Charities have traditionally relied on personal approaches to encourage donations to good causes. Volunteers would take donations or sell goods in the street, or particularly wealthy givers would be invited to special philanthropic events. From there, TV was seen as a key point of contact, with adverts showing how donating can help, with the number to call being dotted across the schedule on all channels.
Now, we’re in an age where anyone can be given a buzz in their pocket by any business tied to a free app they downloaded. Smartphone connectivity has become a highly effective tool for businesses and charities alike. Not only does this make connecting to potential donors easy, but it’s also convenient for them to act on any sudden desire to give money to their chosen organization.
Rise of Convenient Charity Apps and Platforms
Convenience and immediacy have become key drivers in digital engagement. Apps catering to brands across all kinds of industry have capitalized on this for over a decade now. Once a customer has an app installed, special offers, bonuses, news, and more can all be sent to them personally in what has become an accepted nudge from a necessary device.
For charities, apps can be especially potent. We’ve seen this with the rise of fundraising platforms like JustGiving and GoFundMe, which boast global audiences thanks to the array of tools available for those who’re setting up campaigns, as Academia details. It’s notable that over 53% of Millennials have made donations using their mobile devices. It’s not just charity apps that are enabling people to be more charitable, either.
Social media has also developed into a useful, convenient, and potent tool for taking donations. Around 26 percent of people, according to Fidelity, have made a donation through a social media platform. Social media, like smartphones, is now considered an essential part of daily life. So, with donation tools available, the likes of X, Facebook, Instagram, and the like have enabled easy giving to charities.
Surprising Sources of Charitable Inspirations
Gaining access to potential donors in an instant is one thing, but the key to utilizing the tech available is to alert users at the right time. Too many notifications or untimely ones will ultimately drive them away. So, a measured approach that targets the right moments is necessary. Even so, this isn’t an exact science. People show different levels of charitable giving wherever you look.
This is even the case when just zooming in on sports fans. A Betano study on charitable sports fans in North America found that Windsor, Ontario, ranked highest among Canadian cities for charitable engagement, recording a score nearly three times as high as that of Quebec City. In the US, Colorado Springs topped its charitable score charts and eclipsed the score of Windsor.
These insights suggest that charity apps could tailor engagement strategies for regions with higher charitable activity. Of course, with AI becoming more and more integrated into just about everything, some charities will be looking into ways to leverage it and create more personalized notifications to would-be donors.
Technology has made charitable giving more accessible and convenient for donors. For the charities themselves, it’s all about being a convenient choice when someone feels like they want to make a donation.
