Fundraising is one of the most important aspects of any nonprofit. A study conducted by Indiana University’s Kinsey Institute found that people are more likely to donate to causes they know about. To help you reach your fundraising goals, here are five tips to help you choose the right fundraising platform.
1. Budget
Some charities need a team to run a fundraising platform and for that a budget for their time. If this is the case for you, find a platform that does not require a team to run your donations pages because of the ease of their technology, it can be managed by 1 or 2 people at max.
2. Platform Costs (fees)
Be aware, some fundraising platforms charge fees to charities for using their services. This becomes an issue especially for small charities with low budgets. Look for a fundraising platform that has zero to very low fees, unless budgets are no issue for you.
3. Support
It always helps to have someone a call/message away to help you with your fundraising challenges. A donation platform that has a great support network is a valid reason to choose a certain fundraising platform. Having that friendly face and supportive team to assist you will make your online fundraising journey a whole lot easier.
4. Donations
Donations are the reason you want to fundraise online. It keeps your charity running and the good causes supported. So it is important to know how your donations are transferred to you, how much of the donation you recieve and how easy it is to receive donations from your donors on an online donation platform. Look for a platform that doesn’t take donations away from you, that supports donors and that makes it digitally easy for you to receive your donations. Lastly, to add to our 4th tip, it is important you get all your Gift Aid on top of your donation plus you should not be charged for any fees.
5. Intuitive Interface (tech easy)
Online fundraising is the new norm when raising donations. In a Covid world we now live in, it’s even more important to be able to raise funds digitally. That’s why for our 5th tip we recommend you look out for a platform that is digitally easy for you to use. It takes the stress out of being tech savvy and makes online giving a whole lot easier for you.
A fundraising platform is a software built for your charity and supporters. It should enable users to set up and process online donations with the goal of raising money for a nonprofit organization. A successful fundraiser should find a platform that is scalable, has an intuitive interface, and fits their budget.
The best way to choose a fundraising platform is by comparing the above 5 tips and looking for the scalability, the price, the security, and each providers terms of use.
Charity Digital did an excellent job comparing UK fundraising platforms, with us (Givey), being joint-top best with money given to charities for 2 years in the running. https://charitydigital.org.uk/topics/topics/the-best-online-fundraising-platforms-for-charities
In conclusion, here are a few features to look out for when choosing a fundraising platform:
- Does this platform require a fee?
- What is the minimum amount I can fundraise?
- Are there any fees with Stripe or Credit Card processing?
- What are the benefits to the donor?
Choosing the right fundraising platform is important, and these questions will help you make an informed decision.
If you found this article helpful to read, check out the following post:
Why Choose Givey – Givey | Blog
Switch2Givey – Givey | Blog
Join our dedicated community of thousands of small charities. Givey is an online fundraising platform with an ethos of transparency for donors and no platform fees for charities / causes. We have raised over £2m.