5 New Year’s Resolutions all charities should be making for 2024
This article appeared on UK Fundraising
As 2024 looms and with the cost-of-living crisis in full flow, charities are facing more challenges than ever before to raise vital funds. We speak to experts from a range of charities including British Heart Foundation, Sense and the British Red Cross about the new year’s resolutions charities can make to boost their fundraising income.
1. Embrace Robotic Tools
Sue Barnes, CEO at Wales Air Ambulance is encouraging charities to embrace AI after a robot revolutionised their lottery offering. The charity noticed that many of the processes around their lottery were manual and there was a reliance on one staff member’s expertise, a huge risk considering lottery was their biggest income stream, so they brought on board a robot that mimics how a human employee would interact with the charity lottery system. It inputs and updates player data into the lottery and the direct debit system, generates sign-up letters and direct debit forms and sends out emails.
The robot performs tasks 4 – 5 times quicker than a human, accurately and with an audit trail.
Sue Barnes said: “The lottery automation project is one example of how we are using cutting-edge technologies to support our lifesaving work. Lots of people shy away from using AI and robotics because they associate it with people losing jobs but charities should embrace it because it allows people to focus on what they are great at such as engaging with supporters and donors. Robots can do all the tedious stuff.”
Barnes acknowledges that for smaller organisations, getting buy-in to invest can be a challenge. She says stakeholders came on board because the manual nature of the tasks made them ripe for robotic process automation (RPA), it was needed to make the charity resilient and she made it clear she wasn’t planning to make staff redundant (in fact the member of staff working on the lottery has now been promoted into a people-facing role).
The charity is now planning to use AI to streamline some of its finance processes.
2. Invest in the right tech
With a cost-of-living crisis affecting charities, it might seem counterintuitive to invest in technology but Caroline Buckland, Head of Fundraising at Sense, says it’s a wise move: “One of the most useful tools for charities looking to increase their fundraising potential in 2024 is investing in the right technology, whether that’s having an efficient CRM system, convenient payment platforms, cloud technology, data management system or through connecting with people on an emotional level and telling stories effectively through social media and other communication methods.”
According to The Charity Digital Skills Report, 78 per cent of charities say digital is more of a priority to their organisation than ever.
But how can investing in digital technology increase income? Buckland says unified digital platforms such as Engaging Networks, which Sense used and integrated with business intelligence and centralise all the datasets in one place, can help "build awareness with a new audience, have a better understanding of their audiences and help tailor communications around each supporter."
The platform highlighted that support comes in all shapes and sizes and allowed Sense to put the right ask in front of the right supporter at the right time, identifying which audiences couldn’t afford to give so they could put in other 'asks' instead, such as encouraging them to volunteer or campaign, keeping them warm and engaged. The technology also helped streamline processes so they didn’t have to duplicate data-inputting across systems.
3. Repurpose existing assets to reach new audiences
Gavin Sharp, Head of Fundraising at The Mix, says that a new year’s resolution charity fundraisers could consider is looking at their existing assets and seeing how they can be repackaged to unlock additional income.
The Mix, which provides free advice and crisis support to under 25s, has more than 2000 resources on its website covering a range of topics from drugs and alcohol to mental health. The charity has packaged this up into a search engine and installed it onto schools’ intranets or websites, directing students to the resources they need. This provides value for schools because it is helping their students’ wellbeing, It also provides them with anonymised data so they can see what students are searching for and how they are accessing advice, giving the school a chance to address those issues.
Sharp says, of the scheme which has been piloted in seven schools: “We looked at our existing assets and thought, how could we use them in a better and different way for new or different audiences. We’re in the early stages but it’s very positive and there is an appetite for it. We’ve gained 50 ambassadors within the schools and these are students who are fundraising for us. We are also working with local authorities on it being included in resources for care leavers.”
Sharp added that the tool is allowing them to proactively put their resources in front of young people which could result in earlier interventions.
4. Diversify your retail offering
Charities are benefiting from a boom in sustainable shoppers looking for pre-loved items and this is playing out on the high street and online. According to the Charity Retail Association there was a 15 per cent growth in customers at the beginning of this year, compared to 2022. But undeniably, diversifying to online marketplaces in 2024 could be transformative for charities not already in this space.
As Mike Taylor, Commercial Director at the British Heart Foundation says:
“Online marketplaces are offering some shoppers more ease and convenience…
Charities can truly benefit from selling online as these platforms help us maximise the value of donations for good causes.”
eBay can be a great option for charities to sell furniture and clothing and to experiment with online selling without any of the typical overheads. Charities in a report by the Charity Retail Association said that it helped expand their reach and customer base and allow them to get the best possible price for unusual and high-value items, such as collectables and antiques. There is help available too with charity retailers able to get training from eBay to Charity, a programme that offers to help them boost their online revenue.
British Heart Foundation is the top charity on eBay but is also using other online marketplaces such as Depop with success. The charity’s online sales grew by £13.4 million last year, including 44% year-on-year growth through their eBay shop, and they are continuing to see strong online sales growth.
5. Explore gaming as an income stream
The U.K. games industry is worth £7 billion, offering an opportunity for fundraisers to engage gamers to help a good cause and this is something Daniel Harker, who works in gaming and streaming at the British Red Cross says charities could capitalise on.
“Gaming can really revolutionise what you can do for a charity, bringing in a new age profile,” he says.
“While older people are the more likely to donate, young people shouldn’t be discounted. Gamers and content creators are able to show support with their time rather than money.”
Harker explains that younger people can unlock income via their networks. He gives the example of Donation Dash, a 12-hour online event where content creators (gamers, people livestreaming their content or Tik Tokers) livestream content and compete to fundraise, explaining: “We got donations from all across the world and from all ages and backgrounds.”
The British Red Cross have changed their approach to gaming in recent years. They previously created the branding and assets and asked people to take part but now they are collaborating more with creators. Feedback from creators that they want a higher level of flexibility has led to a new event called Quest for Kindness which runs over the course of a year and allows creators to dip in and out of their fundraising during that time.
So how can charities get more involved in gaming? Harker’s advice is for charities to hire someone who is a native to gaming or at least to give a new recruit time to really understand it.
“There are more than 700 different platforms so you need to be immersed in the culture of gaming and streaming, its language and its culture to be effective.”
Catherine Jones is a PR and Communications Consultant, with over a decade of experience working in the third sector.
Ready to find out how PR can help your charity organisation?
I offer a free consultation so I can write up a bespoke package for you.
