AI generated animated image of a snowy mountain with a line of people walking up toward the summit.

Alex Aggidis is Head of Growth Marketing at Fundraising Everywhere. She leads on brand, creative development, marketing planning and strategy. Alex worked as a fundraiser for over 10 years in the UK charity sector, across Corporates, Major Gifts and Product Innovation, before specialising in Individual Giving. During her time at Scope, Alex and her team won 3 Gold and 1 Silver DMA awards across 4 separate categories. Alex won a place as a ‘rising star’ to speak at SOFII’s ‘I Wish I Though Of That’ and won 2nd place overall. Before joining Fundraising Everywhere Alex was Interim Head of Individual Giving at Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In the world of fundraising, Individual Giving remains a critical pillar of support for charities of all sizes. But as we move towards 2025, the landscape is shifting, presenting both challenges and opportunities for fundraisers.

As economic uncertainties linger, donor expectations evolve, and digital engagement grows, as fundraisers we must adapt and innovate to ensure our strategies remain effective.

But, as we know, this stuff isn’t easy. And fundraisers are tired. It feels a bit like we’re at the foot of the highest mountain, and, despite our efforts, the summit remains just beyond reach. 

The Current State of Individual Giving Fundraising

In recent years, Individual Giving has experienced a bit of a rollercoaster. Economic pressures, driven by factors such as inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, have placed strain on donors.

Many supporters are finding it harder to maintain the same level of giving they once did.

Fundraisers are now trying to manage fewer regular giftsregulatory changes, increased donor fatigue, and a competitive environment in a context where the need for support is higher than ever.

The rise of digital engagement also means that fundraisers must navigate new tools and platforms, while donors expect seamless, personalised experiences.

In addition, transparency and accountability are at the forefront of donors’ minds. They want to know how their contributions are making a difference and increasingly seek a direct connection with the causes they support.

The Difficulties Facing Fundraisers Today

1. Donor Retention: Keeping donors engaged over the long term is a significant challenge. With more charities competing for attention, fundraisers are grappling with how to stand out and nurture meaningful relationships.

2. Shifting Donor Demographics: The older generations, historically the most reliable supporters of individual giving, are beginning to step back from active donation, while younger generations are emerging as potential donors. However, their giving habits are different—they prioritise impact, demand digital convenience, and expect deeper connections with the causes they support.

3. Budget Constraints: Many charities are operating on tighter budgets, with less capacity to invest in innovative campaigns or technology upgrades. This makes it harder to keep up with donor expectations and fundraising best practices.

4. Digital Transformation: While digital tools offer immense potential, they also pose a steep learning curve. Understanding how to harness the power of digital platforms to create a cohesive donor experience is a challenge that fundraisers are increasingly facing.

Preparing for 2025: What Fundraisers Should Be Thinking About

To succeed in 2025 and beyond, fundraisers need to think ahead, strategise, and invest in areas that will future-proof efforts. Here are a few areas to start:

  • Deepening Donor Relationships: Fundraisers should focus on personalisation, using data-driven insights to offer tailored experiences. This could mean segmenting donor communications, offering exclusive updates, or providing more opportunities for feedback and involvement.

  • Diversifying Channels: Fundraisers should explore multi-channel approaches, using email, direct mail, paid social, telephone, SMS, dialogue, and even emerging technologies like AI to reach different donor segments.

  • Emphasising Transparency: Donors want to know exactly how their money is being used and the impact it’s having. Clear communication, frequent thanking and reporting are key to maintaining trust and ensuring long-term support.

  • Focusing on Emerging Donors: Engaging millennials and Gen Z requires adapting to their preferences. This includes creating more interactive digital experiences and offering easy, mobile-first donation options.

The Solution

Fundraisers may feel overwhelmed by the current situation, but you don’t have to tackle challenges alone, help is at hand.

By joining a community of fellow fundraisers, you can tap into a wealth of shared knowledge, advice, and support. Platforms like Fundraising Everywhere offer access to a global network where you can connect with peers, share insights, and collaborate on solutions to common challenges.

Additionally, you can find free resources dotted all around the internet, webinars, guides, and forums. Linkedin, for instance, has a whole host of peers and experts ready and waiting to connect with you. We also have a weekly newsletter, that shares fundraising tips, insights and support. 

Here at Fundraising Everywhere, we also have the 5th edition of thIndividual Giving Conference, coming up on October 17th 2024. Its been expertly curated to address the very pain points discussed in this blog, and equip fundraisers with the tools and strategies you need to thrive.

With 3 rooms; insights & people, acquisition and retention, there’s something for everyone across the whole Individual Giving space.

Including sessions like:

How to buy a helicopter in 6 weeks! with Anna Purland

How To Raise £1 million In 6 Weeks

Speaker: Anna-Leigh Purland. Learn how Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex raised the £1M to buy a new lifesaving helicopter in just 6 weeks, via a multi channel campaign including warm mail, door drops and press ads.

Supporter welcome journeys: top tips to build strong donor relationships with Claire Donner

Supporter Welcome Journeys: Top Tips to Build Strong Donor Relationships

Speaker: Claire Donner, More Onion. Learn how to design a welcome journey that turns new supporters into your biggest advocates. With over a decade of insights from More Onion, Claire will guide you through practical steps to refine your current approach or start fresh.

Small charity focus: How Action Tutoring save time and energy with AI with Molly Cottrill

How Action Tutoring Saves Time And Energy With AI

Speaker: Molly Cottrill, Senior Fundraising Coordinator at Action Tutoring. In this session, discover Action Tutoring’s AI journey, learn how they are using generative AI, and their plans are for safely using AI going forward.

Growing your Peer to Peer campaigns: Engage more fundraisers, raise more money! with Muna Hussen

Growing Your Peer To Peer Campaigns – Engage More Donors And Raise More Money

Speaker: Muna Hussen, UK Country Lead at Raisely. This session will take the confusion out of exactly what you need to do, to deliver on great peer to peer campaigns!

Building Your Stewardship Programme From The Ground Up

Speaker: Paul Taylor, Senior CRM Specialist at JustGiving. In this session, JustGiving’s Head of CRM, Paul Taylor will take you through planning, building, crafting and sending the perfect email.

Individual Giving Conference will provide practical, actionable takeaways to help you navigate the unique challenges of 2024 and beyond.

Whether it’s learning how to deepen donor relationships or understanding the latest in digital innovation, this conference offers the insights fundraisers need to stay ahead.

As we look to 2025, it’s time to rethink traditional approaches, embrace innovation, and equip ourselves with the tools to succeed.

Register now for the Individual Giving Conference 2024 and get ready to unlock new opportunities in your fundraising strategy.

Voice Your Thoughts 🗣️

Our platform is open to anyone and everyone in the sector that has an opinion, idea, or resource they would like to share to help make our sector better. If you would like write and share something, pop an email over to hello@fundraisingeverywhere.com and we will support you every step of the way to share your voice.

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Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash

Simon Scriver is the co-founder of Fundraising Everywhere, a recovering fundraiser, coach/mentor, trainer, keynote speaker, podcast delighter and lovable imp. Fundraising Magazine named him one of Top 20 Most Influential Fundraisers. He has also won Fundraising Ireland’s ‘Small Budget, Big Impact’ and ‘Supplier Of The Year’ Awards, Eircom’s Start-up Award, and was a 2019 finalist of Charities Institute Ireland’s Communications Agency of the Year. He’s a TEDx speaker and has previously won the Toastmasters UK & Ireland International Speech Contest. He holds a Diploma in Fundraising and a Certificate in Fundraising, and is working towards a degree in Theology.

Fundraising challenges come at you from all directions.

Sometimes the most disheartening and difficult challenge is the resistance you might receive from your co-workers. At some stage you’ve probably witnessed the other staff in your charity complain about fundraising or felt their lack of support and interest. You might even have felt alone in your organisation. Look around the staff meeting…are you the only fundraiser?

It doesn’t have to be us and them.

With a bit of ‘internal marketing’ you can get your co-workers on your side… and even get them happily fundraising for you. Here are five tips:

1. Send Updates To Staff

Consider sending monthly or even weekly updates to everyone in your organisation. It doesn’t need to be a comprehensive newsletter, but a quick email talking about something that’s happened or something you’re planning.

Follow similar rules to when you communicate with your donors: centre your news on your staff. Why does it matter to them? Why should they feel great? What can they do to help? What are their goals and what are they trying to achieve?

It seems crazy, but sometimes being inside the organisation can make it really difficult for non-profit workers to see what they’re achieving. Show them in the same way you show your donors. I introduced this in one organisation and within a year nearly half of the staff had signed up to be monthly donors…inspired by their own work and now donating towards their own salaries!

2. Feedback Successes

In particular let your co-workers know about fundraising successes…and make it about them. That large donation didn’t come in because you’re a great fundraiser…it came in because the donor recognised how important the work is and what a great job the staff are doing. Thank them for that.

You might be surprised what works. I remember staff being unimpressed with a four-figure donation from a company they’d never heard of, but a few free Facebook ads were incredible to them. It felt like Facebook had noticed us and the work we were doing!

3. Work With Them… Not Against

You can’t make people do something they don’t want to do…and why would you want to? Don’t expect staff to fundraise for you or shake buckets for you or go to your stupid Harry Potter quiz at the end of a hard week working with vulnerable people.

Instead try to get them involved in a way that suits them. This can take time but is going to be much more productive for you. Can they introduce you to a corporate connection? Have they been meaning to take part in a 5km run? Do they want to bake cakes and decorate the room for your Thank-You Day?

Help them be successful with what interests them and you’ll see them step up to help in other ways. And those that don’t…Hey, fundraising isn’t for everyone. Leave them to it and wait for them to come round themselves when they see others involved.

4. Humanise Your Donors

Fundraisers are a bridge…linking your staff and beneficiaries with the general public. You know that part of your role is to show the good work you do to your supporters. But it’s also your job to inform your staff on what your supporters are saying and doing.

If you’re not already doing it, asking your donors and the general public for their own stories, their messages of support and their thoughts is a great way to increase supporter engagement. But then sharing those inspiring words and stories with your co-workers is a great way to motivate them and get them on your side.

Non-profit staff can find it difficult to look outside. But you can easily bring the sunshine to them.

5. Meet Your Staff and Board One-on-One

Maybe you’re given opportunities to address the staff or speak at Board meetings. That’s great. But by only addressing the group as a whole you’re missing out on opportunities.

Make time to sit down with staff members one-on-one and understand what their goals are. Build a relationship and build trust. Likewise, invite each member of the Board out for coffee. You’ll learn more about them in 30 minutes then you will in 10 years of Board meetings.

Through these one-on-one meetings you’ll begin to understand your staff and Board better, and understand how you can best help each other.

As if you didn’t have enough to do already!

But by putting the time in to motivating the non-fundraisers in your organisation you’ll see better relationships and better results. And banging your head against the wall will be a thing of the past.

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Voice Your Thoughts 🗣️

Our platform is open to anyone and everyone in the sector that has an opinion, idea, or resource they would like to share to help make our sector better. If you would like write and share something, pop an email over to hello@fundraisingeverywhere.com and we will support you every step of the way to share your voice.