A guide to the 2023 Giving Report’s five most impactful changes from a digital lens, including a checklist and free audit.

The CanadaHelps 2023 Giving Report’s urgent cry for change is one that’s difficult to ignore.

While the state of the country’s charitable sector is not great, we believe that together, we can work towards a more sustainable future.

A common theme developing out of the report is the challenge for organizations to start thinking digitally.

As an organization, you should evaluate all of your activities and assess whether they can be digitized. More importantly, you need to evaluate if your digital presence (how you are showing up in front of your stakeholders) is meeting today’s standards.

As the Giving Report states, the way your donors experience your charity is definitely with a new standard, because of the high standards set by big tech companies, the Amazon, and Netflix’s of the world.

“This means that they are now expecting personalized and relevant communication journeys, easy payment experiences, and intuitive website design…Digital transformation is the baseline to future-proof a charity and its productivity. While the initial investment feels significant, it’s a critical element in any organization’s future success” (Giving Report, page 43).

If thinking digitally is not already part of your organization’s culture, it might be time for it.

And don’t worry, you don’t have to do it alone. We’re here to help with a simple checklist to get you started.

Charities are essential to our country and its people, and together we can invest in change that can turn these statistics around.

Think digital – a checklist

Below is a checklist/questions for you to review based on your organization’s priorities. Work with decision-makers on your team to answer the questions below to help identify opportunities for your organization to explore further.

Leadership from passionate individuals like yourself who want to drive change is how we move mountains.

Embarking on this transformative journey for your organization will benefit the communities you serve!

Digital presence and transformation

• Do people know what your organization does and can they easily get the information they need?
  • Is your website live and up to date?
  • Can someone on your team easily update the website with new information?
  • Is your website optimized for viewing on phones, tablets, and desktops/laptops?
  • Is your website accessible/inclusive to everyone (complying with WCAG 2.0)?
• If people are interested in following along with your organization’s journey, can they easily do this? For example, is there an option to sign up for a mailing list and do you post updates on your social media that are linked to your website news?

Donor engagement

• Are you engaging your donors digitally and regularly? Do you have regular email newsletter updates for donors about how their money is being invested?
• Are you showing up online where your donors are, including on social media?
• What do you know about your donors and how are you using this data for fundraising? How strong is your data collection and analysis of donors and website visitors?
  • Are you leveraging donor management systems?
  • Do you have an analytics platform to gather insights?
• Is your communication personalized to each donor and their level of engagement?
  • Are you sending personalized emails for different donation categories? For example, is there a different email to monthly donors vs large sum donors vs special event donors?
  • Do you have custom social media campaigns? For example, targetting donors who have recently liked your social media content to re-engage and ask for their support for a new initiative.

Fundraising and Youth Engagement

• If people want to give you money, can they do so easily? How user-friendly is your online payment experience?
  • Is your organization making the donation process simple and intuitive for the younger audience?
  • Do you support multiple payment options? For example, can people donate via PayPal and credit card?
  • Are you showcasing the tangible impact of each donation during the donation process? For example, an animation that increases the number trees planted as the donor increases the donation amount.
  • Are you enabling users to raise funds on your behalf and track donations? For example, birthday parties or special events where hosts encourage attendees to donate on their behalf and pay directly on your website.
• If people have questions about donating, is there a way for them to contact you easily via a contact us form or chat window on your website? Are you then able to respond in a timely manner?
• Are you raising awareness through social media, where youth are present?
• Are you considering what will resonate with youth donors, including online events, competitions or crowdfunding campaigns?

Volunteer engagement:

• Is there a digital volunteer management system that streamlines the recruitment and onboarding process?
  • Do you understand why individuals have registered to volunteer at your organization? Are you collecting data at the point of onboarding?
  • Do you collect information when volunteers leave the organization, to understand more about their experiences?
• Are you engaging with your current volunteers in a meaningful way? Do you have an online community for them to connect and feel the impact of their work? This could be a Facebook group, newsletter, or other spaces.
• Are you recognizing the work of your volunteers and sharing success stories with your larger community through your website?
• Do you offer virtual volunteering opportunities, allowing individuals to contribute their skills remotely?
  • Are you set up to roll out a virtual volunteering program?

Supporting your staff

• What repetitive tasks/activities are your staff involved in? Can staff list them out to prioritize and assess volume?
  • Which of these are tedious and mundane?
  • Can these be automated through digital tools?
• Do you have project management software to streamline workflows?
• Are you utilizing digital collaboration tools to reduce meetings and synchronous work?

Next steps

Once you’ve gone through the questions/sections that are important to your organization, review your responses together with other decision-makers to create an action plan to start investing in.

We acknowledge that this will be a long journey. What we’ve learned is that you have to start now to ensure the organization has a sustainable strategy to withstand the challenging years ahead. Even if that’s a small step, it will move you forward in the right direction.

In the face of challenges, nonprofit organizations have the opportunity to flourish by harnessing the power of digital solutions. By understanding donors, engaging youth, revitalizing volunteer value propositions, investing in capacity, and taking a holistic approach to digital transformation, Canadian nonprofits can build resilience, drive impact, and create sustainable change.

You are not alone in this journey, please reach out to us if you need a walk-through of the checklist or have questions about any of the items.

A gift to you from team Atomic!

As a Canadian software development studio passionate about empowering non-profits, we are here to talk through any of your pain points.

Additionally, the team at Atomic Build can provide you with a free audit of your organization’s digital presence, followed by a consultation on your digital strategy.

Request your free digital presence audit now.