Did you make any promises to yourself when the clock ticked over to 2024? Did you commit to a new exercise regime, personal well-being, healthy eating and financial frugality or was it a case of “Meh. Who cares?”
This year I took a gentle and sensible approach to New Year resolutions and focused on a commitment to grow my knowledge of all things digital. I reckon it’s better to be realistic don’t you think?
I Hereby Resolve…
I hereby resolve to keep my eye on AI 🤖 ChatGPT created a stir when it burst onto our screens in 2023 yet personally, I’m committed to fanning the creative flame, keeping inspired and connecting people with human-generated incredible content.
The robots haven’t taken over (yet).
I want to deep dive into Search so the right people are connecting with our partners online and I want to improve my knowledge of donor psychology so I can motivate and move people into action. I want to have a more holistic approach to digital fundraising so I can grow my understanding of this space even more and play my best game. The Parachute team also have a few promises to keep this year.
Eye Spy on the World Domination of AI
Consultant Tania, has many questions she wants answered about AI this year: 
“In 2024 I’m excited to explore applications for AI in the fundraising and charity space. It’s already in our lives more than we know.
How can we help our clients/partners use AI for good to work smarter, not harder? Where are the biggest opportunities that will free up time allowing us to direct efforts where humans add the most value e.g. strategy, creative? And how will our donors and supporters use AI?”
Senior Producer Marcos will also be keeping watch of the robots taking over👀: “In 2024 we’re still learning how the advancements in Large Language Models (LLM) like ChatGPT impact the digital marketing space so I want to be on top of it.
I think a big goal for this year will also be making sure all our clients have stored the Universal Analytics data before it becomes inaccessible by July 2024. On a similar note, the long-announced phasing out of third-party cookies is due for Q3 2024 in Google Chrome, so we also need to be prepared for that!”
Keeping it Old School
Consultant Dan is flying the flag for electronic mail in 2024 🚩: “I resolve to double down on email as the best channel for stewarding and retaining donors. Changes are coming that will make it even harder. Although we’re seeing declines in open and click rates, it’s still the best way to communicate with donors and ask for the next donation.”
📃Data and donor lists are on top of Consultant Vic’s resolutions: “While I will always recommend and strategise what we should do with data for a campaign, I find that what clients are doing with their database outside of key campaign/project periods matters just as much!
Are you including in your calendar a data clean? Are you updating records based on how they engage with you? Are you checking your deliverability and reputation scores? Email should be a substantial income driver for your online appeals. Data needs love so it can give the best return!”
“Trust the Process”
Consultant Liv swears to become less organised 🤔: “I think as digital marketers, we can prepare and plan until the cows come home. Give me a document with a strong colour code and highlighted sections in 12 different shades and I’ll be yours forever.
With every digital campaign comes unknown surprises – whether it’s unexpected audience reactions, internal curveballs or even wider happenings in the news. It would take a million different plans for a million different possibilities.
However, we do have full control of how we react to the unknown. And the job of a digital marketer is to react accordingly. No plan can cover the infinite possibilities that could happen after you hit that ‘on’ button. I’ll probably still keep highlighting in 12 shades though.”
🤷🏽♀️Who loves Monday? Head of Performance, Patricia, does. The Project Management tool, that is. In her new role, Patricia has Monday in her sights and is improving Parachute’s projects with a holistic approach.
“We’re always looking at ways to do things better! I want to train the team to use Monday in the production phase, which we are testing with one of our projects now. We will use Monday and other platforms to improve our communication and way of working. As a manager, I want to help the Parachute team to upskill, deliver high-quality work, think strategically, be proactive, happy, and grow professionally.”🧘🏽♀️
Intentional shifts
Co-Director Mamta wants people to be more intentional and authentic in how they use technology, and how they talk to their supporters.
“So often orgs can be on autopilot in how they do things or speak to supporters, and quick to jump on the latest trends, techs, platforms, and ideas. I want Parachute and every charity to stop and think about the tech they adopt, the campaigns they have been running or plan to launch, and the way they have been communicating with people.
Don’t just jump on tech (ahem, ChatGPT) or fundraising campaign bandwagons in fear of getting left behind. Be intentional with what you do, how you do it, and how you talk about it, and it will come across authentically to your supporters – new and old.”
Founder and Director of Creative & Strategy, Shanelle, is approaching 2024 with flexibility, agility and passion 💪🏻: “My word for the year is SHIFT. In a digital context: I’ll be transferring knowledge, focusing on mentoring and training and sharing the digital love. I’m playing the long game (years ahead horizon), but nimbler. I’ll shift gears either up or down or sideways, based on how channels and programs are performing.
And as always, I’ll progress with testing; digital platforms and placements, how we can authentically tell compelling fundraising stories, and change hearts and minds to further our important causes.”
The Digital Resolution
So you can see that 2024 we’re about:
✅Staying ahead of the game by keeping an eye on new technologies and platforms
✅Streamlining internal processes so we just get better and better
✅And keeping intentional, nimble, agile and shifting so we keep raising dollars for you
Now we’ve shared our digital resolutions, what are yours? We’d love to hear what you’re focus is for this leap year. What have you got in mind?