The future of fundraising is here

Next-generation web applications, the pervasive use of digital crypto currency by both donors and charities and the deployment of virtual 3D avatars to attend meetings with potential funders promise to revolutionise the for-purpose sector.

Speaking at the recent Fundraising Institute Australia conference in Sydney, digital fundraising expert Dan Lalor outlined his vision of a typical day in the life of a fundraiser in the year 2035.

"You wander downstairs at your apartment and hop into your self-driving vehicle and head off to work, or perhaps you just put on a headset and go to the Metaverse charity HQ where you represent yourself as a digital avatar,” he said.

"You check the scripts that have been running overnight, and you see that you have got three new meetings that have been set up for you by your AI digital twin."

While our future fundraiser will attend two of those meetings – which have been set up based on the donor's online behaviour – in person, the third meeting is a little different.

"One meeting has been set up in a virtual environment where you have to go as your avatar at a virtual place of your donors choosing,” said Lalor.

"You also check that your AI agent has made some calls to a range of donors and upgraded five of those people to become regular givers."

In 2035 the sight of volunteers rattling tins, or charities accepting donations by cash and cheque, is considered retro, with most people giving in crypto currency such as Bitcoin.

Lalor said the grant approval process has also been streamlined.

"You check and see that you have received the second phase of grant funding.

"However, a human hasn’t had to say ‘Look, they’ve met their impact KPIs; let’s release those funds.’"

Instead, the approval is verified automatically as a smart contract on the blockchain, a decentralised public ledger across a peer-to-peer computer network that allows participants to confirm transactions without the need for a central clearing authority such as a government or bank.

Lalor, director of client success at Brisbane based HomeMade Digital, said that far from being pie-in-the sky speculation, the foundations for this brave new world of fundraising have already been laid, with the explosive growth of cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin leading the charge.

"More and more people are moving to use this new technology,” he said.

“Of particular relevance to the fundraising sector is the fact that according to the latest Giving Block 2025 Annual Report on Crypto Philanthropy, more than US$1 billion was donated worldwide in crypto currency last year.

"That is projected to grow to US$2.5 billion by the end of this year and reach US$89 billion by 2035."

The average crypto donation in 2024 was just under US$11,000 – an increase of more than 386 per cent on 2023.

The Giving Block report found that the increases were being driven by both a surge in donor interest in crypto and a growing willingness among not-for-profits and charities to accept digital assets.

Seventy per cent of the organisations on the 2024 Forbes list of America's Top 100 Charities now accept crypto currency, a 25 per cent increase on the previous year.

"It’s really an alternative financial system to the government-owned centralised monetary system that we’re used to today,” said Lalor.

He said the sector ignored such fundamental shifts in giving at its peril.

“Our job as fundraising pioneers is to really have an eye to the future and for me there are a lot of signals that this is the way we are headed.”

Lalor said the increasing acceptance of blockchain as a public database that records transactions transparently and securely, was fuelling a technology based cultural shift across the world.

Central to this was the emergence of the next generation of the internet, known as Web 3.

The first iteration of the internet, sometimes referred to a Web 1, consisted of dial-up connections and static web pages where users primarily consumed information without actively contributing.

This was followed by Web 2, characterised by increased user interaction, collaboration, and the ability to generate and share content on platforms such as social media.

Web 3 takes things to the next level by allowing users for the first time to buy, own and sell unique digital or physical assets in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Based on blockchain technology, NFTs contain embedded computer code that ensures they can’t be replicated, allowing them to be used to verify authenticity and ownership of everything from artwork and music to videos and real estate.

Such is the rapid adoption of this new technology that Fortune Business predicts the blockchain market will explode in value from $27.84 billion last year to more than $825 billion by 2032.

Lalor said it was important for charities and not-for-profits to keep pace with this rapidly shifting technology landscape, as a new revenue stream powered by a younger demographic of potential donors emerges.

He said one example of NFTs being used for good was the sale via blockchain of unique digital artwork in 2023 to raise money for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria.

The brave new world of technology doesn't come without an element of risk for charities and NFPs however.

In 2022 the World Wildlife Fund planned to sell NFTs in the form of digital artworks of animals such as gorillas, rhinos and orangutans to raise awareness of biodiversity and funds for conservation work.

However, the charity quickly cancelled the plan after a backlash from environmentalists who pointed to the technology's large carbon footprint.

Lalor also acknowledged the ongoing debate about the use of AI, particularly concerns about security, identity theft and the use of “deep fake” technology.

Just last week, The Age revealed that scammers had flooded Facebook with hundreds of fake ads impersonating trusted charities and NFPs including the Salvation Army, the Brotherhood of St Laurence, St Vincent de Paul Society, Anglicare, and the Smith Family, aimed at swindling disadvantaged Australians experiencing financial hardship.

Lalor said while the pitfalls of rapidly evolving technology such as AI and digital security fears would likely get worse before they got better, he believed blockchain was a key part of the solution.

“I've very bullish on blockchain tech, just because of its innate ability to verify and authenticate what is real,” he said.

“Other people may not be as supportive of where we are headed, but I actually think it will underpin a lot of social media platforms around authenticity, the ability to verify what is real or what is created from a certain account versus a non-authenticated account.”

Lalor said adopting new technology was the key to successfully transitioning to this brave new world.

"I think we just have to keep moving.

“Your kids are not going to be interested in collecting [physical] basketball cards, they are going to want to collect skins for games and avatars, digital sporting moments; that is where we are headed.

“You have to just put up with the bad, take the [negative]) media reports with a grain of salt and keep getting adoption rates up.”