AFP ICON Recap - JustGiving

Stephanie Howell

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity of attending the AFP ICON conference in Las Vegas, Nevada on behalf of Blackbaud and JustGiving. In addition to having the pleasure to meet with many of you, I also had the privilege of attending a number of sessions to continue to hone my skills and knowledge as a JustGiving Fundraising Advisor. While there was a wide range of topics that were discussed, I had a few key takeaways from the conference and wanted to share them with you here.A few weeks ago I had the opportunity of attending the AFP ICON conference in Las Vegas, Nevada on behalf of Blackbaud and JustGiving. In addition to having the pleasure to meet with many of you, I also had the privilege of attending a number of sessions to continue to hone my skills and knowledge as a JustGiving Fundraising Advisor. While there was a wide range of topics that were discussed, I had a few key takeaways from the conference and wanted to share them with you here.


It felt great to be back in person
I was thrilled to back with customers in person. Being able to meet people face to face is always better, and I was excited to also get to show new customers the functionality of JustGiving. The networking at these conferences always make it enjoyable to attend.



Recurring and recapture strategies are key.
I attended a session focused on fundraising statistics that highlighted two recent trends

• 1.8% increase in the overall total amount donated by individuals in 2021
• 5.9% decrease in the number of donors

In other words, we are leaning on a smaller group of people for the same, or increased revenue. We had a room-wide debate over the fact that everyone loves large and major gifts, but the decrease in the number of donors is concerning.

One way to combat this is monthly giving. Almost every session I attended spoke to the importance of monthly giving, and how having these recurring donors grows their brand and organization donor loyalty. With JustGiving’s new Giving Check Out offer, organizations processing donations through the Blackbaud Giving Fund can leverage one time or recurring gift options and enjoy 100% of every donation, every time.
Another way to combat the decrease in the number of donors is to create a “recapture” strategy. This ensures that you have an avenue to bring back even the smaller dollar donors from your annual campaigns. Utilizing JustGiving as a way to engage prior donors can help you strengthen your recapture program enabling them donors to fundraise for you based on their life events, personal passions, and lifestyles. Need some creative ideas to get started? Here are a few of my faves.

Digital fundraising is not a trend, it’s a way of life
Digital fundraising is here to stay, however, you cannot make a digital strategy and continue it without revision year over year.
This is all about meeting your donors where they are at. 85% of organizations do not have mobile wallets on any of their donation pages or platforms, and 36% of organizations have zero mobile-friendly options. This is a large miss as we know every year more and more donations are made on mobile devices. According to the Blackbaud Institute, online donations made on a mobile device has grown steadily since 2014 from 9% to 28% in 2021.

Organizations using JustGiving always have a mobile optimized check out experience. And, if you choose to process donations through Blackbaud Giving Fund option, you can utilize multiple mobile wallets including Apple Pay and Google Pay, as well as Paypal and Venmo. Here at JustGiving we also carry out extensive testing to ensure the donor experience is smooth and straightforward, all while providing your organization with the security and reliability you require and the data you need for sound decision making.

Mostly, though being at the AFP reminded me of how much I love working with organizations to navigate the always evolving fundraising space. If I didn’t get a chance to meet you at AFP, do reach out to me here on the community or connect with me on LinkedIn.
Is any of this information surprising to you? We would love to hear from you if you attended and what your major takeaways were! If you didn’t get a chance to attend, check out the sessions list and tell us what sounds most interesting to you!