Research undertaken by Barclaycard found that charities lose out on an astonishing £80million a year in public donations as fewer people carry cash. In response, contactless giving has been identified as a solution.
Contactless is a quick and easy way to make purchases of £30 and under and all it requires is a simple tap. Thus, the possibilities that contactless payment technology can bring to public donations in the non-profit sector is an innovative avenue that charities are keen to explore.
It is reported that the Natural History Museum has experienced a 64% rise in public donation income as a result of implementing contactless giving.
Whilst street fundraising remains a popular income stream for charities. It is clear that charities and arts organisations should expect vast changes in the ways in which the public give.
The following examples explore innovative solutions that charities have deployed to tackle dwindling donations through contactless giving:
Giving Traditional Donation Boxes a Digital Revamp
Replicating the simplicity of the traditional donation box, companies such as GoodBox – one of the leading providers for contactless solutions, use the simple call to action Tap to Give on its products. Numerous popular Museums and Galleries including the National History Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and the Museum of London have realised the potential of this new method of giving and have deployed such contactless donation points across their exhibitions.
It is important that these donation points offer existing visitors a sense of familiarity, hence, contactless donation boxes are often positioned in similar areas to the traditional boxes or even directly beside them.
The Natural History Museum launched its contactless donation units back in 2017 working with GoodBox and the results have been astounding. At first, contactless donations formed 22% of the Museums’ total donations, later, the addition of extra units asking for £20 saw the Museum’s donations boost by 39%. Overall, it is reported that the Natural History Museum has experienced a 64% rise in public donation income as a result of implementing contactless giving.
It’s All About the User Experience
Museums are also thinking creatively about the experience that visitors have when donating via contactless. For example, the National Trust for Scotland has embedded contactless giving into two of its attractions – the Robert Burns bust and a 1766 painting of Colonel William Gordon. Working in partnership with Bank of Scotland and VISA, the charity produced replicas of the bust and painting which act as contactless donation points accepting £2 from visitors with a simple tap. This new way of giving is particularly significant at a time when cash donations are declining and also offers an exciting new way to engage with history.
Simon Skinner, Chief Executive of the National Trust for Scotland, states that this initiative could not come at a more crucial time and will enable us to accept contactless donations at our sites for the first time.
Ensuring Relevance to the Context Whilst contactless donation points provide the public with a quick and simple way to give, charities must also ensure that they frame the ask in a contextually relevant manner. Decisions such as the messaging or how much to ask for can make all the difference to boosting donations. Charities really need to think about particular target audiences when designing campaigns. For example, the Sue Ryder Nettlebed hospice asks visitors to donate £16 – the price of one hour of care. Now this ask may initially seem very high, yet the campaign has been carefully designed according to a very specific audience. Speaking about the initiative, Hollie Spiers, Director of Fundraising and Hospices at Sue Ryder, said the static device lets people donate £16 which might seem high, but it’s a tangible ask in a setting where people know who we are and about the care we provide. Ultimately, the size of the ask was based on an awareness of the specific audience – rather than targeting passers-by on the street, the hospice aims to appeal to those that are already familiar and invested in the organisation.
The success of this campaign is evident as contactless donation points are now embedded in Sue Ryder Nettlebed hospices around the country.
Top tips
Contactless giving has been identified as a major solution to declines in cash donations – yet it is important to note that there are many intricacies to manoeuvre when designing such campaigns. Alongside the deployment of such technologies, arts organisations have a responsibility to really think creatively when targeting audiences and donor engagement during the donation process.
Overall, fundraising campaigns need to be powerful, stimulating, emotional and engaging for donors. Organisations need to ensure that their campaigns continue to keep audiences invested in the cause by offering contactless giving methods in creative, interactive and relevant ways.
- Don’t be afraid to keep it simple: Make sure that traditional donors still have the opportunity to give in a way that is familiar to them. For example, visitors may still expect to see donation points in entrances and exits and at an initial stage, it may be useful to offer contactless giving directly alongside traditional cash donation boxes in these locations. Alongside this, the messaging should be clear and simple.
- Choose an ask that is relevant and tangible: think creatively about the ask, linking it directly to a specific outcome. This could be the price to support one child to attend a workshop day, the cost to preserve or acquire a specific artefact or object or maintain a specific room, or a request for visitors to match their spend in the café with a donation to the core costs of the organisation.
- Innovative approaches should be focused on interaction and experience: where an organisation might want to explore a more innovative approach, the focus should be on creating an interactive experience that is suited to their audience. This could include embedding Tap to Donate opportunities directly within certain artefacts and exhibitions. Alternatively, look at developing an interactive video display that is linked to an organisation’s key messaging. The focus here will be to show what the impact of the donation will be. Some examples of this might be a video that depicts the capital transformation of the organisation itself or a video that shows the narrative experience of the wonder that a child experiences when participating in new activities.
