Drivers of Change

At the start of last year, Perry Moore of Grizzard Communications Group wrote about key drivers of change that will influence non-profits in the coming years. It is an eye-opening review of facts that every church ministry should take under consideration.

Here are several important points and conclusions:

• Churches who have relied on contributions from those born during the WWII and Eisenhower generations will now be relying on the generosity of the Baby boomers, Generations X and Y. These younger demographics have different thoughts and beliefs and require differing modes of communication. My recent blog post addresses this topic.
• The technology revolution continues to steam ahead. Two billion personal computers are expected to be in use by 2014, up from one billion in 2008. However, people are expected to access the web on mobile devices more than computers within five years. (Do your giving options include more than just a paper and web-based solution?)

• Information is everywhere and easily accessible. People can be much better informed today than they were just a decade ago. (When I was a kid growing up in the 60’s, we only had three TV stations…and they signed off every night at midnight!) 73% of Americans have an “always-on” broadband internet connection.

• YouTube receives 20 hours of new video every minute! (How and what you communicate about your ministry’s effectiveness is critical for ongoing support of your mission. The staid rehash of the weekly bulletin online and in newsletter format is not going to cut it.)

• The number of US non-profits has doubled in the last five years. (Your competition continues to grow, and is not going away.)

Your ability to fund mission will require regular adaptations in your approaches to giving, communications, taking the offering and reporting results.