With the rise of the digital era, comes new online strategies for non-profit organizations to use for fundraising. By taking advantage of software, online platforms, social media, and digital marketing, non-profits can really up their fundraising game.
The online space allows you to reach more and more people around the world. So, by planning your non-profit fundraising strategies, you can help to raise more funds and truly make a difference for your cause.
To get you started, here are 9 of the most effective non-profit fundraising strategies.
To begin, let’s chat about peer-to-peer fundraising. While this is not a new fundraising strategy, it is made much more effective when communicated online. Peer-to-peer fundraising is quite similar to crowdfunding - which we’ll get into in the next point.
This layered approach involves using your network of volunteers, family, and friends to help bring in more donations. When hosted in person, the non-profit organization sets up some fun activities for donors to take part in. People then sign up their family and friends to participate and donate to the non-profit organization.
Some examples of these peer-to-peer fundraiser activities could be golf tournaments, fun runs, etc.
Moving online, non-profit organizations have adapted this fundraising strategy. People involved in the non-profit organization, as well as volunteers, can set up their own pages or posts where their friends and family can donate. In doing so, people in their network can donate irrespective of time and place.
Social media channels are relatively new. Thus, non-profit organizations are only just starting to realize their potential. To be more specific, Facebook birthday fundraisers are becoming more popular and effective as a non-profit fundraising strategy.
People can post about the cause that they support and want to raise funds for. Then their friends, family, and anyone else in their network can donate. Facebook allows people to choose from hundreds of thousands of different charity organizations. So, it’s a good idea to get your name on that list!
You’ve probably heard of crowdfunding before. It’s when you create a web page where people can easily donate to your cause. Usually, crowdfunding pages are for specific causes or projects.
On this page, you need to include your mission, where the money is going, and explain the whole purpose of the project. If people want to support that project, they can contribute by donating or sharing the link on their social media accounts.
It is common practice for a non-profit to also include a progress bar. This allows people to see the total that the non-profit has raised so far and what the goal amount is.
Auctions have been a popular non-profit fundraising strategy for many years. Although now, they are moving online. Online auction software, like BiddingOwl, makes this process simple and efficient for non-profit and charity organizations.
Online auctions are also much more cost-effective as you don’t need to find and rent a venue.
Again, because an online auction is not location-specific, more people can bid on the items. Online auctions are also a great non-profit fundraising strategy because donors actually get something in return for their donation.
This can compel more people to bid so that your non-profit can make the most of the fundraiser.
If there’s one thing that people love, it’s merchandise. People like to have something to show their support. From key rings and tote bags to t-shirts and caps, you can let your non-profit’s creativity fly here.
Having a cool design will help make this strategy even more successful. Your donors will be left with something that they like, and you will have raised funds for your cause.
Another great fundraising strategy for non-profit and charity organizations is to partner with Amazon Smile.
As Amazon has an incredible amount of users, they allow their shoppers to donate a small percentage (0.5%) of their purchase to a non-profit or charity of their choice.
This is a great strategy because people will make a quick decision and don’t waste time wondering how much they should donate. By partnering with Amazon Smile, you can get a constant trickle of donations into your non-profit.
Email campaigns are one of the most common and most effective digital marketing strategies utilized today. So, why not use them as part of your fundraising strategy for your non-profit? They are cost-effect and easy to personalize.
Divide your audience up into various segments so that you can create email sequences more appealing to various groups of people. You can segment by demographics, interests, the capacity to donate, and more.
By doing this, you can tailor your messages and stand out in their inboxes. With some practice, you’ll be able to see what works and what doesn’t.
Your emails could include regular updates on your projects, invitations to events, newsletters with information regarding your cause, and more.
Another handy feature that comes with having an online platform and website is having a feature that allows your donors to donate monthly.
People may want to show their continued support of your cause or maybe they would rather donate a small amount every month rather than a big donation at one time.
So, it’s definitely worth having this feature on your donation page.
Last but not least on our list of non-profit fundraising strategies, is to create an interactive video for your supporters to enjoy. This promotes engagement and allows people to participate in something for your cause.
It also puts a face to your non-profit’s name and humanizes it. A good example of this was the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
Propose a goal, challenge, or anything that people would be interested in, and encourage people to share the video. This could create a fun online activity that people want to take part in. As more people share, you will see a wider reach and garner more support.
So there you have it. With these 9 non-profit fundraising strategies, you will be raising money for your cause in no time!
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