Trends in giving methods, social media, and mobile technologies are changing how donors give to nonprofits. By keeping on top of fundraising trends, nonprofits can reap the benefits of increased awareness for their mission, adding a greater number of donors, and increased capacity.

To sustain impact, nonprofits must understand how current trends influence the bottom line, and how to take advantage of them to win new donors while keeping existing ones engaged. For nonprofits to keep pace with the development of current fundraising, leaders at cultural institutions must shift how they handle, communicate with, and build strategies around their donors.

Understanding your donors and their interests is critical for effectiveness and success in any nonprofit fundraising strategy. Fostering and nurturing donor relationships is a crucial fundraising tactic that leads to greater donations and support for your cause; however, creating a customized donation experience means more than simply remembering donors’ names.

Digital Fundraising

One trend that continues to accelerate following the pandemic is digital fundraising. We believe growth will continue and that we will see more complex, multichannel, and omnichannel approaches to engage larger bases of support. Social media platforms, email marketing, and online advertising will be just as (if not more), important as in-person events for raising awareness of fundraising campaigns and securing donations.

A current modern fundraising trend is offering flexible giving options to fit the needs of all your donors and their budgets. Adding flexible giving options to fundraising strategies will entice donors to give more and help to gain access to new audiences. No longer limited by only the information donors give, nonprofits can leverage digital data, connect with more prospective donors who fit ideal donor profiles, and develop relationships that may increase future donations and help keep donor retention.

Planned Gifts and The Trillion Dollar Transfer

In the next 10-20 years, we believe planned giving will become an increasingly prominent fundraising tool for nonprofits. Investing in planned giving programs and estate planning could help a nonprofit remain prosperous well into the future.

To ensure nonprofits are equipped to engage their donors in this landmark moment, the recommendation is to dig deeper into the fundamental skills of planned giving. Now, more than ever, nonprofits need to build strong endowment initiatives to position themselves.

Planned gifts offer financial benefits for both donors and the nonprofit. Planned giving is the process by which charitable donations of assets from an inheritance are made to a nonprofit organization. Other types of gifts some organizations include as part of their planned giving programs are non-cash assets, such as stocks or real estate, gifts made by an individual in an IRA (also known as a Qualified Charitable Distribution, or QCD), and pools of income funds.

Private Giving to Nonprofits is the Largest Group of Philanthropy in the U.S.

Year over year, about 70% of all giving comes from private donors in the U.S. This means you want to focus on developing relationships and engaging people privately as a priority over grant-making institutions and other forms of fundraising income revenue streams.

Resources such as the Giving USA Report and Global Trends in Giving report will give your nonprofit invaluable statistics and access to global trends that will help drive your big-picture fundraising strategy.

About Beacon Pointe

Beacon Pointe Advisors is a registered investment adviser headquartered in Newport Beach, California. With 47 office locations and clients located throughout the country, Beacon Pointe manages approximately $25 billion in assets (as of December 31, 2022). Beacon Pointe is an independent advisory firm dedicated to providing thoughtful investment guidance and comprehensive consulting services to institutional clients, defined contribution plans, and private clients. As a fiduciary, we utilize a client-focused approach to investment advice, intentionally separating the key duties of consultant, custodian, and asset manager, thereby minimizing conflicts of interest and always making decisions in the best interest of clients.

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