Charities lackadaisical online

Research carried out by British firms nfpSynergy and MissionFish has found that U.K. charities aren’t keeping up with 21st century donors.

by Helen Leggatt

Instead of keeping abreast of ways to engage online donors, nfpSynergy and MissionFish discovered that U.K. charities are relying on methods that are 10 years out of date, reports Precision Marketing’s Ed Parshotam.

Charities, it seems, have mistakenly thought that the Internet was an easy way of sitting back and watching donations pour in. Not so. Today’s donors need much more than a “Donate Now” button to stimulate and engage them.

“While they sat back, society – not least young, affluent professionals – did almost everything else online apart from click-and-donate,” said Joe Saxton of nfpSynergy.

“They paid bills, went shopping, bought cars, sought love – increasingly accessing the Web where-ever and when-ever they wanted. And what a missed bounty of opportunity for those charities unwilling or unable to mirror and integrate with this lifestyle – complete with its blogs and social network spaces – first engaging with potential donors where their interests and habits lie and, thereby, over time, subsequently motivating them to donate, whether on or offline.”