Access World - Not For Profit stream digest
As we begin to digest all the key takeaways from Access World 2019, it was clear to see from the Not for Profit breakout sessions that the fundraising landscape in the charity sector is changing at a rapid rate. Access World is our annual customer event, where over 1200 customers convene on Wembley Stadium to hear about our product development and company expansion plans, as well as being able to attend specific streams tailored to their sector.
From our Not For Profit keynote speaker Richard Turner, who has written a guest blog, all the way through to our panel discussion, moderated by Stephen George, with industry experts Lucy Gower, Esther Kwaku and Tom Latchford on the panel, one of the key threads throughout was clear, donors are now expecting donation processes in line with the way they interact with retailers and charities have to move fast to keep up.
Think differently
Industry expert and founder of The Access Group company Raising IT, Tom Latchford, recalled a story of an inventive way he and a group of fundraising colleagues brought gamification into the volunteer space to encourage competition between fundraisers. In this case, Tom and his team had utilised the functionality of the cycling app Strava, encouraging volunteers to compete to deliver the most leaflets in the shortest space of time.
Thinking differently like this allows charities to stand out from the local competition and can even generate excellent PR.
Think local
Charity shops and local charity hubs still have a key part to play in the success of national charities, with charity shops, in particular, experiencing something of a revival.
At Access World we heard from a selection of Access customers who work for branches of large charities, they recounted how they are struggling to cut through locally as national campaigns do not translate as well locally. Whilst it’s not as simple as asking the head office to devolve some creative campaign licence to local shops, these shops can still create value for donors by offering services more like a community hub, such as educational sessions and idea-sharing workshops.
A campaign where people engage
Our panel also referenced the work certain charities are doing to activate online gamer's and YouTuber's, to use their vast, influential platforms to spread the message of charities.
War Child, for example, have partnered with successful management simulation game Football Manager as a lead sponsor for almost the entirety of the game’s existence, giving War Child access to millions of gamer's who may take the time to donate after playing a game or two.
The extension to this, however, and a more modern phenomenon, is gaining access to gamer's who live stream their action to millions of subscribers every day on platforms such as Twitch. If charities can create relationships with these gaming influencers, they’ll have direct access to millions of people a day who could be their next donor or supporter.
People are giving differently
People are giving differently in more ways than one.
For starters, regular giving/loyal giving is much less of a thing than it once was. The trend currently is to give less to more, allowing donors to support a more wide-ranging variety of causes they feel an affinity to.
The second strand of this is the ways in which donors give. Donors are beginning to expect a donation experience more akin to what they come across with modern retail transactions. Whether that be contactless payments, or Amazon style ‘one click’ donations, both require very little effort from donors and should be listed as development priorities by charities.
Our panel felt that donors might even begin basing who they donate to on how easy the process is to donate, which is crucial when it comes to a toss of a coin situation for a donor who can’t choose between two charities they have an affinity to.
Find the wealth and mobilise it
This might sound obvious but making sure you’re finding wealthy donors with an interest in your cause and mobilising this wealth, is increasingly crucial due to the drop off in repeat donors. For these wealthy donors, the experience given to them when they meet with charities is something that will likely sway a tough decision for them.
Tom Latchford, as part of our panel, recalled an occasion whereby a wealthy donor he knew specifically chose to donate to a charity because they were the only ones to take the time out and thank him after he’d made smaller donations to several different charities. The charity that took the time out to thank him now receives an annual six-figure sum from the same donor!
…and finally, FAIL FAST!
A phrase coined in Silicon Valley, and gaining popularity within organisations globally, is that of ‘Failing Fast’. Loosely translated, it’s the ability to try out new, adventurous working techniques, learning from the successes or failures of these techniques quickly, and tweaking accordingly to ensure future success.
Our panel felt this was something the Charity sector could benefit from, especially given the reluctance to take risks and try new things within the sector. For those willing to take risks there’s the opportunity to stand out from the crowd and open up new fundraising potential.
Summary
It was an incredibly insightful and interactive day surrounded by clients, industry experts and staff from our Not For Profit division. Learn more about any of our Not For Profit products.
Also, you can view our very well-received report on productivity in the Not For Profit sector by clicking on the image below.
