I know! It’s beautiful outside and the lake/mountain/ocean/pool/garden is calling your name for the long holiday weekend.  But, the clever fundraiser knows NOW is the best time to get one’s Holiday Giving strategy together. Need more inspiration? Just think how you’ll be able to actually enjoy the holidays this year with a little work done now, while the office is half empty!

Benchmark studies on charitable giving show that activity is improving- it’s heading back up to pre-’08 Recession levels. But, do you know what has changed drastically since 2008?

So 2000 and Late?

If you said “mobile adoption rates, ”  you are correct!  If you said, “User expectations of quick, easy to navigate, responsive sites” you are even more correct!  So, if you’re using the same means to communicate as if nothing has changed since 2008, then you can expect to be left behind.

Holiday Giving and Mobile

Having just hosted a webinar,  3 Reasons to Work on Your Holiday Mobile Giving Strategy: Now,  I’d like to share some of vital points which should get your attention:

• 50.5% of organizations surveyed said they received the majority of their contributions between October and December (2012 GuideStar Survey)
• 72% of giving is done by individuals (Giving USA)
• 64% of American adults now own a smartphone of some kind, up from 35% in the spring of 2011 (Pew  2015)

Thanks a lot, Apple!

Today’s consumers-your donors- now have a high level of expectation when it comes to mobile use. Whether it’s fair or not, your cause’s site and email and donation process are being compared to what consumers are getting via mobile from mega-branding corporations. They want what they want, when and wherever they want it. Just a few taps and, Voila!, that sweater from Zappos arrives at the door the very next day.  Users want easy and quick- espcially when they are in the moment…

Dumb Emails on Smartphones?

How is your organization handling donor/user/customer expectations?

Consider this: Email open rates are around 20% and about two-thirds of emails are opened on smartphones. So, if 20 of 100 emails get opened, about 14 of those will be opened on a smartphone. If your email isn’t designed with a smartphone display in mind (Use responsive design, for your site and email, people!) then only about 6 of those emails will render properly.

And your call to action will not be taken. And you will be lonely.

Go ahead! Take out your smartphone now and open up one of your recent emails. Put yourself in the shoes of the recipient for a moment. What is the feeling when a constituent opens your email on her smartphone?  When potential donors get frustrated, they tend to abandon the process- and your cause loses out on their donation.

People are tied to their smartphones, which are typically within arm’s reach 24/7.  They look when they are busy, they look when they are bored. And they can be moved to give just as easily during these mobile moments.…if it’s easy to do so. The key to success in your department is to optimize those moments for a greater holiday giving campaign and cause awareness success.

Check out the recording of the webinar here and get more details on how mobile is changing the way people give.  And keep reading as we continue to bring you more useful pieces to help!