Read this blog to learn about the top fundraising trends that will have an impact on your fundraising in 2022. Some of these might even be carried over to the coming years, which means once you adopt these trends for fundraising, you prepare your organization for the upcoming challenges and tools.
Nonprofit fundraising trends may change every year, and while it’s not realistic for all nonprofits to follow them, there is a benefit to knowing what other organizations are doing. The Covid pandemic has created a new world for nonprofits and fundraising. It gave rise to trends that are more flexible, secure, hybrid, and engaging. While reading more about these trends, nonprofits should see if they fit their budgets and donor bases. Look for ways each trend could increase your donor impact and strengthen relationships with your donor base.b
Nonprofit donors are as varied as you would expect. While some donors would still rather receive mailed brochures and mail a check, a significant number of donors have moved online. Your job as a nonprofit is to reach donors where they are and give them options that work best for them.
Online giving is growing and has opened many donation options to supporters. These options may help your nonprofit convince donors to give more in 2022. By adding the following options to your fundraising strategy, your organization can entice donors to give more and potentially reach a new audience.
QR codes became popular in 2010. It seemed like every company and nonprofit included QR codes in their marketing. These codes seemed to have fallen out of favor for a while, but our new online world has brought them back into the mainstream. Restaurants use them to share menus, airports provide tickets through QR codes, and nonprofits use them to link donors to fundraising pages quickly.
With Donorbox, you get a free QR code on every campaign. Nonprofits can download and use it at events, for their emails, marketing copies, and invitations.
Nonprofits that offer different ways to give online see increases in their revenue. Major donors may be more inclined to give online through Automated Clearing House (ACH) using electronic funds transfers directly from their bank accounts. This system helps donors avoid credit card fees. Online donors can also pay by credit cards to make one-time or recurring donations.
Many nonprofits have added Google Pay and Apple Pay to their online fundraising pages. Donors have found the convenience of paying from anywhere, and the safety measures these tools provide is a compelling reason to use them for donations.
Like Google and Apple Pay, many donors are looking for other companies to use when donating. PayPal, Stripe, and Venmo all give donors the option of paying directly from their phones. Once again, the convenience and safety of using these companies make them a popular choice.
Text giving can be used for any event. By promoting text giving during an in-person or online event, nonprofits give donors a way to easily give through texting.
Donorbox’s text-to-give option is simple. Nonprofits can share a campaign ID and a texting number during an event or online. Donors can text the ID to the number. They will quickly receive a text linking them to the organization’s donation page to make a donation. Repeating the donation in the future is even easier – no need for going to the donation page again.
Cryptocurrency is even making roads into nonprofits, with a few hundred organizations jumping on this trend. Cryptocurrency is growing in influence. Thanks to its resilience and distance from the stock market, more people are looking into purchasing cryptocurrency from companies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The Black Lives Matter movement opened our eyes to the realities of racism. Every industry must face the fact that communities are often left out. Nonprofits are no different, and community-centric fundraising is designed to re-think how charities operate.
Social media is changing how we do many things, and fundraising is no different. As many young fundraisers and donors have shown an interest in social justice, many organizations are moving to a community-centric model. This model focuses on equity and social justice and concentrates on an entire affected community instead of a single organization.
Community-centric fundraising values center around the belief that nonprofit organizations should work together to treat societal issues. The movement’s principles also share the need to involve all members of society in the work and highlight the belief that nonprofits would benefit from placing in leadership positions those most affected by injustice.
The best way to involve and engage your community is to give them a chance to actively support your cause. Invite them and let them create fundraising pages for themselves and raise funds from their friends, family, and network. They’ll not only be boosting your funds but also will turn into advocates for your cause. More people will come to know about your organization. You’ll build new relationships.
Check the below page out, here an earnest supporter is advocating for the nonprofit as well as raising funds for them.
Membership campaigns let nonprofits create and retain a loyal supporters base for themselves. They enable you to establish lasting relationships within your community, make them feel more included in the good work you do, and acknowledge their kindness with special perks and benefits.
With Donorbox Memberships, you can create dedicated and unlimited membership tiers according to your membership program and have a monthly/yearly membership campaign that caters to your funding needs as well as keeps the community engaged for good.
Start a Membership Campaign on Donorbox
The pandemic has changed our lives in more ways than we can count. One of the primary differences for nonprofits was the beginning of virtual events. As vaccines became widely available and things began to open, nonprofits started holding in-person events again, but this time kept a few perks of virtual fundraising. This blend of virtual and in-person events is termed hybrid events or hybrid fundraising.
Online silent and live auctions were surprisingly popular and financially beneficial during the worst of the pandemic. Nonprofits have seen an increase in revenue and outreach by adding mobile auctions to the event.
Nonprofits can use text giving and set up online donation pages to collect bids from supporters across the country. Also, platforms like ClickBid, Handbid, etc. offer advanced mobile bidding options for nonprofit events.
Live Streaming was another way nonprofits were able to hold events during the pandemic. By sharing videos and live streams of a nonprofit’s location or streaming supporters in their homes, organizations can make people feel like they are celebrating together and more likely to enjoy the event. Even churches have jumped on the live streaming trend and shared services and classes online with their parishioners. Now that we are starting to return to normal, nonprofits can still live stream events to include all supporters.
As more people run from corporate work, companies look for ways to make their employees feel useful and happy. Matching gifts and workplace giving have been around for decades. The Great Resignation has drawn more attention to the importance of finding ways for companies to make a difference in their community.
Nonprofits are always looking for corporate sponsorships, but there is another way organizations can benefit from businesses’ interest in corporate social responsibility. Many corporations match employees’ gifts. This means you get a chance to double, even triple your donors’ donations. Nonprofits can capitalize on this trend with the Double the Donation widget on their donation forms like in the below image.
Companies are also making it easier for their employees to volunteer with the charity of their choice. Some corporations have volunteer days of their own. Others offer paid days off for their employees to volunteer. This employee perk has already been adopted by several large corporations and remains a powerful incentive for employees.
Companies like Apple, Microsoft, Deloitte, BlueCross BlueShield, Intuit, etc. have dedicated volunteer programs to give back to the community.
Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) have been around since 1931 but have recently gained popularity. More donors are creating and using these funds, and nonprofits have begun to realize what an excellent indicator they are of major donor prospects.
Like any stock, bond, or interest-bearing account, they are closely tied to the success and failures of the stock market, but with the stock market doing so well right now, these funds have grown in popularity. Companies like Vanguard and Fidelity have started to promote this donor option to their consumers.
Donors can contribute to these funds as often as they want and receive an immediate tax deduction. They also have much more flexibility to use the funds to provide grants for their favorite charities. By researching which of their donors have DAFs, nonprofits can see who has the potential to make a significant gift.
Several nonprofits have joined forces to encourage DAF contributions with the #HalfMyDAF movement. Thanks to this movement, donors gave over $8.6 million to charities in 2020.
In the below podcast episode, Donorbox nonprofit experts Cara Augspurger and Jena Lynch take a look at what trended the most for nonprofits in 2022 and help you leverage these learnings to serve and fundraise better in the future. Give this unmissable episode a listen for your nonprofit’s growth in the coming year!
As the economy, technology, and daily life continue to change, fundraising trends pop up to help nonprofits adapt. Most of the trends listed in this article are not new, but thanks to the pandemic, they found new popularity. Online events and online giving are growing, and nonprofits that ignore these trends are in danger of becoming obsolete.
Online tools like Donorbox can make adding these trends to your organization as easy as clicking a button. Learn more about Donorbox’s online donation processor, its fundraising features, integrations, and donor management system by visiting our website.
If your nonprofit wants more ways to raise money online and strengthen relationships with your donors, visit our blog.
Kristine Ensor is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience working with local and international nonprofits. As a nonprofit professional she has specialized in fundraising, marketing, event planning, volunteer management, and board development.
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Kristine Ensor