By Jamie Jacobs
- Nonprofits Will Increase their Budgets for Online Giving Technology
- The Largest Fundraising Challenge for 2024 Will Be Fatigue in Older Donors and Apathy in Younger Donors
- Nonprofits Will Feel an Increased Struggle in Making Sense of Data
Prediction 1: Nonprofits Will Increase their Budgets for Online Giving Technology
In the beginning of 2024, we saw the prediction that many nonprofits planned to increase their budget for online giving technology this year. In Riger’s slice of the non-profit world, we’ve seen that come true. Our clients have refined their text message donation capabilities, asked us to add cryptocurrency sections to their planned giving brochures and websites, QR codes are now on everything, and some clients are even wisely experimenting with hybrid (in-person and online) events like auctions with a virtual component to help broaden their donor bases.
Prediction 2: The Largest Fundraising Challenge for 2024 Will Be Fatigue in Older Donors and Apathy in Younger Donors
Early in 2024, we also heard the largest fundraising challenge would be donor sentiment. For older donors, this may take shape in their overall fatigue – perhaps a lack of participation in events, lowered average gift or number of gifts throughout the year. For younger populations, their apathy may come in the form of buying products from trendy, charitably minded for-profit companies instead of giving to actual charities and somehow checking that “philanthropy” box in their minds. To various extents, our clients experienced both of these and continue to push to supplement the aging population of their donor bases with new, younger donors. The main challenge we’re seeing with that is those new donors think VERY differently than many of our development director clients. The research into the future giving potential for Gen Z and Gen Alpha shall no doubt continue!
Prediction 3: Nonprofits Will Feel an Increased Struggle in Making Sense of Data
There were also predictions that nonprofits would feel an increased struggle not with acquiring data, but with making sense of it. Sometimes the sheer amount of numbers development directors have access to doesn’t necessarily make them feel more equipped to make informed decisions. Our clients’ database programs vary, so we didn’t get a clear yes or no on this one. However, Riger did our part to address this need, for instance, simplifying and explaining trend shifts in our ad campaign data reporting. (If you’re still wondering how click rates and view-through rates differ and why they matter, let us know.)
Stay tuned for more updates on non-profit industry trends – this time for 2025!
Jacobs is a managing partner with Riger Marketing Communications, based in Binghamton. She can be reached at jjacobs@riger.com.