Predictions

Looking to 2023

The nonprofit industry continues to change and shift following the height of the pandemic and the consistently fluctuating economy. What did our respondents have to say about the nonprofit industry in 2023?

Start your year off right and use these insights from our survey to best inform your planning for a successful year of fundraising and donor management.

Fundraising goals will be increasing

No matter what the 2022 fundraising performance was, most nonprofit professionals are expected to achieve a higher fundraising goal in 2023. This has been a consistent pattern for several years. No matter the environment, it will likely continue to be the case.

If you’re unsure where to begin (or how to set the right goals), then start here with our customizable Nonprofit Goal Planning: Worksheets to Set Your Fundraising Goals.

We’ll walk you through the right questions to find the right goals for your nonprofit, including ways to frame your successes and setbacks, setting goals that create urgency and inspire action, and setting goals that make each aspect of your multichannel outreach work harder for you.

It’s more important than ever to diversify revenue streams and add more creative fundraising opportunities. If you have a platform that supports unlimited fundraising campaigns, don’t limit yourself.

One in five nonprofit professionals shared that they do not participate in additional appeals outside of designated giving days, such as Giving Tuesday. Even one additional mission-centered appeal or volunteer-driven event can make a big impact on your goals and grow your donor base.

GiveSmart’s popular Annual Fundraising Calendar delivers the major holidays, recognized awareness moments, days of giving and connection, and fun days (mostly food-based) worth celebrating.

Consolidating digital fundraising will best enable flexible, donor-centered giving

While all platforms are not created equal, there is no shortage of options when it comes to fundraising technology. However, nonprofit professionals overwhelmingly agree that having fewer solutions that do more leads to greater fundraising success and employee satisfaction.

Techniques like text-to-donate, SMS message communication, and digital wallets like Apple Pay all powered by online giving, grant your supporters access, choice, and flexibility.

With some vendors that were not originally built for nonprofit fundraising, you can wait months and months for your money. And, forget about getting donor contact information. Many payment processing vendors don’t give you that critical information, so you can’t even thank your donors.

And all of those unnecessary platforms have fees that can really add up. Some vendors may charge separate, unadvertised fees such as:

Additional monthly merchant account fees
Sliding transactions fees in addition to industry-standard credit card processing fees
Credit card fees that wildly vary based on how much you fundraise and are only able to be covered by the merchant/nonprofit
Additional fees for tickets, on top of transaction fees and standard credit card fees

Don't lose money and donor data by juggling too many systems and trying to offer needlessly MORE options to donors. Consolidating platforms will save money, offer a more secure donor experience, and streamline donor data into one source.

It shouldn’t feel like you need an advanced degree to use your fundraising platform.

Use this Nonprofit Ultimate Buyer’s Guide for tips on what to look for in a fundraising platform and questions you need to ask as you evaluate your fundraising and donor management platform options.

Diversifying revenue streams will yield long-term growth

According to the survey respondents, those who did try something new, adding new revenue streams, and diversifying giving options were more successful despite any fluctuations and uncertainty in the market.

When asked to rank their revenue streams, these were the top four highest revenue generators according to our respondents:

Annual or large gifts
Event fundraising
Individual contributions or donations
Grants (federal, state, local)

The biggest opportunities for organizations to directly influence fundraising growth are in event fundraising, donation campaigns, and annual fundraising. All of those build a strong foundation for major giving.

Consider adding in text-to-donate options, recurring giving prompts, additional giving days, merchandise stores, or stock donations.

Data shows that organizations with diverse revenue streams tend to be more resilient to economic change. With ever-changing economic conditions, inform your nonprofit or school’s revenue stream strategies.

View infographic

Donor stewardship will define fundraising success

Rarely do organizations get large gifts from first-time donors. Those come after months and years of relationship building and stewardship. It is impossible to steward donors without the right tracking and data. That doesn’t come from spreadsheets.

By increasing your donor retention rate, you don’t have to pour as many resources into finding new donors, especially since repeat donors often give more than first-time donors

A positive donor experience is essential for attaining and retaining donors, so be sure all donor experiences from start to finish are easy, seamless, and quick.

Your organization may spend up to three times the amount of a first-time giver’s donation just to encourage their first donation. By cutting the work needed for new donor acquisitions, your organization saves money.

A CRM solution will only help your organization when it comes to managing donor data. Put the spreadsheets away!

GiveSmart’s Donor CRM is the modern, user-friendly tool that makes your donor management easy. Its integration with both DonorSearch and Double the Donation helps you best steward your donors to raise more.