Online fundraising is becoming an increasingly popular method to raise money for good causes, nonprofits, and personal projects. In fact, nonprofits are shifting from traditional ways of fountain pens and paper checks to online fundraising in an effort to appeal to a younger generation and increase their donor base.

The power of online fundraising as a technique for nonprofits to raise money in the future looks highly promising. A recent study done by Leetchi.com and YouGov asked UK adults about their interests in crowdfunding and group gifting. Their answers give a good indication of where online fundraising is headed in the future.

In today’s post, we look at the some findings of this survey which paints an interesting picture in the future of online fundraising.

Leetchi.com and YouGov surveyed 2148 adults from the UK to find out UK gifting habits, to determine the interests in crowdfunding in the UK, and to determine the interest in direct donations and personal causes in the UK.

Here are the key statistics from this report and what it says about expectations from online fundraising in the coming years.

1. Money pots is the new exciting way to finance a project

project crowdfunding

1 in 3 UK adults believes online money pots are an interesting way to raise money for a project. Additionally, 19 percent of Britons would use online money pots to finance a project. And of those who are willing to create online money pots, 33% of them are between the ages of 18 to 24 years.

2. Trust and transparency are essential

1 in 3 Britons would contribute to personal or charity project through online money pots only if they believe the project organizers are transparent and accountable enough. Out of those, 28 percent would contribute if they knew the organizer, 33 percent if they thought the project was feasible and 31 percent would do so if the organizers were transparent.

People are dissuaded from donating to online money projects when there is the lack of transparency on how the money will be spent. A whopping 42 percent of Britons will not back a project if it shows signs of lack of transparency.

3. Health, wildlife preservation, and community projects lead

community project

The top three causes Britons are more willing to finance through online money pots are health, wildlife preservation, and community projects in that order. Health projects marginally lead with a 20 percent backing from the crowdfunding audience. Wildlife preservation is second with 19 percent backing and only 18 percent of Britons are willing to contribute to community projects.

4. Group gifts help to offer a better gift

group gift

64 percent of British people use group gifts as a way to offer a better gift to their loved ones. The most requested group gifts are weekend gateways, dinners out, tickets for shows and holidays or cruise. However, less than 1 in 10 UK inhabitants offer (8%) or receive (5%) group gifts. This may be true considering that 1 in 5 Britons (a population of 19%) have given up on offering a group gift because of the organisation required.  This number increases to 32% among 19-24 year-olds.

What does this survey mean to your nonprofit?

online fundraising, charity fundraising

This survey report means that the current online fundraising websites such as Leetchi.com have given nonprofits a great means of reaching people and raising funds online for their projects. Now it’s the time to do just that. Take the opportunity to create an online campaign and use social media along with peer-to-peer engagement to connect with donors in unique and interesting ways.

In the future, the role of charities or nonprofits as a top information gathering point for donors will greatly increase. Donors quickly go to non profit websites to know about their projects in order to ascertain transparency and accountability.

Crowdfunding platforms have not just yet overtaken the money raising role played by charities, but we expect close to 30 percent of donations to come from these crowdfunding websites.  This is due to two main reasons; the Web-savvy millennials are set to make up the huge proportion of donor audience, and the emerging digital trends in the forms of Google Wallet, Apple Pay, Bitcoin and social media donate buttons will influence how donors give in the coming years.

The way the donors give is also likely to change significantly. Currently, donors focus bigger smaller but more frequent contributions as well as volunteer efforts on a limited number of organisations. But as Leetchi.com and YouGov study reports, many contributors, especially millennial generation are more willing to donate via crowdfunding platforms because they allow for transparency and feasibility.

Looking forward, it’s time to get donors on board with your non-profit today.  Create an online money pot to raise money today so you won’t have to try to play catch-up tomorrow.