful balance of urgency and commitment, but nonprofits who keep up the thread of engagement and utilize multiple types of communications are winning at the P2P game."

5. Strategic Partnerships

In keeping with the theme of this article, nonprofits are looking into new arenas for strategic engagement—new arenas like partnerships. 

A great example is David Bowden, founder of Spoken Gospel, who discussed his strategic partnership success in an episode of the Nonstop Nonprofit podcast with David Schwab, marketing expert with Funraise. 

...we learned the most by partnering with people who traditionally would be seen as competitors, but we saw them as collaborators. ...if we work closer together, we're both going to get better. And ...by doing that, we created a better resource and different distribution partners because we weren't afraid to partner with competitors.

Another route is building community-based strategic partnerships to take advantage of brands that are already recognizable to your audience.

Tony Sasso explains, "Increase IRL brand awareness and donor trust and become a real part of your supporters' lives by connecting with brands that supporters already love and trust."

He goes on to say, "Social media channels will be ablaze in 2024, so charitable organizations considering increasing their reach and top-of-mindedness are looking at visibly partnering with businesses in their area. Whether these are nonprofit or for-profit, strategic partnerships offer new ways for supporters to interact with you as they go about their daily lives."

Giving Experience Trends

The giving experience is, more than ever, seeing its day in the sun as a pivotal moment that nonprofits can't ignore. Here are 5 trends making great giving experiences essential in 2024.

1. Venmo and other modern payment methods
2. Donor Portals
3. Stocks and asset-based donations
4. Intimate events
5. Taking offline donors online

1. Venmo and other modern payment methods

Justin Wheeler, Funraise CEO and Co-founder notes, “As social interactions have gone digital, donations have moved into the digital realm as well, making it imperative that nonprofits evolve their ability to accept those digital donations."

Making the donating process as easy as possible is key to converting donors at record-breaking rates.

2. Donor Portals

“Donor Portals are becoming more mainstream. Historically, a lot of fundraising platforms haven't prioritized independent methods for updating recurring gifts; donors must call the nonprofit to have changes made, which is demanding on the org and not the best experience for the donors. Today's donor portals expedite and improve the process for everyone." Thanks, Andrew Webb!

3. Stocks and asset-based donations

Thanks to Steve Latham of DonateStock, we've been shouting about stock and asset-based donations for several years now, but the tremendous wealth held in non-cash assets is on the cusp of 2024's fundraising trends. Now is the moment to jump into stock donations like Scrooge McDuck diving into a mountain of gold. 

We could have attributed the above quote to David Schwab, but he actually said...

2024 is the year of asset-based donations.

4. Intimate events

Not only are they more cost-efficient, but smaller events can have a greater range of uses: cultivation, board expansion, peer-to-peer fundraising, funding for more focused initiatives, or, yes, general fundraising. Their intimate nature lends itself to urgency, personalization, and deeper relationship building, as well as giving donors a way to feel even more included in your cause.

5. Offline to Online

This worth-a-try campaign is a pretty exciting idea: why not transition your offline, direct mail donors to online supporters? Best case, you get more donations and have less data entry. Worst case, your direct mail donors still send in those little forms. Fingers crossed that we can read their handwriting!

Andrew Webb has the right idea: "Converting offline donors to online donors via QR codes in direct mail is becoming a way for nonprofits to bring their fundraising into the modern era—and their supporters along with it."

Donor Communications

Let's shout it from the rooftops: Nonprofits are leading the way through some tumultuous times, and now isn't the moment for modesty. Let your donors know about your achievements and needs with these donor communication trends for 2024. 

1. Treating donors like investors
2. Addressing donor or issue burnout
3. Nonprofits as truth-keepers
4. Person-to-person communications
5. Prioritizing relationships above all

1. Treating donors like investors

As David Schwab relayed recently at the Nonprofit Storytelling Conference, "Getting your donors' head and heart buy-in is a matter of tapping into that investor mindset. The most impactful nonprofit stories engage their audience with an authentic moment of vulnerability and draw the donor in so they are invested in a better outcome."

2. Donor or issue burnout

2024 is going to be a year for the books—it's an election year, and our world is facing many grave challenges. 

Tony Sasso's suggestion is to "focus your communication on Impact (with a capital I). People want to help, but it’s hard to understand how a single person can help with existential crises occurring all around. Revisit your organization’s story and pitch. Simplify it and make it easy to understand the impact of each average gift. Make it unbelievably clear how a supporter is ending a pain or accelerating change with each interaction. This communication should happen both before and after a charitable gift."

3. Nonprofits as a source of truth

In these days of conflicting truths, supporters look to nonprofits doing work that resonates with their values to find a source of truth they can trust. 

Fundraising expert Jon DeLange comes through with clarification:

Philosophically, the trend of truth is really interesting to me: Donors outsourcing their epistemology to nonprofits they care about. This makes the nonprofit a de facto gatekeeper of truth. Supporters, essentially followers, extend a high degree of trust to organizations that they care about.

What a huge responsibility that has happened without nonprofiteers realizing what is going on!

4. Person-to-person

It's not just technology that's trending. Jon DeLange explains a nonprofit fundraising trend he's paying attention to in 2024:

The low design/plain text fundraising email with a typed-out giving URL. This is an extension of the "emails from a friend" concept, which is where we see people building relationships with the sender. I've lifted our email programs by multiple six figures in the past two years using this trend effectively—people connect with people.

5. No trends! Just build relationships

Major Gifts Strategist Julie Ordoñez eschewed the trend train when we asked her predictions for 2024.

"No trends!" she said. "I don’t care that much about trends. AI's the big thing these days, but AI will never be able empathize or tell a story. Relationships, on the other hand, are foundational. Humans, and our authentic connection with one another, is more important over time."

Well said, Julie!

Nonprofiteer Trends

So, we've covered top trends, donor needs, and communication methods to tune into. But what about what you need, as a nonprofiteer? Here are 4 nonprofiteer trends for 2024.

1. Automation tools
2. Snowball innovation
3. Community involvement
4. Nonprofiteer retention 

1. Automations

"You can absolutely use automation to replace repetitive tasks, but also use it to do more than you possibly do alone," says Cameron Bartlett.

Here's how Cameron Bartlett, digital fundraiser and marketer for nonprofits like IJM, New Story, Compassion, Cure, World Vision and Stop Soldier Suicide applies automations to both major and mass donor bases:

In the past, we’ve created series that send out more than a year’s worth of emails, articles, and stories from a single dynamic automation, saving hours of work. But you don’t have to stop there:

You could think like fast-growing companies and create weeks or even months of content. The more you build over time, the more you’ll decrease the manual engagement you need to do to stay top of mind with your donors.

And this isn’t just for mass donors. When addressing major donors, community foundations and corporate partners, you can think like leading B2B tech and software companies. With tools that let you personalize several outbound prospecting emails at once.

And if you want more trend talk, listen in as Cameron breaks it all down on the Nonstop Nonprofit podcast.

Nicole Nidea, Program Director at SODA, has lots to say about automations. Saving significant time each week has made her a real automations champion: "After building automations, we could get simple tasks off our plate, maintain a lean team, and focus our human energy on things that matter—like meeting new advocates."

2. Snowball innovation

One of our favorites, Olga M. Woltman, is a storytelling powerhouse. During a recent conversation, she gave us the inside scoop on storytelling trends in 2024, saying,

Work-life balance needs to be top of mind in 2024 with all the pressure nonprofits are feeling these days. That means progress will be small but impactful; snowball innovation.

3. Re-introduction to community

Again, global issues rear their head, but with a surprisingly happy result this time: community is back, and it's better than ever. Over the last few years, we've seen the idea of community change drastically. Andrew Webb is witnessing nonprofits reintroduce themselves to their community with new technology, new fundraising ideas, and renewed commitment.

4. The unspoken retention crisis: employee turnover

Wow! We didn't expect it, but there were a lot of people who had a lot to say about nonprofit employee recruiting, retention, and turnover. Here are just a few of the wisest nuggets we received from the expert leadership at DickersonBakker:

In today's competitive job market, it is becoming increasingly difficult for nonprofits to attract and retain skilled professionals.

Many talented individuals are drawn to nonprofit work because of the opportunity to make a difference and contribute to a meaningful cause. However, they may be deterred by factors such as limited resources, low salaries, and a lack of professional development opportunities.

Employee retention is a critical aspect of effective recruiting, as it ensures that your organization can retain the skills and expertise needed to make a meaningful impact.

Another smart hiring practice is to prioritize internal promotions and career development opportunities. By investing in the growth and advancement of existing employees, nonprofits can not only retain talent but also foster a sense of loyalty and commitment.

Many nonprofits are recognizing the importance of having a diverse leadership team that represents the communities they serve. This trend is not only driven by a desire for social justice but also by the realization that diverse perspectives can lead to more innovative solutions and better outcomes.

The demand for executive talent with strong digital skills is on the rise. As nonprofits increasingly rely on technology to carry out their missions, executives who are proficient in areas such as data analytics, digital marketing, and cybersecurity are in high demand.

And Derric Bakker, President of DickersonBakker, had this to say in an article earlier this year:

CEOs and front-line fundraisers are not in sync.

Overall, CEOs have a rosier view of how their organization is performing.

When respondents rated their organization in ten different areas, CEOs consistently scored their organizations higher than their staff did: Only 48% of CEOs think their organization is emphasizing the wrong fundraising goals, compared to 80% of fundraising staff. On the whole, CEOs seem more comfortable focusing on simple top-line metrics such as gross revenue, while front-line fundraisers want to focus on more sophisticated metrics such as donor retention, elevation, and net revenue growth.

Nonprofit Technology Trends for 2024

Finally, our favorites! Obviously, technology is Funraise's jam; we love a good digital fundraising tool! Here are four of the nonprofit fundraising technology trends for 2024.

1. Consolidation
2. Tech awareness
3. Agility in technology
4. Data Science

1. Consolidation

Straight from Tony Sasso:

We’re seeing that many organizations are looking to save costs and reduce the additional resource drain of using too many different technologies. Over the last 5 years, many new single-use technologies have come to market, but now we’re seeing organizations weighed down by too many tools that don’t speak together.

Each different platform requires specific trainings and knowledge—knowledge that is hard to retain with nonprofit staffing turnover.

Increasingly nonprofits are looking to consolidate tech, and the ultimate efficiency gains will go to organizations who are able to unite their front end fundraising tools with their back end donor management tools—ideally into a single platform, like Funraise. Organizations that consolidate will benefit from strong donor relationships, more efficient workflows, decreased costs, and ultimately these benefits will lead to more revenue.

2. Tech Awareness

This one is more general and operational, but Jenny Flack, Funraise's Chief Revenue Officer, is seeing more disciplined/consistent tech audits.

The space is more noisy than ever; fundraisers may feel overwhelmed by the idea of keeping up, but the alternative is being reactive. Don't wait until your provider gets acquired or your platform is sunset to see what’s out there.

Jon DeLange also had something to say about tech awareness: "Beware of putting complex systems in place that one doesn't understand to save a few minutes here or there."

3. Agility in Technology

Jon DeLange gave us one bonus prediction that we couldn't pass up:

I predict we will see nonprofits excelling who are investing in this order: People, ideas, machines.

Organizations win when they can build simple, robust systems manned by smart people that can adapt to unexpected lateral stressors. When an organization instantiates complex systems at the expense of adaptability, they are making tradeoffs of adaptability... at a moment when the future is highly uncertain. 

We need to be aware that when something breaks or we need to change strategy immediately due to unexpected environment changes, it will be the organizations who invested in adaptable people, ideas and machines who can pivot and win. 

4. Data Science

Tim Lockie, CEO of The Human Stack, did a great job explaining exactly what we were thinking when he chatted with David Schwab on the Nonstop Nonprofit podcast. He frequently cites a statistic that started him on the road to improving nonprofit tech stacks: "90% of nonprofits collect data, but only 5% use that data to make decisions."

With that in mind, and the knowledge that technology is the second-largest purchase of a nonprofit, understanding your donor data, website traffic, conversion rates—and how they work together—is going to be essential as we move into 2024. 

If 2023 has been any indicator, 2024 is gonna be a doozy! But now you have the trends that will take your year from fundraising folly to funding awesome.  

2023 Nonprofit Fundraising Trends

The theme of this section is "7 trends in 7 minutes", and we have taken this challenge very seriously—your writer has set a timer and will be concluding the writing and editing process after 420 seconds. Send your thoughts and prayers for these ferociously fast fingers!

And with that intro, here were our top nonprofit trends to keep an eye on in 2023:

1. Digital wallets in 2023

Who wants to dig through their wallet or purse these days? Or... pockets or brassiere or sleeves (if you're a magician). Really, no one has time for that. Ergo, the digital wallet. Here's why digital wallets were a top fundraising trend for 2023:

• Donors these days expect a giving experience that’s similar to the way they buy and shop online, meaning modern payment methods and digital wallet payments like Apple Pay, Venmo, PayPal and GooglePay are de rigueur.
• Meme and social media culture assure us that we're not the only ones guilty of abandoning (and ultimately forgetting about) an online shopping cart because we don’t have a credit card in our hot little hands and the online retailer doesn’t accept a digital wallet. While this is great for our shopping habits, it's not great for your donor experience.

In fact, did you know the average one-time donation is nearly 1.5X more when nonprofits offer ACH, PayPal, and digital wallet payments? Yep, and the Apple Pay stats from a previous test are even better:

• 160% increase in the average donation amount for Apple Pay
• With 26% of iPhone-owning donors giving with Apple Pay

2. Crypto in 2023

So, let’s talk crypto for a minute! For those who haven’t invested in crypto, it may seem farfetched or volatile, but when we look at the trajectory of cryptocurrency donations over the years, it’s phenomenal. In fact, as we look at the rate of nonprofit adoption, innovations in fundraising, and crypto mainstreaming, The Giving Block’s prediction that “crypto has the potential to become the most powerful philanthropic force on the planet” doesn’t seem that far-fetched.

Aaaand as persuasive as we can be, The Giving Block’s numbers may sway you more than our recommendation, so here they are!

• Total donation volume increased almost 1600% from 2020 to 2021 and average donation size increased 236% in the same time.
• The total donation volume on The Giving Block in 2021 was $69,644,535, an increase of 1,558% from 2020.
• The average crypto donation size on The Giving Block in 2021 was $10,455, an increase of 236% from the previous year.

3. Leveraging LinkedIn in 2023

This one’s specifically for you, nonprofit leaders! Y'all are the experts on your mission and the problems that your organization is solving. It’s important to establish yourself as a thought leader amongst not only your colleagues, but current and potential donors.

There isn’t a dedicated forum where nonprofit leaders of all stripes can start a conversation around their organization, but those that are doing so on LinkedIn are not only building a network of like-minded leaders, but also finding a way to share their voice to a host of working professionals, who coincidentally make up a large portion of potential donors.

Oh, and make sure to follow Funraise and our CEO, Justin Wheeler on LinkedIn!

4. E-Commercification of donations in 2023

What *can't* you get online these days? (As we're typing, we realize that the answer is a manicure. You can't get a manicure online.) The US Department of Commerce shows that US e-commerce sales have been growing steadily for over a decade, with significant growth in the early 2020s. Factor in a global pandemic, gas prices going through the roof, and inflation, and people are buying everything online.

Nonprofits can take note from the for-profit space on how to optimize online giving through tools that:

• Upgrade one-time donors to recurring donors
• Flag abandoned cart donors
• Pinpoint donor position through location-based AI
• And go back to our first trend… digital wallets!

5. Hybrid events in 2023

With in-person events are back in full swing, we’ve seen too many organizations throw virtual events to the wayside. However, organizations that keep a virtual component as part of their in-person event fundraising strategies are able to make their one-night event last months.

In fact, the Boys Scouts of America - Heart of America council streamed a virtual event using a Funraise campaign page. Cut to a year later, and they were still driving traffic—and donations!—to the recorded event on this page. They’re not limited by seating capacity or timebound in-person events, a nonprofit fundraising strategy which has netted them hundreds of dollars in donations they wouldn’t have had otherwise.

They also get bonus points for tying peer-to-peer into the strategy for this event, which increases new donor web traffic in addition to donations.

6. Giving Experience in 2023

Modern donors have different—and higher—expectations for the digital donation experience than ever before. For example, the mindset around recurring donations is forever changed by subscription boxes.

Think about it! It makes sense; today's marketplace is full of subscription boxes: make up, coffee, clothing or meal kits, and even boxes for pets. Taking your prompt from subscription services, how can your nonprofit continue to provide value to recurring donors? Here are some ideas:

• Regular updates on programs and initiatives
• VIP experiences or limited-edition swag
• Personalized relationship-building conversations
• Monthly donations that are something to look forward to instead of a forgettable expense

You also can and should be mitigating donor churn due to expiring credit card with recurring giving. Amazon and Netflix do this automatically—and we’ve got fundraising tools that can do this too.

7. SMS comms in 2023

Text communications are trending for three big reasons:

1. SMS is highly effective: Text has a 95% open rate, compared to 18% for email.
2. SMS is multi-purpose: Nonprofits don’t just use text to give or to make asks, they’re also using it as a channel for relationship building.
3. SMS has a lot of fundraising potential: We’ve seen folks send a behind-the-scenes photo to recurring donors as a thank you. Or a personalized message when a donation is made in memory of someone. Even voice memos with a quick thank you are trending these days.

2023 was a trend-setting year for nonprofits. Digital wallets, e-commerce, and technology were big factors in fundraising innovations.

(Whew, we made it with 3 seconds to spare. Excuse us while we go reward ourselves with a manicure.)

2021 Nonprofit Fundraising Trends

Fundraising used to rely on tried and true methods that stayed relatively the same for decades, but a new mindset was required when we hit 2020.

Rather than relying on more traditional ways of fundraising, we made 2021 the year that nonprofits revolutionizes the way people think about fundraising. Instead of leaving 2020 behind, we met 2021 head on. Together.

Going Virtual is the New Norm in 2021

It’s true that many of us have already integrated video events into our lives as most of us use Zoom or Google Meet to conduct business meetings (as well as social events like happy hours), but if nonprofits are going to take advantage of this type of engagement, it’s going to require something extra.

Despite the brightsiding of virtual tools in the context of the workplace, it’s still important to note that there are several main concerns:

• When structure is lacking, a virtual meeting feels like a total waste. Think back to the days of holding nonprofit events in person and consider just how much time and planning went into each soirée. For some causes, you may want to think about your level of organization before you go live.
• Engagement is the key to success and is often sorely lacking. Getting potential donors to show up to a virtual event is one thing, but actually providing content that’s informative and enticing enough to make them want to contribute is another.
• Video meetings take up too much time during the week. If we’re already maxed out on screen time just to get through the workday, it’s going to take an enticing event in order for nonprofits to see people virtually show up.

Virtual events may not be a new concept but they are among the most common trends in the nonprofit sector and need to be taken seriously. Even once the pandemic is over, the infrastructure and skills you build now for making the most of virtual events could prove useful, and it’s worth investing in.

Tap into the Power of Giving Days in 2021

Unless you spent most of 2020 under a rock, and honestly we don’t blame you if you did, you’ve likely heard about Giving Days.

In particular, Giving Tuesday donations saw a substantial increase last year and resulted in many nonprofits creating their own days to celebrate generosity. Businesses and nonprofits alike utilized the power of the hashtag to promote their worthy causes and found that they could create a lot of buzz around their fundraising efforts when they kept a few tips in mind:

• We’re all overly busy, so it’s important to plan ahead despite the fact that most of us know that Giving Tuesday is the first Tuesday after Black Friday. #GivingTuesday isn’t always at the front of people’s minds so sending out communication early can make a huge impact on your results.
• People relate to stories by and large compared to facts and figures. Tools like Funraise make this simple with pages you can design yourself and customize to tell your organization’s specific story.
• Don’t feel disheartened if you’re competing against dozens of other nonprofits in your area on this one day. Some have found that teaming up with others can create a larger impact compared to soliciting donations alone.

If taking advantage of Giving Days is a new concept for your team, start small and consider planning ahead for 2021’s Giving Tuesday. Those who are extra passionate about these types of donation days may want to implement a specific day each month where they encourage people to contribute a small amount to their cause. Funraise Free makes this easy as can be with a monthly recurring donation program that lets your supporters give without having to jump through hoops just to make it happen.

Don’t Forget About Younger Generations in 2021

All too often, when people think about who’s actually giving money to nonprofits, they’re often targeting older individuals who are able to donate larger amounts and who tend to prefer in-person giving. While these people may be some of your donors, you may be surprised to find that younger generations contribute more than you think.

This year, Gen Z will be entering the workforce in greater numbers than ever before, and though the word still conjures images of latte-drinking college students, the oldest millennials are nearly 40. While they tend to have less disposable income than older generations, these generations now represent the largest chunk of the workforce and the largest consumer segment in the world. How can you appeal to this audience in a way that matters?

• Younger donors probably aren’t going to mail a check to their favorite charity. Instead, digital fundraising tools can help nonprofits to appeal to this tech-savvy group. Tools that let digital natives use PayPal, Stripe, or Apple Pay are great ways to smooth the giving process and save them a lot of hassle.
• Younger individuals want to support nonprofits that are transparent in their mission. It’s crucial that your story represents your organization in clear language without trying to slip anything under the radar.
• Bigger isn’t always better when it comes to donations from Gen Z and millennials. Instead of trying to encourage larger one-time gifts, consider appealing to them from the standpoint of smaller, recurring gifts.
• Think about how you engage with younger people—they’re consistently more likely to want to interact via social media, email, or through less traditional channels. Consider implementing something like a chatbot to help capture these potential donors.

Tapping into the pool of younger givers is perhaps one of the more logical nonprofit trends for 2021 as COVID-19 has forced many of us to turn to digital tactics anyway. Gen Z and millennials thrive on community, so consider boosting your social media presence as well to stay at the forefront of their minds.

Data Analytics Matter More in 2021

Think back to the time when nonprofits received donations via checks in the mail and the tech tools we have today were simply ideas that had yet to come to life.

It’s arguable that their marketing efforts, as well as how they distributed funds, weren’t being exercised to their full potential. There wasn’t always a clear-cut way to capture donor data, but now that’s easier—and more important than ever. The right tools let you track analytics better than ever. Funraise Free has the following benefits:

• Reports for both individual donors as well as donation types are easy to access, showing you who your target audience is and where you’re finding the most success. These real-time reports are important for shifting your strategies as the year goes on.
• Instead of randomly choosing where certain donations go, your donation allocation tool can help you to stay organized and on track to meet your goals.
• Nonprofits who don’t currently have a donor CRM in place won’t need to worry about the extra expense of enrolling in one as Funraise Free integrates the most important aspects of this type of software within an easy to use platform.

As data analytics becomes one of the more prominent trends in the nonprofit sector, organizations need to keep in mind that security is key. Nonprofits aren’t exempt from being targeted by data hackers, making it even smarter to use the right tools instead of trying to develop your own donor website.

Social Media is Your Friend in 2021

Social distancing has led to social media becoming even more impactful than it ever has been, now that the only ways we can safely connect with each other involve Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and other social media platforms.

While some nonprofits might balk at the idea of making a TikTok video, using these platforms is becoming more and more common—and more important. Rather than haphazardly building an online presence, nonprofits should consider a few strategies when it comes to social media:

• Creating a content calendar is just as important for nonprofits as it is for standard businesses. You’ll also have the ability to really craft your message over time instead of trying to create a social media post on the fly.
• Building your presence includes posting about more than just your own organization and its goals. Through the use of shareable content, you can start to promote your own hashtags and reach a larger audience when your message is one that people really resonate with.
• Don’t just post to solicit donations—your audience will want to see where their money actually went. Make an Instagram story that shows the results of your latest project or consider posting a video on Facebook where you virtually interview someone who was directly impacted by your organization’s efforts.

It’s clear now more than ever that social media really does connect all of us, so rather than sticking to more traditional methods of marketing your organization, take some time to really learn these platforms. If you don’t, it’s likely that you’ll soon feel as if you’ve been left behind.

If there’s one thing that 2020 taught all of us, it’s that things can change at a moment’s notice.

2020 Nonprofit Fundraising Trends

Written in late 2019, this look back at our hopeful plans for 2020 is either humorous or devastating; take your pick. But yeah, read it for a little nostalgia or maybe inspiration for your next steps...

It goes without saying that nonprofits have their plates full. In 2019, Charitable giving took a hit. Organizations were faced with doing more with less. Technology, though, can be used to bridge the gap between the lack of resources and meeting goals that nonprofits are trying to achieve for their mission(s).

Organizations today, nonprofits included, need to find a way to embrace digital change (e.g., automation, AI–artificial intelligence, and security) as donor and supporter expectations alone demand alternatives to traditional ways of operating. Alongside this is that the investment will definitely help the business as more and more technology is becoming accessible for less cost upfront.

Let’s take a look at a few trends we anticipate seeing in 2020:

Donate your way today in 2020

A multitude of ways to donate has become available over the past few years. Text-to-give, online donations, and the traditional check method have all resulted in a growing need to capture all these forms of fundraising into one connected repository. As integration is now the operative word, this is where CRMs (customer relationship managers) have come into play. 

Now more cost-effective for nonprofits, cloud-based CRMs have the ability to pull up information from multiple data sources to bring up a detailed profile of any individual donor who, for example, uses more than one method of donating to the organization. This is growing in importance as more channels of income present themselves in the coming years.

Expanding automation to increase efficiency in 2020

For nonprofits, automation has become one of the most important technologies used to compensate for the lack of people resources. It is because of the lack of resources that optimizing cost and effort is vital to the nonprofit. 

Scheduled email campaigns, drip marketing, and call-to-action promotions are all benefits to nonprofit organizations. Automation in things like regular communications to donors and volunteers and internal accounting alone saves considerable time for the staff. These are resources freed up to go directly into the nonprofits’ goods and services.

AI, Machine Learning (ML), and optimizing analytics in 2020

Everything from training your staff to donor/supporter communications will feel the benefits of using AI and Machine Learning. Think of donor profiles, email campaigns, web visits, and other instances of digital behavior for that donor, all combined into one repository to study data and predictive analytics. The result can be personalized communication to the donor with a focus on their specific profile preferences.

You can also make use of AI with respect to website ‘live-chat.’ These are chatbots designed to answer the common questions website visitors may have regarding your cause or organization (how to volunteer, etc.). In fact, reports show that 82% of website visitors are more inclined to convert to donors after ‘chatting’ with your nonprofit organization first.

Data security for donors in 2020

Without donors, fundraising stops. There are few things more valuable, outside of the cause, to nonprofits than donors. You cannot carry out the mission without funding. Donors need to feel that their information and money are secure, protected, and monitored. 

High on your list should be an annual (at minimum or as needed within the year) cybersecurity assessment. Part of this is to also ensure you have proper data backup systems and storage in place. Depending on your organization, you may choose to use blockchain technology where information is locked securely behind multiple points of authentication.

Make giving easy in 2020

It used to be adjusting to online payments was a goal set by organizations for years. Today, the move is toward ensuring your donors have the ability to contribute using various mobile devices. Not only is this in response to donor demand, but it is also beneficial to any nonprofit wanted to reduce and roadblocks to making a donation immediately when it comes to a donor’s mind. Shifting to a mobile-first donation strategy would be a good place to start.

Using popular mobile payments such as Apple Pay and Google Pay allows organizations to make giving while on the go as easy as can be.

You should also explore website chatbots, as mentioned above, if your nonprofit can use it. 

Be sure to enable Donate Buttons on all your social platforms. Whether through Facebook’s Messenger Pay app, WhatsApp, or Instagram.

2019 Nonprofit Fundraising Trends

Another article from the archives! This time, we're turning the clock back to 2018, when we were bullish on 2019.

Anyone else ready to turn that calendar page to January 2019? Year-end fundraising is finally behind you and you’re ready for that fresh start that comes with a new year. With any fundraising program, it’s valuable to continue using strategies and tactics that work well for your nonprofit. At the same time, it’s necessary to identify (and try) new things. Take a peek at some of the fundraising trends we’re keeping an eye on for 2019.

Increasing personalization/relevancy in 2019

How awesome is it to receive a communication that really feels like it was made just for you? Pretty freaking awesome. We live in a world where corporations are spending billions of dollars to create the most personal and relevant advertising experience for consumers as a result of big data. This has turned up the heat on nonprofits. The days of sending out cookie-cutter mass emails are numbered. In 2019, we’ll continue to see nonprofits maximizing their data’s potential and creatively developing more personalized donor experiences.

Peer-to-peer fundraising in 2019

More than ever, nonprofits are awakening to the delightful power of peer-to-peer fundraising. Your supporters care deeply about your cause. Why not leverage their support for your mission by making it easier to fundraise on your behalf? By providing simple fundraising solutions like easy-to-use peer-to-peer websites and pages, nonprofits can maximize their fundraising year-round by having their supporters serve as their biggest cheerleaders. 

Marketing automation in 2019

Online marketing continues to get more and more sophisticated, and in particular, email automation. We love the idea of being able to send the right email at the right time to list subscribers. Whether it’s a series of carefully crafted welcome emails, an ask based on recent behavior, or an extra special thank you, the right emails can make a difference for your nonprofit’s bottom line. In 2019, we think we’ll see more organizations experimenting with and utilizing the power of marketing automation.

Events and ticketing in 2019

Events have always served as a major fundraising tool for nonprofits. Whether you’re planning an annual gala, a purpose-driven 5K, or a silent auction, adopting a simple event and ticketing platform will make ALL the difference. Unfortunately, many nonprofits are still stuck using a separate system for event ticketing, donation tracking, event-day communications, and so forth. Imagine an all-in-one event and ticketing solution that you can seamlessly integrate into your current nonprofit website (I know, wild right?). In fact, Funraise rolled out its own events and ticketing platform in 2019 that does just that. From customizing ticketing options to event-day attendee communications, and up-to-the-minute event-day fundraising updates, nonprofit event fundraising is about to become easy as pie.

Capacity building funding on the rise in 2019

Vu Le of NonprofitAF.com started an important conversation a few years ago about institutional funders' (Hi, Foundations!) need to fund “overhead” and it’s sparked some real change among the funder community. Now, more funders are providing grants to support staffing costs, capital expenses, and more. You know, all the things you actually need to do your awesome work. In 2019, we expect to see even more funders offer these types of granting programs.

Nonprofit fundraising is ever-changing and we know that you’ve got an eye to the future. As you create your next fundraising strategy, we hope you’ll leverage trends to take your fundraising program to the next level.