The current economic crisis has plunged 3.8 million people in the UK into absolute poverty as reported in a recent study. The bite of inflation currently rests at 5.25% percent, having risen to a 45 year high at 11% in the earlier part of 2023. The basics to live have become unaffordable with sky rocketing energy prices off the back of Russia’s war with Ukraine.

This isn’t just damaging businesses and everyday people; it’s taking a huge toll on charities too. Not only are their own costs rising, charities will need to spend an extra £2 billion on wages in 2024 to match the rise in inflation. And whilst the majority scrutinise their budgets to see what can be cut back on, the predictable first cull is charity donations.  

How can charity fundraisers continue to ask for money? How do we drive home that donating to charity is more vital than ever if we’re going to see the most vulnerable survive? Charity Link looks at how to make ‘the ask’ for regular giving as palatable as possible, while remaining respectful of peoples pockets.

Charities are right to be worried. The 2022 giving report published by CAF resulted in the spin off dubbed the ‘cost of giving’ crisis. The report showed a decrease from £11.3 Billion in 2020 to £10.7 Billion in 2021. Donation levels were below the pre-pandemic figures.

A CAF survey in May showed over 71% of Charities were experiencing an increase in demand for their services, whilst simultaneously handling reduced incomes. For example, Dogs Trust received an increase of 42% on dogs being brought to their rehoming centres, while 57% more people came to Citizens Advice for crisis help compared to the previous year.

9 out of 10 charities were concerned about the ultimate impact of the cost of living crisis on their beneficiaries.

Clearly charities cannot be simply be hung out to dry. Fundraisers must continue to ask and they must be all the more careful about how they position their ask.

We have all seen the cultural shift since the pandemic in the need for more transparency and honesty. Trying to pretend there isn’t a cost-of-living crisis isn’t going to cut it.

Here’s five fundraising tips to help overcome the barrier of the cost of living crisis and bring home the importance of continuing to donate.

How bad is bad?

Since most of us are struggling with our finances right now, it should be easy to empathise with our donors and their money woes. But hopefully we can get the empathy going the other way towards the charities too.  

Finances are tricky at the best of times and people always want to feel like they’re getting great value for money and like they’re in control.

But since money is real Achilles heel for most people right now, it’s important that fundraisers to spot the difference between a genuine declaration of having no spare money and saying they have to be extra careful.

If it’s the former, then there is no point in pursuing and the fundraiser should stop the conversation politely and sincerely wish them the best for their future.

If money is an issue but it isn’t desperate, then the emphasis is about stressing how charities are in the same boat and are also feeling the pinch. Not only that, the demand for their services has gone up.  

Look for phrases like:

• I’m paying for my daughters university fees

• I’m still paying off my holiday from last year

• I haven’t budgeted to take on anything else

• I’m already supporting other charities

Any of these type of thing could potentially means there’s some wiggle room.

Of course it’s important not to dismiss these real concerns for your prospective donor. These are valid reasons that they need to think carefully about money. However it’s important to see that it’s not a definite no. When you look closer, what you may hear is ‘I do have expendable cash, I just don’t want to stretch it’.

Choose your words carefully

Words are powerful and can help to disarm a defensive person not to instantly dismiss you.

Saying ‘I understand’ instantly puts you in the same bracket in a completely non-confrontational way.

Using the word ‘feel’ also shows you’ve heard their woes and you get it. ‘I total feel that way too’ is reassuring and caring.  

Equally, saying ‘felt’ means you’ve been in their situation too – ‘I also felt that way’.

Using the word ‘found’ navigates the conversation back to where you’d like it to be and shows a potential solution. ‘I’ve found that..’ gently makes a suggestion in a non-direct way.

Put them all together and you’ve found yourself a magic solution to their objection 

“I understand exactly how you feel. I felt awful when I opened my last gas bill too seeing how much it’s gone up! I’ve found that if I’m able to schedule my donation on pay day or just after I don’t really notice that it’s gone out’.

Fundraisers can also apply these magic words whilst they represent a charity too. Using the ‘we’ and ‘us’ brings the sense of togetherness too

“We completely appreciate how tough times are for everyone right now and we’re in the same boat. That’s why every single pound matters to us more than ever”.

Read more about magic words in fundraising

Tone of voice, body language and empathy

Of course communication is more than just words. Tone of voice is crucial in fundraising at any time, but during the cost of living crisis charities and fundraisers need to be even more sincere. Keep the tone of voice neutral and be very careful not to sound condescending, accusing or disappointed in any way.

Show empathy in your body language too. Tipping the head slightly to one side, nodding, maintaining a steady but passive gaze and having a passive, open stance with arms by your sides all show openness and an intention to understand.  

Showing empathy will always help someone open their ears to anything else you have to say.

“That really sounds like you’re stretched at the moment, I completely understand what you’re saying.

I know our charity feels the same, especially now so many donors are dropping out and they’re trying to deal with the extra demand’.

We’ve found that a lot of people don’t think their gift makes a difference, but even just £1 a week can help to make sure we can continue our pledge to never put a healthy dog down.

Ongoing donors aren’t just helping, they’re literally saving lives. If you could join us, that would be an amazing gesture’.  

Using the right blend of well chosen words, with non-verbal communication like body language give F2F fundraisers the best chance of being liked and trusted. Even if a potential donor isn’t able to help at that moment, keeping the experience as pleasant as possible leaves the best impression. If the fundraiser can still emphasise the needs behind the cause, it may be that the donor chooses your charity later on when they are in a position to help.

Read more about how to communicate successfully in a fundraising job

Be absolutely clear about where the donations go

When someone gives a charity money, they need to trust it will be spent properly and wisely. Nothing is truer than right now when that pound or two could be well spent in their own lives.

Demonstrate where your charity has made an impact, be ready with the statistics on what donations like theirs has already achieved and what it can do in the future.

When we ask for specific amounts, we should be able to say what that buys. For instance; homeless charity Crisis holds a Christmas appeal asking for donations of £29.07  which they specifically say can buy a homeless person help with a place to stay, hot meals and a Christmas lunch, access to health and wellbeing programs and support to leave homelessness behind for good.

Understand your audience

There are dozens of ways to read what kind of donor you might have in front of you. Information can be gained by asking the right questions and responding accordingly.

For example, if a fundraiser for Breast Cancer Now asks if a person has known anyone to be affected by the disease and the answer is no, they can go in with a more educational angle. If they say yes, they can go for a more empathetic route.

If a fundraiser is trying to raise money for an animal charity such as Dogs Trust, they could simply begin by asking if the potential donor has a dog. If they do, it’s likely they’ll have sympathy for stories about the dogs in need that Dogs Trust support.

And if the fundraiser is soliciting donations for an environmental charity, they might ask a donor if they’re aware of the climate crisis. Again if the answer is yes, there may be a gap to talk about what they could do to help organisations like Greenpeace or Friends of the Earth. 

If you can find what motivates a person, then you’ll know exactly which direction to take your pitch.  

Read more about why people give to charity

Donor identity

Donor identity is another element to knowing your audience. Basically a persons identity is made up of seven different elements or layers that make up any one person. These layers are

• Relational (family position e.g. mother, son, husband, sister)

• Social (age, gender, sexual orientation, nationality)

• Religious (religion or atheist)

• Personal (personality type and individual traits)

• Organisational (associations, membership, bodies)  

• Group (hobbies and personal skills we possess e.g. yogi, black belt karate master, pianist,

• Employment (what we do for a job)

It’s well known that we feel psychologically better when our identity and values align with our behaviour, giving us more security in our sense of self.

From a fundraising perspective, if we can establish even a couple of these identities in a potential donor, we can help draw comparisons with the charity and encourage those feelings of self assurance.

For example, if a fundraiser is raising funds for Unicef and is placed in a supermarket and happens to see a mother with a child, they’ll know one of the identities of that donor is ‘mother’. They could fairly make the assumption that the donor may align with the notion that children should be cared for and would then be open to talking about children in need.

Another example might a fundraiser trying to get regular donations for the British Heart Foundation. They might safely assume that an older couple spotted together may be a good lead, since that’s the time in their lives when health becomes more of a focal point.

Appealing to someones desire to belong by using language like ‘join us’ is another great way to appeal to identity. Or using terms like ‘life savers’ or ‘child protectors’ helps encourage a sense of ambition to get to the ultimate version of themselves.

Learn more about donor identities here

Always practice gratitude

The fact is, charities and their fundraisers can’t lay on thanks enough. Whether thanking someone for stopping, thanking them for their time, thanking them for deciding to donate, or thanking them for caring, it’s all extra important. For times of economic turmoil, any gift given is exceptional and fundraisers.  

Would you make a good face to face fundraiser?

Charity Link is the UKs fastest growing fundraising agency, working with some of the best loved charities.

We look for talented people with sales backgrounds across the whole of England and Wales to join the best face to face fundraising team in the country.

We offer industry leading, award-winning training that turns candidates into successful charity fundraisers that love their jobs and our generous benefits package.