How to get donations in 2024: empowering this year’s nonprofit fundraising strategy

Nonprofits across all sectors have been losing support, according to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project. By the third quarter of 2023, retention was down 5% YoY for “supersize” donors (those who donate $50,000 or more), and nonprofits of all sizes saw a 21.7% YoY decrease in new donors.

The reasons behind this downward trend in charitable giving are complex. It’s not just that people are concerned about finances. For example, a survey from the Better Business Bureau’s Give.org found that nearly half of Gen Z respondents had never been asked for a donation, and 52% felt that shopping at a socially responsible business had the same or greater impact as charitable donations.

In this post, we’ll talk about how to get donations from new donors, retain current donors, and encourage upsells. We’ll also share some tips on how to better engage website visitors, even without a team of developers.

How to get donations in the socioeconomic landscape of 2024

Telethons and direct-mail appeals are tried-and-true ways of requesting donations, but the economic trends of the previous year indicate a need for innovative methods to reach new audiences and retain current donors. Digital fundraising efforts help nonprofits supercharge expansion by reaching a global audience, often through low-overhead initiatives with high-impact results. In 2024, these are exactly the kinds of donor engagement strategies forward-thinking organizations are using to generate revenue during challenging times.

Let’s look at some key ways nonprofits are ramping up online fundraising in 2024.

Asking for donations effectively with AI-powered personalization

What dollar amount should be suggested when soliciting donations? How should those amounts differ for one-time or recurring donation suggestions?Those questions are difficult to answer without proper visibility into the demographics of a potential donor pool. AI-powered fundraising technology provides valuable insights that allow organizations to easily personalize donation requests without devoting unrealistic amounts of time and financial resources.

AI-informed fundraising tools suggest recommended donation amounts based on a large dataset of donor data points, encouraging donors to give to the best of their ability without alienating those who might otherwise feel intimidated by larger suggested figures. Adopting AI-powered digital fundraising methods can also help organizations identify the donors most open to covering transaction fees.

Leveraging web traffic to refine and amplify impact stories

Donors want to know how their contributions make a difference, and whenever possible, it’s always better to show instead of tell. An impact story with images of the people who’ve benefited from charitable donations is a great way to show donors their dollars at work. Plus, organizations can repurpose impact stories across relevant channels to build awareness about their cause.

An impact story doesn’t need to be long. It just needs to connect with readers on a visceral level. Here’s an example from One Mind:

Appealing to generosity during peak giving periods

Setting up a campaign for GivingTuesday is a must, but there are other peak giving periods that present opportunities for raising donations. Ramadan, for example, is a peak giving period for more than 300 million people, and with fundraising software that has  Arabic-language support, organizations can easily set up one or more campaigns during this month-long observation.

Mother’s Day and the days leading up to it represent another peak giving period, especially when it comes to tributes. Here’s an example of how to ask for a donation with an email tribute campaign:

Enabling cryptocurrency donations

Once an obscure novelty, cryptocurrency has been gaining momentum in recent years and is expected to account for $10 billion in donations by November 2032. Crypto gifts typically exceed standard currency gifts by 142 times, so enabling these donations should be a priority.

Organizations that set up their site to accept cryptocurrency donations can hold fresh appeal for crypto’s primary users: young, affluent donors who are eager to support worthy causes. Crypto donations can also move across international borders with no red tape or lengthy bank-processing times.

Revamping the website

If someone is interested enough to visit a nonprofit’s website, they are prime for conversion. These are some elements organizations can use to nudge site visitors toward conversion:

Trust signals

An automated feed of real-time donations can enhance trust and social proof.

Graphic page elements

Progress bars, stat counters, and donor maps are persuasive page elements that could motivate potential donors to commit to a donation or increase the size of their donation. With the right software, orgs don’t need a developer to add these eye-catching features to their site.

Another element that’s great for boosting conversions is a popup. This exit-intent popup makes  a final appeal that would be hard for a philanthropist to ignore:

Campaign pages

Organizations can maintain laser focus on objectives and give donors all the information and functionality they need with campaign pages. These pages should explain the campaign, include an image, and allow a visitor to make a donation without navigating to another page.

Optimized checkout

Lengthy forms and limited payment options are examples of barriers in the checkout process that could cause potential donors to abandon their transaction. Streamlined checkouts with one-click donations, drop-down currency selection, and the option to choose one-time or recurring donations are much more effective in driving conversions.

As part of the checkout process, donors should have the option to check for company-matching, as shown here:

Ask for donations more effectively with Fundraise Up

Fundraise Up offers the tools nonprofits need to create a better digital experience for donors, without a team of developers and designers. And with AI to personalize and automate donation appeals, organizations can maximize donations, upsells, and recurring donations with minimal resources required.

Find out how Fundraise Up helps nonprofits grow and retain their donor base.