What’s one of the most important things to consider in your fundraising efforts? The answer is simple: the current trends. The world is constantly changing, and so are fundraising trends. By keeping ahead of these trends, your nonprofit will benefit from boosting awareness of your mission, attracting more donors, and expanding capacity.

 In-Person Events are Back

Digital fundraising has never been so popular, but that doesn’t mean in-person events are a thing of the past. On the contrary, one of the biggest fundraising trends for 2023 is getting back to in-person fundraising events.

Let’s take a quick look at the benefits of in-person and virtual fundraising events, so that your organization can decide which is best for the organization and supporters.

Benefits of in-person fundraising events:

• Socializing and networking are made easier – Social interactions are enhanced during in-person events. Often the donor’s attention span is shorter online.
• More personalized experience to build lasting relationships.
• More engagement and community spirit among attendees.
• Provide higher quality giving experiences.

Benefits of virtual fundraising events:

• Save money on many physical event incidentals such as catering and travel expenses.
• Transcend geographical and physical restraints – as long as people have access to the internet, they can connect from anywhere.
• People love gaming and online engagement tools, like live leaderboards and thermometers to track fundraising progress.

As you can see, both virtual and in-person fundraising events offer great benefits for your nonprofit and donors alike. With this in mind, hybrid fundraising events will continue trending in 2023.

Conclusion: Nonprofits must offer optionality when deciding their fundraising models to satisfy donors’ needs and pull off a successful campaign. Empower and motivate your donors by providing them with choices and flexibility.

#2 Fundraising Trend for 2023: Provide Flexible Giving Options

With so many people feeling the pinch of economic uncertainty, it becomes more difficult for nonprofits to raise money from individual donors. One current fundraising trend to combat this is to offer flexible giving options that suit all your donor’s needs and budgets.

Be empathetic to your donors’ possible financial struggles at this time. Let them know you appreciate their donations.

This is also a great opportunity to suggest alternative ways for your donors to support your nonprofit’s mission like:

• Providing In-kind donations – if they’re unable to send monetary contributions.
• Launching different membership programs with more affordable rates and lower contribution levels to adapt to the donation frequency and financial accessibility of your donors.
• Upgrade one-time donors to recurring donors to ensure a consistent income stream for your nonprofit, with a lower one-time burden on donors.

#3 Fundraising Trend of 2023: Support Digital Wallets

The future is contactless, which leads us to our next top fundraising trend for 2023: digital wallets. Donors are looking for convenient, simple, and seamless mobile giving options in today’s hectic world. So make sure your nonprofit offers:

• Modern payment methods and digital wallet options such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, Venmo and PayPal  – allowing many smartphone users to donate without entering credit card details.
• Text-to-donate – allows your donors to easily support your organization at any time and anywhere right from their mobile phones
• Mobile-responsive donation pages with larger buttons, pre-set donation amounts, limited navigation options, and designed to work on any mobile device.
• Flawless integration with social media channels – add donation buttons to social media pages to boost giving while scrolling

#4 Fundraising Trends 2023: Invest in your Online Platform

With so much stiff competition out there when it comes to fundraising, make sure your nonprofit stands out in 2023. A great way to achieve this is by designing an eye-catching and engaging online platform.

Here are a few tips on how to create an unrivaled online fundraising platform for 2023.

• Engage and connect with your supporters personally – be a great storyteller and focus on communicating your nonprofit’s mission.
• Find innovative ways to promote your fundraising events to get people to notice them and spread the word.
• Consider getting on board with new digital trends, such as setting up augmented reality apps and adding fun interactive gamification techniques to your online platform to attract a new crowd of supporters.
• Up your digital marketing game to stay competitive.

#5 Fundraising Trend for 2023: Diversify Your Nonprofit’s Streams of Income

Diversifying your nonprofit’s income streams is not a new fundraising trend, but it’s more popular than ever in light of the current economic situation. People from all corners of the world are feeling the rising cost of living and the threat of recession. So, now’s the time to plan top ways to fundraise in 2023 to provide something for everyone’s budget and ensure your nonprofit’s revenue streams are soaring.

Here are some of the best ways to diversify your nonprofit’s income streams in 2023:

• Government funding and grants
• ECommerce stores – sell custom branded merchandise for your nonprofit.
• Corporate partnerships – Look for businesses with corporate social responsibility goals and programs that align with your nonprofit’s values to encourage workplace fundraising.
• Peer to peer crowdfunding – Whatever fundraising trends your nonprofit chooses for 2023, make sure to keep fundraising with your supporters.

#6 Fundraising Trends 2023: Gaming for Good

One of the top fundraising trends in 2022 was Gaming for Good, and it’s predicted to be even bigger in 2023. Never heard of Gaming for Good? When gamers turn on their consoles, many of them choose to share their game with an audience, so they start streaming it on platforms like Twitch or YouTube. Each gamer can add donation buttons to their stream, and people can start giving to a good cause.

Gaming for Good has become more mainstream since it came onto the scene a few years back, and it can be a great marketing tool for your nonprofit. If you’re looking for a current fundraising trend to diversify your nonprofit’s income streams, this might be exactly what you’ve been missing.

#7 Fundraising Trends 2023: Choose your Social Media Channels Wisely

Leveraging social media for fundraising campaigns is a tried and tested fundraising trend. But has your nonprofit taken the time to access the most relevant social media platform to match a specific target audience? By doing this, your nonprofit could benefit greatly from enhancing fundraising campaigns, building stronger relationships with donors, and boosting engagement.

Here are a few tips when choosing which social media platforms will be most beneficial for your target audience:

• Make sure to research where your supporters are.

• Choose platforms wisely depending on which audience type you’re trying to attract.

• Use Linkedin as a nonprofit leader and to build networks with other charity leaders and potential donors
• Use Snapchat, Tik Tok, Instagram, and YouTube to attract Gen Z supporters
• Use Facebook and YouTube to attract Millennials

• Explore niche social media networks, such as Reddit, Quora, Care2, and Mumsnet, for supporters that engage with content that appeals to them and then share it with others who have similar interests.
• Employ the power of social media influencers as an effective marketing tool to spread the word about your nonprofit and its fundraising campaigns.

It’s important to stay on top of nonprofit fundraising trends. When you know what is coming up, you can prepare and make the most of your efforts in order to have successful campaigns. Bear in mind that there may be a number of economic challenges to face in the upcoming year, which may affect giving. Just be sure to provide something for all your donors’ needs to keep them satisfied, motivated, and committed to your mission.