Year-end Results
We’re seeing some discussion by fundraising consultants of their clients’ year-end results.
Here are two examples …
M+R Strategic Services (look for "Ups & Downs of Online Giving") talks about theirs … with interesting results from Oxfam America.
And Nick Allen of Donordigital makes some observations about number of gifts remaining steady, while average gifts decline. His point … donors hang in there, they just give less. Here’s what he says in his e-newsletter …
"Average gifts were down 20% to 35% in December 2008 compared to December 2007, but the number of donations was about the same. That’s what we’ve seen for several clients. The good news is that most donors continue to believe in the organizations they support. They continue to give, but — no surprise — they’re not giving as much as they did last year, especially at higher giving levels.
At the Target Analysis Internet Benchmarking meeting last week in New York, some organizations reported the same trend, while others reported year-end 2008 hit projections. Many groups were seeing a drop in $500+ gifts, which can have a big impact on average gift!"
Anyone else want to share?
Tom
2 responses to “Year-end Results”
Behavioral Science Q & A
Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
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I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
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Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]
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Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
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There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
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I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
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Yes, we’re seeing this and we’ve adjusted our projections and cut our expenses to still meet our budget for FY09, ending June 30. Now, as we are looking at FY10, it’s very difficult because we’re hearing that really *next* year will be the one that hits everyone’s pocketbooks hard. I fear that any bit of relief may seem false and next year really will be devastating. Any tips on worst-case-scenario-planning?
Yes Tom,
This is also our experience in Canada with a small environmental organization. Individuals are staying but giving less. Corporations are very apologetic and want to maintain the relationship hoping next year is better. Major donors don’t have securities to donate and are moving into lower levels of annual fund type giving….
Meeting with finance today will be an eye opener. Fortunately for us we have sufficient reserves in place to weather the storm maintain operations and come out stronger. It will be questions of how to balance the expense of fundraising with a more conservative budget…. I asked my staff about their suggestions for doing this yesterday. It was a good conversation about everything from cheaper sticky notes and paper clips to phoning donors more to reduce the cost of postage. Time to be creative.
k