European NGOs’ technology take up revealed in new report

Almost all non-profit organisations in Europe now have a website but little over half accept donations through them, according to the 2019 Global NGO Technology Report.

Now in its fourth edition, the biannual report is sponsored by Funraise and produced by Nonprofit Tech for Good. It provides technology benchmarks for six regions: Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Latin American and the Caribbean, and the United States and Canada, and reveals how organisations worldwide are using web and email communications, online fundraising, social media, productivity software, and emerging technologies.

In 2019, 5,721 organisations from 160 countries took part, and the top five European countries participating in the study were Greece, Ireland, Spain, England, and France.

The report found that 95% of non-profit organisations in Europe now have a website, but that only 56% accept online donations through it. This is 8% below the global average. However, 26% have an online store, which is the highest rate worldwide. The majority accept credit card payments, at 84%, with just over half accepting Paypal and Direct Debit.  Digital wallet and cryptocurrency are accepted by a small minority.

Regular monthly giving is the most popular fundraising method across Europe, with 77% using it – above the global average of 68%. This is followed by tribute giving (when people give in honour or memory of a loved one) at 40%. Crowdfunding, and peer-to-peer fundraising are also popular, used by around a third.

Digital channels are popular, with a significant year on year increase in the percentage using email marketing. 80% now sent email updates to supporters and donors, up from 57% in 2018, while 49% also send email fundraising appeals. Europe is also the biggest user of text-to-give (23%), while 55% find the technology effective for fundraising. This is higher than in other regions, by 9%.

Social media use is also high with 95% of non-profits regularly employing it to engage supporters and donors. 92% use Facebook, with almost one third (32%) using its charitable giving tools. Twitter (68%) and Instagram (51%) are the next most popular channels, followed by LinkedIn (39%), YouTube (39%) and WhatsApp (11%).

In addition:

However, while 66% agree that social media is effective for online fundraising, only 27% have a system in place to track and report return on investment for these campaigns.

Half of non-profits across Europe increased their technology spend in 2019, with just 8% decreasing it. Understanding of emerging technologies such as AI, augmented reality, and blockchain technology varies, with 79% saying they understand AI very or somewhat well, compared to 66% for augmented reality, and 36% for blockchain.

The full report can be downloaded from the Funraise site.