5 Free Ways to Amp Up Your Online Fundraising for #GivingTuesday

Sponsored by Give Lively

#GivingTuesday is approaching fast and we want nonprofits to be prepared. We know that many organizations are unable to take full advantage of the digital movement due to the high cost of online fundraising tech. Last year’s #GivingTuesday attracted over 1.64 million donations and $177 million total. This year, those numbers are expected to grow by double digits, and we don’t want organizations like yours to miss out.

Here are some things you can do right now for free to up your online fundraising so your organization can take advantage of this year’s #GivingTuesday.

1. Set Up a Branded Donation Page

Nonprofit donors are nearly 70% more likely to give a second donation if they used a branded page the first time they made a contribution. Capitalize on those first-time #GivingTuesday donors to create a future fundraising stream.  Make sure your tech vendor or payment processor allows you to fully brand your page.

2. Launch An Email Fundraising Campaign

Once you have a donation page you’re proud of, send the link out to your donors and supporters via email. Email has the highest return on investment of any marketing channel, with $40 coming in for every dollar spent.  Load in your supporters’ email addresses, then write them a short note about how your organization will use their #GivingTuesday donations for good with a clear call to action and a link going to your donation page.

3. Turn Social Followers Into Donors

Facebook makes it easy to add a “Donate” button that links to your personal donation page to your nonprofit’s donation page. Here’s how you can do it right now:

  • Sign into your Facebook page as an admin.
  • Click the “Add a Button” button on the top right of the page directly under your cover photo.
  • A menu will pop up. Select “Make Purchase or Donation” and then click “Donate” in the pop-down menu.
  • Facebook will ask you, “What website would you like to send people to when they click this button?” Enter your donation page URL.
  • Your new Facebook “Donate” button is up and running.

You can also share your donation link in traditional social media posts on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. Include a #GivingTuesday call to action in your post for the best results. 43% of millennial donors say they are inspired to give by social media. Around a quarter of both Gen Xers and Baby Boomers says the same.

4. Place a Donate Button on Your Site

Each of your website visitors is a potential donor. Make sure you have a “donate” button prominently placed on your site to reach them. Best practice is to link this donate button to a branded donation page where they can donate on the spot, on mobile or desktop. Better yet is an embeddable widget that lets donors give directly on your site without ever leaving the page.

5. Create a Text-to-Donate Campaign

Text-to-Donate is the perfect technology to complement your #GivingTuesday strategy. You can promote your #GivingTuesday text code on social media, in print, through direct mail, and any other way your organization reaches donors. Whenever donors are inspired throughout that day, they can simply text a phone number with your text code and make a donation in seconds. Text-to-Donate has historically come with a high price tag, but Give Lively is proud to provide this technology with unlimited campaign codes at no cost.


Want to learn more about #GivingTuesday tips and free resources? Contact us at membership@givelively.org. We’re here to make your #GivingTuesday a success and if you’re paying for any of the above services, make sure you’re aware that they’re all available for free!

Give Lively is a tech start-up that builds fundraising tech and gives it away to nonprofits for free. Much like a foundation, Give Lively was founded by philanthropists for the sole purpose of providing free resources to nonprofits. Give Lively stands apart from other fundraising tech companies not only because their tech is available for free to all 501(c)(3)s, but because 100% of product development is based on feedback from nonprofits and donors.

The post 5 Free Ways to Amp Up Your Online Fundraising for #GivingTuesday appeared first on Nonprofit Hub.

Finding the Right Donor Database for Your Nonprofit (Updated)

Updated January 29, 2022

Consider this—7 out of every 10 donors only donate once. Not enough to shock you? Let’s add to the mix that 77% of donors leave due to a lack of communication. A donor database trumps a post-it note or spreadsheet any day of the week, but what one is right for your nonprofit?

With the right donor management tool to fit your organization’s needs, you have a better shot at communicating in the right way and building better relationships. When you communicate well with the right frequency, donors don’t leave your nonprofit behind!

To make it easy for you to navigate this article, we’ve broken our discussion into three helpful sections:

  1. Small Nonprofits: You have donors, but not a ton of them. You’re probably using a spreadsheet or accounting software to manage your list. 
  2. Medium-Sized Nonprofits: Maybe you have a donor database, but it’s not performing at the level you need, or, it’s cost-prohibitive to stick with as you grow.
  3. Large Nonprofits: Bringing your A-game is a must. Your nonprofit and fundraising team needs a strong tool with many features. 

Let’s get started shopping for the perfect database!

CP-NonprofitHub-Finding the Right Donor Database for Your Nonprofit-header1

1. Yes, There are Donor Database Solutions for Small Nonprofits!

As a small nonprofit, your budget doesn’t have much room to, well … budge.

Just because money might be tight doesn’t mean you should sacrifice comprehensive donor management tools! Like their larger counterparts, smaller nonprofits should use a donor database that allows them to gain insight into their constituents. With more insight comes more ability to strategize, and with better strategy comes support! These software options are well-suited for nonprofits that don’t need an extensive array of fundraising tools but still require the functionality of a database that a spreadsheet can’t provide.

GiveLively

This is the rare situation where “you get what you pay for” doesn’t apply. Although you have to apply to use GiveLively’s software, it is truly a free donor software for nonprofits! While not robust in terms of marketing support or the other bells and whistles larger platforms offer, it is a solid tool for new nonprofits. If you’re currently using a spreadsheet to track donors, this is a great way to get started with a more secure and sophisticated solution.

DonorPerfect

Donor Perfect’s solution is a long-standing and pretty highly regarded software. Through your Techsoup membership (free for nonprofits!) you can secure a base DonorPerfect package at a deep discount. If you’re running a simple operation you may find it a bit overwhelming, but for small nonprofits that have complex operations, it is a great solution. It helps your team manage donations, contacts, receipting, reporting, and email, from a single system.

DonorDock

Unlimited contacts? Yes, please. That’s just one of the “grow with you” features of this up-and-coming donor database solution. DonorDock boasts a pretty comprehensive suite of features and an Apple-Esque intuitive interface. Don’t let the fact that this software is newer to the market distract you from the fact that it’s ahead of the pack in modern capabilities.

Auxilia

All the bells and whistles of the big guys with an easy-to-use interface and affordable price – that is Auxilia! With a design built for small teams and those seeking a user-friendly interface, Auxilia is a low-stress (sorta fun:-) way to manage donor data. This software is especially great as it prioritizes integration with social media platforms. If your nonprofit is (or, is striving to be) digital-first in your donor acquisition and correspondence, this is a highly recommended tool.

CP-NonprofitHub-Finding the Right Donor Database for Your Nonprofit-header2

2. Many Options for Donor Databases for Medium-Sized Nonprofits

If your organization is smack dab in the middle, you’ve got a little bit of money to invest in donor management, and your number of constituents is growing. Even if you’re quickly on the rise, your nonprofit probably doesn’t have the budget to spend an arm and a leg. You’ll need to find a donor database that can accommodate your ever-changing needs and afford you the flexibility you need to grow your donor list. These middle donor management systems are for you!

Driven

You’re forward-thinking, so shouldn’t your donor database be, too? Driven gets high marks for social integration and helping nonprofit leaders to see donors from a 360-degree perspective. There’s nothing worse than realizing you overlooked one of your volunteers or members as a top donor, and this software won’t let you make that mistake!

Network For Good

Network For Good is a platform that can affordably scale with your organization if you’re seeking a standalone CRM/donor management tool. While a change to their software packages has added cost for event ticketing, a full suite of functionality is still there for nonprofits with multi-channel approaches.

Bloomerang

At Bloomerang, nonprofit success relies on donor engagement and satisfaction. With their database, your donor retention rates are upfront and center on the dashboard so you know exactly how your organization is doing. You’ll also get a view of each individual constituent’s giving history to track fundraising success on a macro or micro scale! Bloomerang engagements are measured in “cold,” “warm,” “hot,” and “on fire!” You’ll get smart reports, a timeline of individual constituents, access to email distribution designed to increase retention, and printed direct mail pieces.

Humanitru

As your nonprofit grows, you’ll be doing more and more to attract and retain support, right? So, you’ll need a donor database that does a few more things, too. Humanitru will help your organization grow through almost any channel, including membership, events, and even volunteers. Best of all, it’s highly integrated with platforms commonly used in the nonprofit sector, including MailChimp and Constant Contact.

CP-NonprofitHub-Finding the Right Donor Database for Your Nonprofit-header3

3. The Bigger you are, the Bigger the Deal Your Donor Database is!

As a large nonprofit, you’ve got more constituents and a little bit more to spend. That said, you need a database that can accommodate a significant number of contacts without sacrificing usability. If that sounds like the kind of database you’re in the market for, check out these donor management systems that were built to handle large amounts of donors.

Raiser’s Edge Fundraising Software

Raiser’s Edge, Blackbaud’s fundraising and relationship management solution, offers tons of different giving options all in one place—major giving, annual fund giving, planned giving, and online giving. Plus, you can build a 360-degree view of your supporters and host all of your management in the cloud. With a strategic look at your constituents, you’ll have no problem retaining current donors and building your database through targeted marketing efforts. Bonus – they have a mobile app so you can track your donors on the go!

Salesforce

Well known in the for-profit space, Salesforce is also available for large nonprofits with complex fundraising and donor management needs. Instead of sales, track donations and manage your donors like you would a sales contact. After all, nonprofits are in the business of sales. Unique to the Salesforce system, you’ll have access to pre-integrated applications that can help you with events management and more.

What has your experience been with these nonprofit donor management systems? What would you add to the list?

Originally posted 3.3.14 | Updated 7.12.17 | Updated 1.28.22

The post Finding the Right Donor Database for Your Nonprofit (Updated) appeared first on Nonprofit Hub.