Tech, Online And Digital
Digital Storytelling
The ability to tell compelling stories both quickly and efficiently in our increasingly digital world will be crucial to effective fundraising in 2016. Leveraging useful, relevant and, most importantly, engaging content to tell stories is essential. In today’s digital environment you only have a few seconds to capture someone’s attention, if that; so lead with emotion and remember to be human. Your most powerful storytellers are the people benefiting from your programs—empowering these people to tell their own stories makes a difference. As we look to the future, capturing these firsthand accounts of impact on film and sharing these stories of hope across multiple channels such as email, the Web, mobile and social media is key to communicating long-term success and inspiring action.
—Shari Mason, vice president of marketing and communications, Smile Train
The Single Hub: Mobile and Multichannel Data
With the rise in technologies that connect various channels to each other, nonprofits will have the ability to get their hands on more data points. This is specifically due to the plethora of data we humans push and pull to and from our mobile devices these days. Nonprofits are now able to start answering questions like: How socially influential are my event participants on tech channels? Which channels are performing best? And, how are various generations connecting with my organization (i.e., through which tech channels)? Mobile devices provide the ability to connect social, email and online fundraising channels all in one little pocket-sized computer. With that technology mix, the doors will open up to whole new ways of looking at data by creating opportunities to connect the dots between how constituents are interacting with your organization across channels from a single hub.
—Taylor Shanklin, chief operations officer, Raisemore
Cyber-Defense
Think your nonprofit is safe from cyber-attacks? Think again: The threat of these attacks will only loom larger in 2016. No longer relegated to the cubicle-dwellers of your IT department, cybersecurity is evolving as a serious matter for all nonprofit executives and board members. In 2016 and beyond, savvy nonprofit leaders will invest more time, treasure and talent in their IT departments to institutionalize top-to-bottom alignment around the twin objectives of becoming properly and securely digital.
—Bruce Mendelsohn, executive director, New England Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF)
Digital Adoption
In 2015, we did our first digital adoption survey and found that a majority of the respondents do not track whether all of their digital initiatives are used by the community. For many organizations, the Internet is a place not only for marketing and communications but also program and service delivery, reaching people in ways they may not be able to offline. If we are invested in tracking adoption and usage by our community, how can we position our programs and services, as well as our community engagement, for real success? 2016 should be a year to invest in adoption analysis in your organization!
—Amy Sample Ward, CEO, NTEN: The Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network
Personal Interactions Through Social Media
With three quarters of all Internet users on social media, it has become an increasingly competitive space. Many nonprofits were early adopters years ago and are now fully harnessing the power of paid promotion, but most are missing out on the most impactful moments with their followers—personal interactions. When you engage with your followers by commenting, liking, retweeting their content, and messaging them, you have the ability to directly communicate with them through in-app and push notifications.
Usually reserved for missed phone calls, text messages and social interactions with friends, the lock screen of a mobile device is currently the most underutilized marketing real estate. By investing in the time and resources to communicate with your supporters this way, you have the opportunity to appear right alongside of those personal inter-actions and motivate your social followers to not only “like” you, but really like you.
—Kevin Scally, director of digital marketing, marketing Smile Train
Data Security
Security will continue to be a key concern for donors and nonprofits. They must lead with visual and effective proof-of-use of solutions offered by companies that are committed to online security, which is a top priority at Kimbia. As data breaches continue to keep online security at the forefront of people’s minds, donors will be increasingly more vigilant when asked for personal and payment information. Nonprofits cannot simply rely on a “hope nothing happens” mindset when it comes to data. From donation-processing to security around constituent information and storage, nonprofits must lead with a commitment to privacy and data security.
—Miriam Kagan, senior principal, Kimbia
Proactive Website Support
Commercial websites increasingly deliver high-quality support experiences for customers at key moments during a transaction process. A few examples we see a lot are a chat box popping up and offering support or personal phone calls to individuals when credit card processing has failed. In both of these cases, providing support is not simply a cost of doing business—it is a source of additional revenue from increases in conversion rates on transactions. Nonprofits should be making similar investments for their own donation and registration forms in 2016 to maximize revenue.
—Jett Winders, vice president of strategic services, Charity Dynamics
Social Media and the Future of Fundraising
As Millennials and younger generations become a growing part of the donor base, fast, easy and innovative ways to give will be an increasingly integral part of nonprofit fundraising. We’ve already seen social media’s potential to rally online communities around causes through hashtags, and many nonprofits are already doing a great job of using their social media channels to successfully tell stories and communicate with donors. Smart nonprofits will use tools like #Donate to tap into existing social media campaigns as another fundraising channel, requiring little to no extra resources. Key elements to successful campaigns will include in-stream donation options and shareability.
—Dale Nirvani Pfeifer, founder and CEO, GoodWorld
Data/Systems Integration
Historically, nonprofit data and software integration has been laborious and expensive. Separate systems have often been used for CRM, social media, email marketing, volunteer management, crowdfunding, events and other needs. But now, with today’s new holistic platforms, built for the cloud, with cutting-edge technology, nonprofits can streamline operations, improve donor targeting and reduce costs. Today’s nonprofit software platforms act as the central nerve system for operations. The migration to these new platforms—for nonprofits large and small—has begun in earnest over the past couple of years and will surely increase in 2016.
—Don McKenzie, president and chief growth officer, Innovairre
Mobile and Digital Donations
Consumers began using personal technology to transform the shopping experience long before businesses themselves caught on, and the trend toward mobile payments is growing. For fundraisers, introducing more mobile donation options is critical in effectively engaging donors, especially the coveted Millennial generation. In an increasingly tech-driven world, email, phone calls and other traditional fundraising strategies are no longer enough. If organizations are not keeping pace with their donors’ digital path to purchase (e.g., e-wallets, Apple Pay, Bitcoin), they risk missing out on major dollars and donors.
—Dr. Con O’Connell, chief technology officer, Kimbia
The Mobile Engagement Boom
With the ever-expanding penetration of smartphones around the world, and increased time-spend on mobile devices, mobile engagement will continue its expansion and importance in the nonprofit sector. In 2016, it won’t just be about the growth of responsive design, more use of text messaging and increased video consumed on mobile phones—also look for additional nonprofit organizations to develop apps that take donor involvement to brand new levels.
—Don McKenzie, president and chief growth officer, Innovairre
Dedicated Fundraising Pages
Last year it seemed everyone was talking about Twitter and Facebook adding “buy” buttons to their platforms, and by the end of 2015 all of the major players have implemented this feature. It’s been a slow process and it’ll take a while for consumers to use the buttons, but Facebook is fascinating to watch as it creates new ways and reasons why you should add your debit/credit card.
One example is the new fundraiser pages for nonprofit organizations (BKV had the honor of implementing this with our client, Wounded Warrior Project). Upon eligibility, an organization will be able to create a “cause” or fundraising page that is an extension of its primary Facebook page. This fundraising page allows you to submit posts with text, photos or video related to the specific cause, shows a persistent and dedicated donate button, and has a progress bar showcasing how close to goal your organization is. These pages will be able to be promoted as advertisements on users’ News Feeds, and our early experience with this is very promising.
—James Kiss, social media strategist, BKV
Prospect Research Data
Prospect research data will be used in real-time. A large part of prospect research focuses on big picture planning and on securing gifts as part of large campaigns. What 2016 will bring more of, I’m certain, is a greater focus on the day-to-day and immediately available giving data. Nonprofits will want access to donor data in real time. It will be an exciting and challenging year for prospect management.
—Bill Tedesco, CEO, DonorSearch
Greater Integration and Centralization
There’s a lot of competition in the nonprofit software industry. 2016 will continue to see more integration of services between software providers. Nonprofits are just looking for the easiest ways to grow their donor bases, and if that means using two separate software subscriptions that are able to communicate with one another, then so be it! In addition to seeing more software integrations, we’re going to see more software providers providing a holistic nonprofit solution that serves the bulk of a nonprofit’s needs. What nonprofits are beginning to expect, and what 2016 will deliver is software that encompasses all of their needs all in one place.
—Blake Groves, vice president of strategy and business development, Salsa Labs
More Accessible Donation Buttons for All
2016 is really set to be the year that online and mobile giving experience tremendous overhauls. For the longest time, online donation forms and buttons have remained stagnant, un-customizable, and frankly, boring. This year, all of that changes for the better. Donation forms and their requisite buttons will be infinitely customizable, personable and downright enticing for donors. Nonprofits, rejoice! Creativity is on its way.
—Abby Jarvis, marketing and outreach, Qgiv
Text-to-Give
In 2016, mobile giving of all kinds will be on the rise. We saw the monumental increase last year when, across the board, people donated 13 percent more on mobile than they had the previous year. My prediction for 2016, though, is that text-to-give will see the most major surge. Churches are an instrumental factor in this coming wave; they have already integrated this technology into their weekly services all over the nation. It can only grow from here.
—John Killoran, president and CEO, @Pay
Killing the Online Form
Amazon is clearly a leader in making purchasing easy. What if the same leading usability practices were applied to donations? Presidential candidates have already done this to some extent by tokenizing a donor’s payment information and getting people to repeatedly make donations of as little as $3. This can add up quickly. In 2016, there will be a similar movement on the nonprofit side with organizations removing barriers to making a gift. This includes one-click renewal forms and storing donor information as personally non-identifiable tokens for easy repeat donations. If we really know our donors, why are we continually asking them to fill out their name and address information on every form?
—Angela Struebing, president, CDR Fundraising Group
Focus on Digital Advertising
Consumers are increasingly turning to digital media, more so than traditional print, for their daily media use. Within digital we are seeing more use via mobile and more generally via multiple devices. Similarly, nonprofits are seeing amplified engagement via digital (mobile), with 53 percent of consumers opening nonprofit email on a mobile device, and online giving picking up. The big recommendations here are a focus on digital advertising—paid search, paid social and paid display/video advertising—that nicely complement existing email and website programs, and collectively offer the route to a scalable digital donor acquisition and renewal program.
—Jeff Patrick, chief strategy officer and vice president, nonprofit, Merkle
Mobile Giving
We know mobile is big, and will get bigger in 2016. One of the areas of mobile that has been simmering for a few years is apps. 2016 will be a year for many nonprofits to invest in apps, since the price point has come down dramatically. Also the ability to market new apps, via Facebook and Google, has matured so that it’s easier to get downloads. Think of mobile apps as extensions of your website at first, just more convenient and faster.
—Philip King, founder, Donation Funnel Project
Social Advertising
This was the year we realized we no longer have to make a case for the effectiveness of paid social media advertising. Many nonprofits are discovering that promoted posts or tweets allow them to efficiently target their typical online donor. Your organization can go beyond age, gender or location to find your supporters by interest, behavior, and so many other unique characteristics. You can target a powerful call-to-action to your existing supporters using information from your own CRM, or focus on acquiring new donors and volunteers. If you have multiple donor personas, social advertising is a fast and inexpensive way to help you reach different audiences in the same campaign.
—Claire Kerr, director of digital philanthropy, FrontStream
Virtual Reality
Thanks to Google and The New York Times, we’re all talking about it, and in 2015 we saw large organizations debuting virtual tours of Syrian refugee camps, for starters. In 2016, we’ll see more nonprofits using virtual reality to simulate program experiences, and in particular, to connect donors to the mission more deeply.
—Sarah Durham, president, Big Duck
