Fundraising Trends

Change is certain and, to survive, NPOs will need to adjust how they respond to donors. Because of the need for nonprofits to obtain new supporters, the reasons that motivate donors to give, and the new ways to do this created through technology, we’ve gathered four trends we believe will change this landscape.
 
1. Organizations will use technology to engage with donors.
Fundraising has always been about developing relationships with people who are willing to give. Most NPOs recognize that face-to-face interaction is the most valuable way to build those relationships, but it’s usually reserved for significant donations because it’s expensive, less scalable, and time-intensive.
To justify the cost, nonprofits will increasingly use technology to identify prospects before donors make significant donations, and then use that data to drive face-to-face visits and upgrade requests.
 
2. Organizations focused on solving problems will increasingly challenge permanent NPOs.
Many of today’s supporters donate based on perceived needs, not because they have a history with an organization. So what would be the next step? As donors become more and more results-driven, we will see more NPOs formed for a small period.
 
3. Big data will become universal and easier to manage.
Almost every organization tracks donation frequency and monetary value data. More and more NPOs are using external wealth-screening data, which evaluates a donor’s capacity to contribute. Analyzing behavioral data is no longer prohibitively expensive. Organizations have the opportunity to leverage publicly available data points to improve their relationships with their supporters.
 
4. NPOs will become proactive to different opportunities in fundraising.
It’s time for nonprofits to leverage the incredible media awareness, and develop strategies for potentializing events that connect with their cause and mission.
The social fundraising sector is changing; the most efficient leaders will understand this and adjust their strategies to become relevant and make an impact.