30 min

Talking to donors during the Coronavirus crisis with Amber Nathan Why do people give?

    • Non-Profit

Today, I'm sharing the first feedback on a Bluefrog research study aimed at finding out what UK donors need from charities during the time of the Coronavirus crisis. It should be emphasised that these are still early days and we expect donor attitudes to further evolve over the coming weeks.
Back in February, we launched an independent study into attitudes to giving amongst donors to organisations working with people suffering from neurological disorders. In early March, as soon as we started to see the impact that the Coronavirus would have on us, we repurposed this study, widening the remit of the people we were speaking to and refocusing on the impact the virus would have on giving to charity. 
This has meant that we have been able to gain an understanding of how donors attitudes to giving has been influenced by Covid-19, the lockdown and the subsequent social fallout from job losses and social distancing policies as the impact of the virus has grown over time.
This is a qualitative study. That means that rather than asking a large number of people a series of relatively shallow questions about giving to charity, we have long, in-depth conversations with a much smaller number of charity donors where we can explore in detail how they are feeling at the moment and the role charities have in their life. 
Each interview has three main components:
What have been the main issues when thinking about the pandemic and how has thinking changed over the past few weeks? How has the pandemic influenced giving behaviour and how are they thinking about giving now, as compared to before the pandemic?What role, if any, has the work of charities had in their lives since the arrival of the of the pandemic? All interviews were undertaken by Amber Nathan, who has run Bluefrog's research function for the last 16 years. During that time she has spoken to thousands of donors from throughout the world, so she's pretty experienced at this type of work. 
Next steps
The research will continue as we track how attitudes continue to change. If you are interested in finding out more or understanding how you might change your current fundraising strategy to engage and help your donors at this time, please drop me a line at things@bluefroglondon.com.

Today, I'm sharing the first feedback on a Bluefrog research study aimed at finding out what UK donors need from charities during the time of the Coronavirus crisis. It should be emphasised that these are still early days and we expect donor attitudes to further evolve over the coming weeks.
Back in February, we launched an independent study into attitudes to giving amongst donors to organisations working with people suffering from neurological disorders. In early March, as soon as we started to see the impact that the Coronavirus would have on us, we repurposed this study, widening the remit of the people we were speaking to and refocusing on the impact the virus would have on giving to charity. 
This has meant that we have been able to gain an understanding of how donors attitudes to giving has been influenced by Covid-19, the lockdown and the subsequent social fallout from job losses and social distancing policies as the impact of the virus has grown over time.
This is a qualitative study. That means that rather than asking a large number of people a series of relatively shallow questions about giving to charity, we have long, in-depth conversations with a much smaller number of charity donors where we can explore in detail how they are feeling at the moment and the role charities have in their life. 
Each interview has three main components:
What have been the main issues when thinking about the pandemic and how has thinking changed over the past few weeks? How has the pandemic influenced giving behaviour and how are they thinking about giving now, as compared to before the pandemic?What role, if any, has the work of charities had in their lives since the arrival of the of the pandemic? All interviews were undertaken by Amber Nathan, who has run Bluefrog's research function for the last 16 years. During that time she has spoken to thousands of donors from throughout the world, so she's pretty experienced at this type of work. 
Next steps
The research will continue as we track how attitudes continue to change. If you are interested in finding out more or understanding how you might change your current fundraising strategy to engage and help your donors at this time, please drop me a line at things@bluefroglondon.com.

30 min