This 2023 Giving season, credit unions around the country are committing to double donations!

From Giving Tuesday to the end of the year, credit unions will be matching donations made to nonprofit organizations.

Make sure your nonprofit is ready! Enroll in NetGiver

As a credit union employee, it's important to stay up to date on donation trends within your membership base. Understanding these trends can help you better connect with your members and create effective fundraising strategies. In this blog post, we'll explore some of the current donation trends and provide some tips on how to discover new trends.

Nonprofits typically start planning for giving season months in advance to ensure they have everything they need to make the most of this critical fundraising period. Although it's only May, it is the perfect time to begin preparing for the giving season.

Recurring donations are an increasingly popular way to support causes or organizations that you care about. Unlike one-time donations, which provide a one-time lump sum of money, recurring donations allow donors to give a set amount on a regular basis. These donations can recur weekly, monthly, biannually, or any other regular pattern. There are a number of benefits, to both donors and nonprofit organizations, to using recurring donations to support your favorite causes.

As you know, a credit union's mission to serve its members and the community includes giving back to the community. Our give-backs can take many different forms. Some examples of community give-backs that we engage in include:

Much has been said about “the next generation” with each generation before having reservations about the generation to come. Stereotypes abound, with Baby Boomers rolling their eyes at Millennial’s entitlement while Millennials whisper about the Boomers struggle with technology behind their back. There is some truth to the stereotypes based on each generation’s experience with world events, economic trends, and cultural norms. Specifically, each generations views towards philanthropy are greatly affected by their experiences. Millennials and Generation Z are changing the way they approach giving and generosity. They are motivated to give based on impact and results. They want to see the numbers. They want to hear the impact.

A 2022 poll by CUNA found that credit union clients viewed their credit unions more favorably than nonmembers view their banks and/or other financial service providers. The differences appear to stem from the credit unions’ more consultative approach, more consumer-friendly pricing, thoughtful products and services, and the overall sense of trust these institutions foster. Customers — especially younger consumers — seek relationships with organizations that have an obvious commitment to themselves and their broader community. These values as expressed in corporate mission statements and in daily operations and personal interactions. Your customers trust credit unions to build partnerships in their community and support local nonprofits.

Values. What does that mean? Well, philosophically, it can mean character, principles or beliefs. You can ask someone, “What do you value?” Trust. Honesty. Fairness. Family. There are many ways people answer that question.

Just a few short weeks ago, we were reveling in holiday cheer and enjoying the Giving Season. We hope you had a safe and successful end-of-year fundraising drive and met your goals for 2022. Now, we’re in tax season and we have good news for nonprofits.

Credit union leaders care about the financial wellness of their members. As their chosen financial partner, you play a role in what is important to them. Tax season can be stressful for your members. Taxes seem complicated and taxpayers tend to avoid anything that will overcomplicate their tax filing process. Encouraging members to claim their charitable contributions on tax deductions can greatly benefit them and your community.

Minneapolis, Minn. (Jan  2, 2023) – Continuing its long-standing commitment in support of giving back to the community and nonprofits, the Cooperative Credit Union Association (CCUA) is partnering with NetGiver, the Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) dedicated to member growth and engagement through no-fee donations for credit union members. 

We know most nonprofits start in the September/October time frame, so hopefully you’re already seeing donations come in. Why is this timing so important? According to research, nearly a third of charitable giving occurs in December, with about 12 percent of that in the last three days of the year! It’s so significant, it’s called, “Giving Season”. But you know that! About two-thirds of people are giving throughout the year but the numbers still skew heavily to the fourth quarter. Some sources say nearly half of a nonprofit’s funds are generated by year-end giving campaigns. Maybe we’ll have a blog next spring to help you draw some of those funds into your organization earlier in the year!

Tax season tends to bring up endless nightmares of excel spreadsheets, boxes of receipts and obscure numbers and letters on tax forms. For those that do their taxes online, the confusion of navigating platforms and having to pull together all of the right information is headache enough.

Credit union leaders – you know your members are givers, and you see how organizations benefit from the generosity of people in your communities. Because you know your members, they know you care about their financial wellness on a personal level. If a member is in financial straits or enduring a tough time, credit unions offer programs to help if they miss a payment commitment. Itʼs personal.

Giving Day 2022 is November 29th this year and many generous credit union members will give to their favorite nonprofits like they do every year. This is a time to build on current and add new relationships – moments of caring and generosity – in our community. We know that the average age of a credit union member is 53 years, which encompasses some older Generation X and some younger Baby Boomers. But, did you know that Millennials (born between 1981 and 2000) are the largest living demographic cohort in the United States?

It’s Giving Season! You know, that time of year when we think about holidays when we get presents! Pumpkin Spice Lattés have been flowing for a while and the neighbors’ houses are glowing with holiday lights and decorations. Soon the Salvation Army Red Buckets will start to appear outside our favorite stores and piles of letters will appear in the mailbox representing the annual appeal to our generous genes for a donation. These remind us of the flip side of the gift coin.

We know most nonprofits start in the September/October time frame, so hopefully you’re already seeing donations come in. Why is this timing so important? According to research, nearly a third of charitable giving occurs in December, with about 12 percent of that in the last three days of the year! It’s so significant, it’s called, “Giving Season”. But you know that! About two-thirds of people are giving throughout the year but the numbers still skew heavily to the fourth quarter. Some sources say nearly half of a nonprofit’s funds are generated by year-end giving campaigns. Maybe we’ll have a blog next spring to help you draw some of those funds into your organization earlier in the year!

Giving season is here! You’ve probably heard about Giving Day – the Tuesday after Thanksgiving – which is a day designated for people to donate to their favorite charities. This year it falls on November 29th and it has become easier than ever to give (more about that later).

Did you know that on a single day in 2020, people donated $380 Million to their favorite charities? Think about what was going on then – on Giving Day December 1, 2020 – do we have to remind you? Well, a Chinese robot landed on the moon. Spotify announced its most-streamed artist was Bad Bunny. And there was no COVID-19 vaccine yet. Oh, that’s right, there was a lot going on then.

Giving Day 2022 is November 29th this year and many generous credit union members will give to their favorite nonprofits like they do every year. This is a time to build on current and add new relationships – moments of caring and generosity – in our community. We know that the average age of a credit union member is 53 years, which encompasses some older Generation X and some younger Baby Boomers. But, did you know that Millennials (born between 1981 and 2000) are the largest living demographic cohort in the United States?

Donate for a Chance to Win

NetGiver, Treasure Island Resort & Casino(MN), and Today’s Variety radio station KS95 (MN), are supporting rock band 3 Doors Down’s The Better Life Foundation in a nationwide giving initiative with sweepstakes.

Donations are the lifeblood of financial sustainability for many nonprofit organizations. For nonprofits that rely heavily on the generosity of individual donors, it can be difficult to plan future initiatives without knowing there is a steady source of funding. Engaged donors that give regularly are incredibly valuable to help nonprofits sustain programs and execute financial planning for the future. Donor engagement involves all programs and actions you take to make sure your donors are involved, thanked for their contributions, and strategically asked for donations in the future. Strategic donor engagement programs have demonstrable benefits that go far beyond traditional donations.