No matter what cause is being supported — social, environmental or humanitarian — NGOs have to strengthen their operational efforts in an increasingly digital world. Their objectives are to secure fundraising, improve productivity and the impact of their actions and maintain a high level of trust.
The period we are going through these days is generating a huge impact on many companies and individuals. Despite the crisis, donors have proven to be even more generous. According to a study by iRaiser, the French have donated more money online in March 2020 (+164% compared to March 2019).
This situation further confirms the fact that digital transformation of NGOs is crucial to optimise and maximise donations. Digital transformation represents a great opportunity for NGOs and associations to align the technology with their mission, ensuring a well-equipped team with performance tools and resulting in more efficient operations.
What are the main challenges for associations?
- Unadapted communication to new usages
Societal behavior and usage are increasingly shifting to digital. Technology such as smartphones and social media are now major points of contacts for companies as well as associations. That is why communication with members and donors is a major challenge for NGOs. They need to find the right channel for each of their targets to customise their messaging and develop loyalty.
- Poor knowledge of members and donors
In a digital world, data collected have a tremendous value for NGOs. However, these data are usually not well used. To do that, associations need to implement a CRM to centralise all these data to perform an analysis. This way, they can improve their knowledge of each member and donor, in order to refine their segmentation and, therefore, their messaging and loyalty programs.
- Digital journeys are not backed by the right payment means
When it comes to fundraising with individuals, offering the right payment means is crucial. Today, many associations are still relying on checks or cash for donations, which are not adapted to today’s digital experience. In order to address the needs to optimise donors’ experience and to maximise fundraising opportunities, NGOs need to consider a payment means strategy. It would be a lost opportunity if a donor wants to give money to support an association, but can’t do it because they couldn’t find the right payment method. Depending on the fundraise channels, associations have to think about the most adequate payment means to put in place in order to facilitate this decisive step.
5 tips to get all the benefit of digital transformation
SlimPay and our partners, iRaiser, the SaaS platform dedicated to fundraising for nonprofit organisations, and ForceForGood, the expert consulting agency for NGOs, have teamed up to share 5 tips to get all the best from digital transformation.
- Digitalise internal processes for more efficiency
To take advantage of the digital transformation, it is important to digitalise internal processes ensuring that all information is correctly shared across all your teams. Also, this will help you reduce your costs by automating some manual tasks.
- Analyse data to refine your campaigns
Putting in place a CRM will help you get all the value of data collected from the different interactions with your members and donors. These data are valuable when correctly analysed, because you would be able to refine your campaigns and increase the impact of your communications thanks to a more accurate segmentation.
- Develop a multichannel strategy for fundraising
In order to increase your chance to get donations, you need to study your targets and identify the most reliable channels for your association. A multichannel strategy will help you address the various behaviors and expectations of your potential donors. For example, combining a website and a call center could help you collect more donations.
- Choose the right payment means to maximise your fundraising
Choosing the right payment means is very important to address your donors’ preferences. When offering a variety of payment options, you get more chances to convert donors. On top of that, to retain them and develop loyalty, you need to be able to collect recurring donations. SlimPay has a payment mix, including card payments and SEPA Direct Debit, that can perfectly adapt to both one-off payments and recurring ones.
SlimPay’s payment solution in multichannel also allows NGOs to collect payments from a website through the Checkout, creating acquisition campaigns through mass emailing with our Sign by Link feature, or even collecting payment with a call center agent. For call centers, agents can either sign by delegation a SEPA mandate or send a Card by Link request to finalise the donations.
- Build donors loyalty and engagement
In order to retain your donors for future donations, you need to regularly communicate your mission and raise awareness about your cause by informing them of the latest actions you have taken. This way you will build trust with them, resulting in potentially new donations. Another way to build loyalty is to create and animate a community, generating a sense of belonging.
Are you managing an NGO and you would like to go digital? Let us know how we can help.
