In Poland, the Empowering Children Foundation has operated Helpline for Children and Youth in Poland for 15 years, with specialists answering over 50,000 calls a year from children in need of help. Providing this professional assistance however requires several million Polish zlotys annually (with 1 million zlotys equal to around 235,000 euros).

Bold decisions in difficult times

During the initial years of operation, around 50-60% of the helpline’s budget was financed by the Polish government. Later, this support decreased to just 5%, and then in January 2022, the PiS government unexpectedly decided to withdraw its support altogether, creating a crisis situation for the helpline staff. In response, the organization decided to appeal to the Prime Minister through a petition published on its webpage, requesting an explanation for the withdrawal of its support. It was a risky decision, with such a public confrontation running the risk of all government funding being suspended. Nevertheless, the critical situation forced the organization to take action, and it published the appeal the day after the news broke.

The petition

Widespread response thanks to Instagrammers

Widely covered in mainstream media – radio and television – the petition gained significant interest. But it was after popular influencers became involved, including bloggers from Make Life Harder, a profile followed by 1.5 million people on Instagram, that things really took off. After they published a post, a massive movement began, and a wave of signatures followed, topping 100,000 within a few days. A fundraising campaign was also launched on one of the crowdfunding platforms, zrzutka.pl, by an entrepreneur associated with Make Life Harder. People immediately started donating. The organizer himself said that the result exceeded his wildest expectations: “I sat and refreshed the page time after time, watching the amount grow each time. It was incredibly beautiful!”

The crowdfunder

Ultimately, the equivalent of over 470,000 euros were raised, with more than 40,000 people donating to support the helpline. This alone was a great success, but it wasn’t the end.

Telemarketing as a continuation of the campaign

Out of the 100,000 people who signed the petition, over 40,000 left their contact information in the form of a phone number – an optional feature in the petition signing form. Within a few days, the Foundation launched a massive telemarketing campaign. A call centre, experienced in fundraising campaigns and already working with the Foundation, undertook its execution, making it possible to start the campaign quickly.

The telemarketing team consisted of 8 people, all trained in knowledge about the helpline, the Foundation’s operations, and with the latest statement from the board regarding the appeal to the Prime Minister. They contacted people who had signed the petition, asking them to consider providing regular monthly support to the Foundation by setting up a direct debit for a fixed amount. Almost 2,000 people (5% of the entire database) agreed to this form of support.

Donors were asked to contribute a minimum of 8 euros per month, ultimately generating income of around 16,000 euros for the organization, or over 190,000 euros annually. Together with the funds raised from the campaign, this amounted to 660,000 euros. It was enough to enable the helpline to safely continue its operations. Additionally, the communication cycle about the Foundation’s actions resulted in further donations to other Foundation appeals. Some of those contacted also participated in a campaign asking people to allocate 1.5% of their taxes to the organization – one of the options available in Poland and the Czech Republic as part of annual tax settlement arrangements.

Factors for success

Building the organization’s image and social capital

As well as providing financial resources, the petition contributed to building a large base of people supporting the Foundation, increasing its recognition among various recipient groups it had not reached before, and establishing itself as an expert authority in helping children at risk of violence. All of this was possible thanks to the organization’s experience gained through previous actions on a much smaller scale. The situation necessitated an immediate response, and in these circumstances, it would have been impossible to build the mechanisms for petition signing or find subcontractors for telemarketing campaigns without prior experience.

Professional database

A significant role was played by a professional CRM solution (Salesforce) integrated with the petition signing form, and the call centre had a developed process for sharing and updating data. The fundraising team had real-time access to current reports and campaign progress. The system was also configured to automatically register anyone who signed the petition and send them an email thanking them and proposing regular support.

Involvement of the PR team

The preparedness of the communication team was also crucial; they swiftly prepared a crisis statement, maintained ongoing contact with the media, and handled all enquiries. Those prepared for media appearances were the chairperson of the board and the coordinator of the helpline. If communication had not been handled so efficiently, the organization might have faced not only a financial crisis but also a reputational one.

5 key principles of crisis response campaigns

1. A previously tried and tested call to action, for example: sign a petition, make a donation or send an SMS, with a direct and easy to understand message. During such campaigns, everything happens so quickly that there is no time for learning on the go or for a comprehensive response to errors.
2. A prepared statement on the organization’s official position and fully briefed employees whose role it is to speak to the media – all media contacts should be directed to these individuals. One unprofessional or unguarded statement can have a very negative and lasting impact on your organization’s image.
3. A readiness to capitalise on the response, from supporters and donors, as well as influential individuals with large audiences. In times of frustration, people want to feel that they can do something. This is energy and motivation that must be utilized.
4. An awareness that crisis response mobilizes the entire team, and may require more commitment than the anticipated work time. It is important for employees and volunteers to feel appreciated and have clear information about both expected involvement (“Be prepared for media/donor contacts, even on weekends”) and compensation for overtime.
5. Ability to leverage the image potential and social engagement built during the crisis. Follow-ups, updates on the current situation, or information about campaign progress are invaluable and can generate greater revenue than the campaign itself. For Empowering Children Foundation, the readiness of the team, both in terms of tools and operations, enabled the swift and effective implementation of the campaign, ultimately saving the helpline.

Being prepared to respond to a crisis is a significant challenge and a test of an organization’s and team’s performance – but it can yield spectacular results.

Magda Sadłowska

About Magda Sadłowska

Magda Sadłowska is a fundraiser and manager with 20 years of experience. As a board member, she was responsible for building financial security as well as PR and communication at the Empowering Children Foundation; previously, she managed the fundraising team at Amnesty International. She trains and supports NGOs in creating communication and fundraising strategies and plans. Together with Enxoo sp. zoo, she creates dedicated NGO solutions for digitalization and automation of activities.

Main picture by Cheryl Holt on Pixabay

The paper is co-signed by the EU AML NPO Coalition, which comprises Philea (Philanthropy Europe Association), Civil Society Europe, the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law, and Human Security Collective, as well as EFA.

With the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Regulation currently under negotiation, the EU AML NPO Coalition members have submitted the paper because they consider the risk of abuse to be low for public benefit purposes crowdfunding platforms and crowdfunding service providers established by nonprofit legal entities. This assessment is based on available official reports and other evidence.

Instead of including public benefit crowdfunding platforms and service providers under the category of obliged entities, they argue that whether or not to exempt providers of these crowdfunding platforms could be left to the discretion of Member States. This, the paper states, would be appropriate “because of the proven low risk posed by the nature and, where appropriate, the scale of operations of such entities.”

The coalition sets out four key arguments in detail for excluding public benefit crowdfunding platforms and providers, which are:

1. The evidence of the (low) risk of misuse for terrorism-financing for charity / public benefit-based crowdfunding;
2. The lack of a definition of crowdfunding service and crowdfunding service provider(s) in the Commission proposal;
3. The need to consider already existing regulation and take fundamental rights into account; and
4. The impact of considering public benefit crowdfunding service providers as obliged entities.

Moreover, they add:

“We consider that the exclusion of these entities from the list of obliged entities – and, therefore from the additional burdensome requirements required for obliged entities – would reflect the different role of public benefit purpose crowdfunding established by NPOs as legal entities, also achieving the positive effect of helping NPOs establish or increase donations.”

The paper will also be sent to other EU institutions involved in the negotiations in the coming days.

Picture by Florian Pircher from Pixabay

Overall, the crowdfunding sector in Italy has grown by 75% in the last year, raising over €399 million in total in 2020, while in France it raised over €1 billion for the first time. While all categories of crowdfunding are growing in France, with online fundraising skyrocketing during the pandemic, donations saw particularly high growth in the country, having sat at around €80 million annually since 2017.

The figures come from Mazars and Financement Participatif France’s Alternative Financing Barometer. Published for the second consecutive year, it reveals that €1.02 billion was raised overall in 2020, split between the categories of donations, loans, and investments. This is 62% more than 2019’s €629m, and equates to a growth of more than 600% since 2015.

In the donations category, while up until last year campaigns that offered rewards for giving were the most successful, in 2020 this switched and those without rewards saw the greatest increase. The French gave €146m to these campaigns, and €72.5m to those incentivised with a reward. For the non-incentivised campaigns, this is a growth of 550%.

In comparison, loans, which takes the biggest share of crowdfunding, accounted for €741m in 2020, a growth of 45%, with investments, which raised €59m, growing by nearly 43% compared to 2019.

The pandemic saw the social sector raise the most in donations, with and without rewards, reaching €82m last year compared to €21m in 2019. The cultural sector also saw strong growth. It collected €32m in donations in 2019 rising to more than €71m in 2020. However, the economic sector also performed well, raising more than €65m in 2020 compared to nearly €26m in 2019, which the report suggests was probably driven by support campaigns for traders and businesses affected by the restrictions on opening during the pandemic or the economic crisis.

In terms of who gives to crowdfunding campaigns, donors to campaigns offering a reward were, on average, 40 years old, while those donating without this incentive were a little older, at an average of 46 years. The average contribution also rose in 2020, at €249 for the donation without reward category (versus €93 in 2019), and €76 for the donation with reward category (versus €58 in 2019).

Crowdfunding in Italy

In Italy, the Crowdfunding in Italy Report 2020 from Starteed also splits crowdfunding into three types: donation & reward, equity, and lending. Out of last year’s €399m total, crowdfunding in the donation and reward category accounted for €31 million, which is equal to one third of all funds raised in this category between 2015-2019. It’s also an increase of 38% compared to 2019.

The figures in the report are based on the best performing Italian platforms. Overall, the top five for crowdfunding performance in 2020 were Forfunding, Rete del Dono, Kendoo, Produzioni dal Basso, and Eppela. Specifically in the donation and reward category, Forfunding saw the most raised in 2020, at almost €9.8m, while Rete del Dono raised just over €4m, and Kendoo, Produzioni dal Basso and Eppela each raised around €3.5m.

While some of 2020’s growth came in response to the pandemic, the report points out that other campaigns also did well:

“It’s important to emphasise that growth in 2020 linked to the pandemic hasn’t stopped other campaigns from reaching interesting results.”

Overall, since Starteed’s first report in 2015, crowdfunding in Italy has raised more than €778 million.

Photo by Mica Asato from Pexels

Never before have charities in so many nations had to collectively abort their fundraising strategies and return to the drawing board to identify new ways to reach supporters and new messaging to be conveyed to the public.

During the global health crisis, face-to-face fundraising markets and mass fundraising events have been closed down, the ability to fundraise by mail and more is heavily limited. Unsurprisingly perhaps as the public’s use of the internet soars, charities are increasingly turning to digital channels to communicate with supporters and beneficiaries, offering their expertise and assistance, and to appeal for funds.

Facebook has announced record usage by consumers globally, particularly in nations where the coronavirus has hit hard, and the GlobalWebIndex reports that 45% of consumers globally are devoting more time on social media and messaging apps.

How have fundraisers changed their strategy to make best use of digital channels during lockdown and what does this mean for the future?

Digitising nuns and a monastery

Michele Messina, Santa Rita da Cascia Foundation

Michele Messina, digital fundraiser at Santa Rita da Cascia Foundation (Italy)

Being a digital fundraiser for a cloistered nun monastery usually means that we get to take each digital innovation one step at a time, but not now. We’d been working on a two-year plan to graduate slowly to digital channels. The emergence of the virus has sped up our processes exponentially, leading the monastery and the nuns to digitise quickly.

When the coronavirus took hold, there was a great desire amongst the nuns to reach out and communicate with pilgrims, those who were unable to go to the basilica to pray.

So, we introduced Facebook and YouTube live shows. For the first time in centuries, our nuns can speak directly with religious devotees at home, sending them messages of love, hope and prayer.

Thanks to a simple landing page, which we made available in five languages, supporters could make a donation and download our pilgrim kit. This has enabled devotees to feel close to Saint Rita and supported in prayer by our nuns, while staying safe at home.

This relatively simple digital fundraising drive has had a huge response. Our pilgrim kit was downloaded over 2,000 times and our supporters have felt deeply connected with our work. What’s more, the nuns have been delighted to see how engaged and supportive the public are.

The virus has led us to transform our supporters’ physical connection to the monastery into a virtual one. This has been an unexpected opportunity to change and expand what we do, broadcasting valuable content and growing our supporter base.

Investing in digital ads, an online challenge event and more

Ayman Agabani, interim communications manager at Muslim Hands (UK)

Ayman Agabani, Muslim Hands

Speaking from a fundraising perspective, the pandemic has radically changed how we now operate. All of our outdoor advertising campaigns have been shelved until 2021, all events have been postponed, and our events team staff have been reallocated to the contact centre. 

But we’ve raised our investment in digital ad campaigns – particularly pay per click and social ads – and have increased our use of live streaming for information sharing and appeals. Facebook has been a really popular and effective channel for us. Essentially, we feel it’s time to become more aggressive with digital, increasing our spend, but we’re careful to spread a message of hope, not fear, to our supporters.

For team communication we’ve been trialling a variety of services, with Zoom being a clear favourite. The shift to work from home hasn’t bought too many issues, but saves time on the morning commute! To support our online fundraising, we’ve tested and are using tools such as online chat for our website and brand listening tools to monitor the effectiveness of our PR.

Inspired by some of the innovative challenges we’ve seen online, we’ve also set up an event that donors can carry out at home called ‘Step Up For Hope’.

We’ve also developed two new fundraising microsites: The Best 10 Nights, which allows supporters to split their donations over the last ten nights of Ramadan depending on how they want their money to be spent and by donation level. Great Charity Gifts will launch shortly as a new home for our range of charity gifts. 

Thankfully, our Ramadan campaign has been going really well. The Muslim community understand the power and importance of giving, and the pandemic and its economic implications haven’t stopped them from helping those less fortunate.

Once the pandemic has passed, I can see a shift in increase of remote working, plus a greater emphasis on online fundraising activity. This will make the space much more competitive, likely driving up costs but rewarding innovation.

Combining digital with telemarketing

Vincent Crehalet, director of individual giving at Action contre la Faim / Action for Hunger (France):

Vincent Crehalet, Action contre la Faim

As soon as the coronavirus became a serious threat in France, we changed our marketing plan. We thought the main affected programmes would be direct mail and face-to-face, which typically accounts for half of our donor acquisition, so digital and telemarketing seemed to be the most strategic channels for our fundraising. We invested in search engine advertising, display advertising and emails, appealing for one-off donations and aiming to generate leads for new regular donors.

We wanted to communicate transparently and with empathy. In our first email, we focused on taking care of our donors, including what they could do to protect themselves from catching the virus and highlighting the threat to our fundraising. Since then, we’ve sent one email per week about COVID-19 programmes in France and internationally. 

Recently, we tested a cold email appeal and that’s going well. We’ve also intensified our conversion leads telemarketing programme to attract new regular supporters, which has had some great results. Most of our leads have come from Facebook ads and Facebook petitions. Currently, the profitability of this approach is comparable with face-to-face regular donor acquisition and the volume of leads is becoming more and more sizable.

Online donations have risen considerably during this time. During April, we saw a 110% increase in one-off donations on our website compared with April 2019. We’ve also had many new regular donors signing up directly on the site.

This is not that surprising; we have seen digital fundraising work very well for emergency appeals in the past. What is new, from my point of view, is the rhythm of donations. Usually, during a massive and high-profile crisis, we see a spike of donations as soon as the information is relayed in the medias. But since the crisis hit France, we have seen a regular and continuous stream of donations. Donors seem to act with less impulsiveness and more consideration.

Record-breaking crowdfunding appeals

Andrzej Pietrucha, fundraising & marketing consultant at Fundacja Akademia Organizacji Obywatelskich / the Academy of Civic Organizations Foundation (Poland)

Andrzej Pietrucha, Fundacja Akademia Organizacji Obywatelskich

Fundraising in Poland still feels relatively new compared to the Western parts of Europe and we’re battling a lack of understanding around why donors should support those in need through charities, which also results in poor NGO brand recognition. People generally want to give directly to the cause or to buy something tangible like masks for use in hospitals and they don’t feel the need for institutions to be involved. So, crowdfunding platforms have become a popular way to give, particularly during the crisis.

Siepomaga Foundation, which runs the popular Siepomaga crowdfunding platform, raised almost €5.4 million to support Polish hospitals with the medical supplies in just a few weeks: an enormous amount for such a short, single campaign in Poland. Surprisingly, it is much more than any other traditional, embedded Polish charity has managed to raise over this time.

Emergency situations are often the catalyst for philanthropy. And there certainly seems to be a greater sense of community and civic responsibility now, with people responding generously and giving what they can. The challenge is that charities aren’t always clear how best to harness that. Public collection is usually the main form of donor recruitment, and that’s not an option now.

If we look at fundraising communications these days, in some cases it seems that fundraisers have ignored the coronavirus, sticking to their usual messaging, while others have stopped communicating altogether. But now we’re seeing more charities adjust and demonstrate the relevance of their work to the crisis.

Poland has been the only market in this part of Europe where the Facebook Donate button was used and social media platforms have become increasingly important. The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity – the cancer charity, Rak ‘n’ Roll and others are making great use of digital channels to reach new supporters and engage them with their work, delivering record-breaking campaigns. 

Most Polish organisations don’t yet implement planned, relationship-based individual fundraising on digital or other channels. Therefore, those who invest wisely in digital and plan now may benefit a lot in the future.

Growth in direct donor acquisition on digital

Dani González, founder & executive director of dgtl Fundraising (Spain)

Dani Gonzalez, dgtl fundraising

Probably the most noticeable change we’re seeing is in acquisition. Here in Spain, face-to-face is our most successful channel for acquisition and, because we’ve been in strict confinement and the face-to-face market has been closed during that period, charities have turned to digital and telemarketing to attract donors. Both seem to be working very well as there’s a strong sense of solidarity among the public – they want to donate, to collaborate and to help. And, generally speaking, we’re seeing that they have more time to talk and engage.

But it’s very difficult to make a full switch from traditional fundraising methods to digital in just a matter of weeks, so it tends to be those charities that have established a strong digital presence that are best able to mobilise their supporters in this way. 

Email marketing is being used more widely to drive acquisition for charities, cultivating supporter relationships and driving digital revenue. We’re also seeing more success from direct donor acquisition from Facebook. I suspect this is largely because there’s much less competition from advertising right now, so it seems a little easier to attract and convert supporters. Throughout the crisis, SMS has also remained a strong channel for charities in Spain, with organisations like UNICEF reaching out and then converting supporters through telemarketing.

When it comes to the future, I do think there will be more progress in digital, but I don’t think we’ll see a radical transformation overnight. Digital can’t compensate fully for the loss of revenue. Charities’ plans and budgets have been drastically affected and acquisition is more important than ever. We need a wide range of fundraising channels to appeal to all supporters, enabling them to give in the way that best suits them.

© UNICEF

Related articles: See EFA’s Coronavirus Hub and all articles tagged ‘Coronavirus’

The overall amount collected fell from €82.8 million in 2017 to €79.6 million in 2019.

However, donations given without a reward increased sharply. The barometer’s figures show that €53.5m of gifts in 2019 were incentivised with a reward, while €26.1m was given without any such incentive. In comparison, 2018 saw €13.5m donated without any reward given, and €68.1m given with an incentive.

Sector-wise, the cultural sector received the most donations via crowdfunding, at €32m in 2019. This was followed by the economic sector at €26m, and the social sector at €21m.

The barometer measures all crowdfunding activity, from donations, to loans, bonds, and investments, as well as other forms of alternative finance.

Overall it found, 2019 was a record year for crowdfunding in France with a 56% increase in the amount collected to €629m, mainly carried by loans and bonds, which saw a sharp increase from €195m in 2017 to €508m in 2019.

A Year in Giving reveals that a donation is made every second on GoFundMe worldwide and a new campaign started every eight seconds. Nearly 20% of fundraisers received donations from more than one country last year.

In total, over 120 million donations totalling $9 billion have been given since GoFundMe launched in 2014.

The report reveals insights into the most generous cities in each country, popular causes, and popular days for launching fundraising campaigns, as well as donating.

In Ireland for example, the most generous cities in terms of number of donations per capita are Galway, Dublin, and Limerick. Tuesday is the most popular day to start a campaign on GoFundMe, and Friday the most popular day to donate. Outside of emergencies, the fastest growing fundraising categories are Volunteer, Community, and Events.

In the Netherlands, the most generous cities are Leiden, Amsterdam, and Zaandam while the fastest growing fundraising categories are Faith, Competitions, and Community, with Wednesday the most popular day to start a campaign, and Monday most popular for donating.

The GoFundMe report also looks at the growing trends from 2019, which shows a spike in climate change-related crowdfunding campaigns, with an increase of 65% since last year. 

Rob Solomon, GoFundMe CEO said:

“When it comes to social fundraising, the distance, background, or relationship to those in need doesn’t matter—our donors and organisers span the globe and have different needs, concerns, and interests.

“But what they all have in common is the drive to care for others and take action. They are people who see something and do something. We are changing the way the world gives! Every day we see more people taking an active role in making a difference, and our community continues to grow. In fact, nearly 60% of donors were new this year.”

The 2019 Crowdfunding Monitor shows that overall, the market (including crowdinvesting, and crowdlending in the profit sector) grew by 38% in 2018: around CHF 517 million, with 37 platforms now active in Switzerland.

In comparison, there were 1,644 successful non-profit projects, which raised CHF 25.6 million. While there was a 7% growth in the number of campaigns, the amount raised fell by 12% year on year, from 2017’s figure of just under CHF 26 million. The average amount raised per campaign also fell – from CHF 19,100 in 2017 to CHF 16,000.

According to the Monitor, the decline was strongly influenced by the elimination of two major campaigns that raised CHF 5.6 million in the previous year. Even taking the loss of these two campaigns into account however, growth was below that of previous years.

Non-profit crowdfunding campaign success rates are greater in Switzerland than elsewhere however, with 68% of crowdfunding campaigns for non-profit organisations in Switzerland funded last year. This compares with around 56% for non-profit campaigns in Germany, and around 40% in the UK.

In the immediate aftermath of the fire, funds poured in with hundreds of campaigns set up on crowdfunding sites GoFundMe and JustGiving, as well as €500m from the three billionaire families that own France’s giant luxury goods empires: Kering, LVMH and L’Oreal. French energy company Total has also given €100m. French president Emmanuel Macron pledged that Notre Dame would be rebuilt within five years and that French people would pull together to repair their national symbol.

But many commentators argued that there were more pressing concerns than the restoration of a cathedral, such as devastation to the planet and destruction of species. France’s Gilet Jaune movement also criticised the fact that so much money had been donated to restore the landmark, when in comparison little was being done to address the needs of low paid workers in the country.

Yaële Aferiat, French Fundraisers Association

[Fundraising Europe] Why were philanthropists so quick to rally round to provide funding to rebuild Notre Dame?
[Yaële Aferiat] For French philanthropists, as for donors all over the world, we believe this fire was a ‘one of a kind’ catastrophe. It’s not another earthquake, flood or outbreak of disease. There is no déjà-vu, no donor fatigue.  It’s a cathedral. One that has been standing as a symbol of Paris, of France, of the ability of men to build great and lasting monuments, for 800 years. And here it was going down in flames live on TV, showing the world – in real time – some horrifically beautiful images, with a very strong symbolism: the cathedral; the image of good, of God, of heaven, being attacked by a fire; the image of evil and hell. When a catastrophe happens, a natural human response is to ask what can be done and, as is often the case, giving was the answer.

As President Emmanuel Macron said during the evening of the fire “we will rebuild it”. Seeing the drama, everyone watching knew it would be an incredibly expensive task for a colossal piece of heritage that you can’t put a value on. The gifts of philanthropists were as high as the task in sight and the emotion of that night, maybe with a little dose of ego, but certainly also with a sense of historical responsibility. After all, throughout the centuries, philanthropists have helped finance cathedrals.

Why did this attract so much criticism from the public?
There are a number of reasons. First, the speed and the importance of the philanthropic response – 600 millions euros in one night – is unheard of in France where philanthropists tend to be very discreet. People wondered: if they can do it for Notre Dame, why not end homelessness or another social need? They understood that philanthropists have the resources and ability to support urgent causes, but choose not to. After weeks and weeks of Yellow Vests movement and a national debate on inequality, it was not well received.

The Abbé Pierre Foundation, helping people in need find decent housing, was the first to tweet about this, saying: “well done to our philanthropist[s] for Notre Dame, but maybe you could give a fraction to help us?”

This opens the interesting but controversial topic of whether there is a hierarchy amongst causes. There is also the concern that these very large gifts can also make the average person feel a little irrelevant.  What will my 10 euros gift accomplish in comparison? Many questions were raised about the fiscal deductibility of those big gifts. After all philanthropists were getting the glory without paying the full price as gifts are supposedly deductible at 66% from your taxes. This led François Pinault and Bernard Arnault to publicly announce that they were not going to claim the deduction. This was a first in France.

Are we ready for major donor philanthropy in France ?
All those controversies show that we still struggle a bit with the way we welcome major donors in our country. Here, the catholic tradition of “Good doesn’t make noise, and noise doesn’t do any good” is still very strongly embedded in people’s beliefs. People who have money – enough to part with major gifts – are often greeted with suspicion. Have they earned it fair and square? Do they pay their taxes?

In that context, capital campaigns developed rather recently here and we still have to build a real philanthropic culture. Explaining more and better, to the media, to state representatives, to the general public, and maybe to some non profit organisations who are not trying to attract big gifts. This means bringing more philanthropists to explain who they are and why they are doing it. To show the impact of their philanthropic actions. The Notre Dame fire could really be a wake up call for our sector.

What does this tell us about what donors are looking for from their philanthropic choices? What can fundraisers learn from this?
Was donating to rebuild Notre Dame really a philanthropic choice? It cannot be compared to a well thought out direction for a specific foundation or social need. Maybe the real lesson here is that, in our era of live information and social networks, anything can become an emergency, raising crazy amounts of money in a few hours. This used to be the traditional field of humanitarian charities. They are prepared for it.

Of course, the Fondation du Patrimoine (french cultural heritage foundation), who raises funds for the conservation of old churches, fountains or bridges all around France, never saw this coming. Many campaigns – some honest and some fraudulent ones too – were launched anonymously on crowdfunding websites all around the world in the hour following the beginning of the fire. However, the foundation was not able to announce the launch of their official fundraising campaign until late that evening, saying it would open the following morning. Their website crashed for hours and they probably missed a lot of donations in that time. You cannot ask people who sit feeling helpless and watching a catastrophe unfold to delay their gift.

About Yaële Aferiat

Yaële is director of the French Fundraisers Association (AFF) and Global Leader of Giving Tuesday in France. She is dedicated towards development of the fundraising profession and inspiring a culture of philanthropy in France.

While FRII largely welcomes the proposal that legislation is needed to control crowdfunding donations, the association is concerned that current proposals – which require such platforms to be registered with the Financial Supervisory Authority – do not go far enough. Instead, it is calling for donation-based crowdfunding platforms to require a licence, as is the proposal for loans and shares-based financing platforms.

The government’s investigation into crowdfunding was launched in 2016 to improve conditions for developing it into a source of financing for companies as well as individuals, with it proposing that the new Act should come into force on 1 May 2019. FRII chose to contribute to the investigation and submitted its views to the Ministry of Finance last month.

It believes that, as the focus of the investigation has been on share-based and loan-based forms of crowdfunding, it lacks an overall perspective on donation-based platforms in general, and on platforms that manage gifts to nonprofit organisations in particular.

In its response, FRII recognises the potential of donation-based crowdfunding to help non-profit organisations establish or increase donations, and to encourage more people to donate. However, this requires guarantees of transparency and of how donations are managed and used. FRII underlines that platform providers must ensure money is securely transferred, showing when the money reaches the organisation, and how much of the amount is deducted in transaction costs. It also believes there should be a ceiling for the level of transaction costs.

According to the recent 2018 Global Trends in Giving Report, published this month by Nonprofit Tech for Good, across Europe 47% now donate to crowdfunding campaigns that benefit individuals. The top five causes are start-up costs for a social enterprise, medical expenses, volunteer expenses, education costs, and disaster relief.

Individuals are responsible for 60% of this total, according to the study, Panorama national des générosités, with donations mentioned in tax returns for 2015 amounting to €2.62 billion, up 70% since 2006. 5.7 million households declared donations in 2015, representing 15% of tax paying households.

According to Fondation de France, the increase is the result of both more households declaring donations, which has risen by 20%, and an increase in the average donation. This has risen 44% in the past decade from €320 to €460, the study says.

Corporate donations are also increasing, it found, with the estimated total expenditure for corporate philanthropy reaching an estimated €2.9 billion in 2015, of which €1.6 billion is declared expenditure and €1.3 billion is an estimate of undeclared expenditure.

In addition, a study of 300 beneficiary organisations estimates legacies amount to nearly one billion euros a year. Nearly 50% of legacies go to foundations, with the three most popular causes being medical research (23%), education (13%) and solidarity (13%).

The study also looked at methods of giving and shows that collections in public spaces or on private sites and big events such as telethons provide at least €47.5 million annually, while donations through crowdfunding have also increased significantly over the last three years in France, from €13.7 million in 2014 to €37.4 million in 2016.

Micro donations, such as the rounding up of cash or online purchases are still low in France, but growing, raising €1 million in 2015 and €1.6 million in 2016, according to figures quoted in the study from MicroDon.

2015 is the most recent year for which all the sources quoted in the report are currently available, including tax figures.

The full report can be downloaded from the Fondation de France site.