Does your annual fundraising plan include improving your fundraising tech? It should! Fundraising tech is rapidly evolving and hopefully helping, not hindering your development team’s success.
Here’s a list of the top five fundraising tech your nonprofit needs now.
1. Fundraising Tech #1: All-in-one CRM’s
In 2020 fundraising tech, expect to see cloud-based CRM’s becoming more and more integrated. The use of 3rd-party integrations with marketing tools such as Constant Contact, Mailchimp, Hubspot, and Salesforce are good examples.
CRM’s continue to become increasingly sophisticated with their integrations – nonprofits can and should expect more. The competition is enormous. With that, CRM’s increasingly label themselves as “all-in-one” platforms to store, analyze, and optimize donor data – including payment processing options.
If your nonprofit’s CRM is not as integrated with its marketing as it is its fundraising – including a mobile-optimized website – then it might be time to start looking elsewhere. (Here’s a head start! ZGIVE is an all-in-one cloud-based mobile-giving platform.)
2. Fundraising Tech #2: Text and Scan to Give
With the annual rise of mobile-giving (well over 50 percent!), Text-to-Give and Scan-to-Give features continue to increase in popularity among fundraising tech. We especially see this among Millennial and Gen-Z users.
Text-to-Give and Scan-to-Give make giving faster, easier, and more convenient. Donors simply text a few digits and typically have completed their payment in just a couple of clicks.
3. Fundraising Tech #3: Podcasting
Keeping with the “mobile-first” fundraising tech theme, podcasting for nonprofits is one of the biggest anticipated trends of 2020. An increase in podcasting is partially due to the growing success for nonprofits such as The New Activist hosted by the International Justice Mission, TheoryLab hosted by the American Cancer Society, and Invited In hosted by Samaritan’s Purse, and in 2019. According to this article, more than 67% of podcast listeners are Millennials with at least some higher education – slightly more women than men.
For many nonprofits, Millennial donors are increasing the focus for annual fundraising strategies. And for a good reason! Millennials are an essential part of the workforce today and are known for being the most generous generation. Additionally, many nonprofits find they have a more engaged female than male audience.
Podcasting is a great way to engage your audience through storytelling, building a wider un-tapped audience, and demonstrating your area of program expertise to build trust with donors. Check out this article if you’re wondering how to start one for your nonprofit.
4. Fundraising Tech #4: Artificial Intelligence
In 2019, we watched nonprofit’s take artificial intelligence (AI) more seriously than ever as legitimate fundraising tech to raise more funds. Today, we anticipate that more than a few brave first nonprofits will experiment with the superhuman intelligence of AI to optimize their donor data.
5. Fundraising Tech #5: Digital Auction Software
Covid accelerated the adoption of digital auction software as most organizations had to change their strategy and their technology to thrive during the pandemic and virtual-only fundraising events. Today, digital auctions are here to stay, and whether you host an in-person, hybrid or virtual event, savvy digital auction platforms make it easier than ever to raise money.
What fundraising tech trends do you anticipate being critical to the success of your nonprofit?
Need a simple, smart solution for your online and mobile auction fundraising?
ZGIVE is a simple, smart digital auction platform for nonprofits. We combine AI/predictive analytics, leading-edge auction technology, and a no-risk auction item shop to help nonprofits maximize fundraising at their events.
Whether in-person, virtual, or hybrid, ZGIVE™ provides the solution nonprofits need to host events that will engage their audience and help exceed their fundraising goals. Learn more at www.zgive.com.