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Donor Pulse Summer Edition: Insights from Enthuse Intelligence


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Foreword by Chester Mojay-Sinclare

Introduction

Levelled up giving

The digital divide

Flexible fundraising

The return to the workplace will not be business

as usual

About Enthuse

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Contents


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Welcome to the latest edition of Donor Pulse, our

quarterly donor research study. We began this

series just as the country had started working

from home. This fourth report, a year later,

sees us examine how people are returning to

offices and what opportunities this may bring for

charities.

Our research again looks at key indicators such

as how many people are donating, our positivity

index on how the public are feeling about

charities and what types of causes people are

donating to. We also look at digital donating and

have a major focus this quarter on the return to

the workplace.

As always when looking through data there were

a few stats that really grabbed my attention. The

first struck me both as a CEO and as a fundraiser

– 50% of workers expect to return to the office

three days a week or less or have a flexible

arrangement. This will make huge differences to

how people run their organisations to ensure they

are inclusive for those working from home, as well

as those at desks in an office. It also means that

everyone who works with businesses will need to

consider how they manage employee fundraising

physically and virtually. Most of us have had some

practice at this over the last year, but it’s going

to be essential for future campaigns and appeals

to have an engaging virtual element. The report

also provides insight into the sorts of charity

activities that employees enjoy taking part in.

The other statistic I wanted to highlight is

around the concept of ‘give and forget’. This is

something we have covered in previous editions

of our research. It describes when the public is

unable to remember the name of a charity or

even the cause after they have donated. In the

previous editions of this research as donations

direct to a charity’s website rose, so did the

ability to recall the name of the charity. But in the

last three months, there was a rise in the use of

consumer giving platforms and that has directly

led to a drop in the ability of donors to recall the

charity’s name.

This is part of the reason why I set up Enthuse, as

I’m passionate about helping charities grow their

brands and enhance their supporter relationships.

The aim of technology should be about putting

the charity’s brand front and centre (not ours) to

help them build long lasting relationships with

donors. This is critically important as we continue

to move out of lockdown. With nine out of ten

(88%) recent donors planning to give again soon,

being remembered through stronger relationships

and opportunities to take part in campaigns will

help drive fundraising income.

Foreword byChester Mojay-Sinclare


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To close, I hope the research provides you

with useful insights for your fundraising plans

and campaigns. Read on for advice around

Generation Generous, ‘flexible fundraising’, and

the importance of your online brand. Thank you

for taking the time to read it and best of luck with

your fundraising efforts!

Chester


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This is the fourth edition of our quarterly donor

research report, Donor Pulse, and marks the

end of our first year of studying trends and

changes in giving behaviour. The last year of

results has looked at the impact of lockdown

on supporters, the generosity of the public over

the Christmas period, the long term move away

from cash to digital giving, and the cautious

return of fundraising events.

The new edition looks both at the last quarter’s

results and the trends seen across the year as

a whole through the changing stages of the

pandemic and its impact on the behaviour

of supporters and donors. The report covers

sustained and shifting changes amongst the

key donor indicators, including the public’s

sentiment towards charities, the percentage

that have donated in the last three months, and

the types of charities people are giving to.

The report examines how digital donations

have developed over the last year, and how

habitual this has become for donors. This

section will also cover how many people are

donating online directly and how many via third

party consumer giving platforms. How has the

issue of ‘give and forget’ developed over the

last year? And do the public find it easier to

remember the name of charities if they donate

directly?

The final section of the report looks in detail at

the public’s return to offices and workplaces,

and the impact of this on fundraising. How

many will be returning? When are people

expecting to return to their place of work? How

many days a week will people be spending in

their workplaces when they do return – will

it be five days a week or more flexible? The

study covers what impact this could have on

workplace fundraising and more broadly how

the public is feeling about fundraising when

they go back to work.

This report will explore all of these questions

and provide insights and answers to help

guide charities with their fundraising strategy

and campaigns, particularly around the return

to workplace fundraising. Donor Pulse will

continue to be released on a quarterly basis to

keep charities up to date with the latest views

of the public towards fundraising and giving.

Introduction

Methodology

A nationally representative sample of 1,011 members of the UK public were surveyed about their attitudes to charity, willingness to donate and appetite to support good causes. Interviews were completed in May 2021.


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Levelled up giving


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The last year has been one of uncertainty for everyone - be they members of the

public, businesses, government or charities. Even the positivity of the last three months

that has come from the success of the vaccination programme has been tempered by

concerns about new Covid variants. Despite the uncertainty, donors have continued to

give with conviction.

Looking back across the year, following the very early months of the pandemic there was

a sustained and remarkably consistent boost in the number of people giving to charity.

Figure 1 shows how there was some initial trepidation from donors with only 59% of the

public having made a donation at the start of the pandemic. But this levelled up three

months later to just under 7 out of 10 people having donated, and has stayed at the figure

of 69% since October 2020. Despite all the challenges the public have been faced with

over that period – they have understood the important work charities are doing and kept

on giving. In the last quarter under 40s have again been shown to be the most generous

with 81% having given, whereas only 62% of over 40s have donated.

Levelled up giving

Figure 1: Percentage of the public who have donated to charity over the last three months

% Giving last three months


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Levelled up giving

The consistency of giving has also been reflected in the number of people donating to

multiple charities. As shown in Figure 2, 46% of the public gave to two or more charities in

the last three months, with 30% giving to three or more. These figures are an increase on

the last quarter where 42% gave to two or more charities, and 25% gave to three or more.

Again though, these figures have been remarkably consistent since October last year.

Number of causes donated to(May 2021)

Number of charities donated to(February 2021)

Figure 2: Percentage of the public who have donated to multiple charities over the last three months (February left and May right)


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Levelled up giving

The charities that the public are giving to have continued to shift over the last quarter. The

last year has seen reactive giving with the public motivated to donate by the needs they

have seen around them in the community and in the news. This means that the types of

charities that have been supported have changed as the crisis has unfolded.

As well as being far more likely to give, under 40s also spread their giving amongst more

different causes than over 40s. Previous editions of Donor Pulse have shown Gen Z to be

the most generous donors, and the last quarter continues to demonstrate this. Nearly half

(48%) have donated to three or more causes in the last three months. This underlines the

importance of charities building campaigns and approaches that are designed to appeal to

younger donors and supporters.

Number of cause supported in the last three months

Figure 3: Number of causes supported in the last three months split by age


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Levelled up giving

Figure 4 details the moves in giving over the last year, with health and the NHS as the

main focus initially. Next there was a jump in mental health donations – one which has

continued to see a rise in support every quarter since. This was followed by a rise in

support for hunger and homelessness. The last three months have seen reactive giving

move to children and education, with support for children’s charities moving from 27% to

32% and education charities moving from 9% to 13%. Headlines around the support school

children will need to catch up on their learning during the pandemic will have contributed

to this rise. While headlines have always been a part of driving donations, the public has

been very responsive to where they see the immediate need so it is important for charities

to demonstrate their relevance to issues that are dominating the news agenda with their

campaigns and appeals.

Figure 4: Types of charities donated to in the last three months

Charities donated to in past three months% of those who made a donation


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Levelled up giving

Another area that has levelled up since the start of the pandemic is how the public view

charities and the work they do. Figure 5 shows the positivity index over the last year, which

is made up of members of the public feeling more positive about charities minus those

feeling less positive. In June 2020, 24% were feeling more positive about charities than

three months ago, but this jumped to 32% in October and has stayed at that sustained

level above 30%. The last quarter’s results are the highest of the year at 33%, as shown in

Figure 6. The hard work that charities are continuing to do is being reflected in how the

public see them.

Figure 5: Positivity Index (members of the public feelingmore positive about charities minus those feeling less positive)

Positivity IndexMore positive - less positive

Figure 6: Change in perceptions of charities and the work they do (last quarter)

Change in Perceptionof Charities


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Levelled up giving

Figure 7 again shows the consistency of levelling up in attitudes towards charities. Over

the last year, the public intention to give in the following three months has steadily risen

and now stands at 71%, a rise of 7% since June 2020. Figure 8 shows the breakdown of this

in the last quarter. The detail behind these good intentions emphasises the significance

of younger age groups. 81% of Gen Z (18–24 year olds) and 78% of millennials (25–39 year

olds) plan to donate in the next three months. These figures are up from 70% and 74%

respectively last quarter, and again demonstrate the importance of Generation Generous

for charities. The latest results also showed the importance of targeting active donors, with

88% of recent donors likely to give again and just 27% of those who haven’t given planning

to donate soon.

Figure 7: Change in likelihood to give in next three months(June 2020-May 2021)

% Likely to give in next three monthsTrend over past year

Figure 8: Change in likelihood to give in next three months


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Levelled up giving

One-off donations that people personally care about have proved the most popular way to

give across all previous editions of Donor Pulse, and this continues to be the case (Figure

9). 36% said they were most likely to give in this way, up from 32% in the last edition. This

was closely followed by local causes with 29%, up from 27% three months ago. Despite

many only just starting to return to the office, there were encouraging gains for community

and work events, which rose from 18% to 24% in the last quarter. Requests for sponsorship

from friends also jumped up from 21% in February to 26% this quarter, indicating that the

easing of lockdown restrictions have given more people the opportunity to go out and

fundraise for charities. Finally, although overseas appeals continue to be the least attractive

area to donate to, it has grown from 9% in February to 15%. The need for global support

for vaccines, as well as the rise of the Indian variant are likely to have been contributing

factors here.

Figure 9: Change in willingness to give

Change in willingness to give (last three months)


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Levelled up giving

Overall, the last quarter has seen a continuation of the sustained boost in support for

charities that was triggered by the first few months of the pandemic. This levelling up of

giving has proved persistent, with the amount of donors staying stable at around 7 in 10,

meaning charities need to keep creating new interest to maintain and potentially grow

these giving behaviours. Campaigns and activities targeting younger audiences and active

donors will be critical to developing long term plans to build back better.


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The digital divide


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The shift to online giving continues to accelerate. With the easing of some lockdown

restrictions, it is easy to think that people might start to move back to traditional

giving methods, and away from the digital world. But in reality this has not been the

case, with online donations in fact increasing over the last three months.

Figure 10 shows that the last quarter had the highest figure we have seen over the last year

for digital donations with a total of 44% of the public having given online – up 7% since

June 2020. Under 40s have been the main drivers of this increase with 62% of Gen Z and

64% of millennials donating online, though there have also been increases for 40–64 year

olds over the last three months. 40–54 year olds rose from 34% to 38% donating online and

55–64 year olds went from 22% to 29%. The fact that digital donating is increasing even

when lockdown restrictions are easing emphasises how important it is for charities to make

online giving as simple as possible.

The digital divide

Figure 10: Percentage of the public donating online

% Donating online


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The digital divide

Figure 11: Methods of donating online

Method of online donation (All donating online)

Previous editions of Donor Pulse have looked at the concept of ‘give and forget’, when the

public is less likely to remember the name of the charity and even the cause when they

donate via consumer giving platforms. The rise in direct donations through a charities’

website over the first three editions of Donor Pulse correlated with a rise in supporters

remembering the name of the charity they donated to. This quarter saw the first rise in

donations to consumer giving platforms and has seen a fall of 3% in the number of people

who can remember the name of the charity, as shown in Figure 12. There has also been a

rise of 3% in the number of people who can’t even remember the name of the cause they

donated to.

The continued growth of online giving over the last three months has seen some

fluctuation between donations completed directly through charities’ own websites and

those through consumer giving platforms. Figure 11 shows a drop of 5% for donations

directly to charities, and a corresponding increase of 5% for those done through consumer

giving platforms.


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The digital divide

The data behind these falls shows that the overall drop is purely driven by more people

donating through consumer giving platforms, further underlining the issue of ‘give and

forget’. Figure 13 shows brand recall from the public by platform with a 15% difference

between supporters who gave directly via a charity’s website and those using an online

giving platform. A key reason for this poor recall is that the charity’s branding is not clearly

visible. 46% of donors, who can’t remember the name of the charity they gave to, cited

this reason. This has been getting worse over the last few quarters, up from 37% three

months ago and 29% six months ago.

These figures demonstrate the importance of charities offering donations and fundraising

through their own website to nurture long term relationships with supporters.

Figure 12: Brand recall among online donors

Brand recall among online donors

Figure 13: Brand recall among online donors by platform

Charity brand recall by platform used


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As the vaccination programme continues its progress, and with all restrictions currently

scheduled to end in mid July, plans are being drawn up by companies for the return to

the workplace. The absence of fundraising events has been a key challenge for charities

since last March. But an additional issue that has received less headlines has been the

impact on workplace fundraising.

Charity activity in workplaces normally represents an important part of the fundraising

mix but has been challenging and at times impossible over the last 16 months. Figure 14

shows that a total of 58% of workers were displaced from their normal workplace last

March – either through a switch to home working or being placed on furlough. This was on

top of 7% who already worked from home, meaning a total of two thirds of workers were

physically away from workplaces.


Figure 14: How the pandemic affected workers (split by age)

Work displacement

Figure 14 also shows the impact on different age groups. Gen Z and millennials bore the

brunt of the changes, with 29% of 18–25 year olds and 26–35 year olds furloughed or made

redundant. A further 34% of under 40s began working from home. For Gen X (40–54 year

olds), there was a large-scale shift to home working with 43% of them making this move,

while only 16% were furloughed or lost their jobs. 55–64 year olds were the least impacted

by the change with 40% of them continuing at their normal workplace.


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Figure 15: When workers think they return to the office

The earlier sections of this report have already shown how important Gen Z and millennials

are to fundraising and donating. So even though they have no doubt been continuing their

workplace fundraising from home, the significant displacement they have undergone in the

pandemic will have had a marked impact on their charitable activities.

While many companies are still planning how staff return safely to their workplaces, 34%

of those displaced are already back in their usual office or place of work, as shown in

Figure 15. And it is the under 40s who are going back fastest with 43% of Gen Z and 38%

of millennials having returned. For those still to return, the decision is unlikely to be linked

to when they have their first or second vaccine or when the government eases stage 4

of social restrictions. In fact a third of people do not have a sense of when they will be

returning yet, as they either do not know (8%) or it’s down to when their company tells

them to (25%) and they are not clear on when that is. 1 in 12 won’t be returning to their

normal place of work at all.

Something that is clearer for people though is that they are unlikely to be returning to the

office five days a week, as Figure 16 shows. In fact, just a quarter of people anticipate they

will be back in the office every day of the week. 50% expect to return to the office three

days a week or less or have a flexible arrangement.

This is an important consideration for charities thinking about how to re-engage with

workplace fundraising. There will be a lot less people in the office every day to take part in

activities, and with staggered working days for companies that take smaller office spaces,

it will be harder to coordinate campaigns and appeals that run or launch on a particular

day. It also means there will be much less opportunity for cash donations.


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Figure 16: Number of days people will be in workplace after return

Expected days in office (all expecting to return)

There are lessons to be learnt from behaviour during the pandemic. Virtual versions of the

pub, games and fitness events have been morale boosters for companies throughout the

last year. As more people return to workplaces, It will be important for these companies to

be inclusive of those working from home as well as those in the office when they are doing

cultural activities. Charities that make sure their campaigns have a virtual option as well as

a physical one and offer ‘flexible fundraising’ options will be better placed with businesses

looking to run inclusive activities. A few examples of how to do this could include having

team or office based leaderboards to encourage competition; suggestions around

companies matching fundraising to boost employee engagement and morale; and making

sure donations are digital friendly and not cash reliant.

Figure 17 shows a positive aspect for

charities is that 75% of people feel about

the same or more likely to get involved

in charity fundraisers when they return

to the office. Though 14% stated they

were less likely to take part. Figure

18 details the barriers that previously

stopped people from taking part in

charity fundraisers at work, and despite

the enthusiasm for getting involved,

these are likely to present even greater

difficulties.

Figure 17: Interest in involvement in charity fundraisers

Brand recall among online donors


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Figure 18: Barriers to getting involved in workplace fundraising

Barriers to getting involved in the past(all in employment)

The two largest barriers were 26% stating they were too busy at work, and 16% saying

they weren’t there on the day the activity took place. A further 13% said the activity

taking place outside of work hours stopped them taking part. In total these time based

challenges stopped 55% of the public getting involved. This means that more than half

of people were already finding charity campaigns that are office based activities difficult

to get involved in. With half of people working three days a week or less in the future,

these problems are going to be exacerbated. This underlines why charities need to look

at flexible fundraising for the workplace, with a virtual version to run alongside a physical

version.

While flexible fundraising is the best way to ensure the widest participation, the types

of events people want to get involved in once they return to work are varied, as shown

in Figure 19. Christmas giving activities are popular with all ages, with 31% stating they

would get involved, and a further 27% saying they would take part in Christmas jumper (or

other dress up) days. Under 40s were engaged by a mix of activities – health challenges

(37%) were the most popular, followed by testing out lockdown cooking expertise with

bake sales (35%), also popular were abstinence challenges (31%) and pub sports (28%).

Interestingly, a significant number of under 40s were also motivated by activities that got

them more engaged with the charity – a total of 41% selected volunteer days or lunch

and learns. Lunch and learns, dress up days and abstinence challenges all lend themselves

to flexible fundraising quite easily. But for activities such as bake sales, pub sports or

volunteering, charities will need to be creative with how they build virtual opportunities for

participation.


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Figure 19: Types of fundraising activity to take part when back at work

Preferred event

Overall, people are drifting back to work slowly, and it’s unlikely that office lives will be

the same with so few people back five days a week. This means charities need to consider

how they can build on the heightened interest in getting involved in workplace fundraising

carefully. There are many different types of activities that motivate people to get involved,

but the key to success will be creating flexible versions that accommodate those in the

office and those working from home.


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The return to the workplace will not be business as usual


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The return to the workplace will not be business as usual

The pandemic has presented enormous challenges to charities, but it has been

heartening to see a sustained boost in support over the course of the last year - driven

particularly from Generation Generous. Even with pandemic restrictions set to be lifted

completely, the next few months are likely to continue to be unpredictable. There is

a lot to consider with the drift back to workplaces and how campaigns focused on

companies will need to be adapted to accommodate ‘flexible fundraising’. Overall

charities need to continue to be agile and put digital at the heart of their fundraising

planning.

Here are five key takeaways from the study:

Generation Generous: Throughout the pandemic, under 40s have been a key

driver of donations. 81% have given in the last three months, and nearly half

of Gen Z have given to three or more charities. Charities need to ensure their

campaigns appeal to this audience.

Green shoots of events: There are indications that fundraising events are

starting to return with requests for sponsoring friends jumping 5% in the last

three months. Charities should be looking at how to reintroduce events into

their plans.

Give and forget: This quarter underlines this issue as each percentage drop

in the public’s ability to recall a charity’s name was driven by an increase in

donations through consumer giving platforms. This underlines how important it

is for charities to be able to take donations through their own website.

Flexible fundraising: With half of people expecting to work three days a week

or less in the office in future, charities that make sure their campaigns have a

virtual option as well as a physical one and offer ‘flexible fundraising’ will be

much better placed with businesses looking to run inclusive activities for their

teams.

Business as unusual: There is no silver campaign bullet, but some ideas lend

themselves much more easily to flexible fundraising. Charities will have to be

creative with activities such as bake sales, pub sports or volunteering, on how

they build virtual opportunities for participation.

This is the fourth edition of the quarterly Donor Pulse research project from the Enthuse

Intelligence team, looking at how the public’s opinions on supporting charities and

donating are changing over time.


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Enthuse is a fundraising, donations and events registration platform that has

helped more than 4,000 charities, including 1 in 3 of the top 100, raise over

£100 million. Enthuse’s solutions are customised under a cause’s own brand

and put the organisation in control of the data. This allows charities to build

and nurture a loyal supporter base, raise more and ultimately have more

impact.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in London, Enthuse is backed by socially

responsible investors.

About Enthuse

t: +44 (0) 20 3872 2090

e: [email protected]

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