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Charity AI Task Force: Bringing the Third Sector Up to Speed

By |2025-02-26T11:41:10+00:00February 26th, 2025|

As artificial intelligence continues to reshape industries, concerns are growing that charities are being left behind in the race to harness its potential. To address this, a new AI ‘Charity Task Force’ has been launched, aiming to champion the responsible, inclusive, and collaborative use of AI within the sector. A Collective Voice for AI in the Charity Sector The task force is set to tackle several key priorities: Acting as a unified voice advocating for AI adoption in the charity sector. Encouraging collaboration between charities and key stakeholders, including tech funders, regulators, and businesses. Influencing the responsible, ethical, and sustainable development of AI, both within and beyond the charity sector. Creating a coordinated approach to AI that provides equitable support [...]

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Charities Potentially Secure £290m Boost Following Data Bill Amendment

By |2025-01-24T10:51:10+00:00January 24th, 2025|

Charity marketers are celebrating a major win after the UK Government backed an amendment to the Data (Use & Access) Bill, extending the ‘soft opt-in’ provision to third-sector fundraising. This development follows a robust lobbying campaign led by the DMA. Soft-opt in becoming a reality for charities The ‘soft opt-in,’ a rule allowing organisations to send marketing emails to individuals who have previously engaged with them, was initially excluded from the new bill after being present in its predecessor, the Data & Digital Information Bill. In response, the DMA issued a letter in November to the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation & Technology, Peter Kyle, urging the Government to reconsider. Research prepared to support the amendment found that  charities [...]

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In Conversation with MS Society: Exclusion is Key – It’s Not What They Want, It’s What They Don’t Want That Counts

By |2024-08-05T08:24:32+00:00June 19th, 2024|

In Conversation with MS Society: Exclusion is Key - It's Not What They Want, It's What They Don’t Want That Counts In the increasingly tricky world of data management, the key to success often lies in the details of what you exclude rather than what you include. This principle is nowhere more critical than in the charitable sector, where sensitivity and precision in data handling can significantly impact both operational effectiveness and the well-being of those they serve. We recently spoke with Rachel Draper, Database Manager at MS Society, about their approach to data cleansing using SwiftCleanse, which is proving key for ensuring that their communications are both accurate and respectful. Generating Goodwill through Relevant Communications The value of data [...]

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In the mood for giving: How well-being sparks generosity through direct mail

By |2023-10-31T17:06:16+00:00October 31st, 2023|

A new academic study from the University of Massachusetts and Georgia Institute of Technology has found a connection between donor well-being and their generosity, suggesting that designing direct mail campaigns that makes people feel happy will be an effective way to encourage donations. The concept explores the concept of “preheating,” by replicating the warm glow often associated with post-donation moods. While psychologists are familiar with this idea, the study is the first to identify the impact of this on charitable giving. Using natural language processing tools the sentiment of communications donors sent before and after they made a donation were analysed. The researchers detected a reliable and statistically significant mood boost in communications sent up to about an hour before [...]

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Those most likely to donate as a result of Direct Mail

By |2023-07-21T09:18:23+00:00July 21st, 2023|

A new study, The Future of Direct Mail 2023, reinforces the effectiveness of direct mail, with the overwhelming finding that 81% of people engaging with direct mail in some way. Almost two thirds were found to have purchased a physical product as a result of receiving a piece of DM, 43% took advantage of a discount or special offer that was promoted through the mail, 35% applied for a financial product whilst 25% donated to charity as a direct result of a call to action within a mail pack. With charity fundraising suffering as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, understanding the impact of direct mail and who is most likely to respond is incredibly valuable. The report finds that, [...]

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Charities need to focus on inspiring positive emotions as cost-of-living crisis starts to bite

By |2022-12-19T14:09:24+00:00November 29th, 2022|

The cost-of-living crisis is really beginning to show its teeth when it comes to charitable donations. According to the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) UK Giving Report nearly 60 percent of respondents said that the crisis will negatively impact their ability to donate. In April, one in 25 people reported that they had already cancelled a regular donation to charity, and by October this had risen to one in ten as a direct response to the rising cost of living. Similarly, 1 in 12 people said they had chosen not to make a one-off donation whilst a large number also said they had reviewed how much they give to charity. Due to this less than rosy outlook, many charities are shifting [...]

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Charities shouldn’t put the data cart before the horse

By |2022-10-04T07:07:09+00:00October 4th, 2022|

New research shows that charities are falling behind when it comes to data. With the cost-of-living crisis now really beginning to show its teeth resulting in a sharp decline in donor numbers and donation value, data is now a critical capability for charities to master. However, data doesn’t have to be complex. More on this later… first, let’s have a look at the findings of the State of the Sector Data Maturity Report. The study measured 1,000 charities and rated their data maturity through five stages, from ‘Unaware’ to ‘Mastering’ across seven key themes: Uses, Data, Analysis, Leadership, Culture, Tools, and Skills. When it comes to data leadership over half (53 percent) of those surveyed said that there is no [...]

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Why direct mail is good for charities during the cost-of-living crisis

By |2022-08-12T10:16:36+00:00August 12th, 2022|

Everyone will be feeling the pinch – more expensive food, more expensive energy, more expensive fuel… more expensive everything. For charities this is not good news, as when household expenditure rises, donations dwindle. As a result, two marketing objectives take precedence at this difficult time: The retention of existing donors The recruitment of spontaneous one-off gifts For objective No.1 data plays an important role. It is critical that charities are reaching out to their regular donors in a meaningful way to ensure that the relationship is maintain, particularly if the donations dry up during this exceedingly difficult period for many households. Contacting people that have moved house (and despite the depressing economic climate, home moves are still far outstripping those [...]

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‘Significant number’ of charities sending fundraising material to people who have asked them to stop

By |2022-07-18T17:26:06+00:00July 18th, 2022|

According to an article recently published in Third Sector Magazine a “significant number” of charities are sending fundraising communications to members of the public even after requests to stop, the Fundraising Regulator has said. The regulator made the statement after a review of the Fundraising Preference Service (FPS), which was set up in the aftermath of the Olive Cooke case, which tragically saw the 92-year-old life-long charity supporter take her own life due to a deluge of charity donation requests.   The FPS provides members of the public with a way to ask charities to stop contacting them with requests for donations. The Fundraising Regulator said it was writing to those charities which are not responding to public requests and telling [...]

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Want to drive an immediate response? Use direct mail!

By |2022-06-17T13:33:43+00:00June 17th, 2022|

  A new study by the DMA has been launched investigating the effectiveness of charity marketing. The research analyses 1,057 DMA award entries housed within the DMA’s Intelligent Marketing Databank and measures the number of reported ‘effects’, which are grouped into four categories: Response effects: including conversion, acquisition, sales, donations, bookings, footfall, downloads and CPA efficiency Brand effects: including brands awareness, ad recall, consideration, purchase intent, brand trust, brand perception, recommendation, customer satisfaction Business effects: including profit, market share growth, customer penetration, loyalty and shareholder value Campaign delivery effects: including reach, frequency and impressions Direct mail was found to be the most effective channel at driving response effects – particularly in the short term, which is important for charities looking [...]

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