The top fundraising trends, challenges and opportunities for 2024

In December, the THINK team came together to make predictions for the fundraising and charity sector trends, challenges and opportunities we expect to see in 2024. 

Legacies 

THINK’s Chief Executive Michelle Chambers: 

“Legacy delays continue – delays in the passage of wills through probate have caused income and cashflow challenges for many organisations and this doesn’t look likely to improve any time soon.  Keeping a tight handle on pipeline notifications and the status of specific gifts remains vital. Where possible, it is worth seeking interim payments to help cashflow issues.”

Flexible giving options 

THINK Senior Consultant Amanda Warhaftig: 

“Businesses offer flexible payments as they expect an increase in customer loyalty and repeat business. With people across the UK still struggling with the cost of living, being able to offer flexible donation options could lead to increased and more spontaneous charitable giving. 

“Mobile payments, cashless payments, AI-driven fraud detection, peer to peer payments and blockchain technology are among the top trends in the payment processing industry – but while it is important that charities ensure that they are responsive to these changes, cash is still an important donation mechanism for a large proportion of charity supporters and charities need to ensure that they are making it as easy as possible for people to give via whichever methods suits them best.”

Recruitment 

THINK’s Executive Director Gary Kernahan: 

“Recruitment and retention has been challenging for organisations of all shapes and sizes throughout 2023 and heading into 2024 I don’t see anything that suggests this will change. 

“Charities should be prioritising retention strategies to reduce turnover and investment in learning and development to grow their own managers and leaders. In addition, salaries should be benchmarked, and more effort should be made be present the overall package (I know some charities who have amazing benefits but don’t highlight these when recruiting).”

Philanthropy 

THINK’s Director of Strategic Consultancy Simon Dickson: 

“I am going to roll over my 2023 prediction into 2024 to see if the trend I predicted really does build momentum! The role of women in driving philanthropy is continuing to grow alongside the number of wealthy women. Reports that will show whether female philanthropy has grown further in 2023 will not come out until mid-2024 but there are signs that it continues to be a powerful force. 

“One initiative we have seen in 2023 that demonstrates major female philanthropy in action, greater partnership working AND support for mitigating climate change and biodiversity loss was Arcadia – a foundation co-founder by Lisbet Rausing – partnering with Bloomberg Philanthropies to create a $51 million fund – Ocean 5 – to expand and improve marine protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures.  

“I predict more large scale, multi-partner and territory collaborations of this ilk in 2024 to help tackle the global climate crisis, alongside other environmental issues such as supporting biodiversity and ocean-based conservation work.”

The importance of being insight and data-led 

THINK’s Head of Intelligence Arani Mylvaganam: 

“I’ve been really delighted to see an increasing number of charities investing in dedicated ‘Knowledge’ or ‘Research’ teams, to support fundraising and other functions with a range of insight and intelligence gathering activities. This points to increasingly evidence-led strategic and tactical decision making amongst many charities, as well hopefully engendering further cross-team collaboration. I’m predicting increasing investment in these types of teams in 2024, especially amongst mid/large charities.” 

THINK Senior Consultant Jindy Pal: 

“In 2024 we’re going to see a continued focus on organisations ‘going back to basics’ – ensuring their critical operations to support income generation are in place and optimised. And also improvements in measuring performance are made, with accountabilities and frequency of reporting more robust so that culturally, the critical importance of understanding performance of a fundraising programme is prioritised.” 

Corporate partnerships 

THINK Associate Senior Consultant Michelle Sorrell: 

“ESG (environmental, social and governance) is massively under pressure with a number of companies pulling back and refocusing their commitments due to profitability pressures, criticism of fake brand purpose, virtue signalling and a feeling of moral superiority over customers at a time when many are experiencing economic hardship. For companies, measuring impact is increasingly important and is being demanded by their stakeholders. The pressure to show the impact of their support will need to be satisfied in part by those they support. This will mean that the ambitions and goals set by charities in relation to climate change as well as other casual areas will need to be clearer and more concise with robust monitoring and evaluation to be able to report impact in a much more rigorous way. Collaboration between expertise addressing climate change or other issues will increase in importance for all types of funding sources.”   

Digital fundraising 

THINK’s Managing Director Matt Smith: 

“I’m picking AI and machine learning again for 2024, as this massive issue is not going anywhere, any time soon. 

“If 2023 was about shiny new tools, 2024 will be about consolidation and integration. We’re already starting to see AI pop-ups in Microsoft Office, Zoom and in predictive messaging in email and WhatsApp. I expect 2024 to be a breakthrough moment for AI in fundraising, as our understanding and confidence in the benefits and risks grow. It’s beyond a trend at this point, and is a ‘can’t ignore’ part of working life for all fundraisers.”

THINK Consultant Becky Steeden: 

“This year looks set to bring a raft of changes and uncertainty – at least in the short term – in the way we collect data and track performance on digital fundraising channels, and the regulations we’re expected to comply with as a sector. 

“As we rapidly approach a cookie-less future, charities are moving away from the Meta tracking pixel many have come to rely on so heavily – it is expected to be deprecated completely within the coming months – and navigating how and indeed whether to implement Meta’s new Conversion API. 

“Marketing, data and compliance teams need to stay abreast of both new regulation and new technology – the interplay between the two, and the impact on charities’ work. Charities reliant on Meta platforms must familiarise themselves with the new Conversions API and invest time in learning how it works and what the implications are for their organisation and marketing audiences. They should also review their advertising strategy, diversifying digital channels wherever possible to decrease reliance on Meta. Prioritise being as transparent with marketing audiences as possible about data collection and usage – and ensure your privacy policy is robust and clear.” 

Compliance 

THINK Consultant Hannah Hyde: 

“2024 will see continued scrutiny on due diligence and gift acceptance policies and processes across the sector. In November 2023, Orlando Fraser, Chair of the Charity Commission, announced that the Commission would be undertaking a review of guidance for charities on accepting or refusing donations. Fraser stated that “demonstrative personal squeamishness around sources of philanthropic funding may benefit the sense of righteous progressiveness of a trustee or charity executive, but it will most likely not serve the beneficiary reliant on the services a charity provides” – a view that may well continue to evoke debate in 2024 as further scrutiny is placed on this complex area of fundraising compliance. Charities will need to be clear on their ethical positions around fundraising and involve multiple stakeholders at all levels to ensure parity and objectivity is central to gift acceptance and due diligence policies.” 

Becky also adds: 

“While big shifts in tech will take place, so does the regulation that guides our sector in its use. The UK Data Protection and Digital Information Bill No 2 was introduced by the Government in March 2023 and is currently at the committee stage in the House of Lords – it’s expected to pass during 2024 but there are no guarantees or specific dates available. And of course, we also face a potential change in government later this year. At the same time, the Fundraising Regulator is moving towards a principles-based approach, rather than stipulating specific instructions on how to implement and adhere to laws and regulations as it has done previously. 

“We’re now entering a period of uncertainty as a sector as we navigate these tech changes amid an absence of clear-cut regulation.”
– Becky Steeden 

Mid value programmes proliferate 

“2023 has seen many direct mail programmes see lower response rates but higher average gifts, indicating that those who are truly engaged with charity and can afford to, may be ready to be moved into a mid-value programme, but one that needs to be run with DM principles. How much extra income might you raise by moving your top cash givers into a mid-value programme? 2024 will see more and more examples of the power of such programmes.” – Michelle Chambers 

Focus on optimising cross-team collaboration 

“Organisations will continue to grapple with the need to eradicate silos to create compelling, collaborative and high-impact campaigns with marketing cut-through. Charities will need to proactively create a culture of teamwork and cross-departmental goals to make this happen – even more so now so many organisations have truly embraced hybrid working for the long-term.”
– Hannah Hyde 

Hybrid working 

“While hybrid working can offers the benefits of flexibility, better work-life balance, and cost savings on commuting, if it is not managed effectively organisations will face challenges with remote working such as social isolation, impacts on employee morale, organisation culture and productivity. The hybrid workplace is here to stay – and I predict that in 2024 we’ll see more charities reviewing their current arrangements and taking a more proactive approach to managing this, ensuring that they have the right hybrid working policies and practices in place to support a successful and sustainable workplace.”
– Amanda Warhaftig 

 

You can read our reflections of last year’s predictions and thoughts here: Reflecting on our fundraising and charity sector predictions for 2023.  

In the meantime, we wish you a very happy New Year. 

The THINK team
January 2024 

 

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