# How we can help the royal wedding ‘feel-good’ effect positively impact regular giving

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/05/07/how-we-can-help-the-royal-wedding-feel-good-effect-positively-impact-regular-giving/
- Published: 2018-05-07T16:46:23+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**As the public’s fervour for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s imminent wedding 
continues to build a positive feeling across the nation, it’s worth reminding ourselves
about the impact of major events and the national ‘feel-good’ factor on charitable
regular giving and Direct Debit cancellation rates.**

Previous research has indicated that the euphoria surrounding major events can play
a key role in influencing donation trends, preventing or delaying the cancellation
of regular donations. From our analysis of [regular giving data](http://rapidataservices.com/direct-debit/download-rapidatas-charity-direct-debit-tracking-report-2014/)
across a hundred different charities and causes, we found that the Olympic and Paralympic
Games and the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations during 2012 brought with them clearer
signs of consumer confidence and a distinct fall in the number of regular gift cancellations.
At that time, the average annual Direct Debit cancellation rate fell significantly
from 3.79% to 3.56%.

There’s nothing better to lift the spirits of our nation than a good royal event.
We’ve felt that already this year with the recent birth of Prince Louis. The upcoming
wedding of Harry and Meghan on 19th May is set to be a major national celebration,
and it’s a great opportunity for charities to engage with supporters and potentially
reduce attrition rates.

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It’s been reported that the new baby prince will add £50m to the UK economy before
he reaches his first birthday (source: Brand Finance research, 2018) and the royal
wedding will surely follow suit.

The bunting will be strung with street parties and celebrations across the UK and
the wedding will almost certainly be front page news around the globe, all fuelling
high spirits against the backdrop of Brexit, the Windrush scandal and the less-positive
news in 2018.

 

![Quote - "Positive uplifting events... can have a sustained impact on donations"](
https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.cloud/2018/05/positive-events-impact-donations-rapidata-
quote.jpg)

 

If we look back, the enthusiasm for the last royal wedding had a hugely positive
impact on regular giving donor activity. When [William and Kate tied the knot](https://fundraising.co.uk/2011/04/10/wedding-cards-prince-william-and-kate-middleton-raise-funds-british-paralympian-athletes/)
in April 2011, [Direct Debit cancellation rates dropped to their lowest in four years](https://fundraising.co.uk/2014/07/07/rapid-drop-direct-debit-donation-cancellations-says-rapidata-tracking-report/),
only to rise again to normal levels once the celebrations were over. The data shows
us that this high profile event sustained donations or deferred the date of Direct
Debit cancellation, meaning that the charities were able to benefit from one or 
more extra

monthly payments – which could only be welcome additional income.

With this in mind, there appears to be a potential opportunity for communicating
with regular supporters at the right time in order to join in the public’s enthusiasm.

It’s a window in which to positively add to your donors’ experience; building on
your engagement and strengthening relationships with the aim of helping to reduce
attrition once the excitement has died down.

We know that it costs less to retain an existing supporter than to engage a new 
one, and that giving donors the best possible experience is the responsibility of
us all.

Now’s arguably a great time to invest in donor stewardship, ensuring your donor 
engagement is the greatest it can be. By saying ‘thank you’, by highlighting why
they should continue supporting and by sharing real-life stories that can demonstrate
how their donations have and can go on to impact the cause, we can perhaps help 
the buoyant mood stemming from 2018’s royal celebrations to have a positive impact
on regular giving.

 

_**Scott Gray** is CEO of [Rapidata](http://rapidataservices.com/), the charity 
Direct Debit processing agency, and a specialist commentator on charitable regular
giving._

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