• More virtual events and online engagement opportunities

At the beginning of the lockdown, many organizations did not know how to conduct their operations and meetings. For nonprofits, in-person volunteer and fundraising experiences became a nightmare. However, with a few available software platforms, the in-person walks and runs were converted into at-home events coordinated through social media toolkits. Conferences, award ceremonies, and galas became live-stream events with giving pages being set up.

Now that online events have proven effective, 2021 will see improvements geared towards making the events interactive, personal, and appealing to donors. You might soon see nonprofits taking advantage of donors’ passion for fundraising by hosting virtual activities such as rock climbing, games, and others.

• Remote collaboration and video conferencing

These two go together, and the pandemic might have just shown how they are indispensable. We have seen video conferencing for some time now. But the remote collaboration is something new that is just getting started. Thanks to platforms like Zoom and Google Docs, remote work was the biggest winner during the pandemic that has shown that remote meetings and teamwork are achievable. Working remotely will become a consistent reality in 2021 for most volunteers and employees. Many nonprofits will look for ways to add flexibility to their operation by offering remote work options where possible.

• The rise and rise of video marketing and fundraising

Video marketing has for some time now emerged as a favorite marketing approach for many organizations. In 2021, video marketing is expected to be 82% of all online traffic. This means that many nonprofits will reach their donors through video marketing campaigns. As this tool becomes increasingly famous, nonprofits will look into ways to add video content to their marketing efforts.  This marketing approach will not replace other channels but will complement them.  

• Charity meets big data and analytics

Big data has become a major talking point for many organizations, not just nonprofits. With the pandemic now affecting many areas, charities now have a tough time reaching donors or accessing them for conversations, or convincing them to support a particular cause. These conversations have been moved to platforms such as emails and social media platforms. With managed data analytics tools such as Tableau and Techsoup, nonprofits can analyze their donors and tailor their massaging to fit each group.

As nonprofits move online due to the pandemic, 2021 might see many big data analytics initiatives. Nonprofits will leverage big data to learn and ask questions and even design their messaging. They will not be left behind in taking advantage of the latest technology in charity works. With the nonprofit climate changing faster than it was a year ago, nonprofits will have to adopt new working methods, which entails immediately accessing current data and in-app reporting to speed decision-making. With visualizations and accurate, timely data, nonprofit professionals will no longer have to go through massive amounts of data to determine the trends.