There has been an incredible amount of noise in the media over the last 12-18 months about the rising cost of living. Within the fundraising sector, we’ve had opinions formulated, articles published and webinars presented about what donors think they’ll do and what we think they’ll do. But, there needs to be more evidence presented at a macro level about the impacts on realised giving and what we might continue to expect over the next 6-12 months.

The Data Collective published an article about the change in giving in Spring Appeals when many charities were starting to express concern about appeal-giving performance.

As part of Fundraising Insights for FY24, we’re looking to conduct a similar analysis for our members to understand where the impacts are being experienced. Is it a general reduction in donor participation? Are average gifts in decline? Is churn being impacted by interest rate rises, or is there a lag effect based on the compounding impacts of successive interest rate increases?

We understand that much of this analysis won’t cause a change in our behaviour as fundraisers. We know we need to keep asking, and we know that the right message at the right time to the right supporter will yield an impact. We expect this analysis to help fundraisers by arming them with evidence of the observed effects across the sector. This will allow members to have informed conversations with their executive team and boards about what we see in the industry and whether they’re outperforming or underperforming relative to their peers.

This information is so important for fundraisers to have access to. To increase its accessibility, we’re providing each member with a personalised Cost of Living Impact report regardless of participation level.

If you’d like to get a richer understanding of your fundraising program and insights to help you improve it, register for the Fundraising Insights FY24 program today.