The Other Half

For nearly 30 years, we have been conducting donor and community research for local United Ways throughout the United States. Over time, the questions we ask have changed – for example, we now ask about social media usage, but we no longer ask if people use email.

One of the questions we have consistently asked is: “If you did not give to United Way this past year, have you ever given to United Way?” We have found that the percentage of people who did not give to United Way this year but have given to United Way previously has increased over time. In every survey we have conducted since 2014, at least 50% of all people who did not give to United Way in the past year had given to United Way previously.

Here is a sobering thought: Half of all people who did not give to your United Way this year have given to United Way previously. When you walk down the sidewalk or through a store, take a moment and think that one out of every two people you see has probably given to United Way at some point in their lives but did not give to your United Way this year. It makes you want to grab them by the collar and ask them “Why aren’t you supporting United Way?” doesn’t it?

But, it is not their fault – you can’t blame them. The reality of the situation is that most of those people don’t give because they are no longer asked to give by their United Way. Perhaps they retired and are no longer exposed to a workplace campaign, or maybe they changed employment and now work at a company that does not have a workplace campaign.

The vast majority of people who did not give to United Way this year but have given previously did not give for any reason other than they were not asked to give. How do we know? Because when we asked them, most community members who have previously supported United Way indicated they would support United Way again if asked. This is especially true with retirees.

I can already hear some of you thinking “Hey! We give people an opportunity to give online on our website.” While this may be true, the challenge with providing an online giving opportunity is that your potential donors need to “find” the giving opportunity. Workplace campaigns reach out to potential donors by bringing the giving opportunity to the donor. Most charitable giving occurs because the charity brings the giving opportunity to the potential donor through direct mail, social media, a golf tournament, or even cookie sales. Online giving portals fail to do this.

For all of the United Ways that are wrapping up their workplace campaigns, it is now time to start working on reaching the other half of your donors. What giving opportunities can your United Way provide to engage your former donors such as special events, affinity groups, or alternative giving opportunities? There are United Ways that we have worked with that raise up to one-third of their total resources from these types of activities.

We are not suggesting that United Ways eliminate their workplace campaigns. Instead, we are suggesting that they actively seek to attract donors outside of the workplace campaign. Based on our research and the increasing percentage of people who have given to United Way previously, reaching donors outside of the workplace campaign will be essential to long-term success.

If attracting former donors is a priority for your United Way, let us know and we can help you explore potential opportunities for reaching donors and develop a plan based on the most effective and efficient methods for your United Way.

The other half of your donors are waiting. Now is the time to begin the other half of your fundraising.

P.S. Be sure to join us at 2:00 p.m. EST next Monday, February 4th for our webinar “Get Your Board Onboard: Secrets of the Engaged Board.” You can learn more about “Get Your Board Onboard: Secrets of the Engaged Board” and all our webinars here.