The New Rules of Fundraising: Human First, Digital Fast

Eight years ago, I wrote an article asking, “Why Aren’t You Doing More Online Fundraising?” It felt urgent at the time. Looking back, it was downright gentle.

Today, the question isn’t whether your nonprofit should be fundraising online. It’s whether you’re doing it well enough — and fast enough — to keep up with how people live, connect, and give.

Because while the tools have changed dramatically, the fundamentals haven’t. People still give when they feel connected. They still respond to meaning, story, urgency, and trust.

What’s changed is how — and where — you build those connections.

Donors are online. They’re mobile. They’re flooded with information. They scroll fast, skim constantly, and swipe past anything that doesn’t feel relevant. That doesn’t mean they care less — but it does mean you have to show up differently to reach them.

The new rules of fundraising aren’t just about technology. And they’re not just about humanity. They’re about both — and each demands your focused attention.

You need digital fluency to reach people where they are, and human fluency to move them to care.

This isn’t a call to abandon the past. It’s a call to evolve. To blend timeless strategy with timely tools. To move faster, speak more personally, and show up where your supporters already are — online, in motion, and ready to act when something truly resonates.

💡Aha! Moment: You Don’t Fundraise Digitally. You Fundraise Humanly — in a Digital World. This isn’t about using fancy new tools. It’s about showing up where your donors already are — and bringing your humanity with you. The work hasn’t changed — you’re still building trust, telling stories, moving hearts. But the setting has. Digital isn’t just where the work happens. It’s where your relationships begin.

Let’s look at how to make that shift — and why it matters more than ever.

Reality Check: The World Has Moved Online

You don’t need a research report to tell you the world is digital. You see it every day — in how you communicate, how you shop, how you learn, how you stay in touch. How your babies and grandbabies learn about the world. Your donors are no different.

Donors are Online and Increasingly Mobile-First

They expect instant access, seamless experiences, and messaging that feels personal, not mass-produced. They search, scroll, click, and give — all from the palms of their hands.

This shift isn’t temporary. It’s foundational.

And yet, many nonprofits still treat digital fundraising like a side project — a “nice to have” rather than a core part of their strategy. They rely on one or two email appeals per year, a website that hasn’t been updated in ages, and maybe some inconsistent social posts. Meanwhile, their donors are living in a completely different ecosystem — one that’s fast-moving, content-rich, and built around connection.

The Real Challenge: Competition for Attention + Loyalty

You’re not just competing with other nonprofits for attention and loyalty. You’re competing with everything else on your donor’s screen — breaking news, baby photos, Amazon deals, TikTok trends, and inbox overload. Attention can seem ephemeral.

Because while attention is an important currency, it’s useless unless it translates to loyalty.

And online, both attention and loyalty are earned — not bought.

In the pre-digital world, bigger often meant better. The organizations with the biggest budgets could rent attention through ads, mailings, media. Today? That rented attention is harder to buy, and often less effective.

The Good News

You don’t need a million-dollar ad budget to stand out anymore.

Of course, you need relevance, trust, humanity and a story worth sharing. These are fundamentals – and you better get good at them. Many nonprofits still do a terrible job in this regard, so if you focus in on the human side of fundraising – what donors think about, care about and feel – you’ll be ahead of the curve no matter what your size or shape.

Digital levels the playing field even more!  But… only if you show up and play with purpose.

💡Aha! Moment: Stop Thinking of Digital as a Department — and Start Seeing It as the Environment. Too often, “digital” lives in a silo, handled by one person or a separate team. But it’s not a silo. It’s the water your fundraising swims in. If your humanity isn’t showing up online, it’s not reaching people. Your voice, your story, your impact — they all live or die by how they land in a digital space.

Let’s look at how to dive into the deep end and start swimming like a champ.

Change Is Hard — But Standing Still Is Riskier

Let’s be honest: not everyone on your team is excited about digital.

Sure, your board may be eager to try the latest tool. Your Executive Director might be ready to jump into AI or launch a new platform. But in the day-to-day trenches, it’s often staff — especially those who didn’t grow up digital — who hesitate.

And it’s not because they’re resistant to progress.

Fear of Failure Rears its Ugly Head

Staff often resist new technologies because they’re afraid.

• Afraid of being exposed for what they don’t know.
• Afraid of being replaced by younger, more tech-savvy team members.
• Afraid of feeling they’re always behind the curve.

They’ve built careers on skills that are still valuable — relationship-building, writing, stewardship — but the language and tools of digital fundraising can feel foreign. Add a workload that’s already stretched thin, and it’s no wonder digital gets quietly sidelined or passed off to the “new person” or even the intern or volunteer

💡Aha! Moment: The Platform Has Changed. The Heart of Fundraising Hasn’t. Staff need not fear they’re irrelevant or falling behind. Because, you’re still telling stories. Still building relationships. Still asking people to make meaning through giving. But now, you do it in an environment shaped by clicks, swipes, and scrolls. Same heart. New stage. Time to perform like it matters — because it does.

Truth: Effective Digital Fundraising Isn’t About Knowing Every Tool

It’s about being willing to learn, test, adapt — and stay rooted in what’s always made fundraising work: human connection. Clinging to “the way we’ve always done it” is a recipe for irrelevance.

You can’t wait until everyone’s 100% ready.

If you’re seeing the need, you may be the one who needs to take the first step — even if it’s small.

✅ ACTION TIPS: Make Change Less Scary

Help your team move from fear to confidence — one small shift at a time.

1. Normalize not knowing. Make space for people to say, “I don’t understand this yet.” Curiosity is a strength, not a weakness.

2. Invest in training. Not a 3-hour jargon-filled webinar, but focused, digestible learning. Pair staff with trusted peers, or bring in someone who teaches without condescension.

3. Start with low-risk experiments. Try a single A/B test on an email. Run a small match campaign online. Post one story thread on Instagram. No one has to master everything all at once.

4. Celebrate progress. If someone updates your donation form, that’s a win. If someone rewrites an email with a stronger call to action (CTA), that’s a win. Recognize effort as much as outcome.

5. Reframe the narrative. You’re not replacing people — you’re equipping them. Digital tools are just new ways to do what great fundraisers have always done: connect, communicate, and inspire action.

When people feel safe to learn and grow, they show up with more creativity, more confidence, and more impact. Because here’s what really matters: you don’t need to be a digital expert. You just need to be digitally willing.

Next Up in Part 2: Your Online Nonprofit Fundraising Playbook. We’ll walk through four essentials to running a successful campaign in today’s digital-first world — plus practical ways to start improving your reach and results right now.

Stay tuned.

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