Fund-raising is a top priority for nonprofits and one of the main goals behind events that they host. Nowadays, planners have a variety of digital options to manage and grow their fund-raising initiatives. Here’s a look at four online platforms that provide a variety of options.
Facebook has made several updates to its charitable giving tools that are available to U.S.-based nonprofits. Verified pages can now add donate buttons to their Facebook Live broadcasts so viewers can donate as they watch, or once the broadcast has ended and is posted to the page. In June, Facebook added a “create a fund-raiser” call-to-action in the page template, so supporters can create fund-raisers directly from the nonprofit’s Facebook page. Nonprofits also can now choose whether to accept donations via the donate button, via fund-raisers, or both.
MobileCause, which provides digital fund-raising and communication software for nonprofits, has made several updates to its product, including the addition of tools that allow nonprofits to choose their own template and design for their online fund-raising efforts. National organizations can use MobileCause to create digital campaign templates that they can share with their state and local chapters to create brand and campaign consistency. At events, donors can make pledges simply by texting an event keyword and their donation amount to a designated number. The system also creates a “fund-raising thermometer” that can be displayed on screens around the event to provide real-time updates on progress toward the fund-raising goal. MobileCause can provide hosts with a credit card swiper to take donations on site, and after the event, the system sends automated reminders via text to encourage those who have made pledges to fulfill their donations.
Swell is a fund-raising software comprised of three applications. When planners use Swell to create their event website, every guest who purchases a ticket also gets their own personal fund-raising page, making it easy for them to share the event and request donations from friends. At the event, Swell offers an app to manage check-in. It also sends an email to guests with a personal fund-raising link. To encourage guests to share the event on social media, the company’s newest feature is Swell Slides, which creates a social media wall showing posts with the event hashtag, custom slides, and sponsor logos. When used with the Swell fund-raising platform, Swell Slides also shows leaderboards and totals so planners can use it to gamify the fund-raising activity.
iDonate is a comprehensive digital solution nonprofits can use to manage event ticketing, online and mobile giving, analytics, and integration with Salesforce, MailChimp, and more. Planners can create a branded event page to sell tickets, process check-in, encourage social sharing, take donations before the event, and more. iDonate also provides a form that can be added to the website to manage donations of non-cash items, such as cars, furniture, and more. The system handles the physical transfer of the item, selling, and title transfer if it is a vehicle.
