8 key nonprofit fundraising findings from technology study

The 2014 Fundraising Technology Trends Study contains a wealth of information about nonprofit fundraising and how technology is being used and what the overall benefits of this adoption are proving to be. It’ll come as no surprise that organizations that are keeping up with the technology trends are reaping the greatest benefits overall but some of the data could be a red flag for smaller or less technically equipped charities that are at risk of falling behind and losing potential donors due to some of the gaps that have developed.

The report contains layers of excellent information about the tools available, those being used, software/technology efficiency and which type and size of organizations are leading the way versus trying to catch up. I know that for a smaller nonprofit the prospect of adapting to and adopting new technology can seem daunting but I think this report helps reinforce the value overall of new tech and could very well shine a light on what you might want to accomplish first.

The study compiled data from 142 different nonprofits about their current use of technology and equally importantly how beneficial these changes have been in terms of overall fundraising. Here then, in no particular order are what I feel are the eight most important findings within the study.

2014 is projected to be a good year for overall growth: Those surveyed were asked ‘Compared to 2012, how much money did your organization raise in 2013?, ‘Compared to 2013, how much money do you expect to raise in 2014? ‘How would you rate your organization’s effectiveness raising money?

As you can see the general trend mirrors what other studies are reporting with the vast majority (78% this year) reporting that revenues are ‘about the same’ or ‘more’ and when combined with those reporting 17% who answered ‘considerably more’ only 5% of all nonprofits are projecting 2014 to show diminished fundraising revenues.

The relationship between results and effectiveness: This data is quite revealing and suggests that many nonprofits (45%) feel that their overall fundraising effectiveness is ‘effective’ or ‘very effective’ but on the other hand some 29% evaluate their effectiveness as ‘average’ and a worrying 26% consider their efforts to be either ‘somewhat ineffective’ or ‘ineffective’. The report then draws the parallels between these nonprofits, a sizable one fourth of all who responded, and technology issues or usage. It’s a logical next consideration.

Growth based on nonprofit size is becoming more consistently aligned: We’ve seen over the years that there have been fairly significant gaps in fundraising growth based on the size of the nonprofit however this report suggest far more parity may now exist. In fact the data is so consistent that when comparing 2013 fundraising results to 2012 that it could be seen as a fairly stable baseline of 52.5% showing an increase. Small organizations showed 53% reporting growth, medium 55% and large organizations 50%, during more difficult years those rates have been far more stretched dependent on organization size.

Technology matters – but we don’t have all we need: At 80%, the vast majority of nonprofits felt that better technology leads to better fundraising results however some 66% said that they don’t have ‘all the technology tools needed to effectively raise funds’. This is a glass half full answer in my opinion and suggests that there are still huge opportunities in the nonprofit sector to advance the technology being used by charities of all sizes.

Fundraising management software usage rates are weak: The adoption rates per the graphic above show that there are some glaring holes in terms of usage rates amongst some of the leading and most valuable software applications available. The report digs deeper but I’ll focus on just one; web analytics. Using web analytics to fully understand all of your nonprofit traffic is an incredibly useful tool that can change and improve your entire online marketing approach, becoming proficient doesn’t take months of training and yet only 17% of those surveyed report using these tools. The report also shows that the value is understood with 57% of those who used web analytics reporting fundraising growth. There are so many productivity and accounting apps that can greatly enhance efficiencies and it appears that many organizations are not sure where to begin.

Correlation between fundraising success and technology adoption: The report studied exactly how many technology tools have been adopted by each sub-section of nonprofits based on their fundraising effectiveness. Those that deemed their operations as being the most effective are typically using the most tools. The data suggests that more technology certainly improves effectiveness and I’d venture to say efficiency.

There may be too many web communication channels: The next graphic below shows that ten different web communication channels receive varying degrees of support. As I’ve written before you should adopt most tools for a trial period (perhaps 3-6 months) and then measure effectiveness, if for example forums don’t generate interest, traffic and new donors apply your time to channels that do bring success. For 2015 and beyond I’d suggest that more than 90% of your online donor audience can be connected with via your website/blog and social media channels. Spend your time and efforts where the vast majority already reside.

Online donation options are key: At present about 70% of nonprofits are equipped to accept donations online and for the other 30% I would hope that will be remedied over the next twelve months to improve their online fundraising results. Relating those numbers back to fundraising effectiveness results, essentially all of those organizations that consider their fundraising efforts to be effective/very effective include an online donation option.

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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including PCI compliant inbound telephone fundraising, outbound telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery fundraising services, donation processing and receipting and direct mail fundraising services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all our business decisions and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.