How better supporter experiences boost fundraising

Research has shown that individual donations are on the decline, with only half of people in the UK saying they had donated to charity in the last 12 months. Charities Aid Foundation’s 2025 UK Giving Report revealed that charities “are relying on an ever smaller group of people to give” and that the sector needs “to do much more to build our culture of giving”.

 

Indeed, while donors may be falling away for a number of reasons, including financial pressures, lack of preferable donation methods, reduced engagement with causes, the onus remains on charities to understand the cause of the decline in donations and find innovative ways to motivate them to give. That requires an intricate understanding of how supporters behave, from the comms channels they prefer to their chosen payment methods.

 

The key to understanding your supporter base is data. Data allows charities to monitor the evolving behaviours of their existing supporters and understand the factors that might be influencing them. Analysing data can help charities spot the issues, diagnose the problem, and take action to change better meet their supporters’ needs.

 

But charities must ensure that the data belonging to their donors and beneficiaries alike is kept secure and accurate, if it is to provide them with crucial insights that will influence their decision-making.

 

Investing in the right technology can make all the difference for charities. Research has shown that digitally mature charities – those that use digital technology effectively – are four times more likely to exceed their mission goals and twice as likely to exceed their goals. The right tech can improve a charity’s ability to make decisions at speed, improve their security, and ultimately provide a much better experience overall, for all audiences including donors.

 

Identity and security software providers Okta points to one significant piece of technology that can help organisations achieve those aims: Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM). Okta says CIAM is best described “as a digital identity layer” that organisations can embed into their websites and apps to “verify who their customers are and manage what they have access to”.

 

CIAM technology allows users to sign in and manage their accounts easily, providing a seamless digital experience that builds trust and positivity between charities and their supporters. It also prevents fraud and data theft by authenticating users when they log in and ensuring that users have access only to the tools and services they need.

 

Below, we explore more benefits of CIAM technology and how charities can leverage it to improve their understanding of their audiences.

 

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What is CIAM for charities?

 

According to Okta, effective CIAM technology has three main capabilities: authentication, authorisation, and user management.

 

Authentication determines whether the people logging into their accounts are who they say they are. Authorisation ensures they only have access to the relevant apps, services, and tools they need. User management “simplifies customer identity management across complex IT environments”, making it easy for people to log in once and access everything they need without unnecessary steps. It encompasses elements like Single Sign-On (SSO), which allows users to sign in to multiple systems securely using only one set of credentials.

 

Through its Okta for Good program, Okta offers eligible nonprofits a discount on a range of CIAM technology – from SSO to personalisation tools – helping charities boost their impact with digital. Okta has already empowered many charities to transform how they work with technology, including environmental charity Species360 and poverty-alleviation INGO Oxfam. Learn more about Okta’s nonprofit offerings by clicking below.

 

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Why do charities need CIAM technology?

 

The virtue of convenience

 

Charities must discover how to engage the people who would most likely support them or risk the inability to continue delivering their services. But tailoring the user experience to different audiences, and meeting their preferences, behaviours, and needs, can be complex, requiring time and resource that charities do not often have to spare. CIAM technology can make their online experience more seamless from the moment they sign in to your system.

 

CIAM technology ensures all online experiences, across multiple channels, are smooth, personalised, and simple. It reduces login or sign-up friction – described by Okta as “anything that slows down a person’s interaction with your service” – by using one set of credentials to provide access to multiple services. It streamlines user authentication, making it easier to provide unique, personalised experiences and ensuring that everyone has access to exactly the services they are looking for.

 

Okta points out that “Nothing drives customers away faster than a slow and frustrating log-in or sign-up experience.” The same sentiment applies to charity supporters. The more convenient it is for them to use your services and interact with you, the more likely they are to support you (and do so again in the future). 

 

 

The need to prioritise accessibility

 

CIAM technology supports online accessibility. A degree of friction is necessary for the online sign-in process – for cyber security purposes, for example – but charities should work hard to remove all unnecessary barriers.

 

Removing unnecessary barriers can help people with disabilities. “Consider disabilities like vision or cognitive impairment, or limited motor function, and imagine trying to navigate a cumbersome authentication flow that requires the user to remember and then enter a long, complex password,” advises Okta.

 

 

The joy of personalisation

 

CIAMs store important customer data, including demographic details, payment information, and order histories. And many support “progressive profiling” – which is a way of asking for data when necessary and in stages, rather than gathering unnecessary data at the time of registration. CIAM tools, for example, may only ask for a username and password at first, then ask for credit card details only after the user agrees to make a purchase. CIAMs often connect with internal systems, such as CRMs, to create a fuller picture of customer data.

 

Effective data management allows charities to tailor their communications and engage with individual preferences, which improves donor retention and satisfaction. That’s a huge advantage. In the modern world, customers reserve loyalty and trust for the organisations that know them. So, by unifying data across your digital ecosystems in a centralised location, CIAMs allow you to gather valuable insights and gain a deeper understanding of your customers.

 

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