A recent article in Third Sector reported that, according to Charities Aid Foundation’s yearly study of charitable giving, the number of people who said they regularly gave to charity in the UK fell to 58% in 2023 from 65% in 2019. At a time when more and more people are in need of the vital, often lifesaving, support that charities provide, the cost-of-living crisis means fewer people can afford to give and it’s likely that more people are in the position of having to review their commitment to regular support.
The reported 7% drop in regular givers suggests then that charities are relying on donations from a smaller pool of supporters – a potentially major concern, especially if the decline seen over recent years continues.
The research also found that the most common monthly donation has remained static at £20 for the seventh year in a row, meaning the real value has fallen once inflation is taken into consideration.
In ordinary economic circumstances, we would expect to see a level of natural attrition; people change their minds, their situations change, they die, they switch their support to another charity, etc. These current times, however, are extraordinary. On top of natural attrition, we’re seeing a prolonged cost-of-living crisis, which could be having a long-term effect on people’s ability to give. Charities therefore need to work harder than ever to firstly replenish and then grow their supporter pool.
To do this there is a fundamental attitude shift that needs to take place if charities are to fully optimise their potential to attract new regular givers. And that is their perception of proven traditional fundraising methods like direct mail, telephone and face-to-face fundraising, as well as their role within a broad and integrated channel mix for greater fundraising success.
Many charities, victims of the cost-of-living crisis themselves, rushed to digital channels during and post pandemic, coming to rely too heavily on them. This created a crowded environment which negatively affected return on investment. An over reliance on any one channel simply isn’t sustainable for regular giving in the long run.
Digital channels can of course be very effective, but to use them well in an increasingly competitive space takes expertise and investment. While digital can provide a fast, welcome boost of donations, it’s not always the best space to form personal connections, give choices and provide the opportunity to ask questions; all things which can help a supporter become more invested in the charity’s mission.
Individual giving channels have been moving with the times. The world of face-to-face fundraising has totally transformed from where it was a few decades ago. Gone are the pins in maps and clipboards. In their place are smart territory planning, real-time campaign monitoring, and highly trained, professional fundraisers. The latest face-to-face technology quickly and easily synchs with other digitised channels, enabling data to be safely and securely captured and flowed into the onward supporter journey.
At a time when many other channels are noisy and saturated, the human element of an actual conversation by phone or face-to-face provides a refreshingly real experience. It’s the two-way interaction that make this method of fundraising stand out when it comes to recruiting a new and loyal supporter base. Over half a million people a year make the decision to give a regular gift to a UK charity because of a positive and uplifting conversation they had with a face-to-face fundraiser, making dialogue fundraising one of the single most successful channels of recruiting new supporters.
When utilised well, face-to-face can unlock potential for establishing lifelong relationships between organisations and fresh, and sometimes otherwise unreachable, audiences. These audiences, inspired by a conversation with a fundraiser, often opt in to receive marketing collateral, go on to volunteer, leave larger one-off gifts, and become legacy pledgers – all from that initial inspiring discussion.
To arrest the worrying decline in regular giving, fundraising professionals at every level should understand what the most effective routes to giving are – and what it is about them that makes them so successful.
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