A recent survey by Parkinson's UK suggests that a third of people in the UK have no interest in taking part in charitable activities such as volunteering and fundraising.
But the questions we need to ask ourselves are: why is it that one in three people can't be bothered to volunteer or fundraise? Are they perhaps not being given enough exciting opportunities? Or do they simply not have access to the right avenues to encourage them to get involved? Would this figure decrease if it was easier to take part? After all, some would say that charities are notoriously slow at innovating, particularly in the field of technology.
Those that do take that leap into the unknown tend to reap rewards. Take the new Orange app, Do Some Good, which has benefited more than 10 charities. One of the most successful has been the Samaritans which asked people to take a few minutes of their time to complete a simple online survey. At the time of writing, 1,000 people had completed the survey, allowing the Samaritans to release research with some weight behind it without having to pay somebody else for the privilege.
But it's all very well and good to say that charities should innovate. Exactly how they go about doing that is an altogether different matter, so here are some tips:
Ask your supporters:
charities work hardest at getting people on board, whether that's through direct donations, fundraising, volunteering or simply encouraging them to listen to what's being said and following you on Twitter. Whatever the reason, every supporter has a genuine, passionate interest in you, so why not harness it?
Crowdsourcing:
a great way of finding ideas and solutions through an open call directed at a group of people, usually through social media platforms. Done correctly, crowdsourcing can even help to generate new supporters.
Engage all your staff:
stray outside of your marketing and communications comfort zone and ask all of your employees, including trustees, to contribute ideas. Running a quick and dirty straw poll through a free service like Survey Monkey can yield some surprisingly unexpected results. Sure, you might not always get what you're looking for, but if nothing else, you'll recognise those with a creative mind and can tap into them in future.
Work with corporates:
once you've developed some strong ideas, get your business cap on. Find synergies with companies and approach them with your idea and a business plan. Cool Earth has a great track record of doing this, forging relationships with Tropicana and Brother. Their advice? Be a little bit naive and let the business take the lead. Don't think you can work out all the answers yourself – consult the corporate about your issues and concerns and work through a solution together. Not only will you potentially generate funding, you'll hopefully be able to generate greater exposure with their weight behind you.
Harness the power of the internet:
innovation needn't be difficult. As well as ideas that can be garnered from people, take inspiration from the content that's readily available online. Work hard to find sources of information that you find relevant and interesting, and if you come across an idea that's worked for one company, there's no reason why you can't tailor it to work for yours. GlobalGiving, for instance, moulded the idea of Do Some Good to create their own micro-volunteering online platform. GlobalGivingTime matches professionals' skills and interests to the specific requirements of grassroots organisations all over the world.
In essence, it's all too easy to sit back and rest happily ever after on your laurels, but if not-for-profit organisations really want to make an impact with the one-in-three people that have no interest in helping charities, changes need to be made. Creating a platform for innovation to enhance access to the plethora of activities that charities offer is vital to engage audiences and maximise their charitable potential.
Victoria Webster is a not-for-profit ands communications consultant at Grayling and a member of CIPR Fifth Estate
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