More than half of fundraisers expect to raise less money in 2020 than they did in 2019, and an equal percentage believe that will also be the case in 2021, according to a survey of the Association of Fundraising Professionals members conducted in May.
Fifty-six percent of the 850 respondents expect to raise less, 21 percent anticipate raising more, and 23 percent believe fundraising totals will remain the same.
When asked about fundraising in the first quarter of the year — January through March — respondents were evenly split. Thirty-three percent did not see any changes in fundraising totals compared with the first quarter of 2019, while 31 percent saw increases and 35 percent saw decreases. The second quarter — April through June — has been more challenging. Fifty-seven percent of respondents expect to see decreases in giving, 25 percent expect an increase, and 18 percent believe giving to their charity will remain the same during that time period.
The nonprofit world now has some data on first-quarter giving. According to results from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project — another survey managed by AFP — individual giving declined 6 percent in the first quarter of this year compared with last year.
Most fundraisers expect to see decreases in giving to continue into 2021. Close to 72 percent anticipate that giving next year will continue to be lower than in recent years.
The concerns are somewhat uneven. Human-service organizations are significantly more optimistic than fundraisers for other causes, and larger charities appear to be faring better as well.
Three out of 10 human-service charities said they expect to raise more in 2020 than in 2019 — 6 percentage points higher than any other field. In general, organizations with budgets of less than $5 million were more likely to think they would raise less money this year, compared with charities that have budgets of $5 million or more.
Respondents also shared responses to open-ended questions.
“The coronavirus will significantly affect fundraising efforts for my organization, and most likely we will miss our 2020 fundraising goal by tens of thousands of dollars,” one respondent said.
“Some giving will be up — individual donors, foundations, major gifts — and some down sharply, like corporations and memberships,” another said. “We are getting solid support right now but fear donor fatigue will set in if we can’t reopen and engage with donors and visitors soon.”
When asked where they would put their energy for the remainder of the year, 82 percent of respondents selected activities related to donor retention and stewardship, such as making connections and creating relationships with donors. Online-fundraising activities were also popular, with 78 percent of respondents saying they would focus on social media, online giving, and virtual events. Three-quarters identified email fundraising as a priority.
Among the other findings:
- The survey also asked how the pandemic had affected staffing. One-fifth of respondents said their organization had laid off staff, and 2 percent of fundraisers responding to the survey said they had been laid off. In addition, 23 percent of charities had instituted furloughs, and 18 percent had cut staff pay.
- Seventy-four percent of respondents said their organizations had submitted an application for Cares Act funding, and 66 percent had received it. In addition, 44 percent said they had mentioned the new universal charitable-deduction provision included in the Cares Act in their fundraising solicitations.
