Various studies have shown a significant drop in amount of individual donations in 2022, but an increase in the number of people donating. According to Freewill.com, their data indicated a 4% drop in online donations and a 13% drop in donations on December 31, 2022.
Why?
1. Economic instability - that's a given.
2. Midterm elections (distracting public focus and funneling money away from charitable organizations), and
3. Most people believe 2022 was a market correction from 2021's surge in pandemic-related donating.
For 2023, Freewill predicts the following important trends
Trend #1: "Inflation remains a problem. "
Trend #2: But "the economy is remarkably strong and staying strong."
Trend #3: The presidential election is coming, with the first caucuses within weeks of year end.
They offer the following Insights:
Insight #1: "Giving Tuesday presents a tremendous opportunity and December is even bigger." That seems like a given, but apparently some charities haven't been taking advantage of Giving Tuesday.
Insight #2: "DAFS continue to be a popular way to give." DAFs are new. They're a little difficult to tap into, but worth the extra work.
Insight #3: "Major donors were more resilient than small-dollar donors over recent years." Not surprising the little guy's always take the biggest hit when the economy falters.
Insight #4: "Giving Tuesday boosts the entire giving season." I found this interesting. Apparently Giving Tuesday can act as a "teaser" of sorts for the entire year end.
What's the plan then? Freewill suggests:
1. "Start early. Participate in Giving Tuesday." All my clients are strongly encouraged to participate in Giving Tuesday and I'm here to help anyone who needs it.
2. "Make a plan to move your donors to a new giving bracket." This is a little tougher but not too big of a challenge with some analysis, a little thought, and planning ahead. It also takes good communication internally. Reach out if you need help.
3. "Make it donor-centric and shift the messaging to educating donors about the effects of inflation on your mission." We all know the value of donor-centric fundraising, and educating donors about our mission, but we need to also educate our donors about how inflation is hurting our work. Sure, vet bills are up but we have been saying that for years (because it's true), but what about the rest? Are food bills going up? Staffing costs? Utility costs? What else? Think about it and let me know if you need help figuring out how to word-smith that for maximum impact.
Year End 2023 is going to be a wild ride. Start planning now.
Many thanks to Freewill.com for doing all the hard lifting on the data!