Is your nonprofit investing the right amount of money, resources, and strategy into digital? Probably not. Heck, even the NYT admitted in a leaked report that they are struggling with their digital strategy.
To help get your organization thinking about this investment, check out the key findings from the Charity Dynamics' report: How Today's Nonprofits Approach Digital Spending and Why It Matters to You. The goal of the report was to determine how nonprofits are approaching digital investment. 332 individuals responded.
What does anticipated growth look like?
- Respondents almost unanimously reported that they're seeing enough return to further their investments.
- 55% expect their budgets to grow in 2014, while 42% expect them to remain static.
- Only 3% are anticipating a decrease.
What are nonprofit's highest investment priorities?
- Donation/E-Commerce ranked as the highest priority at 51%.
- Constituent Engagement and Social Media are the main priorities for 47% of respondents.
- Respondents from large organizations are paying more attention to mobile, as 29% reported mobile as a high priority investment area.
There's a connection between donations and e-commerce as the the highest priority investment (51%) and an updated website as the most desired addition (34%) for 2014. The more user-friendly and intuitive your website, the more likely people are to engage with your e-commerce.
The report said that "mobile is perhaps the area that would most enhance the top investment areas." This is not to be confused with text messaging and fundraising as most nonprofits have not had a lot of success in the US with this type of fundraising. Remember for fundraising direct mail and email still rules. Mobile and email are inherently connected now though, as more than 50% of emails are read on mobile devices and about 30-50% of web traffic is mobile. It's important to make sure that your nonprofit has a website that's responsive including action and donation pages.
What are your investment goals and wish list items for 2014? And are you using any tools to help you achieve those goals?
COMMENTS