Nonprofits can rake in big sums through social media, email, giving days, and other online fundraising efforts, but it can be tricky to get started.
To increase your chances of success, make sure your website and donor communications work well on mobile devices. Nearly a quarter of online gifts in 2018 were made via smartphone or tablet, according to a study of more than 5,500 nonprofits conducted by Blackbaud, a company that develops software for charities.
It’s vital to create fundraising appeals that are optimized for smaller screens, says Jake Blumberg, executive director of GiveMN, the nonprofit that runs Give to the Max Day, which supports Minnesota charities. This calls for an approach different from those of other outreach channels, such as email. “It’s the difference between a couple hundred words and two images being visible on a screen,” says Blumberg, “and seeing two sentences and maybe one image being visible and read.”
You should also focus on making it easy to donate through a mobile device. For example, offer payment methods — PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay — that don’t require people to enter their credit-card numbers on a tiny screen, says Kestrel Linder, CEO of GiveCampus, a fundraising platform for schools and colleges.
Here we’ve gathered resources from the Chronicle to help you start or ramp up your organization’s online fundraising program.
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Behind the Scenes at Austin’s Giving Day
Get an insider’s hour-by-hour view of how one of the most experienced giving-day teams raised a record sum of contributions with no strings. -
Advice
Online Fundraising: 4 Standouts in Crowdfunding and Giving Days
How competition, prizes for all levels of gifts, and a year of planning brought success. Also, the philanthropy battle between Colorado and North Texas. -
Tool Kit
Tips and Tools for Building Strong Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Programs
A collection of resources to help nonprofits attract loyal volunteer fundraisers and build a strong sense of community among supporters. -
Advice
Where to Start With Online Fundraising
The basics that should be in place before a charity begins an online fundraising effort. -
Fundraising
8 Ways Giving Days Are Evolving
More video, easier payment, and events designed to support a single cause are some of the latest tweaks in the decade-old phenomenon. -
Advice
How 4 Groups Netted Big Returns in Online Fundraising With Just the Basics
Simple tools — including thank-you videos and informal email reports — can win the day. -
Tool Kit
How to Make the Most of GivingTuesday or Any Giving Day
Some nonprofits spend months planning creative digital campaigns for the fundraising sprint. Others use the day to thank donors or inspire their supporters to give back in other ways. -
Advice
5 Tips to Boost Online Giving
Pay attention to mobile devices, match your online and offline design, and more advice from organizations seeing success. -
Advice
How the University of Michigan Raised $3-Million Online in a Day
The university’s elaborate Giving Tuesday event, Giving Blueday, built momentum for its eight-year capital campaign. -
Advice
How a Public Television Station Is Growing Online Giving
New staff members, a focus on email, a simple donation process, and a campaign to save Big Bird helped one group’s online giving increase. -
Advice
How Cat Photos Helped a Financial Services Nonprofit Get Donors’ Attention
For a giving-day campaign, Prepare and Prosper used a fun, quirky message. -
Advice
Old Museum Seeks New Support Through New Media
A revamped website helps the museum for Mount Vernon, George Washington’s historic home, solicit online funds from a new donor base. -
Advice
How Wikimedia Lets Donor Research Guide Its Online Fundraising
By gathering feedback from readers and donors and conducting extensive A/B testing, the Wikimedia Foundation tailors its fundraising campaigns to different audiences around the world. -
Advice
How Wikipedia Raises Money From a Global Audience
The Wikimedia Foundation makes sure readers around the world can donate using their preferred currency and platform. -
Advice
A Simple Test Helps Human-Rights Campaign Raise Money From Social Media
Looking to get rid of some water bottles, the nonprofit learned more than it expected about the group’s Facebook and Twitter followers. -
Advice
International Aid Group Appeals to Donors’ Values in First #GivingTuesday Campaign
American Jewish World Service used matching gifts and a powerful critique of holiday-season commercialism to raise gifts.