Charitable Giving
Research Findings
The Client
The United Church of Fayetteville (UCF) is a smaller church in upstate New York looking to further define themselves. UCF is an inclusive space that is welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community, is open to learning new ways of communicating and is committed to caring for its members. The church is noticing that its members are older or aging out which is causing members to leave and be less active; in turn, this is reducing funds. UCF is looking for more or better ways to fundraise and rebuild its finances.
The Mission
KLMC Relations’ has researched strategies and defining tactics to solve these problems of aging members and low funds and has come up with opportunities for UCF to expand membership, specifically to local business owners. KLMC worked to understand what donors think and focus on when making donations, more specifically when making donations to similar organizations, which will be crucial when it comes to gaining contributions and volunteers for the Church. With an increase in church funds, UCF could bring back more programs for the community and put more resources into their main priority, their members.
Method
The chosen research method to target all donors in faith-based organizations, as well as people inclined to donate to local non-profit organizations, was an online survey through Qualtircs Survey Tool and Research Suite. Qualtrics Analysis has features that allow for different questions to be asked to respondents based on answers to previous questions. This helped to reach both desired demographics, small business owners and current members of faith-based organizations.
The survey was 18 questions in total, including demographic information, and mostly multiple choice with some typed response questions. It was sent out via Facebook and messaging platforms to reach a wider audience. It was open for 7 days and reached 110 active surveys with 98 complete responses.
-
74% of respondents were female and the other 26% were male
-
The majority age group was 40-59 with an annual household income of $150,000 or more
-
The participants came from a variety of regions in the US, not just the Syracuse area
-
The majority of those who do not donate to nonprofits fall between 18-29 with an average income of less than $30,000 a year.
Participants
Recommendations
Fundraising Recommendations:
-
Check option made available during every fundraiser event
-
Venmo QR codes and Apple Pay incorporated to cater to younger members
-
Target local business owners who are looking to get involved in their communities through CRM and digital marketing initiatives such as Media outreach programs
New Member's Recommendations:​
-
Establish a reader-friendly and vibrant church newsletter that encourages greater interest
-
Interactive email and text marketing that brings awareness to UCF