6 Trending Fundraising Strategies for 2023 and Beyond
A well-balanced nonprofit fundraising strategy incorporates both tried-and-true approaches and current trends. Keeping up with the latest trends ensures that your nonprofit can continually exceed supporters’ expectations and offer opportunities that resonate with them.
In this guide, we’ll review six fundraising trends to be aware of this year and into the future:
AI fundraising
Donor-advised funds
Storytelling in marketing
Corporate philanthropy
Mobile interactions
Importance of donor retention
Today’s trends inform current and future fundraising best practices, meaning there are plenty of long-term benefits to keeping your finger on the pulse of the latest innovations.
1. AI fundraising
Artificial intelligence is one of the most talked-about innovations in the nonprofit sector right now. Machine learning tools can parse vast amounts of data to help nonprofits identify their top prospects, personalize communications, and streamline workflows. Let’s take a closer look at each of these use cases:
Prospect research. AI tools like DonorSearch Ai can enrich your nonprofit’s internal database with additional data points that help generate accurate prospect ratings and find top prospects quickly.
Personalization. AI solutions can leverage the information from your nonprofit’s donor management system to match donors with opportunities that align with their interests and passions. You can also easily personalize routine communications like emails with donors’ first names and giving amounts.
Automation. AI tools can automate routine tasks like determining the right ask amounts, generating metrics reports, and sending donation receipts. This gives nonprofit teams plenty of time back in their days to devote themselves to other activities that help push the organization’s mission forward.
You might feel eager to jump into AI fundraising, but it’s important to do your research before choosing a solution. Find a tool that can leverage your nonprofit’s unique dataset to generate personalized insights, rather than just using general nonprofit datasets that aren’t specific to your needs. This will help boost your ROI.
2. Donor-advised funds
Donor-advised funds (DAF) are a fast-growing form of philanthropy. They are essentially personalized charitable savings accounts. Supporters can place cash, stock, or other assets in their accounts without choosing a recipient right away.
Here’s how these funds work:
The donor creates their DAF, assigning a sponsoring organization.
The donor adds funds to their DAF to contribute to nonprofits in the future. They’ll receive immediate tax benefits for contributing to this fund.
The funds grow tax-free, managed by the sponsoring organization.
The donor chooses nonprofit beneficiaries, and grants are issued to those selected organizations.
The minimums for DAF accounts typically range from $5,000 to even $25,000. This means the donors who contribute to these funds will likely be the supporters who fall into the mid-tier to major donor range.
Conduct prospect research to identify current supporters who may have DAFs. Encourage these individuals to consider choosing your nonprofit as a beneficiary and making a gift from their preexisting DAF.
3. Storytelling in marketing
Personalization is key when it comes to fundraising in the modern era. One of the most effective ways to build personal connections with supporters is through storytelling.
Storytelling helps form emotional bonds that motivate supporters to donate to your nonprofit and continue giving over time. Tell compelling stories with the help of these tips:
Choose real people to be the main focus of your stories. Nonprofits will often highlight beneficiaries in their stories to help supporters understand who their donations are going towards and how their gifts will make an impact. Direct quotes and video interviews can go a long way in forming personal connections.
Tell stories using multimedia. Some audience members may be visual learners while others prefer to receive information in audio or text formats. Incorporate videos, photos, and text to bring your stories to life and appeal to all types of learners in your audience.
Bring donors into the story. Your donors should feel like a part of your organization’s story. Bring them into the narrative using inclusive language that shows supporters how crucial their donations are to your organization’s success. For example, you might say “Your donations helped people like Ivan restore their small businesses in the wake of last year’s devastating tornadoes.
Empowering supporters to tell their own stories can also be very powerful in reaching a broader audience and recruiting new support. For example, supporters can personalize their peer-to-peer fundraising pages by sharing their personal experiences with your nonprofit’s cause. Donors are more likely to give to supporters’ fundraising pages when they can see the deep personal connections they have with your nonprofit.
4. Corporate philanthropy
Corporate philanthropy describes programs initiated by for-profit businesses to help with philanthropic initiatives. According to NPSource, 39% of companies indicated plans to grow their workplace giving programs over the next two years.
A few common policies that companies leverage to bolster their corporate philanthropy initiatives are:
Matching gifts. Matching gifts are donations that companies provide to increase the impact of their employees’ gifts to eligible charities. Many companies will offer to directly match or even triple the value of the donation. Matching gift programs benefit everyone involved — nonprofits get a funding boost, supporters maximize their positive impact, and corporations enhance their reputation and inspire greater employee engagement.
Volunteer grants. With a volunteer grant program, a company provides grant money corresponding to the number of hours employees volunteer at an eligible organization. For example, a business might contribute a $25 donation per hour for the time that their employees volunteer with nonprofit organizations.
Event sponsorships. Businesses might offer direct donations to sponsor nonprofit events like galas, auctions, walk-a-thons, and more. This can give nonprofits the flexibility and support they need to put on engaging, well-attended events. Plus, businesses can receive publicity from the event when their names and logos are included on event signage and merchandise.
These are all incredible programs that can dramatically boost your nonprofit’s impact, but many supporters may be unaware that matching gift and volunteer grant opportunities exist.
Provide educational materials to inform your supporters about these opportunities to increase their impact. Then, encourage them to look up their own matching gift and volunteer grant eligibility to see if they can make an even greater difference. In addition, reach out to your corporate partners to promote the benefits they can receive from sponsoring your events.
5. Mobile interactions
Mobile apps and improved web accessibility allow nonprofits to reach supporters and manage strategies while on the go.
When it comes to mobile operations, ensure both your staff members and your supporters can access everything they need from their mobile devices.
Importance of mobile for staff members
Imagine you’re on your way to an important meeting with a major donor. You want to refresh your memory about the engagement history of that supporter before the meeting begins.
Having access to a mobile fundraising app that provides this information allows you to prepare for the meeting from wherever you are. It also allows your staff members to communicate with one another in an easy, convenient way to discuss upcoming tasks or projects.
Importance of mobile for supporters
If your website or donation form isn’t mobile responsive, you’ll likely lose a lot of funding from supporters who prefer to use their mobile devices to contribute.
Make sure to optimize your donor-facing resources for mobile accessibility. For instance, your mobile donation page should be streamlined, with a simple design. Ensure all images are designed to resize for a smaller screen and all buttons are large enough to be clicked on a mobile device.
With an optimized mobile engagement strategy, your nonprofit can expand its fundraising initiatives to other types of mobile activities, such as text-to-give campaigns or silent auctions powered by mobile bidding.
6. Importance of donor retention
The necessity for a high donor retention rate is not necessarily a new trend, but it will continue to be vital for effective fundraising this year and beyond.
Donor retention measures the number of supporters who continue to give to your nonprofit year after year.
Tracking your donor retention and taking proactive steps to improve it will help your organization decrease donor acquisition costs and raise more (as donors tend to increase their donation amount over time).
Here are some ways that your organization can increase its retention rate:
Show donors ongoing appreciation. Expressing gratitude to donors keeps your organization on their radar, shows them how much your nonprofit values them, and ultimately encourages them to continue giving. Follow up with donors to say thank you via email, direct mail, and social media shoutouts.
Engage donors in new opportunities. Invite donors to deepen their connection with your organization by participating in additional activities such as volunteer opportunities, stewardship events, or peer-to-peer fundraising initiatives.
Ask donors for feedback. Show donors that you’re committed to improving their experience by asking for their input. Send surveys to gather feedback about your donation process, stewardship efforts, and communication methods. After you receive input, reach out to donors with a plan for addressing their comments.
These efforts help donors feel like equal partners in achieving your mission, giving them a greater stake in your organization’s success. Improving your retention rate will give your organization a strong foundation that you can rely on as you incorporate other new fundraising innovations and trends.
Fundraising is always evolving. Instead of standing still, adapt your strategy to lean into new trends. This shows that your nonprofit is a modern organization that listens to the needs of its audience and those you serve.
Keep in mind that every nonprofit is different. These strategies speak to a broad supporter audience, not necessarily the needs of your specific donor base. Adapt these strategies to your unique audience as you continue to hone your fundraising approach.
Author: Joshua Meyer
Joshua Meyer brings more than 20 years of fundraising, volunteer management, and marketing experience to his current role as the VP of Demand Generation for Bloomerang. As a member of the Bloomerang marketing team, Josh manages the organization’s growth marketing efforts. Through his previous roles at the Human Rights Campaign and OneCause, he has a passion for helping to create positive change and helping nonprofits engage new donors and achieve their fundraising goals.
