Editor: This article is contributed by Jonathan Waddingham who is the social and labs product manager at the world’s leading online platform for charity giving, JustGiving. He specialises in social media integration, digital strategy and online fundraising and is a regular contributor to JustGiving’s blog, We Make Giving Social, which explores social giving.
This is the second piece of a series on fundraising Waddingham contributes to TechNode. You may also be interested in the first one is 8 Reasons Why Mobile and Social Are the Future of Fundraising.
Affecting non-profits the world over, eBay’s Sean Milliken highlighted in early 2013 how mobile giving has the potential to revolutionise the philanthropic sector, stating: “the old models of fundraising are rapidly giving way to a new paradigm for donor engagement with cell phones and other mobile devices at the core of how people connect with their favourite causes.”
In order for non-profits to capitalise on the evolution of donor behaviour, Milliken called for organisations and fundraisers to “adopt a mobile mindset and engage in mobile-enabled fundraising to tap into a new, growing donor pool,” a clarion call that chimes with our own mantras on the role technology has to play in growing giving.
Over the past decade, more than £1.6 billion has been raised for over 13,000 charities and causes supported by JustGiving and our social giving services have contributed to this year’s 15% growth in giving through online platforms.
The growth of mobile
Many charities are only just beginning to understand the true impact of mobile giving, with UK technology champions LASA reporting that 63% of them are not using mobile-friendly apps or optimising websites for mobile browsing and donations. JustGiving has seen an increase of 400% in mobile giving over the past year, particularly from smartphones and tables, a figure that now accounts for almost half of our total traffic.
We are beginning to feel the full force of the mass movement in donors’ behaviour. For instance, on the day of the London marathon in April 2013, mobile traffic actually surpassed desktop visits. We are also seeing an increase in the number of people reaching for their mobile phones to spontaneously donate in the aftermath of national events, like the tragic murder of a soldier in Woolwich earlier this year.
Optimising online content for mobile devices
With iPhones and iPads accounting for more than three quarters of mobile traffic, charities need to ensure their donation processes are optimised for smartphones and tablets, else they risk isolating a new breed of givers. Thanks to all of our fundraising pages benefiting from mobile optimisation, charities needn’t worry about sourcing large investments to adapt their giving infrastructures – we’ve got that covered. We can process donations from just one touch of a smartphone or tablet and our pages are fully optimised for mobile giving.
There are 50 million people out there with a tablet or a smartphone. The potential for charities (whether big or small), to benefit from this technology is huge.
Success with mobile donations
Donations are no longer restricted by geographical locations and many people are fundraising for worthwhile causes that help others around the globe. With this in mind, JustGiving opened its platform to Hong Kong charities and supporters earlier this year for the first time thanks to its rapidly growing Hong Kong user base. So far, they have helped JustGiving raise more than $650,000 for deserving Hong Kong based causes.
As the proud official fundraising partner for Barclays Moontrekker 2013, JustGiving will work closely with the 1,300 Moontrekker participants as they fundraise for their inspiring 27km and 40km night treks through the beautiful Lantau Island Mountains. The organisers of Barclays Moontrekker are encouraging runners of the race to take advantage of JustGiving’s online fundraising tools and mobile-optimised pages. This way, donations can be maximised as they continue to build upon the HK$2 million already raised for Hong Kong charity, Room to Read.