Sharpen Your Digital Tools

Digital giving is an increasingly significant part of fundraising that continues to grow in importance. Yet, even as a growing number of donors prefer to give online, only 12% of total fundraising comes from online sources. (Blackbaud Charitable Giving Report 2022).

This doesn’t mean that digital giving shouldn’t be a focus, but rather that as an industry, we aren’t focusing on it enough. There is far more potential here if we can meet donor expectations for the online giving experience.

Nonprofits that employ a multi-channel approach to giving, coordinating direct mail, email, social, on-air, text, and telephone asks, outperform those that keep fundraising in silos.

Studies routinely show:

• An increasing number of donors who receive direct mail elect to visit an organization’s website to research and ultimately give.

• Prospects who are introduced to a cause on social media and are inspired to give often find their way to the nonprofit’s site organically through a web search as opposed to clicking on the post or ad.

Cohesive, coordinated campaign messaging and design are important to secure more donations, even as these multi-channel campaigns change the way we interpret results. Looking at the result of one direct mail drop without the context of online gifts received during that period from donors who received letters gives an incomplete view of donor behavior and the effectiveness of fundraising techniques.  

Our goal should be to create digital experiences that provide donors with as much personal satisfaction as we can, so they feel like they are both giving and receiving.

Presently, many online donation forms are difficult to navigate compared to the seamless transactions donors experience elsewhere online, as demonstrated by high form abandonment rates. Relatively small investments can significantly improve the donor experience and are likely to secure a quick return on the investment.