8 Fundraising Trends from the 2022 Bridge Conference

Last week I spent two days at the Bridge to Integrated Marketing & Fundraising Conference (yep it’s a mouthful). This is a conference dedicated to fundraising best practices, the latest donor trends, integrated marketing solutions, and much more.

The Bridge Conference had over 1,000 Fundraising professionals participating in 100 sessions. Additionally, there were 100+ vendor exhibits in the solutions showcase.

Here are 8 big trends that I took away from the Bridge Conference. Also included are some of the interesting products and services being offered.

1. Direct Mail Is Strong

Of the 100 Exhibits in the solutions showcase, about 30% were offering one or more services in the direct mail ecosystem. Dozens of vendors were pitching full mail house solutions, online DIY mailing campaigns, direct mail software, print design, segmentation services and more.

Many sessions focused on direct mail strategy and segmented direct mail campaigns. It is pretty clear that despite the move to digital advertising direct mail remains strong and in many cases is gaining in popularity. One thing to note is that almost every speaker stressed the importance of multiple mail items being sent out on an annual basis.

2. Monthly Giving Makes a Comeback

For many years the attention and focus of fundraisers were on larger managed donors, online campaigns and big-peer-to-peer events.

Monthly giving (also known as sustained giving) seemed to be a fundraising tool that was disappearing. This conference proved that monthly giving is still a crucial part of a nonprofit’s arsenal. The rise of monthly giving can be attributed to a heightened focus on mid-tier donors as well as new tech tools that push donors to give monthly donations.

3. Co-Ops Are A Thing

A data co-op is an effective way for an organization to pool its data with other non-profits to get more data on its list of donors and find potential new donors. When this data is pooled all organizations in the Co-Op are winners. Organizations remain anonymous and don’t know who the other organizations are in the Co-Op.

While there is concern about sharing your donor data with other organizations, most Co-ops will only add your data if the donor is already on another list. On average, 90% of nonprofit donors are not exclusive to their organization. Most donors give to 2+ organizations. A donor that donates exclusively to your organization cannot be added.

The benefit for your organization is a list of potential new donors who may have interests aligned with your organization’s activities and more data on your current list of donors.

4. Advertising Via Connected TV

Connected TV (CTV) is television content streamed over apps, smart TVs, and devices such as gaming consoles, Amazon Firestick, Apple TV, Roku and other streaming devices. Some examples of CTV services include Hulu and YouTube.

As people move from Cable to Connected TV there are new advertising opportunities for organizations of all sizes. Unlike traditional cable where all viewers see the same ad, CTV allows you to segment and target specific demographics and interests similar to traditional internet advertising. This makes CTV advertising affordable for smaller organizations. Many sessions at the Bridge Conference were dedicated to taking advantage of CTV and suggested including it as part of your traditional marketing plan.

5. Small Steps For Crypto Fundraising

Donations of Cryptocurrencies and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have remained on the sidelines for most organizations. Many organizations are not actively pursuing donations of cryptocurrencies or NFTs for the following reasons:

• Current market environment: The volatility of cryptocurrencies and the current nosedive in value makes it challenging to invest in a fundraising plan dedicated to cryptocurrencies.
  
• Minimal education: Many executive directors or development directors are not up-to-date on how cryptocurrency works and how to reach an audience that is active in buying and selling cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
  
• Lack of supporting agencies & software: As with anything new, organizations will look for third-party platforms or consultants to help them through the process of setting up a fundraising plan and choosing the right tools. Currently, there are not many resources available to nonprofits and the thought of going it alone is not an exciting one.
  
• Lack of legal knowledge: As cryptocurrencies are still new their tax status and filing responsibilities can seem unclear to staff members.

6. Donor Advised Funds Are Growing In Popularity

A Donor Advised Fund, or DAF, is a giving account established at a public charity. It allows donors to make a charitable contribution, receive an immediate tax deduction and then recommend grants from the fund over time. DAFs grew from $31.1 billion in 2006 to $141.95 billion in 2019 and are expected to continue growing in popularity.

7. Machine Learning Has Grown Up

Machine learning (ML) is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that allows software applications to become more accurate at predicting outcomes or trends in data. ML algorithms use historical data to analyze donor information and other data points to help segment and organize data. With ML humans have an easier time understanding their data and acting on it.

Just a decade ago, machine learning was only accessible to the largest, most well-funded companies and research institutions. Opportunities for nonprofits to use machine learning to advance their work were simply out of reach due to high costs and lack of technical expertise. That has changed with the availability of new technology and new software. Many nonprofits are starting to take advantage of new tools to help with data parsing, predictive analytics, and machine learning to raise more funds.

8. Multi-Channel Marketing Is Key

Smaller nonprofit organizations often rely too heavily on one channel for their fundraising efforts — in most cases, email. It is not hard to guess why. Email is quick, easy and cheap. However, relying too much on one marketing channel can harm your marketing efforts over time and render your campaigns ineffective. Most organizations now employ a multiple channel approach that is less intrusive, reaches more people and has a better chance of having a return on your investment. Many organizations use some or all of the following channels.

• Email
• Text Messaging
• Paid Social Ads
• Direct Mail
• Direct TV Ads
• Peer-to-peer mechanisms
  

Tools You Can Use

At the Bridge Conference, there were many innovative and exciting tools being showcased. Below are some that I found interesting.

• Autopen: If you are wondering how some organizations create realistic-looking handwriting on envelopes and letters chances are they are using an Autopen. Unlike a handwriting font, the Autopen is an actual pen attached to a computer that mimics a human’s handwriting. Next time you need a personalized direct mail campaign ask your local printer if they have an Autopen.
  
• StoryCause: StoryCause helps your organization fundraise by helping you build relationships with donors and learn their stories. StoryCause helps you build personal relationships with donors and is particularly effective as part of planned giving campaigns, donor stewardship, oral history projects and more.
  
• The Giving Block: The Giving Block empowers 1,400+ organizations, charities and nonprofits of all sizes across the charitable sector to accept donations in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In addition, they provide a wealth of information and best practices for getting started with NFT and Cryptocurrency Donations.
  
• BulletProof: When preparing a big print job, annual report, or capital campaign brochure you may want to consider having Bulletproof proofread your content. Open late and providing a quick turnaround, Bulletproof can save you from some big headaches!
  
• FundraiseUp: Take your monthly giving campaign to the next level and consider FundraiseUp. FundraiseUp is a simple and extremely flexible fundraising widget and tool that is proven to increase monthly giving and make online giving easy to set up and easy to give.
  
• Postalytics: If you send a lot of direct mail and you are looking for a printshop that automates your process and moves jobs fast you may want to look at Postalytics. Postalyics also gives you the ability to measure the mailing results and integrate them with other campaigns you may be running.