online fundraising advice

5 Online Donation Form Mistakes Your Nonprofit Should Avoid

August 9, 2021 By Matt Dunne

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:

Not making your form easy to find.
Using an insecure payment processor.
Asking unnecessary questions.
Not making your form accessible.
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:

Donors may see your donation form as untrustworthy and think it’s taking too much of their information and decide not to donate.
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!

Online Fundraising Challenges & How to Solve Them

March 25, 2021 By Nick Black

Nonprofits have had immense success fundraising on Facebook, raising billions of dollars since the platform’s fundraising tools emerged in 2015. So, if you’re:

An organization with hundreds, thousands, or tens-of-thousands of “likes” on your nonprofit’s Facebook page.
Seeing regular engagement with the information you post.
Seeing some engagement with the platform’s fundraising functionality.
Giving supporters the option to hit the “Create Fundraiser” button whenever they want.

Then why aren’t you seeing impactful results through the platform?

The truth is, social media is much more than followers, birthday fundraisers, dashboards, and donations. To truly make the most of Facebook fundraising, you’ll have to inspire and grow relationships with each and every supporter on the platform.

In this guide, we’re going to discuss two pervasive obstacles for nonprofits when it comes to making the most of online fundraising on Facebook, as well as solutions to help you overcome them. We’ll cover the following obstacles:

Communication & Relationship-Building
Zero-Dollar Fundraisers

Surpassing your Facebook fundraising challenges will set your team up for success during the pandemic-fueled era of predominantly online fundraising, as well as when you strategize for beyond this crisis. After all, Facebook fundraising is going to be thriving long beyond the pandemic’s end.

With that said, let’s dive in.

Communication & Relationship-Building

One of the most prevalent online fundraising complaints from nonprofits is how challenging it can be to communicate and build strong relationships with donors from afar. When you’re not hosting fundraising events and having one-on-one meetings with supporters, it’s hard to express your gratitude and understand who they are, why they’re supporting you, and how they want to engage with your organization going forward.

This is especially true when it comes to Facebook fundraising campaigns, simply because they’re often user-led. This means one of your nonprofit’s supporters chooses to create a fundraiser on your behalf. Your organization doesn’t receive a notification when these fundraisers are created and it can be easy to let fundraisers slip by without any acknowledgment.

However, people that start Facebook fundraisers are going out of their way to garner support for your organization publicly— they’re championing your cause on a public platform. It’s crucial to acknowledge this support and grow these relationships for years to come.

Solution: Make the most of Facebook’s built-in engagement tools.

When it comes to supporter retention, thank-you notes, surveys, and regular communications are key. Facebook’s built-in engagement tools, such as Facebook Messenger, can help with this. Here are a few ideas:

First, you’ll want to navigate to your nonprofit’s page and click on the “Fundraisers” section. You’ll be able to view all fundraisers started on your behalf and “Sort & Filter” those fundraisers to discover those most recently started.
Then, you’ll want to comment on the most recently started fundraisers and thank those users for their support. At this point, you can invite them to continue engaging with you via Messenger and publicly “Share” the fundraiser on your nonprofit’s page if shareable.
Through Messenger, you can send encouragement and tips for success as well as ask questions to learn about how the user wants to engage with your nonprofit going forward. This is how you can forge a strong connection between your organization and that particular supporter.

For a large nonprofit with many followers, this may seem overwhelming— if there are tens to hundreds of fundraisers started on your behalf each week, conversing with each one can be a large administrative ask.

In that case, consider partnering with a company that provides managed services for Facebook fundraising (such as GoodUnited). This partner can help you understand who your supporters are, why they care about your organization, and how you can build a personalized relationship with that supporter through Messenger and beyond. This can be instrumental in growing your relationships with supporters on Facebook at scale.

Zero-Dollar Fundraisers

Zero-dollar fundraisers are Facebook fundraisers that run out of time without raising any funds. So, let’s say a user pledges to raise $500 for your nonprofit with a deadline of one week. If it’s a zero-dollar fundraiser, the user will reach the one-week mark without raising a single donation.

These fundraisers are damaging for many reasons. First, they’re embarrassing and disheartening for the user that starts them and can deter the user from fundraising again. Second, they cast a bad light on your nonprofit and the amount of public support you can garner. Any Facebook user can see the fundraisers that are started on your behalf directly on your fundraising page. If many users are starting fundraisers, but they’re not raising any funds, it will seem as though you don’t have significant public support.

The biggest reason that zero-dollar fundraisers are so prevalent on Facebook is that many users aren’t fundraising professionals and therefore, they don’t know how to reach their goals successfully. That’s where you step in.

Solution: Share tips for success with users.

The solution here is to educate users to raise donations successfully through Facebook. This includes sharing tips such as:

Make the first gift yourself. Did you know that 94% of fundraisers that don’t raise their first gift within 24 hours end as zero-dollar fundraisers? Users should kickstart their own effort by making the first gift.
Include a personal message. While your nonprofit’s Facebook page cover photo and mission statement will auto-fill, users should add an additional message about their personal connection with your organization.
Regularly share the fundraiser. They should share the fundraiser multiple times and provide updates about how the gifts raised so far have helped progress toward their overall fundraising goal.
Align with your nonprofit’s branding. If you’re hosting a full peer-to-peer campaign for users to create Facebook fundraisers alongside, participants should use the familiar branding for the overall campaign (cover images, naming conventions) to benefit from brand recognition.

There are a few ways to share these tips with users. First, you can share them via Messenger. For example, you can communicate with the user throughout their campaign and share encouragement and reminders to re-share their fundraiser. Further, you can create a Facebook fundraiser user guide that shares these tips and post it on your nonprofit’s website and Facebook page.

The goal here is to show users that you’re invested in their success and willing to help them reach their goals. This will create a positive experience for fundraisers and grow relationships between your organization and those users one-on-one.

Since the platform’s fundraising tools emerged in 2015, nonprofits have raised over $1 billion through Facebook birthday fundraisers alone— this doesn’t include Facebook Live fundraisers, nonprofit donate buttons, or Facebook Stories fundraiser stickers. When you consider the full range of Facebook fundraising tools, the potential of this channel is booming.

However, successful Facebook fundraising is dependent on much more than the platform’s fundraising tools. Communicating with supporters in-channel on Facebook is what will build relationships that have a lasting impact and overcome some of your biggest online fundraising challenges. With these tips, you’ll be off to a great start.

5 Ways to Make Your Virtual Auction Stand Out to Donors

October 14, 2020 By Joshua Meyer

It’s been an extremely busy several months for the nonprofit sector. Pandemic response efforts, crisis fundraising, and shifting to virtual engagement techniques have almost certainly required drastic changes in your nonprofit’s initial plans for the year.

And with the year-end giving season right around the corner, there’s not much of a chance to take a break! Your nonprofit is probably already gearing up for another busy period of fundraising and donor engagement to tap into year-end generosity.

Hopefully, your nonprofit has already begun exploring its virtual event options since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual fundraising events have proven to be viable alternatives for nonprofits ready to get started with the right technology and strategies. In fact, many nonprofits that we’ve worked with have dramatically exceeded their initial fundraising goals with the switch to virtual events.

If an engaging virtual event sounds like the right move for your organization’s year-end campaign, we recommend hosting a virtual auction.

At OneCause, we specialize in supporting charity auctions, so we’ve pivoted right alongside the nonprofit sector to adapt to the new realities and challenges of virtual fundraising. Online auctions are an extremely flexible type of virtual event that can work for all types of missions and audiences. Plus, they’re easy to incorporate into a wide variety of other virtual events you might host, like an online gala.

However, competition for your donors’ attention online is fiercer than ever before! In order to maximize your event, you’ll need an effective event plan and marketing strategy to get you started. Here are our top tips for making your own virtual auction stand out to donors:

Procure the perfect range of auction items.
Host livestreamed celebrations during your auction.
Give donors access to mobile bidding tools.
Offer engaging add-ons to boost revenue.
Tap into the power of peer-to-peer tactics.

Armed with these tips, you’ll be sure to draw a substantial crowd to your nonprofit’s virtual auction and keep them engaged through to close-out. Let’s dive in.

1. Procure the perfect range of auction items.

More than any other element of your virtual auction, the items that you procure will play a major role in determining your success. You’ll need to procure the perfect range of auction items to excite your donors and generate some healthy competition. Nothing can attract excited bidders quite like the perfect auction item or package.

However, this means more than simply offering the most exciting or flashy items you can find. Your catalog of auction items needs to be targeted to your nonprofit’s unique audience.

This means considering donors’ interests but also their capacity to give and their expectations for your event. For instance, a large-scale virtual gala targeting older, wealthy donors would definitely feature a different range of auction items than a smaller online auction hosted by a school PTA.

Take the time to think about your own audience and supporters, and then start brainstorming different items and packages that they’ll find exciting and truly valuable. In our own auction item idea directory, we’ve broken down our favorites into categories like classic ideas, showstoppers, virtual-friendly items, and more to help kickstart your procurement process.

2. Host live streamed celebrations during your virtual auction.

Livestreaming has proven itself to be a valuable addition to all kinds of virtual nonprofit events, including auctions. Incorporating live elements into your virtual auction opens up new opportunities to make donation appeals, present items, shout-out your supporters, and create a more dynamic, engaging experience.

These are a few ways that nonprofits have added live streaming elements to their virtual auctions:

Kickoff celebrations to launch the auction, explain the rules, and show off key items.
Live finales to announce winners, thank your participants, and make final donation appeals.
Periodic live check-ins to make announcements and amp up the bidding energy.
Large virtual gala portions of the events in which you might include speakers, ceremonies, multimedia presentations, entertainment, and sponsor shout-outs.
Live bidding portions for mobile bidders to compete for your top items in real-time.

To simplify the process of including live streaming elements in your auction, work with virtual fundraising software that features built-in live video capabilities. A centralized virtual event center will improve the entire experience for both bidders and your team once it’s time to kick off the auction.

3. Give donors access to mobile bidding tools.

Mobile bidding tools open up your virtual auction to much wider audiences by allowing bids from both desktop and smartphones. Since many virtual auctions occur over several days, providing your participant’s plenty of flexibility and easy mobile access is a no-brainer to boost engagement.

While your virtual auction will naturally not involve classic paper bid sheets, offering mobile bidding in addition to bidding through your main website offers a major benefit: push notifications.

With push notifications, you can instantly direct bidders’ attention to items that could use more bids or to your top items that are generating a ton of competition. Plus, you can keep everyone in the loop by notifying all of your bidders at once about bid openings, closures, and upcoming live streams.

If you incorporate mobile bidding tools into your virtual auction, you’ll need to take an extra step to fully explain to your participants how the technology works. Include explainers and demo videos in your broader digital strategy for promoting the event.

We recommend creating a dedicated email stream to send to registrants leading up to the event launch. In these emails, tease your items, explain how the process works, and walk through the mobile bidding process step-by-step. This can greatly reduce confusion and frustration once your auction begins, so bidders can hit the ground running.

4. Offer engaging add-ons to boost revenue.

Add-ons are a great way to offer your bidders more ways to engage with your auction while also raising additional revenue. Consider these popular add-ons for virtual events like auctions:

Buy-it-now options. Give bidders the option to bypass the competition and simply purchase their favorite item (usually at 150-200% of the item’s initial fair market value).
Fixed-price add-ons. These are add-ons that participants can purchase during the registration process or throughout the duration of the virtual auction. T-shirts are a classic example, although think about other add-ons more directly related to your mission. For instance, a food bank might offer bidders the option to directly purchase a case of foodstuff to be donated to its pantry.
Raffle tickets. Raffles make easy additions to all kinds of nonprofit events. With a virtual raffle, participants can purchase digital tickets when they register for your auction. Then, pick a winner during your finale livestream. This is a great way to boost your event’s revenue without adding too much extra work to your team’s to-do list.
Fundraising challenges. Spur giving with competitive giving elements. Set fundraising goals and ask donors to unlock challenges for your hosts or ambassadors if they hit donation goals. Fun examples include head shaving, cake in the face, Tik Tok dances, and other funny social challenges.
Extra perks. A little incentive is never a bad idea to boost engagement and make your auction more exciting. Consider offering extra perks to item winners (or even randomly-chosen participants!) like free merchandise, tickets to your next event, or a discounted annual membership.

Add-ons like these can help you raise more while creating a more engaging experience for attendees. Virtual auctions are extremely flexible fundraising events, so get creative to come up with the best ideas to incorporate into your own plans. Just be sure to actively promote any of these exciting perks to encourage more potential attendees to register!

5. Tap into the power of peer-to-peer tactics.

Social media marketing is a powerful force for spreading the word about your virtual auction and securing more support for your cause. Use peer-to-peer tactics to boost attendance, raise additional donations, and generate more excitement leading up to your auction. There are two general routes you might take:

Launch a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. Empower your supporters to create their own individual giving pages to share with friends and family online. Encourage them to explain why they love your nonprofit’s mission and are excited about your upcoming virtual auction. This strategy can get your virtual event in front of a much wider audience, helping you to increase attendance while also raising more donations.

Recruit ambassadors in your community. An ambassador campaign allows you to take a more focused approach to large-scale virtual event promotion. Recruit well-connected supporters and give them everything they’ll need to get the job done, including individual sign-up pages and digital content to share online. Set specific donation and registration goals for your ambassadors, and then be sure to publicly recognize and reward them during your event.

Both of these tactics tap into the power of social proof to generate more engagement for your auction. When a potential donor or attendee sees that their loved one supports your cause and eagerly promotes it on your behalf, they’re much more likely to get involved than if they encountered your nonprofit on their own.

Plus, the direct impact that ambassadors and peer-to-peer volunteers can have on your event goes a long way to deepen their relationships with your cause. This makes peer-to-peer tactics an effective way to boost your retention rates over time. Bloomerang’s guide to donor retention ranks peer-to-peer campaigns as one of the top strategies for cultivating stronger long-term relationships with supporters.

Heading into the year-end giving season, your nonprofit’s virtual campaigns and events have to stand out from the crowd in order to succeed!

If you’re hosting a virtual auction as part of your year-end fundraising and engagement activities, remember these tips and incorporate them into your plans from the start. With a tailored range of auction items, engaging live streams, intuitive bidding tools, appealing add-ons, and peer-to-peer connections, your virtual auction will stand out to supporters as an exciting opportunity. Best of luck!

Virtual Fundraising: Tips for Moving In-Person Auctions Online

September 17, 2020 By Bryna Dilman

With the entire world affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic fallout, the vital services and resources that nonprofits provide are in historically high demand. To meet this surge and move their mission forward, nonprofits must decide -and decide quickly- the best way to continue their fundraising efforts in a contactless way.

As nonprofits navigate a new fundraising landscape that has completely changed in just a few short months, one tactic that is gaining momentum is hosting an online auction.

To maximize efforts and drive greater donations, below are some critical steps to keep in mind before jumping on this emerging trend in online fundraising.

Get your auction list in check:

Although it sounds like a simple task, creating and refining an auction list is easier said than done. As resources may be limited, it’s best to target items that won’t take a lot of phone calls or research to request. If possible, focus on items that are easily transported to the winners (i.e. electronically or via regular mail). Additionally, with many businesses and services temporarily closed due to COVID-19, make sure to check on any restrictions on the donated item. For instance, if a local Italian restaurant donated a gift card but it’s only open for delivery, disclose this in the item restrictions field.

When finding new items, keep in mind that most businesses donate to auctions in order to convert new customers. Therefore, find out which businesses have the capacity to contribute and present the auction as an opportunity to support a great cause and reach a new customer base. This will be an easier selling point for a business that ties into your mission. For example, if you work at an animal shelter, ask local pet stores or boutiques for grooming gift certificates, dog and cat toys or pet sitting services. By teaming up with a like-minded business, you create an ally to promote your mission to customers that fall squarely in your target demographic.

Select a site to host your auction:

Selecting a reputable online fundraising platform that enables you to connect with your donors in a meaningful way is critical. Do your research to find a site that reaches a large bidding community and streamlines promotion efforts by choosing a platform with email and communication tools. Also, for any initiative that requires individuals to disclose sensitive information like credit card numbers, opt for a site that makes data privacy a top priority.

Polish your communication plan:

Once you’ve selected your donor destination site of choice, create a foolproof communication plan to reach your desired audience. As mentioned, if you choose a site that has email capabilities, it’s easier to create targeted campaigns to attract new supporters and reengage previous donors.

While it’s important to target your usual guest list, do not forget to contact participants from all past fundraising events and campaigns. For previous supporters, thank them for their continued commitment and illustrate how the online auction differs from past events. To personalize outreach, auction organizers should consider calling donors that are historically very loyal or generous.

Don’t forget to tie in your organization’s mission with the event. Include photos and examples of the impact supporters’ donations will have. If you have a recent major accomplishment- like a breakthrough in research or reaching a fundraising milestone- be sure to mention that too.

Urge your contacts to register as bidders for the auction but understand that this is not the only call to action you should include. It’s also vital to encourage registrants to share the auction with friends and family or post on their personal social media profiles. Once you have some registered bidders, be sure to send them emails about new items you’ve listed or highlight items with no bids (or ones with the most bids!).

Don’t be shy in your outreach efforts. While it’s certainly a sensitive time to ask for donations, a lot of people still want to support your event and cause.

Say thank you and stay engaged:

Before the auction even closes, continue to engage supporters. Say “thank you” early and as often as possible. To foster long standing relationships, send acknowledgement letters to all individuals and businesses that donate items as you receive them.

As soon as the auction closes, send each winner a tax receipt that includes a description of the item purchased, its fair market value and the amount of purchase. Some auction hosting sites will automatically send these out, but you can always follow up with a personalized thank you note and a receipt as needed.

Don’t stop there, once the auction closes, keep checking in with your supporters and members. When applicable, share relevant resources with your community. If you’re calling your supporters, for their records, always send a follow up email after with a note highlighting the auction’s success.

Additionally, always remember to keep the momentum. You do not always need a concrete reason to reach out but providing new resources or mission updates are great ways to keep your community engaged.

Ready your virtual gavel!

While accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual fundraising is here to stay due to its ability to drive greater donations, attract new supporters and reduce operational costs.

By following the tips above and embracing this emerging trend in fundraising, nonprofits can quickly recoup some of the revenue that might otherwise be lost and show their supporters that they’re still here to help.

4 Modern Fundraising Approaches to Grab Donors’ Attention

May 20, 2020 By John Killoran

The vast majority of nonprofits have had to flip their fundraising plans upside down as a result of COVID-19 and social distancing guidelines. Large-scale fundraising events are being cancelled, employees are beginning to work from home, and donor wallets are tightening due to a looming recession. Many nonprofits are worried about securing the funding needed to sustain daily operations and philanthropic projects.

However, this unprecedented time has also been a unique opportunity for nonprofits to refresh their fundraising strategies and integrate modern approaches into their plans. If that’s where you and your organization land, it’s important to make the most out of this time by finding ways for your team to be productive (and innovative!) in the midst of a crisis.1

Let’s walk through four of our favorite modern fundraising approaches, what they can bring to your nonprofit, and how to get started with each:

Use text-to-give fundraising so that donors can give on-the-go.
Employ peer-to-peer fundraising strategies to gain traction.
Host virtual fundraising events to boost donor engagement.
Incorporate individual outreach to personalize relationships.

Finding new ways to engage with your donors and secure fundraising revenue are essential for keeping your organization afloat in a time like this. Ready to get started? Let’s jump in!

1. Use text-to-give fundraising so that donors can give on-the-go.

If you’re looking for new and exciting ways to engage with your donors,2 especially younger donors, text giving might just be the perfect method. Text-to-give is a relatively new fundraising strategy that allows donors to give in seconds from any mobile device.3

In the last year, mobile giving has increased by over 50%,4 meaning if your nonprofit has yet to establish text fundraising practices, now is the time to do so! To get started with text-to-give fundraising, all you have to do is:

Choose a text-to-give provider and receive a unique mobile giving number. Be sure to find the right service provider for your organization based on platform fees, features offered, and user-friendliness. Once you settle on a text-to-give service, they’ll provide you with your very own mobile giving number that you can start sharing with your donors.
Set a particular keyword (or multiple) for donors to text. This is going to be the body of the message that your donors send to your specified mobile giving number. Be sure to pick something unique, relevant, and memorable to make the process easier on your donors, like give, gala, or your organization’s name!
Promote your mobile giving number and keyword far and wide. Use social media, your website, emails, newsletters, and more to make sure every donor has access to your mobile giving campaign. The best part is you’re not limited by any geographic boundaries!

Text fundraising campaigns often grab donors’ attention because their phones are rarely out of reach, making donating very accessible. Plus, the donation process is incredibly simple, making it more likely donors will follow through to submission— while more complicated processes lead to donation form abandonment.

2. Employ peer-to-peer fundraising strategies to gain traction.

Organizing a peer-to-peer fundraiser is a great way to get the word out about your organization and raise money for a particular cause.5 After all, individuals are much more responsive to a request for donation from a friend or family member than that of a national organization.

By using social proof as a fundraising tool, you can appeal to donors because their friends and family are getting involved with the campaign, so they should too. In fact, over 47% of donors giving through a peer-to-peer campaign are first-time donors for that organization.6 That means it’s a great way to expand your donor network and reach new people.

When you’re ready to launch a peer-to-peer fundraiser, you’ll want to:

Recruit supporters to become volunteer fundraisers. This can be a tough job, so it’s a good idea to focus on past donors who are already highly engaged with your organization and care deeply about your cause. Then pitch the idea to these supporters and see if they’re interested in taking the next step to become a fundraiser themselves.
Equip individuals with the right peer-to-peer fundraising tools.7 Even once you’ve gathered your volunteer fundraisers, they won’t be able to accomplish much without the right tools. Be sure to provide fundraisers with your donation page, sample social media posts, and scripts to share with family and friends who may be interested!
Encourage fundraisers to promote your campaign to friends and family. Now that you’ve set your fundraisers up for success, you watch and wait for the fundraising revenue to start coming in. During this time, it’s important to monitor each fundraiser’s progress and encourage those who may be struggling. Plus, you can employ some friendly competition between fundraisers to drive motivation.

Nonprofits everywhere are quickly moving their fundraisers to the virtual sphere, just like you are, which means there’s an increase in clutter you’ll have to break through to bring attention to your own fundraising campaigns. Luckily, unique peer-to-peer fundraising pages will stand out from the crowd!

3. Host virtual fundraising events to boost donor engagement.

In a time of social distancing, many donors will warmly welcome the opportunity to take part in an exciting virtual fundraiser. That’s why now is a great time to plan and host online events. After all, events are one of the most engaging types of fundraisers, making them a great way to boost virtual donor engagement and sustain relationships.8

To create a virtual fundraising event that your donors will really want to partake in, be sure to:

Plan activities your supporters will want to take part in. Whether you decide to host an online auction, talent show, or gala, make sure it’s something that your particular audience will be interested in.
Promote your event online and through social media. Get the word out through your online platforms so that donors everywhere know exactly how to get involved.
Personally invite donors to participate in your online event. A personal invitation can go a long way, especially for donors who have been major contributors in the past. Make sure your top donors are aware of and excited about your virtual event!
Encourage participants to register online.9 This way you’ll be able to plan for your audience more effectively, while also collecting participants’ contact information for future reference.

The possibilities for virtual events are essentially endless. You’re no longer limited by a choice of venue nor are attendees restricted by travel distance. You can even save money while hosting your event online and bringing in fundraising revenue at the same time.

4. Incorporate individual outreach to personalize relationships.

While social media and other digital marketing tools are great for nonprofits to raise awareness for their cause and even promote their own fundraisers, it’s important that you don’t forget the power of personal outreach. After all, a general request for donations is easier to ignore than an individual ask in your donor’s inbox.

There are many ways you can personally reach out to donors, including through a phone call, handwritten letter, or text message, but email is one of the easiest and most effective.

Here are four key steps to optimize your email outreach and personalize your relationships:

Start building an email network. Be sure to collect email addresses at every possible avenue, including donation forms, event sign-ins, and virtual registration forms. Then store this information, along with other detailed information you have about each donor, within your CRM, or constituent relationship manager.
Segment your audience. Using the information you collect about each of your donors, divide individuals into groups based on their similarities. For example, you might have different segments for first-time donors, repeat donors, those on a recurring schedule, and lapsed donors.
Craft intriguing email messages. Lead into your email with a compelling message demonstrating the impact of the work your organization does. Consider telling a true story of a constituent whose life was changed so that donors can feel emotionally involved with the philanthropic success. Be sure to include imagery as well to illustrate your emails.
Employ a clear call-to-action. End your message with a clear, compelling, and specific call-to-action so that donors know what the next step is. For example, you can send donors to your online donation page or include your text-to-give number.

Just because you can’t be physically close to your nonprofit supporters doesn’t mean your relationships should suffer. Instead, try implementing these strategies to strengthen donor engagement during this time.10

COVID-19 has resulted in an unpredictable year. But, as a nonprofit working to continuously support your community, it’s important to make note of the positives associated with the time as well. After all, it’s provided an opportunity for organizations to expand their virtual strategies and improve digital connectivity available to organizations.

Sometimes all you need to get started is the right fundraising software!11 During the move to largely-virtual fundraising practices, it’s important that your team is equipped with the necessary tools to ease the transition.

For more information on strategic fundraising practices within a pandemic and into the foreseeable future, check out the following resources:

Top 4 Ways to Boost Virtual Fundraising Event Participation

April 27, 2020 By Wayne Elsey

In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, nonprofits everywhere are having to cancel their biggest revenue-generating events and take an entirely new approach to fundraise. As a nonprofit professional, you might be worried about the looming shortfalls in fundraising revenue and what that will mean for your organization.

While a lot is still up in the air when it comes to managing a nonprofit and getting things back on track, one thing is for sure—now is not the time to give up. In fact, there’s a lot that nonprofits can be doing at present to keep operations up and running amid the disruption.

One such idea is the implementation of virtual fundraising events. Nonprofit organizations have long understood the benefits of engaging supporters with fundraising events. Now, it’s just a matter of adjusting to the circumstances.

Whether you’re interested in transitioning an existing event into a virtual one, or starting from scratch planning an engaging online fundraiser, here are four of the best ways to capture your audience’s attention and boost registrations in no time:

Plan unique and intriguing events.
Connect with donors on an emotional level.
Keep the momentum going with strategic communication.
Raise the stakes with matching gifts.

Ready to get started? Let’s jump in.

1. Plan unique and intriguing events.

The best way to ensure a good turnout at your fundraising events, whether virtual or in-person, is to plan activities that your supporters will enjoy. Remember, not everyone likes the same types of events. To appeal to the highest possible number of participants, offer a diverse set of fundraising events.

Especially now, with the majority of the world’s population stuck inside for days on end, an appealing virtual event might be just what your supporters need!

Here are some of our favorite ideas to switch things up with virtual fundraising events:

Virtual 5k: Although you can’t host a traditional 5k fundraiser right now, an adapted version can be a unique way for participants to get out of the house while raising money for a good cause. Simply encourage supporters to walk or run a set distance on their own and record their stats with a smartwatch or tracking app!
Virtual auction: Both live and silent auctions are tried-and-true fundraising events for organizations everywhere. Now, you only have to take that auction to the virtual sphere! Collect items just like you usually would. Then, participants can bid online through a virtual auction catalog instead of at a physical location.
Virtual gala: Hosting a gala can be a great way to engage with supporters who are looking for a reason to get spruced up, even if it’s just for a live-streamed event. But of course, the great part about a virtual gala is that attendees are also able to participate without dressing up at all!

Consider integrating your virtual event with a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign for even better results. This way, you can easily expand your network of support and reach a wider audience with the help of your dedicated volunteer fundraisers.

2. Connect with donors on an emotional level.

Not only should you focus on the appeal of the event itself, but also that of your organization as a whole. A great way to maintain that appeal is through building emotional connections with supporters.

With a looming recession ahead of us, you might be expecting significant drops in fundraising revenue during this time. That’s why it’s so important to emphasize donor retention.

Here are four simple tips to follow to strengthen donor relationships and convey the importance of each and every gift:

Share success stories.
Use pictures to illustrate impact.
Emphasize the importance of donors’ continued support.
Show your appreciation.

Remember, it’s more important to stay emotionally in-touch with donors during a pandemic than ever before. Many of your organization’s key supporters have likely been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis— whether medically or economically.

In other words, donors’ budgets are likely tight during this time. That means you’ll need to effectively demonstrate the purpose behind your mission and the emotional significance of each donation if you want to capture their attention and secure their support fully.

3. Keep the momentum going with strategic communication.

An essential aspect of planning and hosting a virtual fundraising event is the virtual outreach that precedes it. This effort is how supporters all over the world can hear about your upcoming event and decide to attend.

Thanks to effective digital marketing and communications tools, it’s easier than ever to get your message out into the world. However, this technology also introduces new issues having to do with breaking through the digital clutter and creating compelling messages that stand out.

Here are some of the best ways to boost your fundraising momentum and get your audience excited about your event:

Send out targeted email blasts.
Increase your social media presence.
Be sure to remind attendees ahead of time.
Keep your website up-to-date with event information.

Learn more about establishing a successful nonprofit digital strategy here, and then use your newfound knowledge to promote your upcoming virtual fundraising event!

4. Raise the stakes with matching gifts.

Did you know that many of your donors are eligible to have their gifts matched through corporate giving programs by their employers? And yet many eligible donors don’t know about these programs and how to take advantage of the opportunities!

Studies show that when donors know their gift gets matched, 84% report that they’d be much more likely to donate, and 1 in 3 donors suggests they’d make a larger donation. That’s because donors get the joy of knowing their gift is making twice the impact without having to reach back into their wallets.

Consider taking your fundraising event to the next level by leveraging the power of matching gifts. Encourage donors to quickly and easily search their employer in a matching gift database to find out whether they’re eligible!

For more information on how to leverage corporate philanthropy and matching gift programs with your organization’s events, see this comprehensive guide.

A critical characteristic of successful nonprofit organizations is the ability to adapt, and the current social and economic constraints are testing it. By bringing your best fundraising events to the virtual sphere, you can increase your reach and receive support from all over the world.

For more inspiration, check out our extensive guide of unique and exciting fundraising ideas to get started. Good luck!

The Art of Online Donations

August 22, 2019 By Marissa Gutierrez-Vicario

We’re all accustomed to the typical fundraising programming––galas, events, cold calling––but having a ‘donate now’ button on your website can help you reach diverse audiences and gain a new pool of donors. At ARTE, we work to engage young people, amplify their voices and help them organize for human rights change through the visual arts. To help them rise to the challenge, we have to remain flexible in the ways that we work.

Wix for Nonprofits

To achieve our vision, we work not only with our students but with our donors, meaning we work both at grassroots and foundational levels. Donations help organizations like ours do the work they need to create a more just world. But, like so many others, we’re still up against limited bandwidth and budgets, so we were thrilled with the opportunity to work with Wix, the website development platform company, to redo our website through its Social Good Project at its Wix Design Playground in NYC.

We worked with the program’s students to create a strategy for increasing reach online and getting more people to donate. By including the button clearly on our site, we were able to create a simple call-to-action.

Tools to help nonprofits grow

Having an online presence is fundamental for nonprofit organizations. We are all attracting different stakeholders: donors, volunteers and recipients of our services. A website helps engage us with each stakeholder, while helping them easily understand the organization’s mission and culture. It also allows you to reach more people and create a connection, building an online community.

To get people to donate, make sure that the website enables them to easily do so. People are busy and anything that can delay a transaction can result in the most well-intentioned donor leaving. So, make sure to provide a process that is easy to understand, simple and quick.

Additionally, make the website informative enough that it keeps people coming back. That way, while some might not donate immediately, you can drive donations later by including a donate button in an email newsletter. This will also help readers continue to equate donations with the organization.

Donation button on your website

Connecting the donation button to your nonprofit’s bank account is the first and best option, since it eliminates third-party fees and expenses. However, third parties can help to spread the word about your organization and better appeal to their audiences. Wix’s funding options allow us to do both, enabling direct donations, as well as going through PayPal Donations, which connects directly to our PayPal account.

Using trusted merchant services to accept donation payments is crucial because it gives donors a sense of security when making donations to our organizations. Depending on the type of nonprofit, it may be wise to also use crowdfunding and social media donation buttons. Donors can more easily recognize these brands and trust them.

While Paypal is our go-to, there are also different donation buttons that suit an organization’s needs. Fundly, for example, is a great crowdfunding donation tool, particularly for collecting a lot of small donations. Other good tools include Double the Donation, a matching gifts donation button, and a verified button, which helps secure the organization and its donors.

Like galas, fundraisers and community activities, a website is a way to connect with your audience. Make sure it’s updated to modern standards, so you don’t lose the ability to continue the important work your nonprofit is completing.

Mastering Online Giving In Three Easy Steps

July 13, 2018 By Nonprofit Information

If you are tasked with finding a good online giving service for your nonprofit, you will quickly realize that under the surface, online giving is not as simple as the sales sites might lead you to believe.

What might seem like a good rate might in fact be a tiered rate your actual donations may not qualify for. The sales site may look nothing like the product itself. And the actual experience of donors is often overlooked amidst all the bulleted lists of features, options, and glowing promises.

Fortunately, in the maze of online giving, there’s a place nonprofits can turn to for help.

Consider the OnlineGivingGuide.com your tour guide for the online giving universe. Filled with humorous cartoons and cutting insight, it lays out the features shoppers should seek in a service—and offers cautionary tips on the deceptive practices some platforms use.

Here are three main steps we gleaned from the guide:

STEP 1: Find the right online giving platform

There are innumerable options when it comes to selecting an online giving site. From industry giants such as Blackbaud and the various online properties of Ministry Brands (like easyTithe, eGiving.com, and Kindrid) to innovative competitors like Givingtools.com, nonprofits have an assortment of electronic giving platforms to choose from.

How can you find the one that’s right for your nonprofit?

The Online Giving Guide lists three basic considerations for shoppers to ponder before making a selection:

The sales site: Don’t be fooled by aesthetically-pleasing online giving sites. After all, they’re often crafted by web design teams – not the folks who built the actual product. Look beyond a giving platform’s virtual appearance to ensure its modern look isn’t masking a terrible product.

The interface: Experiment with a platform’s interface to test its capabilities across multiple platforms. It should work as flawlessly on a smartphone as it does on a desktop, and look nice on a variety of window and screen sizes. Can donors give to multiple appeals with a single checkout? Do they need a password before they give for the first time?

The processor: This plays a significant role in determining an online giving service’s rates and features. Look for a processor with a strong track record of successfully securing and handling funds. Look for 0% ACH and flat, affordable credit card rates. Even better, look for system that is open and allows you to plug in the processor you prefer.

STEP #2: Test the giving platform before committing

Legitimate giving sites give potential clients an opportunity to try their services before committing to a product. With this in mind, shoppers are wise to engage in a trial run to determine whether a giving service’s features—and actual product experience—align with their needs.

Trial runs give nonprofits an opportunity to review necessary functionality before making a choice. When it comes down to deciding between two or three products, request a demo to address the following:

User friendliness: Navigate the site through the eyes of a donor looking to make a gift. Is this platform easy to use? Does it simplify the gift-giving process? If not, strike this option off your list.

Ease of administration: Evaluate the site from an administrative perspective, too, to ensure you’re happy with the ways in which your company can manage the platform.

Lingering issues: If questions arise as you demo a product, reach out to the company to have those inquiries addressed. This is the time to clear up any concerns or confusion you might have about a giving platform. Best to do this now before you—and your donors—are committed to a service you might not like.

STEP #3: Understand the fees associated to use the online giving platform

Online giving platforms offer a hefty return on investment. After all, the average online gift is $128. Moreover, online charity donations were expected to reach an astounding $31 billion last year. It’s a lucrative market, and one some online platforms are capitalizing on by charging hefty (sometimes hidden) costs and locking you in to a lengthy service term.

For instance, Gofundme.com takes a five percent cut of donations, on top of a 2.9 percent processing fee. It also charges $0.30 per donation. When all is tallied, a charity using the service pockets less than $118 of that aforementioned $128 donation.

Fortunately, not all services charge such astronomical fees. Some sites, such as Givingtools.com, pocket a significantly smaller portion of donations. Giving Tools hails itself as the least expensive giving system on the market, charging a 0% plus a small $0.25 flat fee for each donation. (Credit card processing fees are an additional 2.85%.)

OnlineGivingGuide.com offers a handy calculator that helps nonprofits determine the exact cost of using an online giving platform.

The popularity of online giving is growing at record speed; its year-over-year growth reached 23 percent last year. But with the increasing popularity of online giving come venture-capital-backed companies looking to cash in on the new fashion. Indeed, some companies like Ministry Brands own numerous processors: you might think you are looking at two services when in fact you are looking at two limbs of the same conglomerate.

When you’re shopping for an online giving platform, start with OnlineGivingGuide.com and follow the structured approach it presents. It’s rare to find an online resource this handy, humorous, and even-handed. Check it out today!

The New Frontier of Fundraising: An Insider’s Look at Online Giving

May 25, 2018 By Nonprofit Information

GivingTools.com founder Jason Smith weighs in on online giving trends and challenges and reveals how his company is helping nonprofits get more for less.

First off, tell us about your inspiration behind the launch of GivingTools.com, and why you felt there was a market for this type of site.

After years of providing printed materials for capital campaigns, we created a system to deploy capital campaign websites. We figured if we launched a site with each campaign and referenced it in the printed materials, it would enable more effective printed communications and a flexible online resource that could adapt to the communication needs of the campaign. A real one-two punch.

But more than simply securely collecting pledges online, we wanted to also offer an affordable way to collect payments. The problem was, with big gifts and recurring gifts, the existing model for online payments was just too expensive. 2.99 percent has been an accepted rule of thumb… and nonprofits are wisely unsure if they want a major gift to experience that kind of hit.

So we did some research. What we discovered was that the cost of online processing is pretty negotiable and that online giving services were taking bigger chunks of nonprofit budgets than they needed to. We launched a solution that would accept gifts online from donor bank accounts for zero percent plus just $0.25. It was and is unheard of.

We then launched GivingTools.com with a versatile online giving system that enables nonprofits to create many kinds of appeals: one-time gifts, recurring gifts, campaign pledges, product sales, events, and even volunteer signups. And we offered it all for just $14.95 per month.

Four years in on the online giving product, the biggest problem we’ve had was people not believing our rates were so low!

Online revenue for nonprofits continues to rise at a steady rate – it grew by 27 percent last year. Do you see traditional types of charity fundraisers (such as bake sales or walk-a-thons) going the way of the telephone booth?

Not at all. Fundraising is about raising funds, sure, but it is about raising awareness and cultivating relationships. The Internet is a great thing, but it will never replace the effect of a real person physically representing a group to the community. People give to people for people.

Social media is allowing nonprofits to reach an unprecedented number of online channels. What’s your best advice for charities seeking to implement a social media strategy?

Remember that the goal of online social media is to be social. So, if you are going to tap into social media, use the medium to its fullest by maintaining an ongoing conversation with your supporters. Dedicate time every day to reaching out, not just through online channels but surprise people with a handwritten social note at a key point in their life, or pick up the phone and thank somebody. “Social media” is not just the Internet. That’s just one medium. Use all your social media—online, email, phone, direct mail, and face-to-face to connect with, thank, and listen to your supporters.

The other thing I would say is to consider a news aggregator for your website. This is a way to display feeds from your various online social media accounts in one seamless stream. Pretty cool.

What are some of the latest trends you’re seeing in the online giving world?

A big trend is actually online giving outfits quietly being bought out by big conglomerates and turned into mere storefronts. The conglomerate homogenizes the core features and runs the gifts processing through one channel to maximize profits. Several very large outfits (Ministry Brands being one) are aggressively seeking to dominate the playing field. To them, it’s big business, with a lot of investors looking for a payout. Ministry Brands owns 25 brands and most nonprofits don’t know when they compare several services, they may be looking at just one service with several storefronts.

Is it a good thing? Well, I’ll just say that some nonprofits ask me to assure them that I am not affiliated with Ministry Brands in any way before they will sign on. I am not sure what specific difficulties they may have experienced, but they feel pretty passionate about it.

Some users have dubbed your GivingTools.com the Robin Hood of online giving. How did you earn that nickname, and do you feel it’s a suitable one?

Huzzah! Well, we are not shy in standing up to the conglomerates and keeping more donations in the hands of the nonprofits. That’s where donors mean it to go, and we do our best to honor their wishes.

For example, we offer that zero percent ACH rate. Just a $0.25 fee to process any amount from a donor’s bank account. Why can we offer it at zero percent? Because the wholesale price is zero percent. The conglomerates mark it up because they figure one percent will look pretty inexpensive beside a 2.99 percent cards rate, so they charge one percent. We refuse to take money like that. It just seems wrong.

We also refuse to lock nonprofits into one processor. BluePay comes baked in to our product, but nonprofits can link in Stripe, Base Commerce, and even PayPal to do the processing. We don’t make a penny on processing, regardless of the processor. All we make is our monthly fee.

Got that? We don’t make a penny on processing. That’s unheard of for an online giving company. And if that’s not Robin Hood-like, I don’t know what is.

Many online giving sites take a significant cut of donations by charging processing fees. How is GivingTools.com able to avoid charging those same fees?

Well, the processors charge fees. BluePay charges a flat 2.85 percent, for example. PayPal and Stripe charge 2.99 percent (or less if you negotiate). We don’t add a penny to that, we just charge a flat $14.95 monthly fee. It’s just a business decision. Nobody said you HAVE to profit everywhere you possibly can. Sometimes, a business can decide to give nonprofits a break.

Aside from the obvious financial aspect, how do your minimal fees benefit charities?

Donors want their gift to go to nonprofits…not to credit card processors. They like to know that the effect of their gift is maximized by low processing expenses. Now, from the nonprofit end of things, they want to do good in the world, and with more funding, they can do more. We were once told by a nonprofit that our low rates would enable them to save an additional child from homelessness each year. This stuff is not just about a bottom line. It is about people’s lives. Charities know that. Donors know that. We get it, too.

When seeking an online giving website, what should a nonprofit look for in both the short and long term?

I’d say that short-term and long-term, it needs to be affordable, to maximize gifts. The whole benefit of recurring giving, for example, is to reduce pledge attrition (missed payments). That averages about four percent of traditional donations. If an online giving service averages more than that, it is an expense.

That brings me to the next criterion: ease-of-use. Beyond saving you money, an online giving service is a convenience to donors and to you. Is the interface easy on the eyes? Is it flexible to your needs? Is it intuitive? We’ve spent a lot of time refining our experience to minimize barriers to giving. We listen hard to our customers and we work every day to constantly improve our product. That’s a short-term benefit and a long-term commitment.

On a personal level, tell us about your motivation for leading GivingTools.com, and helping charities get the most bang for their buck.

It is simply thrilling to build a system that enables people to help people. I’ve been involved in charitable work most of my adult life, I’ve run for office in an impoverished city, worked with troubled kids. I’ve seen a lot of need out there, and I’ve seen a lot of committed nonprofits, struggling to make ends meet to help people in desperate need. This isn’t a job for me, it’s a mission.

And finally, on a lighter note, we’ve noticed you’re having some fun with your site. (We love the roller skating Chihuahua!) Why did you decide to insert some personality into your page?

Ah the Chihuahua. Well, I have this hunch that people like to smile. As they say: “If you aren’t having fun, you aren’t doing it right.” The animated Chihuahua scenes in the admin area of GivingTools help demonstrate product features in a fun and memorable way.

I am no great fan of Chihuahuas personally. There was just a Chihuahua in one of our illustrations and we were trying to express how easy our product is to use. In a moment of desperation, we put a smartphone in his paw and added the headline “GivingTools is so easy, even a reasonably smart Chihuahua can do it.”

At that point, we were “up Shih Tzu Creek without a poodle,” as it were, so we just stuck with it. The little guy has been an inspiration, really. I even find myself singing “Chihuahua wind beneath my wings!” some days. Is that normal?

Jason N. Smith is founder of GivingTools.com. He has decades of experience in nonprofit fundraising and capital campaigns and is also owner of the multimedia firm, Fathom Studio. Based in Pennsylvania, he’s married with “innumerable” children.

Online Fundraising Is Simple with the Right Approach

May 1, 2018 By Nonprofit Information

Donation websites are a dime a dozen – effective online fundraising requires the right online giving platform

Online giving is growing at a record-breaking pace. Philanthropists donated more than $21 billion through online giving platforms last year, representing a year-over-year online donation growth of 12 percent. The online fundraising sector now represents nearly eight percent of the overall fundraising market.

However, not everyone has been quick to hop on the bandwagon. For some small charities and nonprofit organizations, the prospect of raising money online can seem daunting.

Fear not – we’re here to walk you through the process and help you navigate the world of online giving with confidence.

As you look for an online giving solution that’s right for you, consider the following factors. They’ll ensure your campaign is reputable, low-cost and – most importantly – successful.

Seek affordability in donation websites

In the nonprofit world, every donation counts. With this in mind, accounting teams would surely hate to see those precious pennies eaten up by numerous Mickey Mouse surcharges. Some big-name online giving platforms charge signup, fundraiser, and processing fees. It all adds up – YouCaring.com fees take an 18 percent cut from donations, while popular crowdfunding platform Gofundme.com fees account for about eight percent of each donation. That’s not all. That’s not all. Most popular crowdfunding sites charge an additional $.30 fee per donation.

When budget-savvy nonprofits are searching for a place to raise money, they should choose a site with minimal fees and surcharges. Some services charge as little as $0.25 per gift, allowing nonprofits to stretch their dollars further.

Build donor loyalty – and a strong campaign

The site you choose to host your online fundraising efforts should do more than serve as a virtual collection plate. It should also be a place that builds a sense of community, bolsters donor loyalty, and inspires philanthropists to share your page with others.

The most effective online fundraising campaigns are the culmination of community engagement, compelling multimedia elements, and strategically-executed marketing plans. Research shows that campaigns featuring personal videos raise 105 percent more donations, while teams that regularly updated followers raised 126 percent more money than those that provided no updates.

Needless to say, your nonprofit’s fundraising site should support multimedia storytelling, offer multiple sharing tools, and allow your team to easily communicate with its supporters.

Branding matters

Some sites—such as GivingTools.com—allow users to modify pages by choosing colors and themes that match their non-profit’s branding. Better still, online giving pages can be embedded into a charity’s actual website, simplifying the process for donors while bolstering a campaign’s legitimacy. Donations given on a branded donation form are statistically 38 percent larger than contributions given through a basic PayPal page. Moreover, supporters are about 70 percent more likely to make a second donation if their first contribution was made through a branded page.

There’s an added bonus to running an online giving campaign through your own site: it will help boost overall traffic to your site, which has its own set of benefits. For starters, it can encourage visitors to spend more time exploring your site, which could ultimately lead to more long-term supporters and newsletter subscribers.

How to ask for donations

Once your fundraising page is established, you might wonder how to most effectively use your new online giving platform.

Begin by developing a social media strategy, identifying your target audiences, and determining the resources you’ll need to execute your online campaign.

Once your plan is in place, look to grow your social network and bolster your organization’s level of social engagement. After all, social media is only as effective as the size and liveliness of your base.

When you begin seeking donations online, you should be targeting potential donors on multiple fronts. Begin by sending personalized emails, containing heartfelt messages and details about your fundraising goals. Continue building your campaign through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Better still, consider using targeted Facebook ads to attract the attention of users who are linked to your email list. This will ensure an efficient ad buy.

Here’s another trick: Before blasting your campaign on social media, set a goal and first approach close friends and supporters with donation requests. Studies show that people are more likely to donate to charities or causes that are close to meeting their fundraising targets. It also helps to create a sense of urgency by running a shorter campaign that last between 20 and 40 days.

Online giving is fast becoming the new frontier of philanthropy – and for good reason. Charities and nonprofits that embrace this trend are likely to reach a wider network of donors, save money on printed materials, and see a higher return on investment.

But remember: although big-name online giving giants such as indiegogo.com and gofundme.com are generating lots of buzz, they aren’t your only options. Take the time to find an online giving solution that’s right for you.