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 gifts, regulatory 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 the Individual 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 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
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.
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 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.
We know it’s a tough fundraising landscape out there with continued economic uncertainty among everything else.
But, as ever, we’re here to help you navigate these choppy waters with confidence and optimism.
Individual Giving Conference 2024 is back in October!
Before we get onto the specifics, we wanted to share something important with you first.
Below, are the top 5 problems you’re experiencing right now.
And, more importantly, the solutions to help you overcome them.
1. 📉 Economic Uncertainty and the Cost of Living Crisis
Problem: The UK is experiencing significant economic challenges, including inflation and a cost of living crisis. This reduces disposable income for many individuals, leading to a decline in charitable donations and new donor acquisition.
Solution: Understanding the core needs of your key audiences and diversifying your fundraising strategies will help you be seen by the right donor, in the right place, at the right time.
IG Conf 2024 session to help you:
➡️ How to Recruit More Individual Giving Donors
💡Open, the team who have analysed over £1bn of income from 15 of the UK’s most-loved charities, will be sharing the top opportunities for IG recruitment.
2. 😩 Donor Fatigue
Problem: Charities have never been more needed. Though, with numerous charities vying for attention, donors can become overwhelmed and fatigued, leading to decreased engagement and support.
Solution: Personalise your communications and implement effective stewardship programmes to re-engage donors, mitigate fatigue and enhance loyalty.
IG Conf 2024 session to help you:
➡️ Enhancing Donor Relationships through Strategic Engagement
💡Learn how to deepen your donor relationships and boost giving through strategic supporter journeys & engagement actions, with More Onion.
3. 🤖 Digital Skills Gap
Problem: The shift towards digital fundraising was accelerated by the pandemic, but many charities are experiencing a digital skills gap.
Solution: Invest in digital fundraising training and leverage user-friendly platforms to enhance your digital campaigns.
IG Conf 2024 session to help you:
➡️ 10 Tactics for Jump Starting a Stalled Digital Fundraising Program
💡 Get practical strategies to implement and scale your digital fundraising efforts across email, paid and organic social, search ads (including Google Ad Grants), and website optimisation, with Broccoli.
4.🌐 Regulatory Changes and Compliance
Problem: Changes in data protection laws, such as GDPR, and other regulatory requirements can complicate the collection and use of donor information, potentially reducing the effectiveness of fundraising efforts.
Solution: Stay updated with regulatory changes and implement robust data management systems to ensure compliance as well as strong fundraising performance.
IG Conf 2024 session to help you:
➡️ Unlock the Full Potential of Your CRM: Strategies for Success
💡Explore actionable strategies tailored to the unique challenges faced by IG fundraisers, including data management, donor retention, personalised communication and regulatory changes.
5. 🥊 Competition
Problem: Competition among charities has never been greater, making it harder to stand out.
Solution: Differentiate your charity by highlighting your unique ‘you’ and your impact. (Plus, you’ll have to look in the right places, too).
IG Conf 2024 session to help you:
➡️ Competition or Collaboration: Finding Relevance To Stand out From the Crowd
💡 Today, standing out requires more than just a compelling message. Discover how to carve a unique identity while leveraging new strategies to amplify your impact. We’ll cover core challenges from donor fatigue to digital disruption.
At Individual Giving Conference 2024, we’re bringing you an afternoon packed with fresh insights, innovative strategies, and practical solutions designed to tackle your biggest challenges.
For the sessions mentioned above and much more, join us to supercharge your IG fundraising strategies!
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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