How to make your charity donations surge

A Google guru’s advice

One statistic stood out from all the damning ones included in the presentation. The charity sector’s digital spend on marketing is falling – now at a measly 1.7% from 2.3% a few years ago. Ludicrous, given that 75% of donors use online resources to look for information and the private sector has been increasing its digital spend massively.

Dan Cobley, author of the presentation, had one heartening message: there is a vast amount of free help available to boost the online presence and interaction of charities. The former head of European Marketing at Google, and now the CEO of a fintech investor group, Brightbridge Ventures, gave key pointers on how to raise donations and awareness.

He spoke at a meeting of the Kilfinan Group, where we mentor CEOs of charities, and we have passed his advice on to all 180 of our mentors, who also sit on charity boards as trustees. Do please distribute this link to anyone you know who is involved in the charity world.

Whatever policy changes the new government brings – and ’tis a very welcome government! – it is clear that funding cuts to the charity sector are set to continue. Leveraging free help to increase contributions is a powerful yet simple technique.

Below are the valuable links:

Here is a link to Google’s Get Your Charity Online site which is full of useful stuff, especially for smaller charities.

Here is a link to the YouTube non-profits playbook.

Here is a link to the Technology Trust site, with links to the software exchange, gift aid reclaim programme, etc.

Here is a link to Charity Digital News, managed by Technology Trust and full of useful info for not for profit practitioners and trustees.