Fundraising Trends in 2021 are highly influenced by the events that developed during the previous year. 2020 saw billions of people, business and the likes having to adapt to a very different way of life because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The social sphere, as a whole, was probably most affected and a rather harsh lesson was learnt. Even the most meticulous planning wasn’t enough to ensure this sector was able to withstand the impact this pandemic.
Despite the trials of 2020, the industry has shown great resilience and 2021 will be no different. Taking the previous years’ issues into consideration, 10 Fundraising Trends are noted for 2021. These are:
Diversifying revenue sources
Generally, organisations have a donor base, predominantly made up of donors aged 50 and above. Statistically, it’s shown that these donors prefer to pay by traditional methods such as a bank cheque or cash. The larger the gift size, the more likely that the donation will be made via traditional methods. So as to avoid significantly higher processing fees.
However, smaller impulse-based donations are becoming popular. In turn, third party platforms such as PayPal have gained a significant amount of recognition. To facilitate these transactions, these third-party platforms enable quick and easy donations at the tap of a finger
The Great Transfer of Wealth
The Great Transfer of Wealth refers to wealth changing hands from the Baby-boomers to the Millennials and Generation Z. Predictions indicate the transfer will happen en-masse over the following decade, as this practice has already begun.
The importance of this generation-shift becomes well-defined when looking at the landscape of gifting. With the younger generation now becoming the forefront of possible donors, fundraising efforts will now require adapting to appeal to the target market.
Cultivation with Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence can take on the tiresome administrative work by sifting through donor demographics, previous donation amounts, volunteer hours etc. To provide a better understanding of the insight into the charitable patterns of said donors.
The rise of digital
Considering that the majority of web-traffic is from mobile users, it is only a matter of time before all organisations move to mobile-friendly methods of engagement. Since the pandemic there has been a significant amount of time spent online, it is important to engage with donors within that space.
Embracing multiculturalism
As seen with the Great Transfer of Wealth, more money is being transferred to by younger generations, and as it stands Gen Z donors are the most multicultural of any generation.
This year requires a shift in representation across all organisations beyond meeting the diversity quota. Diverse teams in for-profit companies actively improve the bottom line for companies and expand the market share as proved by a study carried out by Harvard Business.
Increased charitable donations
Despite 2020 being a difficult financial year for many, NPOs saw an increase in donations. With NPOs being transparent about their financial situation and the cases they support, NPOs found donors were responding with increased volumes.
Virtual Events will continue
In order to stay within the rules and regulations that accompanied the world-wide lockdown, the requirement of many organisations was to move their events on to virtual platforms. Hosting virtual events allowed these organisations to save both time and money as there was no necessity for the trimmings normally supplied at these events.
Solid returns for organisations that continue investing in fundraising
Many organisations found themselves making major budget cuts and furloughing their fundraising staff, only to find that some of their usual revenue streams left with those staff members.
NPOs who managed to retain their fundraising staff continued with their fundraising activities and in so doing, reaped the benefits. These NPOs remained in the forefront of their donors’ attention and as a result, enjoyed the influx of donations. Thereby maintaining essential revenue streams.
The connection of non-profits and for-profits will grow
Teamwork realises the dream. This phrase rang true as partnerships formed between multiple NPOs and for-profit companies in response to the pandemic. And while this trend has been evolving over the past decades, predictions have been made that collaboration between the two sectors will become more frequent and more meaningful.
Remaining flexible is imperative
2020 has proven that no matter the amount of planning, there is no preparation for something as unexpected. Especially something as a large-scale global event such as the outbreak of COVID-19.
This unprecedented situation has shown that flexibility is paramount to the fundraising environment as well. Whether pivoting to raise funds quickly in the face of adversity or shifting the strategy to better suit the online-world: organizations need to continue broadening their efforts to remain flexible no matter what.
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