Charities have been urged to focus on supporter engagement after research found that almost half of first-time donors do not make a second donation amid a broader decline in charitable donations.
Published yesterday by digital agency manifesto, the report draws on research with 2,000 supporters and 300 charity professionals in August and September.
It found that overwhelming supporters with messages had put one-time only donors off, with 61% of respondents saying they disengaged because charities “ask too often or too forcefully”.
Meanwhile, 40% of respondents cited “too many messages and emails”, with the report finding charities sent an average of 62 email messages per subscriber in 2024, a 9% increase over the prior year.
A lack of information over a charity’s impact was given as another reason, with 31% of respondents saying that they disengage if they do not they do not know how their donation is used.
The report also found an “erosion of trust and values” as an issue, with 51% of respondents saying that they would stop engaging with a charity if they lost trust in its reputation, while 35% would disengage if the charity's values no longer aligned with their own.
‘Operational hurdles’
Some 94% of charity professionals surveyed said that they were ready to improve engagement but the report found that “internal operational hurdles” were preventing effective change, with 42% of respondents feeling “very ready” with the necessary resources and strategy.
The report also identified three internal “gaps” preventing effective supporter experiences, including a lack of technology and data, decision-making that fails to recognise supporter needs, and siloed teams producing fragmented experiences for donors.
Reacting to the report’s findings, Louise Lai, chief client and transformation officer at manifesto, said: “Engagement is fragile; hard to build and easy to break.
“But closing the gap between what supporters need and the experiences we deliver is a truly impactful opportunity for the sector to overcome today's turbulent challenges.
“We do this by first closing the internal gaps within our organisations, which allows us to build meaningful, authentic connections with supporters.
“Our report is a letter of hope to the charitable sector, outlining practical, actionable steps to turn first-time givers into lifelong advocates.”
Meanwhile, separate research recently published by agency About Loyalty concluded that “giving is emotional” for many supporters, and that commitment, satisfaction and trust are the most critical criteria for donors continuing to donate.
