Why Digital Fundraising is More Important Than Ever
The current crisis has put many traditional methods of charity fundraising on hold. But it also represents an opportunity for charities to build a fundraising strategy for the future.
On the 31st of March, news broke that the UK charity sector was ‘on the brink of collapse’ after forecasting a loss of over £4 billion due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent nationwide lockdown.
That is certainly an alarming figure.
Where has it come from? Put simply, this figure represents the sum total of funds set to be lost by UK charities if in-person fundraising events and brick and mortar charity shops are not replaced with digital alternatives.
That is a big if.
This figure is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Charities that rely entirely upon in-person fundraising initiatives will not raise any funds during this crisis. That much is true. But it is equally true that there are still many opportunities to raise funds and go some way towards making up this shortfall. In fact, research suggests that 25% of donors plan to increase their charitable giving during this crisis; with a further 54% of those surveyed saying they plan to maintain current levels of donation.
There are a wide range of digital fundraising options available to charities. Such a wide range that the whole business of digital fundraising may appear daunting, or even overwhelming to the uninitiated. According to the 2019 Charity Digital Skills Report, 59% of charities surveyed rated their digital fundraising skills as ‘fair to low’. Fortunately, there are many avenues available for low tech maturity organisations that can be set up with relative ease.
Especially in a time of immense forced change, such as now, when the migration to digital has been sprung upon us all with very little notice, the temptation to fall into the trap of needing to do something big and innovative can lead many organisations to back themselves into a corner.
In reality, you can get started with a few small steps. A lot can be achieved by getting the basics right.
Source: Charity Digital News