When I rang Jess from a small charity, I asked how fundraising was going. She paused, laughed softly, then said:
“We’re doing everything we can. But it’s not enough. Honestly – we’re drowning, but we’re keen for this to change.”
That became the theme across 50 phone calls with charities. Different causes, sizes, regions – but one shared tension: immense purpose, stretched teams, and a quiet desperation to do better. And one more thing—they were all open to help.
[I called 50 charities because I needed to hear the truth – not from headlines, not from dashboards, but from the voices on the ground. I wanted to understand what was really going on behind the donation forms, appeal emails, and annual reports. What’s working? What’s not? Where’s the tension between mission and money most acute? Too often, we make assumptions about the sector from the outside. I picked up the phone to listen – not to sell, not to pitch, but to learn. What I heard was raw, real, and deeply human. And it reminded me why this work matters.]
Key Findings (Across 50 Charities)
- Only 1 in 50 said their fundraising was “going well.”
- 1 charity had a broken donate button. Their workaround? “We just share the link on social media.”
- 5 charities (10%) asked as their first question [even without me saying anything at all] if ‘help’ could be free.
- All 50 wanted support, but most couldn’t clearly articulate what kind of help they needed most.
- Most responded with genuine excitement when shown our tech – especially fundraiz.ai and gvrapp.
This isn’t a crisis of care. It’s a crisis of capacity, clarity, and capability.
What I Call ‘The 3C Gap’
In nearly every call, I saw the same missing links:
- Capacity: Everyone’s wearing five hats. Fundraising is nobody’s full-time job – but it’s everyone’s problem.
- Capability: Teams want to personalise, test, and segment – but they’re time-poor, tool-weary, or unsure where to start and/or have difficulties with their tech setup which is too hard to use.
- Clarity: People know their fundraising is stuck. But they don’t have the roadmap, language, or bandwidth to fix it.
Here’s the thing about the 3C Gap: when any two of these fail, the third quickly follows.
What the Fog Feels Like
“We send emails. We just don’t know if they work.”
“Our board wants growth without spending.”
“We’re using GoFundMe, but we never got the donor data back.”
“I’m the comms lead and the events team and the fundraiser.”
It’s not disinterest. It’s exhaustion.
Where the Friction Lives
- Broken donate journeys: Too many clicks. Clunky mobile experience. Confusing payment options.
- Manual receipts: Supporters waiting days. Staff stretched. Bookkeepers chasing paper trails.
- Disconnected data: CRM, email, and finance systems that don’t talk.
- Events treadmill: Galas and campaigns with no clear learning or optimisation or even reason for doing them, apart from ‘it’s what everyone else is doing’.
It’s not that these charities are doing nothing – it’s that their systems fight them every step of the way.
What Sparked Hope
When I introduced fundraiz.ai and gvrapp, people leaned in. Not because they wanted fancy dashboards. Because they saw:
- More time back: “I could finally focus on relationships – not on trying to get my lists right.”
- More control: “We keep our donor data instead of renting it.”
- More confidence: “It tells me who to call. That changes everything.”
What We Did On the Spot
Real change starts with small wins. On several calls, we made immediate improvements:
- Fixed broken donate buttons
Result: higher completion rates, fewer “I tried to give but…” emails. - Automated receipts + thank-yous via gvrapp
Result: donors replied saying “Thanks” – not chasing paperwork. - Created A/B appeal tests with fundraiz.ai
Result: the friendlier subject line boosted open rates, same audience. - Set up live dashboards
Result: Boards stopped arguing opinions and started asking better questions.
What I’m Taking Forward
- Kindness scales. Everyone I spoke to was doing their best. Tools should meet them there. I am even more motivated to get fundraiz.ai into the hands of even more charities.
- Clarity compounds. One fix builds trust. That trust makes the next step easier.
- Technology is an amplifier. If the process is broken, AI speeds up the wrong thing. Fix the journey, then layer intelligence.
If this feels like your organisation—good news. You’re not stuck. You’re just one rhythm away from better. At chillibeanmedia, we’ll bring the tools (fundraiz.ai, gvrapp) and a playbook that works. You bring your mission and your readiness to act.
Let’s build something generous, measurable, and beautifully human.