The cost of living crisis in the UK is a cause for concern for many including charities. Charities are facing an increase in demand for their services and need to find a way to fundraise sensitively in order to meet those demands. Research from Charities Aid Foundation suggests that two thirds of people are cutting back on discretionary spending with one in eight considering reducing charity donations as part of this.
The charities the public are giving to continue to shift, being mainly motivated by the needs they have seen around them in the community and in the news. So it is important for charities to demonstrate their relevance to issues that are dominating the news agenda with their campaigns and appeals.
However, The Donor Pulse Report states in summer 2021, 7/10 people said they had given to charity in the previous three months, a rate that had remained consistent since October 2020. Charity Digital reported that nearly half of Gen Z alone supported three or more causes in summer 2021, demonstrating that charities should not fear competition, but embrace their collective success.
There is a lot to be learnt from the work and adaptation done by charities through the pandemic which can help during the cost of living crisis we now face. Despite all the challenges the public had been faced with during the pandemic – they understood the important work charities were doing and kept on giving. Just as they did then, it is vital that charities work together now to innovate and share new ideas and methods of raising funds.
There are many places where charities can find invaluable insight, including events, webinars, and even on social media. Supported Givings Guide on Boosting your fundraising with Social Media can be downloaded here.
One way Supported Giving can help you is with your cashless donations. The Donor Pulse Report goes on to confirm that the shift to online giving continues to accelerate. As of May 2021 44% of the public had given online. The fact that digital donating is increasing even when lockdown restrictions were easing emphasised how important it is for charities to make online giving as easy as possible.
You can find out more by reading the article here.
