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Predictions for 2005
Last year at this time, NPA announced ten predictions for 2004. With no small amount of smugness we refer you to them for review:
http://www.npadvisors.com/NewContent/100351.asp This year, we offer a few more: - Nonprofits will start segmenting their database of online supporters and send different, targeted emails to different groups. Larger nonprofits have email files that exceed 100,000 names, and some of them are able to identify these groups based on their source, prior giving history, and even responses to previous emails. This discipline of targeted, more customized mailings mirrors what those same nonprofits have been doing in direct mail for years. This is another indication that online fundraising is becoming mainstream.
- Online channels will begin to attract more younger donors. They’re already on the internet, but nonprofits have largely ignored them. Some nonprofits will begin to challenge younger people, some as young as teenagers, to start getting involved in the issues that matter. If those same nonprofits start accepting PayPal and other easy, online micropayments that don’t require “adult-type” credit cards, they may succeed.
- Email won’t be the only way that nonprofits communicate with their supporters. Instant Messaging, Blogs (web logs), and text messaging to cell phones will be tested by a few far-sighted nonprofits. (Among young people, IM has already replaced email as the most common means of online communication.)
- The shift toward mobile technology will pick up steam. As the distinction between the cell phone and the computer blurs, more Americans will surf the internet from their cell phones, especially to check museum hours and locations, to find local church services as they travel, and to get up-to-the-minute news from the organizations they trust.
December 2004
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