Emerging Trends Shaping the Future of Charity

In 2024, as the world comes to terms with rising costs all around, the trickle-down effect has impacted charity culture in multiple countries. According to the Charity Aid Foundation's 2023 survey, the momentum, which began during the pandemic, has been sustained but has dropped by a point. Consequently, the new World Giving Index score stands at 39.

The nonprofit sector was already due for a technological overhaul as witnessed during the pandemic, but the recent inflation has prompted organizations to incorporate new methods of keeping their donor pool engaged. 

What are some of the fastest methods to donate?

With numerous causes to support, the modern philanthropist also finds themself spoilt for choice. How can organizations retain donors and can technology play a role in helping them in doing so? In this blog, we'll examine some emerging trends that will soon shape the nonprofit sector's practices. 

Hybrid Approach:

At the onset of COVID-19, like many businesses, non-profit organizations also had to pivot to cater to the new order of the world. We saw many virtual events in the form of auctions, galas, and webinars where attendees could be present from the safety of their own homes. Along with fully virtual events, there were hybrid occurrences where some members attended events physically and some virtually. 

Safe to say the pandemic changed the trajectory of fundraising as 4 years later, in 2024, we still see hybrid events with non-profits operating with face-to-face activities, online fundraising, and events along with digital ones, getting the best of both worlds.

Multiple Donation Methods

To cater to the budding need for convenience in most aspects, organizations have cast a wide net and incorporated a wide variety of payment methods to onboard and retain maximum donors. Organizations nows accept donation through modern payment methods in the form of cryptocurrency, stocks, PayPal transfers, and much more. Gone are the days when people had to physically deposit cheques or cash to their chosen causes, as they can now donate from their couches at home with a few taps on their phone screens, through the service of their choosing.

It is expected that the younger generation will also adopt these methods of charitable giving, as nearly 60% of all millennials own stock or cryptocurrency. Offering potential donors more methods of payment is expected to result in nonprofits receiving more charity. This doesn’t go to say that nonprofits should incorporate every platform available, but rather keep up with modern FinTech solutions.

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding has stood the test of time and still reigns superior among all methods of charitable giving. The trend has not only served nonprofit organizations well but has also bled into other avenues where platforms offer individuals a chance to present their cases to potential donors and crowdfund their individual causes and initiatives. Websites like Transparent Hands, GoFundMe, Kickstarter, Patreon, and more offer their platform for individual users to register and appeal to people online for support.

By fostering a sense of camaraderie and shared experience, crowdfunding will still be a lucrative tool for nonprofits to use and tap into donors with similar interests, regardless of geographical boundaries. 

SMS Messages

Another traditional yet surprising trend that continues to yield great results is campaigning via text messages. Latest statistics show that almost 100% of the people (98% to be precise) open and read their text messages. The figure for opening email stands at a modest 25.96%. 

Around 7.41 billion people use mobile phones in the world and text messages allow organizations to present their case to literally billions of people. The audience can be picked and chosen based on their geo-location and demographics allowing organizations to reach out to specific communities for maximum response for specific causes. A good strategy to follow for text campaigns is to send out quality messages in modest quantities. 

Nonprofits seeking matching gifts

In the corporate world, gift matching is slowly on the rise. Research shows that only 19% of corporate businesses have adequate information on their employee-facing material that discloses information about gift-matching policies. This leaves about 78% of employees unsure if their company matches gifts or not. 

Nonprofits have taken matters into their own hands and are now proactively seeking to educate their audience on gift-matching policies. The education can take place in various forms such as the utilization of matching gift software to show available opportunities, integrating git matching into the contribution process, internal training, and personalized post-donation follow-up notes. 

With these efforts organizations can spread awareness among a company’s employees about their employers' philanthropic efforts, thus increasing the amount of money they receive. 

Connection via social media 

By now, most, if not all nonprofit organizations have a social media presence. The pandemic taught organizations how important a digital presence is and since then, social media algorithms have changed significantly, making for any business to stay on top of a user’s feed, much more difficult. Now would be the time to sit back and work on developing a stronger social media strategy that doesn’t solely rely on posting regular content. 

Organizations can also develop a social commerce strategy, keeping their target audience in mind. By eliminating hurdles in the donation process, and by streamlining the user journey they can prompt action from within apps. 

Personalization

Personalizing messaging for donors seems old, but in 2024, it still holds relevance. Personalization of communication could encompass anything from naming a thank you message, to a monthly newsletter to even an urgent appeal for help. This could create a more loyal and invested user base for future campaigns. 

By utilizing AI software, nonprofits can craft their messaging that will resonate most with specific donor pools, prompting action. Charities can look into the type of software they would like to employ for their campaign or organizational goals.

Conclusion

All work by nonprofits is important. We hope that these trends can help you strategize for maximum donations in 2024. Technology may seem overwhelming and scary at times, but leaning toward it and harnessing its potential will ultimately benefit organizations and the underprivileged through it. Incorporating these trends will ensure a steady stream of support for years to come.