Changing trends don’t just affect businesses and the popularity of the products and services that they offer. As the general direction that society moves in shifts, new problems arise. Solutions that once worked to ameliorate old issues no longer apply.

Since the very reason why most nonprofits exist is to make a positive difference in the world, it’s essential that their leadership stays up-to-date on the trends shaping our communities. This way NFPs can be more responsive to the needs of their members and other stakeholders.

The following trends are re-shaping everything, from the programs and services that we offer, to the way that we connect with others, as well as how we define our brand and market our NFPs.  As you evaluate these changes, consider how you can use these new influences to your nonprofit’s best advantage and increase the impact of your work.

Strengthen Fundamentals to Bring Greater Clarity

One trend shaping NFPs is the need to tie in the mission to messaging, marketing and fundraising efforts. Spend some time updating your website to eliminate content that doesn’t connect viewers with your mission to bring greater focus and understanding about what it is that you do, and why it’s so important for others to support your work.

Collaboration

The sector continues to face challenges in securing enough funding from governments and individuals to be able to make a genuine, visible and lasting difference. To increase impact, nonprofits need to look to third parties both inside and outside the nonprofit sector and form partnerships, alliances and otherwise cooperate with one another to develop multi-year plans that will provide solutions to long-standing social issues. Both formal and informal collaboration agreements allow multiple organisations to come together to strengthen their communities while putting scarce resources to their best practical uses and driving improved results that benefit everyone.

Equity

Racial strife, geopolitical tensions, poverty, healthcare concerns, sexual harassment and the increase in the number of displaced persons globally mean that now more than ever, our NFPs must show moral background and provide moral leadership on the issues that contribute to inequality. From creating greater gender balance on our boards to taking steps to encourage equal pay for equal work, nonprofits are in a unique place to lead the way for organisations in other sectors. They can shine a spotlight on inequality and take steps to address root causes as well as improve access and opportunities for all.

Cybersecurity

Every year, the threat of the loss of data and privacy due to security breaches grows, as do incidents of fraud and other forms of financial theft. Protecting your nonprofit’s financial information and other data is a key concern and can no longer be adequately dealt with by using a simple anti-virus program. As part of your risk management, your nonprofit needs to evaluate the potential for hackers, viruses and other malware to infiltrate your systems and take steps, such as using website encryption, two-factor authentication, cloud storage and other technological advances to protect your NFP’s online, and offline data.

Integrated Big Data

Look for tools and apps that will allow you to automatically collect all your organisation’s data at the point of contact and make all of it readily accessible in one place to improve your marketing and fundraising strategies. How much more effective would you be if you could have all your supporters’ demographics, emails, donations, and other records in one place?

CRM Software and Dashboards to Make Sense of Metrics

Having a way to collect information automatically, and access it from anywhere with an Internet connection is very handy indeed, but, you still need a way to integrate the information from all your various systems as well as to be able to analyse it quickly. Customer Relationship Management, or CRM software typically allows you to collect and collate data from multiple systems and processes. With CRM, you can quickly run analytics as well as produce meaningful reports that can help you illustrate your impact and costs and see the results from one central dashboard. There is a widespread social push for nonprofits to be held more accountable to governments and regulatory bodies as well as their donors, and the community at large. To prove the value of your work, you need to be able to calculate and showcase your impact, a task that is made much easier and less time consuming with CRM software.

Electronic Payments

The rise of smartphones which offer constant and instant connectivity, everywhere, all the time, hasn’t just changed the way that we learn information and communicate with others. It’s also changed the way that we shop and pay for things. Millennials are the most mobile-savvy generation, and most of them have never paid for anything with a check, and rarely use cash. If you want to reach this demographic, you must adopt their preferred means of payment. In addition to accepting payments by credit card, check and cash, diversify your methods of payment and allow your supporters to make electronic payments via their Apple Wallet and Google Pay as well as using other payment processors such as PayPal.

Mobile Fundraising

Do you want your messaging and calls to action to reach your supporters? Nearly everyone is busy and constantly on the go these days, which means that your fundraising strategy must keep up with the times and be optimised for mobile platforms. If you mobilise everything from your website to your forms, it makes it much easier to leverage other trends, such as big data, CRM, analytics and electronic payments.

Recurrent Gifts

Want to increase your fundraising results without dramatically increasing your marketing costs? It takes much less time, money and effort to retain your existing donors than it does to recruit new ones. Nonprofits that focus on strengthening their relationships with existing donors, and encouraging them to give on a regular, frequent basis, win big. If you haven’t already done so, be sure that your fundraising plans include strategies to encourage your existing donors to make regular contributions and that support more direct involvement with y our organisation by your donors, improving engagement, retention and results.

Inspiring, “Big” Ideas

Donors, volunteers and other advocates want to feel that they aren’t wasting their time or their money. They want to feel a part of something larger than themselves. They crave a sense of belonging and purpose, and if you want to encourage them to support your organisation, you must inspire them. It’s not enough to educate your supporters about the needs in your community. Be future-oriented, and forward thinking! Rather than focusing on the cost, focus on the outcomes of your work! Motivate them with novel concepts and ground-breaking solutions that will excite them and make them more willing to be a part of the change and difference you are working to create!

The Rise of the Individual

In the not-for-profits sector, we tend to think of how collective effort can move us forward, but when it comes to storytelling, capturing the experiences of individuals, and helping their unique voice shine through, should take centre stage. When telling your NFP’s stories, focus on telling a story from a specific perspective, to help you make stronger connections with your donors, volunteers and advocates. Doing so will make your calls to action more meaningful and stirring. Stories told from the eyes of a single individual resonate because they show what’s at stake while also moving others to join in.

The Importance of Video Content

While organisations will not abandon written content any time soon, demand for videos is growing exponentially, and is expected to drive over 85% of all Internet traffic by 2019. Your nonprofit should be looking at ways to use social media channels such as Facebook Live, Periscope and YouTube to create and post videos online. Doing so helps you tell your nonprofit’s stories in a way that’s meaningful and easily accessible to your supporters. Just as you want to communicate with your donors by their preferred means of contact, your NFP should create content in the form that’s most appealing to those who consume it.

Sustainability is About More than the Bottom Line

Burn-out is a significant problem in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. There is incredible pressure to keep the proverbial nose to the grindstone day after day to improve our results. In the long run, this is counterproductive. It’s now known that overworking leads to an increase in the number of sick days we need to take. It also lowers our energy levels through the day, destroying performance, and weakening our resolve, which damages morale and engagement.

Our world is seeing increased attention paid to the connection between our mental, physical and spiritual selves and the need for better work/life balance. A healthy organisation doesn’t just use its resources wisely to generate meaningful change, it does so while also taking care of the needs of its people. Healthy organisations adopt practices that support the mental and physical health and wellbeing of their team. If your NFP hasn’t already done so, evaluate your policies, procedures and processes and make changes that will encourage greater flexibility and fairness and reduce the strain on your staff. Implement a wellness program to enhance the overall health, fitness and happiness of your staff and volunteers that will improve their lives as they work to benefit your community!