The response to the new pandemic scenario has been for many sectors the digital transformation. Among the categories most affected by the pandemic, there is also the third sector and digitization could play a fundamental role in its restart. With this aim, the digital round table was born “Social becomes social”, organized by the consulting firm Open Gate Italy and from Activate group, the Italian leader in BPO/CRM technologies and services, compares experiences, critical issues and solutions of the last 14 months.
With the health crisis, the restrictions and the consequent economic crisis, the "social" world has seen a drastic reduction in its financial capacity, the number of volunteers and the number of hours of activity, the possibility of implementing support projects. In addition, the crisis has put the jobs of professionals working within non-profit structures at risk.
According to the survey "Nonprofit Philanthropy Social Goods Report – Covid 19” made by Italia Non Profit, during the first lockdown, 78% of the reference sample stopped or halved their business. For this reason, 93% of third sector entities experienced a reduction in their financial capacity during the pandemic period.
In detail, 43% of the total saw resources decrease by more than 50% compared to 2019. Among the main causes identified is thecancellation of open events to the public and the suspension of fundraising campaigns in contact with the public. Furthermore, the lack of "contact" has forced non-profit organizations to rethink their organizational and planning model, as well as their fundraising and public awareness systems.
The response to the new needs but above all to the new pandemic scenario has been for many (but not for all) to rely on digitization. 61% of the entities have managed to carry out a part, even a substantial one, of their institutional activities through digital technology, while 49% of them, by nature and vocation, have not yet been able to take advantage of these tools.
From the working paper "Innovation in the third sector", drawn up by the Social Italy Foundation, in collaboration with Deloitte Private and TechSoup Italia, it emerges that digitization is now perceived as a strategic need by 96% of institutions.
Digital is a precious resource for restarting, but strong resistance to change still remains, mainly due to investment and programming difficulties. Certainly the health crisis has accelerated the process third sector innovation, also underlined by the digital round table "Social becomes social", organized by the consultancy firm Open Gate Italia and the Activa Group.
There is no shortage of case studies. For example, the Susan G. Komen Italia non-profit foundation which has organized various editions of the Race for The Cure mini-marathon in Italy; reaching an audience of 140 thousand participants, thanks to the integral "virtualization" of the activities and the relationship with the community. AISM also had to rethink its services, communication and fund raising during 2020. "All the organization's stackeholders were involved with the #insiemepiuforti digital campaign, leading to results that are still a source of study and inspiration for new activities today" , he stressed Valeria Martano, AISM Fundraising Director.
The mission of chorally, a company of the Activa Group, is to facilitate communication between people and non-profit organizations, through continuous, spontaneous and fluid interaction, through WhatsApp, one of the most immediate and used points of contact.
In particular, through the proprietary digital platform based on algorithms by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Chorally allows non-profit organizations to reach the reference target in a manner appropriate to their expectations, keeping the relationship alive and configuring communication on project progress, fundraising campaign updates and information in an appropriate and timely manner related to the new planned initiatives.
Thanks to AI, reaching donors and the community will become increasingly direct, immediate but also personalized. Rhodri Davies of Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) looked at how AI-powered chatbots could change perceptions of philanthropy, and therefore its impact.
The reason? Shifting focus to "mass market commodity“. The challenge is no longer competing for large donors, but attracting smaller ones. Offering them the guarantee of real-time tracking of their donations.
