Nonprofits, Charities Move Online To Offset Nonexistent Live Galas, Improve Experience

Americans are pretty generous, and that can be proven. The COVID-triggered financial calamity sank charitable giving early on. Then, as PYMNTS reported in Q3 2020, “according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, after tanking in the first quarter, non-profit donations rose with the pandemic in Q2, heading for a 7.5 percent increase for the first half of 2020 compared to 2019.”

Which brings us to PYMNTS’ January 2021 Navigating Nonprofits’ Digital Payments Shift Report done in collaboration with American Express, which explores unprecedented increases in demand for nonprofit’s services as consumers struggle with the effects of an ongoing pandemic.

“The pandemic is making it harder for many nonprofits to bring in the same number of contributions they once did, and public health barriers to holding in-person fundraising events only add to the challenge,” per the new report. “Charities are also finding that consumers are carrying less cash, making it less effective to send out volunteers with collection baskets.”

Confronting new challenges, the report explores how charities are “refreshing their approaches with virtual fundraising and digital donation tools to continue to fuel their missions.”

Over Half Want to Donate Using Credit or Debit

Among many philanthropic learnings from the harrowing COVID event is this one: The donor class is shifting digital like the rest of us. “Recently published results from a global online survey indicate that digital channels may be key to helping nonprofits better collect contributions and encourage repeat giving,” according to Navigating Nonprofits’ Digital Payments Shift.

The study cited surveyed over 13,000 donors from 133 countries between March and May 2020, finding that “only 8 percent of global donors prefer to give using cash. Fifty-five percent want to use credit and debit cards online, 12 percent prefer bank and wire transfers, 10 percent leverage PayPal and another 10 percent send money via postal mail. The remaining 5 percent listed payment methods like digital wallets, text-to-give solutions and mobile money options.”

With ballroom fundraisers and gala luncheons gone dark for the time being, nonprofits are bringing in dollars digitally, lowering admin costs and adding transparency in the process.

“Strategic leaders of nonprofits have discovered there is a need to have a wider reach and less expense. The conversation has moved to social media platforms. The compelling stories told are shared online and spread quickly through the local communities, resulting in a slew of digital donations,” Baldo Besich, director of U.S. partner acquisition and management at American Express, told PYMNTS.

Besich added that “the continued conversations online have allowed humans to remain connected. We have also seen many charities and churches embrace online giving. Using their trusted partners, these charities can promote easy, safe and — most importantly — secure donations. Finally, the new, holistic way of fundraising focuses on how different demographics prefer to donate, such as text-to-give or recurring online credit card donations.”

Virtual Events Are the New Ballroom

Digital is helping save charities by enabling online donations, the contactless and remote nature of which sidesteps malingering COVID fears that hold back giving.

“Consumers are carrying less cash during the pandemic, making it even more important for charities to offer digital donation options,” according to the new Navigating Nonprofits’ Digital Payments Shift Report.

“The shift away from physical payment methods has stemmed partly from prevalent fears that hard currency could pose an infection risk,” the report continued. While the WHO has rejected notions that cash spreads novel coronavirus, consumers and stores have altered behaviors anyway. “The U.S. saw shares of retail purchases made in cash drop from 40 percent in 2009 to 30 percent in 2020, suggesting reduced consumer interest in exchanging physical tender.”

That’s where virtual is bridging old-school fundraising with newly-minted digital tools.

“Thirty percent of U.S. consumers reported contributing to or participating in at least one virtual fundraising event since the pandemic’s outbreak, and 24 percent said they donated more in 2020 compared to 2019, suggesting that those who have the means to help out are more inclined to do so. The most popular charitable causes outlined in the study were education, foreign and international affairs, health, human services and public and social benefit missions,” according to Navigating Nonprofits’ Digital Payments Shift.

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