What Charities Need to Know in 2024: 6 Key Takeaways
For charities looking to leverage the insights of The Giving Report produced by Canada Helps and Environics Analytics, here are their 6 key takeaways highlighting some things your organization can do.
Cultivate Communities
The CanadaHelps data reveals a clear correlation between social connections and philanthropy. Canadians can help cultivate communities around causes.
Foster connections and community involvement to strengthen the bond between your organization and potential donors.
Organize events and initiatives that unite people, emphasizing community’s importance in driving change.
Communicate Impact Clearly
From the CanadaHelps donor and climate survey, 1 in 5 former donors to environmental charities stopped giving because of doubts about the effectiveness of their donations.
Make sure to highlight not just the needs your organization addresses but also the progress and achievements made possible by donations.
Use stories, data, and visuals to make the impact tangible and meaningful to your supporters.
Emphasize Non-Monetary Ways to Support
Provide a variety of ways to engage with the cause and feel successful.
Encourage involvement beyond financial contributions, such as volunteering, advocacy, or sharing expertise.
Highlight how these forms of support are crucial to achieving your organization’s goals and invite individuals to contribute in diverse ways.
Showcase Success Stories and Positive Outcomes
Focus on positive messaging that inspires action.
Share success stories and the potential for impact to create a sense of hope and possibility, motivating individuals to contribute to a cause they feel optimistic about.
CanadaHelps data shows a statistically significant difference in giving rates to environment and education causes from those with less hope. Potential donors to these causes in particular need to see that their gift can make a difference.
Encourage Reactive Donors to Be Proactive
Canadians are generous during times of crisis, especially when it impacts their local communities.
Consider prompting donors to support the longer-term work as well.
Prompting monthly gifts after a one-time crisis gift can be one approach to this, with the additional benefit of cultivating relationships and longer-term engagement.
Communicate the Crisis
If your organization’s work has been impacted by climate or other crises, incorporate that into your communications.
Canadians aren’t seeing the full picture of crises like climate change on other charitable causes, but crises are a powerful motivator for engagement and giving. Tell the crisis story.
