Looking Ahead to 2023 for Nonprofits

With a new year in sight, while we’re all thinking about taking the next step towards success – it is the perfect moment for nonprofits to pause, reflect, and plan to reach next year’s goals and continue on a path forward to grow our impact. We’re recommending nonprofits take these 4 steps to navigate in uncertainty, increase your impact, and grow your communities- plan for the economy, assess your nonprofit needs, stay up to date with trends in fundraising and improve your digital marketing plan as needed.

The past few years have been quite hectic in the world and this has certainly been reflected in the economy. If there is one truth about predicting the future of the economy, it is that it is generally unpredictable and adapting quickly to unexpected changes is the name of the game. With that being said, it is important to recognize that 2023 budgets are likely set, so what can you do to plan now? Lucky for you, Forbes has uncovered 5 opportunities for nonprofits to re-think your income strategies in the months ahead. These strategies include acknowledging the reality of the challenges ahead by diversifying, thinking entrepreneurially about revenue, actively strengthening your network of relationships, making a plan A and a plan B and scaling your work by leveraging technology. With these tips, you can head into 2023 with a solid plan for fundraising.

Speaking of technology, at the beginning of the year, it is always wise to reassess your digital marketing performance and needs.  As Mailchimp mentions, digital marketing for nonprofits helps you expand your reach in general, so that you can forge valuable relationships with people who care about your cause and want to help. 

You can learn a lot from the past and this includes your past digital marketing campaigns. What worked last year? What didn’t work that you want to improve upon? You can use these lessons to better improve your strategy in the new year, especially with the help of analytics *Cue your reminder about migrating to GA4 in the new year!*. 

After assessing your digital marketing plan, before stepping into implementing it, be sure to stay up to date on marketing and industry trends of the year. Trends are always changing so it is important to stay tuned into resources on what works and what doesn’t in our ever changing digital landscape. Lucky for you, there are plenty of resources out there to guide you in the right direction! 

Funraise has compiled a list of 7 trends in fundraising in 7 minutes for 2023 which include leaning more into digital wallets and crypto, leveraging LinkedIn, E-commercification of donations, hybrid events, giving experience and SMS comms. Are you looking for creative virtual fundraising ideas specifically? Classy has you covered with 22 clever ideas to drive more fundraising revenue even as in-person events are coming back. Or, perhaps, you can turn to HubSpot’s 2023 Marketing Industry Trends Report. Wherever you choose to get your information, the important point is staying on top of it, and being flexible and willing to test out new opportunities.

The last step in making sure that you have a successful 2023 as a nonprofit is creating or improving upon your marketing strategy. Creating an intentional and customized marketing strategy is essential to effectively nurture your community, improve the bottom line at your business, and increase the ROI of your efforts. HubSpot provides this handy dandy guide to creating a complete marketing strategy here.

If that resource doesn’t quite cut it, and you are looking to create a whole new marketing strategy or revamp yours from last year, catered to your nonprofit’s specific needs, Town Hall can help! Take a look at our multiple case studies here or reach out to us to have a conversation. 2023 is a new year of opportunity, change and perhaps a new marketing strategy.