Is PayPal for Nonprofits a Good Fundraising Tool?

Is PayPal for Nonprofits a Good Fundraising Tool?

You can use PayPal to pay for nearly any online transaction. Retailers like Etsy and eBay support PayPal, and people can use PayPal to send each other money for everything from rent to cab fare. But what about PayPal for nonprofits? Is it a useful tool for online fundraising?

The short answer is yes, it is. The long answer is yes, but it’s a better online fundraising tool if it’s used in conjunction with another system.

PayPal is an excellent payment processor for nonprofits. It’s been used for decades and has a reputation among online consumers for being a reliable payment method. That’s true for online donors, too; that’s part of the appeal of using PayPal for nonprofits.

But, while PayPal is useful as a payment processor, it was never built to be a donor-friendly online fundraising tool. So, while it’s a great tool for processing donations, it’s not an optimal tool for taking donations.

What’s a nonprofit to do? Your donors are used to giving with their PayPal accounts. But PayPal’s donation forms aren’t set up to meet industry best standards that help with things like conversion rates and donor retention.

There are options!

Combining PayPal with Other Platforms Pays Off

If you’re a nonprofit, explore using an online fundraising platform designed with best practices in mind, then set up PayPal as a payment option. You’ll get the best of both worlds: you can have the donation form and engagement tools you need to capture and retain donors, and donors who love using PayPal to give online can continue to do so.

Here’s what it looks like for your donors:

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On Your Donation Form

We’ve learned that branded donation forms process more donations (and larger donations, too!) than forms that aren’t branded. That’s one drawback of using the default PayPal forms – it’s hard to make them reflect your nonprofit’s brand.

Adding PayPal as a payment option lets PayPal donors give the way they prefer, but an optimized form makes it more likely that all donors complete their transaction.

On Your Thank-You Page

Thank-you pages are an underutilized asset – donors see them anyway, so it’s worth taking time to customize them. While this isn’t something that’s easily done on a PayPal-only system, it is possible on other platforms. Since a branded thank-you page is such a great place to make an impression on your donors, it makes sense to have PayPal donors and non-PayPal donors alike land there after they finish their transaction.

In Their Receipts

Any donor who uses PayPal to donate to a nonprofit will receive an email from PayPal confirming their transaction. But, while that receipt thoroughly covers the transaction details, it won’t contain any materials targeted toward engaging those donors after their gift.

Using a nonprofit-focused fundraising platform and offering PayPal as a payment option means PayPal donors can get nice donation receipts designed specifically for your organization. It’s the best of both worlds! (Side note: you can read all about how to build a fantastic donation receipt here.)

In Future Communications

Using a nonprofit-specific platform allows you to collect more data from your donors. This makes it easier for you to send donors relevant follow-up communications! Donors want content that’s relevant to their interests and passions; you can use your fundraising platform’s reporting to start segmenting your donors. Talking to different segments about what matters to them will boost your donor retention methods… especially when it’s combined with a better donation experience and nicer receipts.

Where Do I Start?

When you’re looking for an online fundraising platform, ask if they allow PayPal as a payment method! Qgiv can help set you up easily – if you’d like to start your search here, we’d love to talk to you. Give us a call at 888-855-9595 or contact us online!

If you’re already a Qgiv client, it’s really easy to set up PayPal to work on your existing forms. This article can help you get started! Alternatively, you can just give us a call and ask our amazing customer support team to help you.