How Community Foundations Can Raise More with Online Fundraising Tools

You do important work in your community. Whether you’re running your own programs or funding grants to different nonprofits in your area, everything you do hinges upon fundraising. Every dollar makes a difference; here are some simple best practices that will help your nonprofit with online fundraising. 

Enable recurring gifts and giving plans

Do you have recurring donation options on your donation form? If you don’t, it’s time to add them! Recurring donors are easier to retain than their one-time counterparts, and they usually donate more overall than one-time donors. Whether you’re actively promoting recurring gifts or just want donors to have that option, it’s important to enable and promote recurring gifts on your form. But how? 

The first thing you can try is adding a little bit of copy on your donation form that draws attention to your recurring options. That copy can take lots of forms—you can include a call for recurring gifts at the top of your donation page, for example, or you can use design to draw attention to your recurring options. If you’re using Qgiv, you can choose to include a recurring nudge containing customizable language encouraging donors to consider a recurring gift. Take it to the next level by enabling a recurring modal, which will appear at the end of the donation process with an invitation to upgrade a gift from a one-time donation to a recurring donation. 

Another option is including a giving plan on your donation form that gives donors the option of splitting a large gift into smaller installments. Think AfterPay, but for nonprofits. This is a great tactic for campaigns that include bigger asks! If your board members’ giving requirement is ~$1,000 year, try enabling giving plans that board members can use to spread that donation out over the course of the year. If you’re asking supporters for $500 gifts for a capital campaign, a giving plan gives donors the option of supporting you while mitigating the financial impact of making a large gift. 

Make matching gifts a no-brainer

Millions of dollars in donations are eligible for matching, but many donors are unaware that their gifts could be making twice the impact. Luckily, new technology is making submitting matching gifts easier. Before, donors had to formally submit requests for matched gifts in writing, and the matching gifts process required lots of paperwork from donors, nonprofits, and the matching donor. Now, tools like Double the Donation, CyberGrants, and 360 MatchPro offer services that make matching gifts easier to obtain. 

If you’re interested in pursuing matching gifts, the first step to take is to find matching gifts software that can facilitate that process for you. Look for a platform that will let you embed a matching gifts widget on your donation form! Once you’ve set up your account, drop that widget on your donation form so donors can easily search for matching gifts opportunities. Try including a sentence or two on your donation form that encourages donors to see if their gift can go twice as far through a match from their employer. 

Let donors help with processing fees

In your line of work, every dollar counts. And donors know that! When given the opportunity to give a little extra to offset the cost of processing online donations, more than 50% of donors will make that extra gift. Donors want to know their money is going to your mission, and giving them the opportunity to offset that expense gives them that peace of mind. 

Check with your online fundraising software provider to see if you have this option. If you’re using Qgiv, this feature is called GiftAssist and is a standard feature that comes with every account. To enable GiftAssist, simply go to your form’s settings and toggle on “Enable GiftAssist.” From there, you can choose to ask donors for a flat fee or a percentage of their donation amount. 

Use online fundraising tools to support your events

Whether you’re running in-person, virtual, or hybrid events, using online tools to promote and process event registration is a great way to boost participation and raise more money.  

As a nonprofit fundraiser, you’ve probably experienced the frustration that comes with late event registrations. Donors tend to wait until the last minute to register for events, but a couple of tactics might help. First, you could try creating an early bird discount for donors who register before a certain date. Simply telling donors, “You can save $5 per ticket if you register by this day!” can be a powerful way to keep them from procrastinating and registering late. You could also try encouraging registration by setting up promo codes for different groups of donors. Try sending promo codes to your board members and telling them to share those codes with anyone they invite to attend. You can also send promo codes to dedicated volunteers as a thank-you gift for their work. 

Another tactic to try at your next event is enabling donations to your event. Simply enabling the option to make a donation on your event registration form can result in increased gifts. Donors who are attending your event may opt to give a little extra in addition to their registration fee, and that option is a great way for people to support your event even if they’re unable to attend. 

Explore different styles of fundraising events

Are you running events that involve more than a simple registration? Fundraising events like peer-to-peer events, auctions, and others can all benefit from online fundraising tools. The participant tracking and management tools, digital engagement features, and communication tools can all help make your event more successful. Many event-oriented online fundraising platforms, including Qgiv’s, integrate with CRMs and other tools, which can save you time you’d otherwise spend updating your donors’ profiles after a big event. 

If you’re looking for ideas about how to use online fundraising tools to support your events, check out these real-life examples: 

• Girls, Inc. Of Greater Indianapolis used a peer-to-peer fundraising tool to raise money for International Day of the Girl. 
• This organization used online fundraising tools to raise money for much-needed school supplies. 
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region used peer-to-peer tools to facilitate events for families and for adults, while Big Brothers Big Sisters used the same set of tools for a scavenger hunt fundraiser. 
• Community Youth Program did an awesome job facilitating an online auction event. 
• These two organizations used peer-to-peer tools to run DIY fundraising campaigns where their supporters raised money on their behalf to celebrate major life events. 
• The John Wesley Community Health Institute combined online fundraising tools and text messaging tools together to raise money for one of their events. 

Using online fundraising tools to support your events provides tons of opportunities to engage your supporters, track your success, and set the stage for future events. 

Conclusion

Whether you’re looking for simple online fundraising tools or more complex fundraising platforms that support a variety of different campaigns, the right digital tools can help you raise the money you need to support your fundraising. Enabling recurring donations, matching gifts, and tools like GiftAssist can help you raise more money online, and fundraising events are more profitable and easier to manage when you’re using online tools. 

If you’re looking for an online fundraising platform that can support each of these tactics (and a ton more!), we’d love to talk to you! Qgiv’s suite of fundraising tools includes donation forms, mobile tools, peer-to-peer fundraising events, silent auction events, and other features designed to help you raise more money while saving you time. To talk to someone about how we can help you, contact us online or give us a call at 888-855-9595.