Charity Trends for 2018

The way we are giving is always changing. Here are the trends to watch for in the coming year.

Mar 22, 2018 | Blog

Charity Trends for 2018

Here at DollarFund, the focus has been the causes we’re working to eliminate. We’ve highlighted childhood cancer, clean water, hunger, trafficking, homelessness, and orphans. These issues have motivated us to do the work we do, which is not to solve them per se, but to support the organizations that do. We want to build both a community of givers AND doers. We hope to be a source of inspiration for our community and a helpful resource for the charities with which we partner. Below is a list of trends and expectations for charities in 2018.

Transparency

As personal technology grows, so does the ability to check up on the global impact of almost any business. Charities are no exception. Accountability and proof are an ever-growing audience concern, and groups like Charity Navigator are responding accordingly. Back in November of 2017, Charity Navigator announced that they would be expanding their services to not only provide financial analysis, gleaned from IRS 990 filings, but to include impact reports as well. It’s not only just about how you allocate funds, but how impactful those funds are. 2018 will be the year of walking the walk.

Dialing in on Your Audience

One way that technology, and especially social media, helps an organization is by providing a clear picture as to who is actually listening to what you’re saying. Facebook and Google Analytics offers a breakdown of your audience and donor demographics. Charities should be harnessing that information and tailoring their marketing materials to fit the needs of its true audience. You’ve probably already noticed that the ads and content we see in our social feeds are becoming more and more personal. These findings, matched with research data can help guide a marketing or onboarding campaign that resonates deeply with your tribe.

Presentation is Everything

Consumers of information want to understand what they’re looking at quickly. On average, you have an online readers attention for about 2 seconds. Infographics are the best way to deliver your compelling stats and data. Check out this infographic from Classy, showing the success of #givingtuesday last year. Easy to understand, fun to look at, and incredibly shareable.

Keeping an Active Blog

The first places people look for a charity’s activity and work is their blog. Keeping up consistent, valuable content that showcases your impact is a must have. You can post infographics, provide insight into the progress you are making, show transparency, and establish yourself as a thought leader in your given field of service. Having a good understanding of SEO and what’s important to your audience will also help bring a wider viewership to your organization.

Keeping it Human

And one last time we’ll talk about the effect of technology on charitable giving. Yes, it’s made the demand for speed, impact, and transparency greater. It’s also created a need for more human involvement. Your audience wants to know that at the end of the day, people are still doing the work. Personal messages from founders, employees, volunteers, and benefactors will be crucial in crafting messages. Whether it’s on social media, a blog, or a newsletter, try to keep the personal and heartfelt notes coming.

We live in a time that seems to have more problems than solutions, but we don’t think that’s true. Through our work, we’ve found thousands of people working and living to make the world a better place tomorrow, and an even better place the day after that. We want not just to find success of our partnering charities; we want to find it in ALL charities. 2017 saw record numbers in charitable donations. 2018 is on track to see even greater improvements. And we want to see it continue that way forever after.

Connecting the world through millions of $1 donations.