2020 felt like a decade due to the impact it had on everything. Every declarative prediction made earlier was turned on its head in a single year due to one of the biggest crises we've ever faced. Even now, when we are halfway into 2021, the dust of COVID-19 isn't going to settle anytime soon. Living in a global pandemic also proved to be a wild ride for fundraising organizations. The talks went from rising trends in fundraising during the next couple of years to simply sustaining the operations during the pandemic.

The course change was pretty quick, right? Due to all the significant implications of COVID for fundraising activities and organizations, the future landscape of fundraising is still somewhat uncertain. This uncertainty has stemmed from how the economic and financial statuses evolved and how people view fundraising now after the pandemic.

The evolution of technology, social and cultural norms, and living standards have changed the perception and approach of donors towards philanthropy. However, the ongoing year has seen a rise in fundraising trends. That, along with surveys and information technology, might help us predict its future reasonably accurately for the next two years or so.

We'll consider all the predictions that will positively and negatively impact the future of fundraising during the next two years.

Future Of Fundraising – Trends With Positive Impact

It's not easy to estimate the trends of fundraising in the future. That's partly because forecasting the economy's recovery is confusing and difficult for the next two years, and fundraising is directly impacted by it. During the last year, the economic sector has learned that flexibility and adaptability are the need of the hour.

The trends that have been driving the nonprofit sector for decades have changed. Some of them have been catalyzed positively by the pandemic, helping us paint a grim but somewhat accurate and optimistic picture of the future of fundraising for the next two years.

According to a report compiled by Indiana University, a 4% increase in overall giving in 2021 and a 5.7% increase in 2022 have been predicted.

These numbers are very encouraging. Let's also take a look at the positive trends that we'll observe in fundraising soon.

1. Fundraising Will Become Diversified and Adaptable

Every fundraising strategy has its ups and downs. But 2020 and the first half of 2021 have reflected that the fundraising environment is very prone to changing pretty quickly. And that's how it will be in the future.

Until now, the best fundraising campaigns were built on past successes, the completed experience, and the hard work of organizations/volunteers who were committed to helping others. During the next few years, fundraising methods and efforts are set to diverge and diversify without strictly following the past trends.

As each fundraising campaign has to be unique, organizations will find a style that works for their donors and fundraising. Charitable trusts and organizations will become sharper, responsive, and agile to respond to the ever-changing and unpredictable events during the next two years.

Let me give you a few examples here about how it will happen.

• Additional Events

If a fundraising campaign is based on periodic events only, the organization may set up other crowdfunding campaigns or peer-to-peer funding in the future to support the cause.

• Longer Durations

Organizations may set a week-long fundraising campaign to run for a month or even more to meet their targets. "Hope For Haiti" raised ten times the expected amount by extending the fundraiser from a weekend to a month-long event.

• Greater Frequency

People have started donating more than once a year now. A fundraiser that takes place only once a year may be set up for 2, 3 times in 12 months during the next few years.

Bottom line? The more the opportunities, the bigger the fundraising.

2. Collaboration Of For-Profit and Nonprofit Organization Will Increase Fundraising

The pandemic era has shown us that organizations that work together are more robust and able to achieve their objective quickly and efficiently. The partnerships between the for-profit and the nonprofit fundraising organization stamped a seal of approval on that fact.

And this is what we will continue to see as a positive trend for the next few years. An increase in collaborations between the two has taken fundraising up a notch, and people are willing to give more because of the increase in trust levels.

Nonprofit fundraising has seen a sharp increase in donations whenever notable for-profit organizations are involved in the process. For-profit entities get brand recognition, exposure of services, and an increase in brand credibility in return.

For example, the collaboration of Team Rubicon with Mountain Dew helped them get a $1 million donation by the latter to enhance their operations for the humanitarian cause.

For the next two years, such contributions will build excitement and momentum for other donors to give more funds. Hence, that'll increase fundraising.

3. Remote and Virtual Events Will Boost Fundraising

COVID-19 has made the organization wrap up and cancel (or limit) any in-person fundraising events for a while. This seemed to prove a downhill slope for fundraising, but it has bloomed and grown instead. Virtual fundraising has begun to pay dividends now that remote events are critically essential and in-person events are limited.

And that trend is expected to continue further, not just for the next few years but even forever probably. That's because such events take less effort and raise more funds. For example, Donald Trump raised about $20 million at his first virtual fundraiser in July 2020. So people are definitely in for this.

Virtual reality fundraising has achieved mainstream success in the last few years, with millions of dollars raised by Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns. With Facebook and Google+ for charity initiatives, as well as Breakthrough's new $100 Million "cause fund", virtual reality could be the future of fundraising.

Furthermore, innovative ways and the ability to attract people from worldwide simultaneously (which isn't quite possible in in-person events) will help raise much more than expected amounts in the future.

Want to know more about why and how remote and virtual events will boost fundraising in the future? Here are a few statistics for 2020-21 to back this claim.

• Online fundraising grew by more than 12% in 2020, pointing out to even more significant growth in the coming years.

• 30% of the donors give charities/funds to an organization located outside of their country of residence. This will make virtual fundraising even more critical, enabling it to collect more during the next two years.

• More than 55% of the donors regularly attend the fundraising events, providing an opportunity for the organization to attract them to their virtual fundraisers successfully.

Hence, philanthropic giving continues to grow, and fundraising organizations should pursue the ever-increasing opportunities.

4. Social Media Engagements Will Positively Affect Fundraising

We live in a digital world. We are so interconnected now that we are constantly bombarded with information and news. This makes it more critical than ever to have a strong presence on social media.

Here's an observation. Most of the fundraising organizations that are succeeding in this COVID era are the ones that have made a solid digital footprint over social media. With the help of online social platforms, such organizations can raise funds quickly, decide and respond faster, grow their outreach to far-off areas, and increase their capacity to implement their innovative ideas.

All of that has significantly contributed to an increase in fundraising. It is strongly expected that people will continue giving donations in considerable numbers to trustworthy organizations and have a good presence on social media.

Sharing the impact of funds, sending and posting regular content to keep the donors informed and connected has become the best way to build their trust. This will further enhance the chances of donors donating multiple times a year.

Another way to increase funding in the future will be the collaboration of organizations with social media influencers. It is predicted to happen much more often now, thereby growing the opportunities to raise funds even more.

Hence, social media will play a key role in increasing fundraising in the future for a long time.

5. Blockchain Technology Will Enhance Fundraising

For those who do not look at the mainstream, conventional fundraisers with a keen eye due to the fear of funds being misused, Blockchain will help erase their reservations soon.

Blockchain technology facilitates payments and will reduce the risks of fraud and misuse. It will provide more transparency between the donors and the beneficiaries and accurately convey the funds' distribution.

Blockchain will also help move funds worldwide without worrying about the different currencies and payment methods, hence pushing fundraising boundaries even further.

6. Donor-Advised Funds Will Grow

Donor-advised funds have gained strength, and it's safe to assume that they will keep increasing in popularity over the next few years. Because the donors receive tax benefits as soon as they contribute to the account, they are growing consistently.

Their salient features are:

• Economic instability does not hurt the donor-advised funds.

• Large, reputable firms manage the donor-advised funds, making the process trustworthy.

• Wealthy donors are shifting towards these funds to gain from the tax benefits. That is making the donor-advised funds attractive for common folks too.

As the growth of these funds is predicted to be exponential, fundraising will be easier and more productive during the next few years as they grow even more widespread.

Future Of Fundraising — Trends With Negative Impact

Just as we have seen several encouraging trends that point to an increase in fundraising over the next few years, there are also a few factors that may halt such progress and keep it limited.

COVID-19 has probably brought the most significant economic crisis of the decade, and its aftereffects are going to carry over to the future, primarily diversely affecting the next few years. Lifestyle and the economy will be vastly different during the next two years than in the past. And that's going to take a tool on the future of fundraising, making the picture bleak.

Let's point out a few trends that will negatively impact the future of fundraising in two years.

1. The Number Of Donors Will Shrink

In an economic survey for July 2020, Yelp concluded that more than 55% of the listed businesses had closed permanently. This shows a bleak picture of all the small businesses trying to survive the pandemic and will continue to do so until all the effects have worn off.

Even if we look at some of the more prominent industries like the aviation and the hotels and tour management industry, they seem to be struggling for their survival. Losing billions of dollars during these years will only lengthen the time that such businesses will take to recover and participate in philanthropic activities.

The unemployment, wage pressure, over-staffing will only serve as an economic challenge for businesses and even households. These issues may pull the number of regular donors down a notch, denting the increase in fundraising over the next few years.

2. Educational Institutions Will See A Decline In Fundraising

COVID-19 has also severely affected higher schools and universities. Thousands of educational institutions are struggling to make the end meet during this pandemic. Downward pressure on tuition fees, cutting the staffing numbers, salary issues, and several other problems have shifted their focus away from fundraising events.

The financial needs of those institutions are so significant that they may not find it feasible to organize any fundraising events at all. According to a survey by Washburn and McGoldrick, 43% of the institutions did not meet their fundraising goals in 2020. The same trend continues and will do so for the next two years until the pandemic is fully and completely over.

Key Findings

1. Overall fundraising will increase.

2. Household donations will decrease.

3. Bigger companies/for-profit organizations will participate actively in fundraising.

4. Educational institutions will not take part in fundraising as much as they did before the pandemic.

Along with every other aspect of life, fundraising has also modernized itself. It no longer follows the obsolete and conventional means to garner the support of the donors. Times are changing and changing quickly. And only those nonprofits can survive who learn to adapt and streamline themselves with the needs of their audience and the technological advancements.

Fundraising and philanthropic activities are never going to stop. And we can safely assume that people will always keep giving more.

It's only a matter of hard work and time before organizations start leveraging these trends for fundraising and taking on the challenges posed by the pandemic in the near future.

About the Author

Michael J. Buckley, CFRE is a career fundraising professional and Founder and Managing Partner of The Killoe Group. His firm assists nonprofit organizations increase revenue, exposure and capacity through smart, data driven, successive decisions and effective planning. Mike’s experience and passion for the profession of fundraising have made him a sought-after speaker, consultant and presenter. The Killoe Group’s broad experiences include annual campaign audits and management, capital campaign leadership, feasibility studies, interim program leadership, board governance, strategic planning and capacity building.