People want to give and make a difference, but nonprofits are failing to provide the opportunities to do so. This is the sobering analysis from Woodrow Rosenbaum, chief data officer at Giving Tuesday. According to Rosenbaum, while many nonprofits lament declining donor participation, the data shows that people remain motivated to give—they are just not limiting themselves to giving money to nonprofits alone.
In fact, nearly two-thirds of acts of generosity don’t involve nonprofits at all. People prefer to give in multiple ways, not just by writing checks to charities. They donate items, give gifts directly to those in need, support grassroots mutual aid networks, and more. Nonprofits focused narrowly on acquiring and stewarding major donors are missing the chance to engage community members in the ways they actually prefer to give.
The opportunity for nonprofits is to provide more avenues for people to make a difference, not just ask them for money. Rosenbaum points out that the more people care about issues affecting their community, the more likely they are to take action through donating or volunteering. Nonprofits should tap into donor motivation by enabling their agency and participation.
To reverse declining donor participation, nonprofits must build broad community support now, not just during the last months of the year. This means developing multichannel outreach that offers more options to give and get involved beyond just making a donation. With uncertainty looming in 2023, nonprofits need donor diversity to withstand potential drops in large gifts.
By cultivating grassroots givers and not viewing them as competitive with major donors, nonprofits can strengthen their foundation and fundraising results.
The call to action is clear: nonprofits must expand how they engage community members beyond transactional asks for money. Generosity is plentiful, but without providing more avenues to make a meaningful impact, nonprofits will continue to miss out on the opportunity. The time for action is now. People want to give; nonprofits must meet them where they are and how they want to make a difference.
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