Podcast | 2023 Fundraising Trends with Nicholas Hedenkamp

In this episode, we sat down for our monthly check-in with Pursuant Insights Consultant, Nicholas Hedenkamp, to get his insight into what’s happening in the fundraising and marketing landscape. With it being February, we set out to explore the top trends nonprofits may experience in 2023. Of the trends he sees coming, all have one thing in common–digitalization. 

Nicholas’s 2023 Fundraising Trends:

• Digital wallets 
• E-commerce
• Crypto
• Leveraging LinkedIn
• Hybrid events
• Subscription-based giving
• SMS communication

2023 will be the year of the digital wallet according to Nicholas. In a post-pandemic world, more and more transactions are cashless and frictionless. Donors – especially younger donors – expect the same ease of online shopping when they are donating. Nonprofits can simplify transactions by utilizing Apple Pay and Venmo to give donors a more seamless giving experience.

Despite the spectacular flameout of FTX in late 2022, we’re still cautiously optimistic about cryptocurrency. While things have been rocky in the crypto world for the last several months nonprofits always stand to benefit from a crypto donation since it can be converted to cash quickly.

Because of changes in the social media landscape, nonprofits have a new opportunity to leverage LinkedIn to network with one another and engage new donors. Whereas Facebook and Twitter used to be the go-to for thought leaders to share insights, nonprofits and companies have transitioned to utilizing LinkedIn more.

As the world returns to in-person events, nonprofits are, too. To make all donors comfortable, Nicholas sees hybrid events becoming a major trend in 2023. Identifying creative ways to engage donors in-person and remotely will be key to successful fundraising events this year.

Nonprofits also have an opportunity for growth with monthly recurring giving. Many people use monthly subscriptions for everything from meditation to coffee to news, so he sees a real opportunity for nonprofits to encourage people to automate their giving the same way they do their Netflix payment.

Finally, Nicholas forecasts that texting will overtake email communication in 2023. He explains that SMS messages have a 95 percent open rate compared to 18% for email. He believes this will be a useful tool for nonprofits to reach donors this year.

In addition to sharing the digital trends for 2023, Nicholas also identifies a surprising bright spot for nonprofits–inflation. Although inflation hindered fundraising in 2022, a Harris Poll on behalf of Vanguard Charitable found that 1 in 4 donors will increase their giving this year to keep up with rising costs.

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