How charities can improve their digital communications

From text messaging to video chat, digital communications are essential to the way we live and work today. But they are also reshaping the way charities and nonprofits deliver on their missions. 

According to the 2022 State of Nonprofit Digital Engagement Report, 89% of nonprofits deem digital communications to be critical for achieving their organisation’s mission. Many have turned to digital to scale and improve their services, with much of their online engagement outpacing that of consumer companies.  

The report shows a clear shift away from relying on in-person services, direct mail, or word of mouth, as they might have done previously, particularly prior to the pandemic. Charities are using channels like SMS, voice assistants, and email to send automated program or appointment reminders, to increase visibility of their programs, and to provide multiple options for engagement with donors and program participants.  

More digitally-advanced charities are also using solutions like AI and bots to route people to the right support, answer frequently asked questions quickly, and allow staff to better prioritise the most urgent needs of their beneficiaries. 

However, the report found that, while an overwhelming majority of nonprofits surveyed believe that digital communications are critical, only half report that their current digital communications strategy is effective. 

Indeed, both charities and beneficiaries believe that many nonprofits are not yet utilizing digital communications to their fullest capacity. Seven in ten (72%) of program participants said that digital communications are important in helping them access services, while just 37% of participants say that the organisations they engage with are using them in this way. 

“There remains a large margin of opportunity for many nonprofits to move from merely understanding these digital benefits to adopting the solutions to realize them,” the report notes.

Digital leaders are emerging 

There are some charities who have already made significant progress with their digital communications and are using them in increasingly innovative ways. According to the report, these digital leaders are more likely to say that digital communication initiatives are an important priority for their organisation, more likely to resource their technical teams accordingly, and more likely to place an emphasis on evolving the program participant experience for beneficiaries.  

Nearly all (96%) of digital leaders say that digital communications are critical to their mission, compared to 80% of those with developing digital skills or at the beginning of their journey. More than half (53%) of digital leaders also believe that personalisation of communications is a priority for their charity in 2022, while on-demand services and two-way digital engagement were also ranked highly.  

For those looking to determine their own digital maturity, the report offers a helpful framework, showing how charities are currently defining their progress with digital communications. For example, while leaders will communicate seamlessly across multiple channels without their audience losing context, those organisations at the beginning of their digital journey tend to have just one or two channels to connect with their program participants.  

Similarly, when it comes to personalisation, digital beginners use generalised communications for all their audiences, while digital leaders communicate via personalised, dynamic means, based on individual interactions, services, and needs. 

“Digital leaders are seeing benefits of digitizing their program offerings, and will continue to invest in building out their technical teams and advanced, data-driven capabilities,” the report explains. “As they do so, they will continue to improve services for participants and make progress towards fulfilling their mission.” 

The report calls for “ongoing investment” in digital communications so that charities can continue to improve the way they engage with their beneficiaries and how they deliver services. Three quarters of charities say that beneficiaries would like more digital communication options, and charities are rising to the challenge – 74% expect to increase their investment in digital communications technology in 2022.