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5 Online Donation Form Mistakes Your Nonprofit Should Avoid

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Online Donation Form Tips

Though the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many challenges for fundraisers, it has also created opportunities for nonprofits like yours to assess virtual fundraising efforts and learn how to use important online tools more effectively. One of those tools is your donation form, which is a critical component of your fundraising.

Unfortunately, many times nonprofits aren’t aware of the mistakes they’re making when it comes to donation forms. Some organizations think that simply creating a generic form and throwing it on a website is enough to ensure that fundraising dollars will come streaming in. Really, though, this just means they’re fumbling an opportunity to, as this article on donation forms by iATS Payments puts it, “receive the generous gift and…[collect] vital supporter information.”

In reality, raising money for your cause isn’t that easy, and it’s even harder if you’re making mistakes with your donation form without knowing it. In this post, we’ll walk you through five common mistakes nonprofits often make with donation forms so you’re no longer in the dark: 

  1. Not making your form easy to find. 
  2. Using an insecure payment processor. 
  3. Asking unnecessary questions. 
  4. Not making your form accessible. 
  5. Not providing multiple ways for donors to engage. 

Along with these things to avoid, we’ll also give you some tips on how you should build your donation form. 

As you work to ensure your donation form is the best it can be, remember to put yourself in your donors’ shoes and think through what they need from your form so their giving experience goes smoothly. By simplifying the process for donors, you’ll be signalling to them that when they have money to give, your organization is the one to give to. 

Let’s jump in! 

Mistake #1: Not making your form easy to find. 

Some experts say you only have 7 seconds to grab your website visitors’ attention. That means you definitely can’t afford to bury your donation form deep in your website and then cross your fingers and hope donors will find it. Instead, try implementing these four best practices for making sure your supporters can find your form quickly and easily: 

  • Embed your donation form onto your site on a specific donation page. Sometimes a donation form hosted through a third-party site can look suspicious and untrustworthy to a donor, even if it isn’t. Avoid this problem by embedding your donation form right onto your site. This way, the experience of donating will feel more connected to your nonprofit as a whole, as the branding of the donation page and donation form will look familiar. Plus, you’ll keep your donors on your website longer, setting them up for further online engagement with your organization. 
  • Create an eye-catching button on your main menu that can direct your site visitors to your donation page. Placing a button in your menu will prevent your donors from having to dig through multiple pages on your site just looking for the donation page. Your button should stand out from the rest of the options on your menu so that it catches your donors’ attention. 
  • Use calls-to-action throughout your website that link to your donation page. A call-to-action is simply a statement that encourages someone to complete a task. You can include calls-to-action on your website in the form of buttons or brightly colored text links that can take your supporters to your donation page. Make sure these calls-to-action are well worded. For example, “Join the fight to save our oceans!” is a much better call-to-action than “Donate now.” 
  • Link directly to your donation page on your marketing materials when you can. Decrease the chances that donors will get lost along the way to your donation form. If, for example, you encourage donors to give in an email newsletter or social media post, link directly to your donation page so your donors don’t have to search your website for it. 

The main takeaway here is that locating your donation form should be easy for a prospective donor. Don’t make them work to find it, or you might lose them along the way, which means you’re not only missing out on a donation but an opportunity to cultivate a lasting relationship with a supporter. 

Mistake #2: Using an insecure payment processor. 

When a donor gives to your organization, they’re entrusting you with a lot of sensitive information, including their name, address, credit card or bank account routing number, and other information. If you haven’t invested in a secure payment processor, you’re putting your donors’ personal data at risk and staking your organization’s reputation on the off-chance that you won’t experience a major data breach. 

Don’t be careless with your donors’ data. Instead, invest in a nonprofit payment processing tool that is dedicated and secure. Here are some things to look for when considering which payment processor is right for your organization: 

  • Integration with your donation page and form: Keep the donation process simple by integrating your payment processor with your donation form and putting all data in one place.
  • Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance: The PCI standards are a set of guidelines created to protect credit card users when they pay online. Choose a processor that follows these guidelines. 
  • Acceptance of all major types of payments: Ensure that as many people as possible can use your donation form by accepting credit cards, debit cards, and ACH payments. 
  • Protective measures for your payments: The best payment processors will allow you to customize your security features and give you access to fraud alerts, encryption and tokenization. 
  • Payment verification: Your processor should also offer a card verification code requirement capability (CVV2) and an address verification system (AVS) so you can investigate abnormally small or large donation amounts.

It might be tempting to view data security as trivial or unnecessary, but in reality, the security of your payment processor can greatly affect your relationship with your donors and your fundraising success, so it’s something to take seriously. Choosing a secure payment processor will help to set your website up as an effective fundraising tool and give you peace of mind as you collect donors’ payment information. 

Mistake #3: Asking unnecessary questions.

Even with a secure payment processor, your donors will be wary of your donation form if it asks for too much information. For example, some donation forms ask for unnecessary information like middle name or country of residence , either by default or because of poor planning. And while form fields like these may seem harmless, they might also be working against you. 

Asking unnecessary questions in your donation form can negatively affect your supporters’ donating experience in two ways: 

  1. Donors may see your donation form as untrustworthy and think it’s taking too much of their information and decide not to donate.
  2. If there are too many questions to answer or fields to fill out, donors may think the form will take too long to fill out and abandon their transaction altogether. 

To avoid these two problems, work with your team to identify what exactly you need to know about your donors. After all, you do need some information so you can contact your donors, set goals specific to them, and create effective marketing materials catered to certain demographics. But other information is just flat out unimportant to your operations. 

Aim to request only necessary bits of information, like names, addresses, contact information, payment information, and maybe helpful information that won’t seem too invasive to a donor, like preferred method of contact or how they heard about your nonprofit. Other non-essential questions can be marked “not required,” but still, you should limit those non-essential questions to just a few. And in most situations, remember that if you’re in doubt, you should probably leave it out.

Mistake #4: Not making your form accessible.

Another common mistake nonprofits make when designing donation forms is not considering all donors’ needs. This includes thinking of people of all abilities or people who use mobile devices. When your donation form isn’t designed with all your potential donors in mind, you risk not being able to connect with all the people who care about your cause. 

Here are two tips so that you can reach all of your donors and meet their needs: 

  • Ensure your donation page is in compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. These guidelines include using a high contrast ratio, easy-to-read fonts, closed captioning and transcripts on multimedia elements, and alt-text on images for individuals who may be navigating your website with a screen reader. 
  • Optimize your donation page for mobile devices. Optimizing for mobile ensures that if your donors are looking at your donation page on a phone or tablet, the formatting, images, and text will all be readable. 

Being mindful of every potential donor will help your organization create lasting relationships with everyone who supports your mission. Plus, when you make your donation page and form accessible to all, you’ll get a reputation boost for being inclusive and thoughtful of your entire supporter base. 

Mistake #5: Not providing multiple ways for donors to engage. 

Collecting a one-time donation from a supporter is certainly helpful for your nonprofit, but finding ways to increase their engagement for the long-term will benefit your nonprofit even more. 

One way you can encourage supporters to engage with your organization on multiple levels is to use your donation form to offer different opportunities for engagement. These might include: 

  • Adding a matching gift database so donors can see if their employer participates in donation matching. According to 360MatchPro’s guide to matching gift databases, an estimated $4-$7 billion of matching gift funds goes unclaimed each year. This is mostly due to the fact that donors are unaware of their employers’ participation. An embedded searchable database can help solve that problem and give donors the chance to boost their donation right as they’re filling out your form.
  • Offer a recurring monthly donation option. Many donors would give on a consistent monthly basis if only their chosen organization made it easy for them. You can offer the option for donors within your form to turn their donation into a monthly gift, making it so they are billed monthly without having to put their payment information into your form each time they want to give. 
  • Giving suggested donation amounts. Suggested donation amounts prompt your donors to give more. For example, when a donor navigates to your donation form intending to give $5 and then sees suggested amounts of $10, $20, or $50, they’ll be more likely to increase their donation. Plus, suggested giving amounts are easy to select and provide an element of social proof, meaning they signal to your donor what is a typical or normal amount to give. 
  • Include an opportunity for donors to opt-in to email communication from your organization. Donors who care often want to be involved in other opportunities, like your planned giving or volunteer programs. Give them the chance to learn more about these opportunities by letting them opt-in to email communication from your nonprofit. 

Giving your donors more information about how they can engage with your organization will help you to find the “super” supporters in your donor base who can really help push your cause forward. Create your donation page with these opportunities in mind so you can identify those individuals who want to cultivate a relationship with your organization. 

Many nonprofit organizations neglect their donation pages only to see a slump in donations. By avoiding these five mistakes and working hard to optimize your donation form, you can become an organization that consistently retains donors and fosters lasting relationships with supporters. Get started today by working with your team to create a donation form that donors actually want to use. Good luck!

3 AI-Driven KPIs Nonprofits Should Start Tracking

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Nonprofit KPI

In today’s virtual fundraising landscape, data should inform all of your nonprofit’s strategies from the top down. Being able to rely on data to guide decisions has played a key role in helping many nonprofits maintain and regain their momentum amid the pandemic.

Your organization likely already has an infrastructure in place for generating and tracking the most important fundraising metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) that you need. But the new frontier of AI-driven fundraising has created opportunities to generate and act on even more valuable data.

Specifically, AI technology enables you to proactively predict future donor behavior by measuring individuals’ likelihoods to take particular actions. Rather than using your data solely to make assumptions based on their past actions, you can instead take a more forward-thinking approach with predictive metrics.

At Dataro, we specialize in AI software for nonprofits, so we help organizations get up and running with AI-driven data strategies every day. Let’s walk through three of the most important metrics that nonprofits can (and should) start generating using AI to improve their strategies.

Likelihood Individual Donor to Give

How likely is an individual donor to give right now if you asked them?

AI tools can screen your entire database of historical donor interactions to identify all of the complex relationships and patterns that lead to a donation. From there, you can use predictive metrics in the form of propensity scores and ranks to directly guide your strategies.

For example, let’s say you’re planning a new direct mail appeal. Using AI, you can identify:

  • Current donors who’d likely give in response to your appeal now
  • Donors who’d specifically be likely to give over $500 to your appeal
  • Lapsed donors who could likely be re-engaged by a direct mail appeal

With predictive scores in hand, you can easily sort your donors by these likelihoods. From there, adjust your appeal strategies to maximize impact—quickly build a mailing list, identify who needs premium mailers or custom appeals, and easily add lapsed donors who are worth including.

By understanding your donors’ likelihood to give, you can significantly refine your appeals. This saves you money on printing and postage while also securing more donations, resulting in an overall ROI boost. Compounded over the long run, generating and tracking metrics related to each donor’s likelihood to give can completely change your nonprofit’s day-to-day fundraising effectiveness.

Likelihood of Donor Churn

Donor churn is a serious issue for nonprofits, but many organizations treat it as an unfortunate reality that can’t be easily predicted or prevented. Not true! AI can predict your donors’ likelihood to churn, giving you another valuable metric to shape your outreach strategies, encourage your donors to stick around, and help you raise more.

Predicting likelihood to churn is especially helpful for your nonprofit’s regular or recurring giving program. Losing these donors is very costly in terms of lost revenue and the cost to acquire a new ‘sustainer’. They’re typically much harder to acquire than one-time donors, so it makes sense to invest in retention.

By measuring regular givers’ likelihood to churn, you can immediately identify at-risk donors. From there, proactively engage them with new messages that express your gratitude and explain the impact they’ve had on your mission. Include program updates, event invites, or whatever else you think will effectively re-engage that individual based on their previous engagement history.

If growing your recurring giving program is a strategic priority for your organization, AI-driven insights can be extremely beneficial. In addition to helping you re-engage at-risk recurring donors, an AI-backed understanding of your churn rates can help you:

  • Set more accurate goals for your program’s growth based on data rather than assumptions or hopes
  • Dig into the root causes of churn from a more useful starting point, donors who are currently at-risk, rather than trying to piece together factors that led to churn in the past
  • Make more persuasive cases to your nonprofit’s board about what you need to strengthen your retention program and why

Without AI doing the heavy lifting of identifying at-risk donors, you’d instead have to rely on overwhelming data analysis and segmentation. Part of the reason that nonprofits often think churn is difficult to combat is because this traditional approach only allows you to react after churn has occurred. With AI-driven likelihood metrics that flag churn risks in advance, you can get ahead of the problem with more proactive strategies.

Likelihood Donoros will Convert or Upgrade

On a similar note, many organizations struggle to pursue donation growth opportunities strategically. They instead cast wide nets asking for donation upgrades from broad audiences. This approach can work, but it’s not particularly effective. Asking the wrong donor for too much too soon can also harm your relationship, which should definitely be avoided.

AI software can help you strategically pursue donation conversion and upgrade opportunities by measuring your donors’ likelihoods to take those actions. For instance, our AI software can measure how likely your donors are to:

  • Upgrade their recurring donation to a higher amount
  • Reactivate their canceled recurring donation
  • Join your regular giving program

With a solid understanding of these propensities, you can develop all kinds of strategies to tap into new donation opportunities. The most direct and immediate improvement is that you’ll be able to quickly build email lists to target donors based on their propensities. In these messages, you can specifically ask them to upgrade, reactivate, or start a recurring donation.

From there, you can build new regular giving or membership engagement plans based on what you’ve found to work best at converting the donors identified above.

These tactics could include things like adjusting your suggested donation amounts, improving your online experience, hosting exclusive virtual events, or offering new membership perks. The main idea is that building these strategies on a foundation of AI-driven data gives your team a head start to understand who’s upgrading or converting and why.

Why These Fundraising KPIs Matter

The bottom line: AI has made it possible for nonprofits to generate and use new types of fundraising KPIs in smarter, more proactive ways.

These likelihood metrics, also called predictive analytics, have historically been very difficult to determine in accurate or truly useful ways. Traditional data segmentation involves sorting your donors by various characteristics or past actions in order to make assumptions about how they’ll act in the future. This approach has major limitations. It’s often inaccurate because it lumps donors into vague groupings, and it can be extremely time-consuming.

AI technology makes it possible to generate predictive scores for all kinds of donor actions, like the ones discussed above.

With a steady stream of incoming likelihood metrics, the process of building mailing lists, reducing churn, and securing new recurring donors is drastically simplified. Most importantly, AI-generated metrics make it easy to be proactive with your strategies and pursue opportunities in real-time rather than respond to them after they’ve already passed.

Creating Donation Pages that Convert: 5 Pro Tips

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Online Donation Pages Tips

As we round out a hectic year and look ahead to new challenges and opportunities, it’s worth it to take some time to review the fundamentals and look for small, iterative changes that can yield big results over the next year. 

While many nonprofits consider donor engagement and retention to be their biggest pain points, you also have to consider how you’re securing those supporters in the first place. 

For a nonprofit, the foundation of all your fundraising strategies is your donation page. 

Small issues with your organization’s online donation page can have major effects on your ability to convert visitors into donors, measured by your donation conversion rate. A poor conversion rate means that not many of the visitors who find their way to your donation page actually feel motivated to follow through with making a gift. That’s a serious issue, and it’s one that many nonprofits aren’t even aware is holding them back.

That’s why creating a stronger, high-converting donation page is especially important as we head into the year-end giving season and Giving Tuesday. You definitely don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to secure donations from the higher volume of visitors that organizations typically see around this time. 

That being said, let’s walk through a few pro tips for strengthening your donation page and boosting conversions:

  1. Start with an integrated donation app.
  2. Keep your design simple and mobile-optimized.
  3. Create multiple donation pages and conduct A/B tests.
  4. Use suggested donation tiers to drive revenue.
  5. Create campaign-specific donation pages.

With online-only engagement the new norm for most organizations, your donation page shouldn’t stand between your nonprofit and increased support! These tips are great starting places to begin seeing improvements in your own conversion rate. Let’s dive in.

1 Start with an integrated donation app.

Software integrations are extremely valuable for nonprofits. Their benefits include saving your team’s time and generating data that you can use to improve your fundraising and marketing strategies. 

Most importantly, integrations between your donation page, website, and database or CRM give you increased visibility into how your donation page is performing. Without a clear sense of the number of visitors landing on your donation page and completing transactions, you can’t gauge your conversion rate or begin making data-driven improvements.

Using donation software that integrates with your other tools will be your best bet. If you’re working with a cloud-based, modular-style CRM platform like Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics, use a donation app that’s specifically designed to integrate with those systems. 

With data automatically flowing from your donation app to your database (and coupled with website data through Google Analytics), you’ll get a complete picture of your donation page’s performance over time. This gives you a solid foundation on which to begin making improvements.

2. Keep your design simple and mobile-optimized.

The design of your donation page can play a major role in how well it converts donors. Simple, intuitive design that doesn’t slow users down is key. Avoid elements like:

  • Too many images or distracting multimedia
  • Multiple pages a donor needs to click through in order to complete a donation
  • Unnecessary fields or required account creation

Any of these elements will slow down your donors when they’re feeling most motivated to give. Make the process as fast and seamless as possible to avoid deterring any potential support. 

As an added bonus, simpler designs typically work much better on mobile devices than complicated pages. Mobile-optimization is critical today with more and more web traffic occurring on mobile devices. If your donation page doesn’t work well (or at all!) on smaller screens, you’re almost certainly losing out on potential donations.

Additionally, the ability to customize and tweak the design of your donation page is a must. This is one reason why payment processing services like PayPal that serve very general needs often aren’t the best choice for nonprofit organizations. For a deeper dive into this topic, check out our Soapbox guide to Venmo and PayPal alternatives for nonprofits. 

3. Create multiple donation pages and conduct A/B tests.

To fine-tune one or more elements of your donation page, we recommend creating multiple versions and conducting A/B tests. Let’s say you want to see which text appeal is more effective at converting donors. Here’s how you’d find out:

  1. Create two versions of your donation page, each with a different message encouraging visitors to make a transaction. One might emphasize how their support will directly impact your mission, and the other might emphasize why their support is so important for your nonprofit amid today’s challenges. Leading donation software should allow you to easily create and customize additional donation pages as needed.
  2. Promote both donation pages to your supporters online via email or social media. Try sending an email that links to one donation page, and then following up with a separate email linking to the other donation page after a week or two.
  3. Review how each page performed. Integrated donation software should make it easy to identify how many visitors and donations each page secured. Make note of these insights, and use them to make updates to your other donation pages over time.

This is a fairly simple example, but A/B testing is an invaluable tool for improving nearly every aspect of your donation page. By strengthening your text appeals, visual design, suggested donation tiers, and more, you can build a high-converting donation page one element at a time.

Even beyond your donation page, A/B testing is an important tactic to have in your arsenal. Use this technique to improve all the elements of your broader digital strategy, like your nonprofit’s marketing materials.

4. Use suggested donation tiers to drive revenue.

Peer pressure and the power of persuasion can be extremely effective for boosting donation conversions. Make sure your donation page includes pre-set suggested donation tiers for donors to consider (in addition to the option to set their own preferred amount).

Use your past donation data to find your average donation amount. Then, build tiers around it, encouraging donors to go just a bit higher. Suggesting an amount makes the donation process even simpler for donors, and highlighting your average donation amount can persuade some visitors to give more than they would have otherwise.

This is an easy way to drive more revenue with very little extra effort, so it’s important to have suggested donation tiers on your pages. This is especially true when you want to maximize revenue during time-bound campaigns and high-volume giving days.

Plus, suggesting donation amounts is a great opportunity to show donors the specific impacts of their gifts. For instance, a gift of a certain amount might buy X number of school supplies for a child or help feed an animal in need for X days. Visualizing the concrete impact of their support is a surefire way to motivate more donors to give.

5. Create campaign-specific donation pages.

By creating separate donation pages for your nonprofit’s various fundraising campaigns, you can put all of these tips and your insights from A/B tests into action.

Giving Tuesday is the perfect example. Create a dedicated donation page specifically for your Giving Tuesday campaign, and link supporters to it in all of your promotional emails, social media posts, and blog posts leading up to the big day. This allows you to target every element of your donation page, like its design, text, and follow-up messages, to that particular campaign.

Plus, creating campaign-specific donation pages drastically simplifies the process of tracking each campaign’s performance. When integrated with your database, transaction and engagement data from each page will be properly reported under the appropriate campaign.

As we round out a whirlwind of a year and look ahead to the year-end giving season, strengthening your nonprofit’s core fundraising foundation is a great use of your time.

As the anchor of all of your online fundraising efforts, your donation pages must pull their weight! There’s no reason why nonprofits should endure poor conversion rates when simple, iterative fixes like the ones in these tips can be easily implemented. Plus, incorporating best practices like software integrations and A/B testing into your regular fundraising approach will benefit your nonprofit well into the future. Best of luck!

Staying Socially Distant – but Emotionally Close – to Donors During a Pandemic

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Connecting with Nonprofit Donors In times of crisis, our first thoughts in the nonprofit sector are for the men, women and children we serve – our clients, patients, parishioners and friends. Perhaps our next thought is for the welfare of our employees and volunteers. Third in our list of priorities, but in no way less important, is the well being of our donors.

In a global pandemic, how do nonprofits stay socially distant, but emotionally close, to our supporters?

As we cancel galas, restructure capital campaigns and rush to rewrite traditional appeals, many are struggling to know how to engage key supporters in meaningful ways. Here are a few tips for navigating these rough waters.

Be in Touch With Donoros – Now

Let your key supporters know that they are among your first thoughts during in this crisis. By top donors, I mean the top 10 or 20, those who are key to your annual fundraising efforts. Let them know they are family. Call them and email them – personally, not en masse – to fill them in on how you are serving your clients, what’s happening with your staff, what your board is thinking. Let them know you’re concerned for their welfare.

Your supporters are, after all, people. They appreciate knowing what’s going on and being part of your early outreach. They are your closest friends – so be a good friend and be in touch right away.

Keep Your Nonprofit’s Values Center-Stage

It’s absolutely right to put your clients first. Their needs are your organization’s raison d’etre, even more so during a crisis. Tell your donors what you are doing to help your clients. Share how you are adapting, being creative and using technology to help your clients and keep them safe.

Your supporters will be proud of your work, inspired by your commitment, energized by your vision. Remember that list of values your team worked on at the last retreat? This is where you dust them off and put them into visible action.

Invite Your Nonprofit’s Supporters In

They may not be able to visit your organization (or even leave their house), but your supporters still want to help. Invite them to do something tangible to help you serve your clients. Something that doesn’t involve making a donation.

If your clients need home supplies, set up an Amazon list and invite donors to make a purchase. If one of your clients is having a birthday party or life event, invite your supporters to flood the client with emails of congratulations. If your clients are feeling lonely and shut in, arrange a phone call effort to brighten their day. Donors want to help and, like you, are feeling helpless at home. Invite them to be an active part of your bucket brigade.

Wow them with Your Nonprofit’s Ingenuity

There is always a silver lining. For nonprofits, the cancellation of life-as-we-know-it brings the opportunity to define the new normal. We’ve always done more with less. Why not lead the way in serving clients in inventive, original ways?

Unable to operate a soup kitchen? How about boxed supplies to go? Can’t open the diaper bank? What about patrolmen delivering in key neighborhoods? Show your donors that you have the spirit and resourcefulness to reach those in need. It’ll make your donors proud and deepen their commitment to your cause. Arm them with stories of your against-all-odds successes to share with others.

Cultivate with Care

It’s an international crisis….proceed with care. And this goes for direct solicitations. Right now – and for the immediate future – your supporters are getting their bearings. Yes, they want to help, but read the room carefully.

If the gala has just been cancelled, and you have a full website of online auction items to share, by all means have a virtual fundraiser. But keep the long view in mind. For many top donors, now is the time to invite them to strategize before investing. Which leads to the last tip . . .

Do Donor Engagement Differently

Here’s where you imaginative development professionals can shine! This is going to be a multi-month event – reinvent your donor outreach to fit the pandemic. Don’t scrap all contact until the curve flattens out. Develop ways that you can meet your donors’ needs – for information, social engagement, positive news – while promoting your nonprofit.

What does that look like? How about “Tuesday Teas” where donors get real-time, conference call updates regarding client outreach? Or Facebook Live tours of your under-construction new facility? Or Survey Monkey polls asking for thoughtful feedback about strategic questions?

Recognize what’s different that may be in your favor: donors have more attention to give; they may welcome a relief from forced family time; they are eager for upbeat news; they can absorb a greater depth of information; they want to help be part of your solution.

Engaging with Donoros Bonus: A Few Practical Tips

  • Be brief – a 2-hour in-person meeting translates to a 30-minute facetime meeting.
  • Brand it – whether it’s an activity for a client or a cultivation communication, give it a catchy name and look so it sticks in your donors’ minds.
  • Be the first – set yourself apart from your peers by being the first to do it that way.
  • Bring it back to mission – every conversation, every activity, every interaction should bring your donor back to your clients, your mission, the dent you want to make – with their help – on the world.

Top 10 FinTech StartUps Helping Nonprofit Organizations

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Fintech Nonprofit Fundraising From swifter payments to more secure transactions, Fintech companies have had a major influence on financial services at large, redefining expectations and standards.

Fintech is beginning to establish itself in this traditional sector, and entrepreneurial firms are developing new products. However, these are not the only areas affected by Fintech. Charitable giving has also changed radically and, thanks to inventions that streamlined transactions, it is now more convenient than ever to engage and support social causes across the globe.

It is obvious that the progress made by Fintech startups also empowers nonprofit organizations, which now have access to cutting-edge funding tools for fundraising, database management, volunteer engagement, and community outreach. The following are top 10 Fintechs startups that have made a tremendous stride in the charitable giving process and have given back to the local community:

  1. Chuffed

Chuffed is an online crowdfunding platform created especially for non-profit and charitable organizations that have reached remarkable figures over the years since its inception: 15 million euros raised, over 7,900 social campaigns and over 220,000 funders. Anybody can create and manage a social cause campaign on this website, regardless of whether it is related to social welfare, the LGBTQ+ community, education, and animal rights. As the funds are received, they are wired to the owner’s PayPal or bank account. The party launching the campaign receives 100% of all proceeds, as well as support with online campaign promotion.

  1. Round-up

The RoundUp App is the number one funding tool that automatically rounds off users’ debit or credit card transactions and gives the “change” to your nonprofit, providing a new flow of recurring donations. Nearly 10,000 people have created accounts on the application and are helping more than 1,000 nonprofit organizations, according to RoundUp. As of 2019, donors contribute an average of $15.34 per month.

  1. Pennies

Pennies is a state-of-the-art charity that makes donations easier for ordinary people. By partnering with retail outlets, they give buyers the option of rounding up their receipts when paying by card and those few extra cents are used for a social cause. Pennies work in-apps and in-stone, as well as online, and to date have helped over 200 non-profits.

  1. CrowdRise

With over $30 million received in funding, CrowdRise is another funding platform for nonprofit organizations. It helps users launch their fundraising sites and the funds go straight to a charity, irrespective of where the campaign initiator has achieved his or her goals. So far, CrowdRise has partnered with famous organizations like UNICEF, Red Cross, and the Boston Marathon.

  1. Cheerful

Cheerful formally called Bstow – develops online fundraising tools for churches and nonprofits. Providing several means of giving (recurring, one-time donations or rounding change), Cheerful is compatible with the iOS devices, Web and soon Android devices. While donating a few pennies doesn’t seem to be much, Cheerful has a lot of users and, with a retention rate of 90%, has been able to help many non-profit organizations surmount funding challenges. By using Cheerful, members can choose from as many as 1.5 million nonprofits to donate to.

  1. GoodWorld

Online services and card payments have greatly enhanced the donation process. However, what if giving were as straightforward as making a hashtag? This has been the hallmark behind GoodWorld, one of the most pioneering charitable fintechs. People who join GoodWorld just have to fill out a form and then each time that they wish to make a donation to a particular cause on social media, all they need to type is #donate, then the exact amount they want to donate.

  1. Betterment

Betterment is a company that automates online investment for users. The service features a charitable donation feature, which allows users to gift shares via Betterment, thereby ensuring that the nonprofits receive the user’s 100% donation. Users can donate shares to charities such as UNICEF USA, Feeding America, and Save The Children. More than $700,000 were donated to charitable organizations through the company’s services in 2017, Betterment reported.

  1. ImpactGuru

ImpactGuru is India’s most popular crowdfunding platform, having helped over 10,000 people and charities with over 13,000 fundraisers. While also accepting traditional donations, ImpactGuru became famous for its incentives based on rewards and private investment ideas. ImpactGuru remains the only platform in India that offers tax benefits to Indian, American, and British donors.

  1. PayPal

The online payment company is active in 24 currencies and 190 markets worldwide. The PayPal application offers an option to donate to non-profit organizations with the flick of a wrist. Also, the website encourages donations via the PayPal Donations Fund, which covers all deductions and commissions. PayPal disclosed in 2017 that the firm generated over $100 million for charities. The firm says the company received donations from more than a million customers and the funds donated were allocated to over 46,000 charities.

  1. Cleo

Cleo is a UK-based Artificial intelligence fin-tech start-up offering users financial planning tips to save money and get information on where and what they spend. Cleo has also recently added a donation feature: users can just utter the word “donate” in Cleo’s chat and a percentage of their savings will be donated to charity. They can activate and deactivate the option to donate from time to time, and modify the amount they want to donate to charity.

How to Write a Letter of Thanks for Donations

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letter of thanks for donationsFunding can be one of the biggest single challenges of running a nonprofit. Without funding, programming becomes increasingly difficult. So what is the key to funding a nonprofit? Gratitude, of course! Writing an effective and heartfelt letter of thanks for donations lets donors know that you value them. And hopefully, this letter helps keep your nonprofit top of mind for future donations.

I started my own nonprofit to support transgender youth called Meta Center Inc in 2016. I had a big goal of creating an inclusive space for transgender youth to feel safe and supported. My goal was large but my funding definitely on the small scale. I dug as deep as I could into my own pockets. I also relied heavily on the kindness and generosity of family, friends and community members. A letter of thanks for donations helped ensure that my nonprofit started off on the right foot.

Letter of Thanks for Donations

Over the years, I’ve worked on perfecting the art of gratitude. Here are my tips on how to write a standout donor-centered letter of thanks for donations:

Be Swift

You should send out your thank you letter within 48 hours. This means that you need to be prepared for a donation that could come at any time. Follow the steps below to ensure that your letter is ready to customize and send quickly.

Make it Personal

Avoid a pre-printed card you keep on hand. Personalization is the key to a memorable letter of thanks. Skip “Dear Donor” or “Hello Friend” and include your donor’s name. They took the time to donate to your nonprofit. You need to take the time to write a real personalized letter. If this is not their first donation, make sure you include: “Thank you for another contribution..” Return donors are so important to your nonprofit’s livelihood. This simple touch acknowledges in a personal way that you appreciate them thinking of you again.

Tell A Story

I start all of letter of thanks for donations the same way: I tell a personal story. This is the best way to grab the reader’s attention.  Detail how the nonprofit directly impacted an individual’s life for the better. With permission, share that individual’s name  and include a direct quote. Make it clear right from the beginning who directly benefited from their donation. For Meta Center Inc, a story might details an individual who was able to start their medical transition, find a gender-affirming doctor, buy their first binder and live as their true authentic self.

Include Statistics

Numbers, figures and statistics take the personal story and extrapolate that one individual’s experience to demonstrate the full reach of your nonprofit’s work. Did your nonprofit organization increase individuals served this year? Were you able to step up your programming efforts? You added an extra weekly support group? Share that with your donor! As a donor, they are champions of your nonprofit’s success. Brag a little!

What’s Next for Your Nonprofit

Once you’ve let your donor know how their funding has impacted your organization already, let them know what you plan to do next. If you haven’t completed a project, let them know where you stand. No one expects you to have everything together, but an update goes a long way! Stay transparent and tell your donor how their funds will be used.

Don’t Ask for Another Donation

This is a letter of thanks for a donation. This is not the time to ask for another donation. Asking for another donation 48 hours after you received the first one simply comes off as ungrateful. An effective letter of thanks for donations will ensure that when your donor is ready to give again, your organization will be top of mind!

Keep the Door Open

If your donor is local, let them know about your next event or invite them over to the office for a tour. Take them to coffee. Think of your donors as relationships. You nurture relationships, right? Donors are the same! Make sure the letter is written and hand-signed directly by someone on your leadership team.

Feel confident you can nail the letter of thanks for donations yet? Remember to keep it personal, tell a story and show that gratitude!

Five Reasons for Nonprofits to Hire an Outsourced CIO

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Investing Nonprofit FundsWhen is it time to outsource your nonprofit’s investment management?

In the same way that a nonprofit’s size does not dictate its need for legal assistance, a portfolio’s size alone does not dictate the need for investment assistance.

The key role of a nonprofit organization’s trustees is to ensure that investment assets are protected and properly managed so that they can serve the organization’s mission. Regardless of the size of the investment assets, the investment committee seeks to balance the objectives of both long-term growth and ongoing funding of the organization’s grant-making activities. To fulfill their roles, trustees can and do seek guidance from objective third parties, whether for legal or investment advice.

At what point does the trustee determine if they should manage the assets on their own or hire an outsourced chief investment officer? The size of the investment portfolio may not provide a clear indication, but there are recognizable triggers that may require a closer look.

Here are five common situations when an Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) can be the smart choice for an organization of any size.

Increased Complexity Overburdens Committees

Even savvy, well-intentioned professionals can feel overwhelmed by the number of decisions involved in maintaining complex investment portfolios — especially if they meet no more than once or twice a quarter, which is common. The growing number of managers in portfolios, complex alternative strategies, and increasingly volatile markets make it difficult for committee members to both keep pace and make thoughtful portfolio decisions.

The Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act[1] (UPMIFA) provides trustees with the ability to delegate certain aspects of their responsibilities to an outside entity, if that can help them better meet their obligations as a governing fiduciary. Trustees retain responsibility for overseeing the OCIO service provider, who then acts as managing fiduciary and takes over the day-to-day responsibilities of managing the portfolio. The investment committee regains the time needed to focus on larger strategic decisions, while the OCIO becomes a co-fiduciary and shares the risk and responsibility.

Challenges in Continuity

Most nonprofit organizations have enjoyed strong investment returns over the last ten years. Yet memories of the 2008 crisis’s impact on investment-portfolio values and spending levels are vivid. In many cases, committee members have rotated since the last market downturn, and today’s members have not worked as a team through a similar market environment.

When committee membership faces regular turnover, each change introduces new perspectives, and new biases. Whether swayed by the dominance of a single member or by memories anchored to a single historic event, committees can become susceptible to difficult dynamics during periods of market volatility, when it is crucial to maintain a disciplined approach to investing.

An OCIO provides continuous institutional memory to the portfolio’s management and has the experience and perspective to adhere to a strategy appropriate for the long term.

Scale Impedes Growth

Smaller aspirational nonprofits with limited resources often find themselves at a disadvantage when competing with larger organizations for donor capital, whether for capital campaigns or ongoing fund drives.

With an OCIO managing their assets, small nonprofits can stand on par with larger charities by showing they have the resources of a large, professional entity, thus gaining the confidence of donors who are empathetic with their charitable mission. The larger the donation, the more sophisticated the donor, and having an OCIO is an advantage in these negotiations. When a large donor feels confident that their donation will be well-managed, the donor may even see an advantage in being a more meaningful contributor for a smaller charity. With an OCIO, even a small nonprofit gains the advantages of scale and expertise that are typically thought to benefit only large organizations.

Time Constraints Limit Strategic Focus

With limited resources, smaller charities often struggle just to meet day-to-day objectives and don’t get to spend the time needed to focus on larger organizational goals. Outsourcing the day-to-day workings of human resources, payroll, and accounting makes it possible for these organizations to develop and maintain a level of professionalism on limited budgets. Further, they can focus their resources on meeting larger strategic goals, such as growth, and on developing their missions.

With an OCIO taking care of day-to-day investment management responsibilities, boards and investment committees with responsibilities for endowment or foundation assets can free their time; instead of discussing individual investments and portfolio line items, they can focus on more strategic matters, such as reviewing their endowments’ broad strategic frameworks and aligning investments with funding and campaign goals.

In-house Costs Exceed OCIO Costs

Nonprofit Fundraising Investment ManagementThe larger and more complex an investment portfolio, the larger the amount of resources needed to manage the investments internally. Whether that translates to additional people in the finance department or the development of people and systems for an entire investment office, the costs of an OCIO can be assessed both in dollars and in the additional organizational complexity that would be required to maintain these resources internally.

For a nonprofit to continue its mission today and in perpetuity, it must weigh the long-term value of important financial decisions, from capital expenditures to whether and when to leverage external resources to enhance the organization. The cost-versus-reward calculation of an OCIO is as important as the calculation for new computers or a more effective donor-communication and -marketing system that helps professionalize and streamline operations. Most investment advisors should be able to share several return-on-investment scenarios, based on the risk tolerance of the charitable organization, to aid in this decision.

With the number of nonprofits growing and with all of them competing for the same donor dollars, it is beneficial to step back and review the needs, limitations, and aspirations of your organization. It may be that in developing internal best practices and long-range goals for your investments, there could be room for another form of contribution — one an OCIO can make.

About Canterbury Consulting
Canterbury Consulting is a leading investment advisory firm overseeing $20.2 billion for foundations, endowments, healthcare institutions, and families, as of December 31, 2018. Founded in 1988, the company designs and manages custom investment programs aligned with each client’s goals. Canterbury acts as the investment office for its diverse clients and provides objective investment advice, asset allocation, manager selection, risk management, implementation, and performance measurement. Canterbury Consulting strives to deliver performance and service that exceeds the needs and expectations of its clients.

[1] The Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act is a uniform act that provides guidance on investment decisions and endowment expenditures for nonprofit and charitable organizations. UPMIFA and its predecessor acts were first approved by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) in 1972.

Selecting Fundraising Software: A Guide to Navigating Board Approval

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Nonprofit Fundraising SoftwareIn today’s data driven world, modern nonprofits are finding that fundraising software is a necessity to complete their mission. Yet justifying the expense for fundraising software to board members can prove challenging.

Determining which software is needed for your organization can prove to be an even greater challenge. There are many different types of fundraising software, including CRM, Event Management, Matching Gift, Donor Research, Online Auction, Mobile Bidding and more. When selecting fundraising software and presenting it to your board, there are a three key steps you should keep in mind:

  1. Conduct a NEEDS Assesment

The first step in selecting fundraising software is to identify your organization’s needs.   It’s important to know that whatever software you choose will fit your nonprofit’s needs now and in the foreseeable future.

Before you dive in and start researching software options, create a list of the common issues your organization is currently facing that software may be able help simplify.

There are several things you may want to consider when creating your list, including:

  • How are you managing donor records?
  • Are you finding challenges with planning fundraising events? Ticketing? Auctions?
  • What kind of data sources are available for donor research?

With this list in mind, you can make a more informed decision about which software is going to help you tackle your greatest challenges.

  1. Prepare Your Presentation

Now that you’ve evaluated your organization’s needs it’s time to start preparing for your presentation to the board. The best way to do this is to consider which question you think your board may ask and what objections they may bring up. They may ask:

  • What are the adoption costs?
  • How long until we start seeing results from this investment?
  • Why is software an improvement from our existing systems?

You know your board better than anyone else, so take the time to think of other questions they may ask and be prepared with thoughtful responses. It will probably be helpful to break down larger questions into smaller ones to make sure you really address the board’s concerns.

  1. Share your Findings with Your Board

Selecting the software is only half the challenge. Presenting your findings in a way that will best answer your board’s questions is essential to make sure your organization makes the right purchasing decision.

As you build your presentation make sure you address likely questions. Add facts, data and comparison charts so your board has a solid understanding of the costs and benefits of both keeping your existing system or purchasing new fundraising software.

Try to schedule one-on-one conversations with key board members before you build your presentation so you know which key points you should highlights and which issues you should avoid.

To make your presentation count, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

  • If you’re building a slide deck, focus on one key message per slide.
  • Use graphics and images to illustrate your message. The fewer words per slide the better.
  • Keep it short and simple.

Make sure you take time to practice your presentation beforehand. Have your team review your presentation with you before you present it to your board. If possible have a friendly board member sit in on your practice sessions and provide feedback.

Closing Thoughts

If you think your organization would benefit from fundraising software, it’s imperative that you take strategic approach with your board when securing funds for the investment. As long as you come prepared and provide a thorough presentation, you should be confident they’ll agree with you.

For additional information on purchasing fundraising software, check out BidPal’s guide on Best Practice for Purchasing Online Donation Software.

Technology Creates a New Giving Economy

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Crowdfunding for NonprofitsTechnology can be very good for the nonprofit world. While technology has fundamentally changed the way we do business, the world outside of the for-profit sector has just recently caught on to its benefits. Some tech phenomena have already successfully infiltrated the nonprofit sphere, including the use of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) to improve donor relations and other daily business functions, or crowdfunding for fundraising purposes. While existing technologies remain useful for many, the next wave of using technology for good will be in the peer-to-peer giving model.

Becoming prime time in the corporate world in the early 2000s, SaaS took hold in the nonprofit space in the last 8-10 years. The very nature of SaaS made it ideal for the nonprofit sector: It’s easy to use, low cost, and avoids integration challenges that often come with on-premise databases. It was also readily adopted because of its ability to help groups manage donations and track individual donors.

For example, Room to Read, a global organization transforming the lives of millions of children in low-income countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education, relies on SaaS application Salesforce for project allocation, reporting and tracking. It helps their global teams track at scale for both the project and donor side, enabling them to make more meaningful connections and retain existing donors.

The next wave of technology modeled perfectly for nonprofit use was crowdfunding. Making its first appearance in the late 2000s, nonprofits quickly turned to Indiegogo and KickStarter to help fund their initiatives and programs. Crowdfunding caught on in the nonprofit world because it was an easy platform for anyone to access and donate to. With online payments becoming standard, it took the hassle out of mailing a check or donating in-person. Also, the collective community aspect allowed hundreds of people to work together to reach a common goal.

In 2014, Code.org launched its ‘Hour of Code’ program, with a goal of raising $5 million on Indiegogo to train 100 million students to code. They also created a viral video starring Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates for the campaign. It was the most successful Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign of its time, quickly surpassing its goal and showcasing the power of collective online donations.

While SaaS and crowdfunding have clearly made their mark on the nonprofit sector, the next technology that will be adopted in the nonprofit sector is peer-to-peer sharing. First emerging in the late 2000s and becoming mainstream in the last three years, the for-profit sector has already seen runaway hits in the peer-to-peer economy with startups like Airbnb, Uber and Zaarly. So what if this model was applied towards social good?

Elevating the sharing economy to the giving economy, nonprofits can tap this concept to allow donors to connect directly to those in need. Users are already familiar with peer-to-peer giving technology and it is easy to use and implement at a broad scale. Also, it is appealing to a millennial’s mindset who wants to help or receive help at the touch of a button.

Additionally, this model takes crowdfunding one step further by creating a meaningful one-to-one connection. Instead of being one of many, a donor can foster a direct relationship with someone in need and feel more satisfying for the donor. Donors who give in this way often receive immediate and direct feedback from someone they have helped, bringing a rush of emotions knowing they have impacted someone’s life. This is what turns random acts of kindness into a normal habit.

Out of all the nonprofit sectors, social services can benefit the most from peer-to-peer giving since it fosters a more dignified way for people to seek help. Because peer-to-peer giving is non-conditional and not predicated on paperwork, rules about sobriety, lifestyle, or impersonal prioritizations by well-meaning social agencies, those who need help can simply receive it from another community member. For instance, if a homeless person requesting a tent has to wait six months for social services paperwork to go through, it can mean they have to sleep outdoors, in the rain, in fear for personal safety, for another half a year. Peer-to-peer giving can drastically shorten the time to receive something critically needed for survival from months to days or even just hours.

The tech world isn’t just in a Silicon Valley bubble anymore. Technology has helped nearly every industry around the globe develop new product or services. With an ever-expanding influence, we have the opportunity to capitalize now on these innovations and benefit the greater good. Next time you spend 10 seconds requesting an Uber, imagine spending the same amount of time to help someone in need. Donating money, supplies or services to anyone, anywhere, with a single click.

Dos and Don’ts of Charity Auctions

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Dos and Don’ts of Charity AuctionsCharity auctions, run properly, are a tremendous fundraising opportunity with the right items and organization.  We consider auctions part of the evening’s entertainment … So make sure they are engaging and fun!  Auctions can make upwards of $1 million (this involved auctioning a Ferrari), but on average, you can expect to raise $10-20,000, a significant contribution to the cause.

If realtors emphasize “location, location, location,” we’d like to emphasize “merchandising, merchandising, merchandising.”  Here’s what we’ve learned over the years, from personally managing charity auctions ourselves (silent and live) and from shopping at many more.

 

Silent Auctions

#1 – If appropriate for your event, serve alcohol (‘nuf said).

#2 – It takes a village. Enlist the board, staff and members of your organization and event committee to collect donations. Set a goal for board members (at least one event sponsor and two auction items, for example). Encourage supporters to make requests of the proprietors of restaurants, hotels, clubs, spas, hair salons and retail stores they frequent or where they work.  Provide a deadline when donations need to be secured to give you time to create the presentation materials (see item #6).

#3 – Provide materials for volunteers to use. Sometimes people are overwhelmed about where to start … so they don’t.  Provide:

  • A template letter for requests, which briefly talks about your organization and the event, lists the types of donations you’re looking to receive and provides your 501(c)3 information.
  • A donation form, which requests a full description of the item, any limitations, such as blackout or expiration dates, etc.; retail value; who should be credited on the bid sheet for the donation; and contact information for questions (and, later, a thank you letter from the charity).

#4 – Auction items that do particularly well in our experience include experiential opportunities, travel and hotels (exotic locales as well as “staycation” spots), restaurants and consumables (wine and food). Also include items that are a value for activities in which people already engage.  For example, gift certificates to area spas and restaurants, tickets to local sporting events or concerts … even dry cleaning services.  What is a unique experience in your city that people would love to get the chance to do?  A private tour of a sports stadium prior to a game or entry into a private club?  A sunset boat ride, tee time at a local golf course or a river kayaking trip?  Consider lessons for tennis, dancing, painting or horseback riding.  How about a local caterer or restaurateur donating services to give a wine-tasting event or prepare a meal for four at the winning bidder’s home?  And donations from local artists.

Charity Auction Tips#5 – Organize donations into categories, so that people can shop items that interest them in one area. Popular categories include Travel & Entertainment, Restaurants, Lifestyle (spas, clothing, makeup, etc), Wine & Food, Memorabilia, Art and Sports.  Of course, your donations will also dictate your categories.  Provide signage so people can identify the groupings.

#6 – You need to “sell” your items much like retail stores merchandise their products.   Make the displays and descriptions appealing (You will need to re-write most of the copy provided to you … and be prepared to do some research).  Arrange them decoratively.  Bring floor and table-top easels.  Display photographs and other representational artwork in 8 x 10 acrylic frames.  Create gift baskets that combine like items, such as wine and chocolate or spa gift certificates with personal pampering products.

#7 – Make your silent auction akin to a shopping experience.  Invite a handful of local vendors who work charity events. We’ve had vendors with handsomely framed lithographs of the masters; estate jewelry; and more.  They make your auction more interesting, donate 20% of their sales to the organization and many of them will also provide a direct donation to your auction. Additionally, a reputable vendor will give 20% of sales that occur later, but resulted from initial contact at your event.

#8 – No matter how organized you think you are, have extra blank bid sheets that you can fill out by hand.  You may be missing one sheet … or someone will show up with a donation you didn’t expect. Also have additional sheets for popular items, where bidding goes to page 2.  Request their name, phone number (preferably cell so you can text the winner) and e-mail information.  You will need to track down bidders who have already left the event.  Make the barriers to placing a bid as low as possible, with the starting bid at a reasonable minimum and defined bidding increments.  Modest (though not incidental) increments encourage bidding wars.  Bid sheets should be on clipboards (or the budget clipboard of cardboard & paper clip) and pens should be plentiful.  Winners should not need to be present to claim their winnings.

#9 – It’s helpful to color code your item sheets by category with stick-on dots and to number items within the category for quick reference.  This makes check-out run much more expediently. Organize the gift certificates at the check-out (do not display them on the tables).

#10 – The auction should be staffed at all times to answer questions, encourage friendly bidding competitions, engage bidders (Do you have gifts you need to buy in the near future?) and, sometimes, to prevent theft. (Sadly, it happens.)  Throughout the evening, take the mic and create excitement, remind people the auction will be closing at [designated time].  Although you need to be conscious of when people may want to leave the event, schedule your closing as late as possible to maximize bidding opportunity.  Much like a birthday party, once the presents are opened, people leave the party.  Have the emcee announce that items will be distributed one-half hour after the auction’s closing to give you time to organize the check-out.

#11 – When the auction ends, have plenty of volunteers ready to collect bid sheets quickly (no cheating!), to help process payments and deliver items to the winners promptly. Organize the winning bid sheets by the same category in which they were displayed to make it easier to find.  Additionally, you can make a “winners” board with a chalk or dry-erase board.  Create a check-out line with at least two representatives to process credit card payments and one to handle cash/checks and hand out gift certificates.  If possible, set up a Square payment system for your charity. If that’s not possible, make sure you have a phone line available to your check-out station to process credit card payments.  If you are utilizing an old-fashioned, carbon copy imprinter, your credit card processing company may offer a slightly lower rate if you write their phone/address on the receipt (and it gives you recourse for any problems that come up later).  Stamp the bid sheet PAID and hand it off to designated “runners” who will track down the item and hand it off to the winner.

 

Live Auctions

If you have one or two extraordinary items (private jet travel, full vacation experience at a high-end destination, dinner with a local celebrity, etc.), you may want to consider holding a live auction.  Announce that the silent auction is closing soon, then have someone from your organization (who isn’t shy) take the mic and oversee the bidding.  Have volunteers help you identify who is bidding in the audience and escort them to the payment table.

We have also been at a few events where a professional auctioneer oversees a larger effort.  Project Angel Food in Los Angeles does this really well.  The auctioneer sells “opportunities,” such as “$2,500 will buy special Thanksgiving meals for X number of clients” … and so on. Frequently, they sell more than one across a variety of categories and donation levels.

Opportunity Drawings

Formerly known as a raffle (until the IRS regulated the age-old tradition), it’s another fun way to enliven the evening and we consider it icing on the auction cake.  But make sure you follow state and federal guidelines. If you’re willing to negotiate the red tape, here are a few ideas …

Have the item(s) merchandised at the check-in table.  Ask people to “make a donation” for tickets (rolls of dividable carnival tickets will do) as they check-in, then have volunteers walking around to offer them throughout the evening.

One gimmick that works extremely well is to suggestion a donation of $1 per ticket or “your height in tickets” for $20.  Have them put one foot on the end of the ticket roll and literally break off the length of tickets at the top of their head. (We always give shorter guests a few bonus inches).  It’s a great ice breaker.

While regulations chance drawings vary by state, you can review the federal guidelines regarding tax-exempt organizations and gaming at:  https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p3079.pdf

With the above tips, your silent auction should be a huge success and make a significant contribution to your organization’s mission.  Good luck!

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