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Tag: risk to charity funds

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Donors Give Happy: Creating a Seamless Donation Experience

Person making a heart shape with hands on a mountain top to show they love the view

Donors Give Happy: Creating a Seamless Donation Experience

August 2024

Happy Donors = More donations!

Can you increase your fundraising totals by simply making the donor experience really easy?
If you can offer a speedy, hassle-free way to donate will it put donors off, or mean they give more and more frequently?
We all know that we feel great when we are able to help someone or give to a charity that
can help on our behalf. But does the actual process of giving need to be lengthy or be an
effort to make it worthwhile?
Our research indicates that an easy donation process can significantly influence our
willingness to give. Here are our top 5 psychological factors that we believe are at play:

1. That Feel Good Factor:

  • Pleasure and Satisfaction: Easy experiences often evoke positive emotions, creating
    a sense of well-being. People are more inclined to give when they feel good. A
    Harvard Business Review in 2008* stated that the act of giving releases dopamine
    and endorphins which give us that wonderful positive feeling.
  • Gratitude: When we give or receive a gift, we often feel grateful, thereby boosting
    our happiness, health and social bonds.
  • Passion: Remember that your donors are passionate about your charity, this is why
    they have chosen to donate to your cause. By making the process easy, it shows you
    care about their experience and value their support.
Heart in hands means feeling good donate more

2. Chillin:

  • Effortless Engagement: Easy experiences require less brain power. This frees up to
    focus on other aspects, such as the act of giving itself or the effect our giving is
    having on others.
  • Increased Generosity: When we're not mentally taxed, we're more likely to think
    about the needs of others and engage in altruistic deeds.

3. Perceived Value:

  • Enhanced Satisfaction: Easy experiences often lead to higher perceived value and an
    increase in trust. We associate the product or service with positive outcomes,
    making us more willing to support them in the future.
  • Loyalty and Advocacy: Positive experiences foster loyalty, increasing the likelihood
    of repeat donations, more often and with a higher referral rate.

4. Social Sharing:

  • We love to talk: Easy experiences are often shared positively with others. This
    creates a sense of social proof, encouraging others to participate and give too.
  • Giving is Contagious: Positive recommendations build trust in the charity or
    organisation, with a ripple effect, making our friends and family more likely to follow
    with their support.
Two grey haired ladies sat chatting outside about their charity donations

5. Habit building:

Routine and Ease: When an experience is consistently easy, it becomes a habit. Giving can become part of this routine, increasing the likelihood of continued
donations. 

At Dona Donations, we love to give our donors an easy process to support their chosen
charity.

Contactless card payments mean no need to carry cash and it is quick and easy to
‘tap to donate’.


If your charity could benefit from a boost to your fundraising with contactless card donation
please do contact us today. 

 

*Harvard Business Review 2008 – Professor Michael Norton –
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/5_ways_giving_is_good_for_you

 

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Peace of Mind: Security and Risk Reduction for Charities

Older man with cash and a contactless card

Peace of Mind: Security and Risk Reduction for Charities

July 2024

Safe and Secure: Can Contactless Donations Protect Your Charity?

The UK ranked 3rd in the world for the amount of money donated to charity in 2022 with 71% of the population being donors*.

Charities can often be subject to theft and fraud with Action Fraud reporting that the total amount lost between November 2022 and October 2023 to be £2,732,170 with over 500 cases.

Charities are reliant on altruism, trust and honesty. There is the risk of theft and fraud that can be either internal or external.  

Internal Charity Fraud

Charity Fraud Report 2023: This report by BDO and the Fraud Advisory Panel highlights that internal fraud (by staff or volunteers) is the most common type of charity fraud**.

While we know that staff and volunteers are crucial to running a charity, there are steps that can be taken to minimise this risk.

 

If you are a charity concerned about internal theft or fraud please see this resource from the Preventing Charity Fraud organisation. It is an excellent guide to speaking to your volunteers about charity fraud – Speaking to volunteers about charity fraud

Charity volunteer lady counting cash donations on a table

External Charity Fraud

The highest recorded examples of external charity fraud in 2022*** were the misappropriation of cash or assets – this was double the number for 2021.

Cash can be stolen from events, charity boxes or on the way to be deposited.  In addition to the loss to the charity, this can be extremely upsetting for staff and volunteers.

Scammers might impersonate your charity and try to collect funds illegally.  Having strict donation policies and appointing a representative to monitor charity collections under the charity banner is just one option.  

Why is it important to protect donors and donations

Reliance on fundraising is crucial to the charity’s survival but are cash collections the best way to collect?

We can access this from both sides – The donor and the Charity.

The donor seeks convenience, security and to feel good about their donation.  The thought of their donation being stolen or not going to the heart of the charity would be devastating and could mean they are less likely to donate in the future.

The Charity would like to raise as much money as possible to be able to fulfil their aims and to operate within their constitution.  A simple, efficient process with minimal risk and clear reporting is ideal, such as an online management portal. 

Cash vs Contactless charity donations, which is best?

You might be weighing up – Cash vs Contactless payments – which is more secure? This is a question that we are often asked, particularly in the post-COVID era.  Let’s look at more detail about the handling of cash donations.

Older man with cash and a contactless card

Are contactless donations the solution?

The UK is moving towards a cashless society.  Contactless payments utilise a series of security measures like encryption and tokenisation to protect personal or sensitive information.

Taking card payments generally reduces the risk of physical fraud as stolen cash is almost impossible to recover.  

The benefits of contactless donations are clear when we look at the risk to our volunteers, the theft risk and the reporting of donation behaviour.

With more data about our donors, charities are able to make strides to increase the donation amount per transaction, build campaigns in a more informed way, focus on the easy of donating and save on costly staff and admin fees.

If you would like to explore using contactless donations for your charity please contact us –


By phone – 0203 488 8095

Or by filling out our enquiry form. 

 

 

 

*Charities Aid Foundation – https://www.cafonline.org/about-us/research/caf-world-giving-index

**BDO Charity Fraud Report – https://www.bdo.co.uk/en-gb/insights/advisory/forensic-services/charity-fraud

***Charity Fraud examples – https://www.qlicnfp.com/charity-fraud-examples-you-should-watch-out-for/