Did you know that 97% of DIY fundraisers are eager to support their chosen charity again?

It’s true, according to 6,000 UK-based supporters who responded to a recent survey. This lovely stat is just one of the eye-opening revelations from the 2024 CIOF Fundraising Convention. Our UK team is excited to share the key insights they gathered for you!

#1 DIY is booming!

Online fundraising page creation has skyrocketed. Average amounts raised, average donation amounts, and activation rates have significantly increased since 2019. Winning tricks shared by Young Lives vs Cancer include:

• WhatsApp can be a great engagement channel: They successfully identified where their supporters were most active and engaged with them on that platform.
• Speed matters: Quick, heartfelt thank-yous can turn one-time participants into ongoing supporters.
• Personal touches create lasting bonds: The charity saw great results with handwritten cards acknowledging important dates in their supporters’ lives.

WhatsApp offers advantages over SMS like cost-effective messaging, 2-way conversations, rich media sharing, and it can drive higher engagement rates. Good news! Enabling WhatsApp sharing on Funraisin pages is as simple as ticking a box. Ready to unlock a new channel of meaningful supporter engagement? Give it a try!

Here's how to get started with WhatsApp

• Start small: Set up a WhatsApp Business account and create a test group with a handful of engaged supporters.
• Experiment with content: Try sending different types of messages - updates, thank-yous, and calls-to-action. See what resonates best with your test group.
  Monitor and learn: Keep track of response rates and feedback. Use these insights to refine your approach before scaling up.

#2 Your next failed campaign could be your ticket to fundraising success

In fundraising, you’re either winning or learning; there’s no such thing as failing. In a session by Michael Dent of WWF focused on maximizing fundraising through technology and innovation, he emphasized the importance of fostering a culture that embraces failure to drive growth. 

Here’s the lowdown on failing your way to success:

• Give your teams the freedom to be creative, fail, learn, and try again: It’s not about throwing caution to the wind; it’s about taking calculated risks. Set parameters that are risk-informed.
• Create a space where your team can share their stumbles without fear: Remember, today’s "whoops" could be tomorrow’s "eureka!"
• Feedback loops: They’re not just for successful campaigns. Learn from what didn’t work, and you’re already halfway to your next big win.
• Your tech partners are your innovation sidekicks: Use them as trusted partners to test new ideas, prove ROI and optimize your campaigns.
• Embrace digital: Organizations testing advanced digital tools are seeing their income grow.

Here’s 5 things you can do right now to adopt a fail-forward approach to innovation: 

• Implement a "Failure of the Month" award: Celebrate team members who took calculated risks, even if they didn't pan out. This normalizes failure as part of the innovation process.
• Create a Lessons Learned Log: Document insights from both successful and failed campaigns. Make this easily accessible to all team members.
• Establish an Innovation Budget: Allocate a small percentage of your fundraising budget specifically for experimental campaigns. This gives teams the financial freedom to take risks.
• Join Funraisin’s Testing & Optimisation Growth Lab (TOGL): Collaborate with other charities in our no-cost program to run practical experiments aimed at improving fundraising performance. TOGL focuses on increasing donors, dollars, and databases through controlled testing.
• Innovate with Funraisin: Partner with us on a low-risk experimental campaign. Our optimized templates and unmatched customisation capabilities make it easy to bring your great ideas to life swiftly. Start gathering insights quickly—reach out for a chat today!

#3 It’s time to rewrite the rulebook on mass participation events

The fundraising landscape has shifted dramatically since the pandemic, especially in mass participation events. The old rulebook? It’s getting a major rewrite. 

Leaders from Mind, Shelter, Prostate Cancer UK, and Diabetes UK shared how they’re adapting:

• Farewell, old benchmarks! Pre-pandemic KPIs are showing their age. Charities are now hunting for fresh, more meaningful metrics to measure the success and impact of mass participation events. They’re focusing more on how these events can boost awareness and build a pipeline of new supporters.
• Data-driven decisions are everything: Diabetes UK found they’re killing it with average gift amounts (55% above sector average!), while also spotting areas to improve. Knowing their weak spots and winning tactics helped them drive new growth.
• It’s a balancing act: Shelter is weighing current income against future potential. It’s not just about what’s happening now, but where you could be headed.
• The bigger picture: There’s a growing appreciation for the non-financial perks of events, like the storytelling opportunities and community engagement that come from having a team of participants advocating for your charity. Sometimes, success isn’t just about the bottom line.

Helpful advice for setting new KPI’s for mass participation events: 

• Define what success looks like: Kick things off by getting clear on what you want to achieve with your mass participation events. Are you aiming to reel in more donors, boost community vibes, or spread the word about a specific cause or break into a new local area? By nailing down your goals, you can set the stage for some solid KPIs.
• Tailor metrics to each campaign type: Different campaigns, different goals! If you’re starting out by building awareness and interest, keep an eye on metrics like social media buzz, website hits, and interest levels. As you move forward, shift your focus to results like total funds raised, average donation amounts, and how many participants keep coming back.
• Track your metrics: Know what’s important before you dive in and make sure you’re gathering the right data. Set up systems and tools to keep tabs on your KPIs. Use data analytics to get real-time insights, so you can tweak things on the go. Regular check-ins with your metrics will help you see how you’re doing and where you can step up your game.

TL;DR: Success looks different for every charity, and every campaign. It’s about finding the right mix of metrics that drive your mission’s brand, and fundraising, forward.

The bottom line

The fundraising landscape is evolving at breakneck speed, and the charities that will thrive are those willing to experiment and innovate. From the booming DIY fundraising scene to redefining success metrics for mass participation events, the key themes are clear: embrace change, look for insights in your data, and leverage technology.

Whether it’s using WhatsApp to engage DIY fundraisers, fostering a failure-friendly culture to drive innovation, or developing new benchmarks for event success, the most successful charities will be those that blend personal touches with data-driven strategies and aren’t afraid to try new approaches. Remember, in the world of modern fundraising, standing still is not an option.

So, what’s your next move? Will you revamp your DIY fundraising strategy, create a proving ground for innovative ideas, or reassess how you measure success?

Whatever you choose, keep your data close, your supporters closer, and your willingness to adapt front and center!