Fundraiser Insights on donor trends and behaviours for 2023
It’s always important to check in with charity donors and look at their behaviour to make sure that our fundraising techniques and goals align. What do they want? What works? Now more than ever, face to face fundraisers must rise to the challenge and produce efficient results which helps them best use their energy and talent and for donors to walk away feeling most fulfilled.
Third party cloud based service Blackbaud recently produced a UK donor report based on questions answered by 1000 donors. The donors were evenly split 50/50 male female and into several age categories.
The results not only give fascinating insights into reactions to our economic situation and new social norms, but gives vital clues about what’s ahead for 2023 and how fundraisers and charities should move forwards. Read on to learn more.
The surprise about Covid pandemic and giving
Probably the most surprising outcome of the survey was that most surveyed said the pandemic had had no effect on their giving.
Read that again; The pandemic had no effect on their giving.
Younger people even said that they give more now than pre-pandemic!
How do donors like to give to charity?
Almost all said that giving money was how they would choose to give their support to a charity. Cash was preferred, closing followed by online donations.
Charities should take note that the younger generations preferred to donate online, while older donors are more likely to commit to regular giving. Good news for face to face fundraisers like those we employ here at Charity Link.
That said, nearly 60% of all age groups prefer to give to charity as single donation rather than choose subscription style giving.
Although over 90% of those surveyed supported charities through monetary donations, 25% opted to take part in charity events, volunteering or other forms of charity fundraising.
Interestingly, people over 55 were less engaged with participation like that.
They also said that the biggest trigger for making them give was if a family member specifically asked them to donate.
Females are most likely to donate to a higher number of charities regardless of age group, but over two thirds of people donate to between 1-3 charities in the last year. Of those, people under 35 are more likely to have donated more.
While older people tended to give continually to the same charities, younger people liked to decide on an ad hoc basis according to what they felt was worthy to give to at the time.
A quarter of people give less than £50 a year
Approximately 20% gave between £50 - £99
Around 20% gave between £100 - £149
Those than donate monthly tend to donate significantly more in a year than those who are not regular donors
Why do people give to charity?
When looking at motivation, most that were surveyed said they just wanted to help those in need. Others were motivated because of wanting to help a friend, followed by social responsibility or the desire to help their local community
Upon giving, people said they felt positive with young people feeling ‘fulfilled’ and ‘happy’.
News stories, social media posts from someone they know (family first then a friend) and current events were big triggers for giving.
Interestingly, people were more motivated to give from seeing a friend’s posts on social media (28%), than from watching a direct TV ad (18%)
Read our blog ‘The reasons people give to charity’
Saying thank you to donors
Only around a quarter of people expected thanks off the back of their gift, although that number rose with younger groups.
Less than half understood what difference their donation made – a number consistent through all age groups.
Research shows that 44% of donors are motivated by the belief their gift can make a difference, with charity organisations seeing a clear increase in donors upon seeing success stories.
Learn whether it’s better to use positivity or negativity with donors
What can charities and fundraisers take from the report?
It’s always wise for charities and fundraisers to understand their donors as much as possible.
Making assumptions about the impact of Brexit, the pandemic or the cost of living crisis can create a self-fulfilled prophecy and not a good one at that.
Learn the impact of the cost of living crisis on the third sector
Every fundraiser should bear in mind that people’s circumstances may have changed, but their intentions have not. If they are pre-set to be the type of people that give, they’re likely to always think and feel that way.
The Spanish saying ‘Every baby comes with a loaf of bread under it’s arm’ comes to mind. The fact is there is always that spare pound or two to pay for things that really matter. It’s just about donors making their mind up that what they’re giving really matters.
It’s the charities responsibility therefore, to make sure they know how much it matters and make donors feel appreciated on the journey.
The fact is, people who donated before the events beginning 2020 gave then and are giving now. Although findings vary slightly among age groups, we can see clear indicators about why people are motivated to give.
You can read the full Blackbaud report here
What should face to face fundraisers do to make every donor conversation count?
People that work as face to face fundraisers must use every piece of information to their advantage if they want the best results.
Learning that people have not let the pandemic affect their donation habits is a critical bit of information and although the cost of living crisis has invariably had an impact of everyone, it’s not the dominating factor.
As we covered in our blogs ‘Objection Handling Tips’ and ‘How to Handle Cost of Living Objections’ it’s entirely possible to levy off many of the reasons people use to not donate.
F2F fundraisers should also take great solace from the clear strong preference for monthly direct debit giving.
The ongoing story in the third sector has been that donors are generally putting charity giving at the bottom of their priorities. To even ask could be interpreted as insensitive to the current climate. But the fact is, donors gave in unprecedented amounts – to the NHS especially but later on to all kinds of causes as they realised the needs were increasing.
The belief that donors don’t want to be bothered is simply not the case.
Of course there are people who are not going to ever be interested in helping. Others actually want to hear from charities but might be quite particular about how they’re communicated with. And some are completely open and want to hear from charities and they want to help!
Face to face fundraisers should focus on the ‘why’ behind donors act.
Of course complying with the code of fundraising practice and making sure you present the best version of yourselves is important. But that’s not ultimately what makes a donor give.
The activities your charities do are the ‘what’ and the methods they use are the ‘how. But when you speak about that, you’re giving them reasons to look for the no.
Fundraisers should focus on trying to connect donors to the why – the bit where the donor is the person that is making the difference.
Listen to what they tell you – do you know if they were moved by your charity and it’s mission? Do they understand the need for you and what’s important about your charities work?
But most of all, give them the starring role.
Remind them that they have the capacity to make change; if that’s who they are. And if they identify with that and make it easy, they’ll act.
If you’re interested in a career in professional face to face fundraising, Charity Link want to hear from you!
We are always on the look out for confident people who love to talk with new people, love to learn in new ways and want to make a difference in their work.
We look for personality type rather than experience, so please do take a look at our jobs page and get in touch if you think you’d be a good fit!
