8 Nonprofit Fundraising Strategies To Help You Raise More Donations

When you’re planning nonprofit fundraising, there are a hundred details to be taken care of. Planning campaigns, following best practices across different campaign sets, and ensuring all runs smoothly is never easy.

But it becomes a success only if your fundraising strategy is the best. Whatever the nonprofit fundraising idea, each needs careful planning and strategizing to ensure you raise more money. Let’s see some of the ideas and strategies for effective fundraising.    

1. Implement peer-to-peer fundraising

Tap into the social network of your friends and supporters to reach a larger audience. Peer-to-peer fundraising leverages the support of a wide network of individuals to spread greater awareness of your cause and raise more money. To bolster the cause, you can hold events and incentivize your top fundraisers. Some of the nonprofit fundraising ideas are:

• Marathons or walk-a-thons
• Gala dinners
• Music concert
• Auctions
• Art exhibitions and many more

Peer-to-peer fundraising empowers your supporters to raise money on your behalf. It is a cost-effective way to get supporters involved in your mission and raise more money. A successful peer-to-peer campaign is when you build relationships with your donors and keep track of their fundraising efforts. You need to stay engaged with your supporters throughout the process.

2. Boost year-end giving

People contribute more during the Christmas season than at any other time of the year. It encourages generosity, selflessness, and a sense of belonging. Maybe, that’s the reason why approximately 31% of the annual giving occurs in December. Also, 12% of giving happens in the last three days of December. Many nonprofits raise 25-50% of their annual funds at the year-end.

Year-end gifts are made for several reasons including tax purposes, a tribute, or a gift in the name of a loved one. It’s the best time to kick off your fundraising efforts.

The best nonprofit fundraising strategy to collect maximum funds is to start planning early. So many fundraising appeals go out at the same time during the year-end which can overwhelm the donors. Get your team together somewhere in September or October and figure out the donor list. Segment them based on their behavior and traits. This will give you an idea of how much funds you can expect to raise and if it is likely to meet your fundraising goals. Identify big donors and craft personalized messages to appeal to those individuals.

3. Develop recurring giving

When it comes to nonprofit fundraising ideas, recurring giving (monthly or annual) is valuable. It provides a reliable source of income for your nonprofit. In a recurring giving, donors donate a specific amount to nonprofit organizations on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. Such plans help nonprofits to generate a steady income to help cover the rent, employee salary, cause expenses, and so on.

The benefits of having more members in your recurring giving are-

• You collect more funds compared to the average one-time gifting
• Once a donor signs up for this program, they stay on your donor base for a longer time than one-time donors.
• It gives you a better idea of your fundraising goals.

To attract more donors to sign up for your recurring giving, think through the ins and outs of the program. Figure out who and how to approach. Establish a credible monthly, quarterly, or annual donation amount before you promote the program. And remember, frequency is more important than the size of the gift. So, identify donors who give smaller amounts regularly as these will be willing to enroll in the recurring giving program. Promote it on social media and register your campaign on a trusted online fundraising platform that has features to support recurring giving for you as well as the donor.

4. Encourage membership campaigns

Membership campaigns give you a reliable expanded base of donors who renew their support year after year. Such nonprofit fundraising campaigns work wonderfully for corporate and even individuals. In the U.S, approximately 84% of the donations given to charities come from individuals.

To attract as many donors as possible, provide various structured giving levels to suit the potential of your prospective donors. You could begin with the gift levels such as-

• $50 to $99
• $100 to $499
• $500 to $999
• $1000 to $4999
• $5000 and over

Identify the giving capacity of your organization’s donors and offer membership levels accordingly. Welcome any and all donations, no one is small or big. You can effectively use the time between membership and renewal to engage with members and seek their upgraded support.    

5. Utilize the power of social media

When it comes to nonprofit fundraising, the medium is as important as the message. Social media channels make it easy to promote your cause and encourage donations for a larger audience. 55% of the people interacting with charities on social media take some sort of action such as donating funds, volunteering, or sharing the message.

Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, or YouTube, each channel has some unique features and benefits. The nonprofits have to choose a platform that is popular amongst the donor demographic. Facebook offers free tools for audience growth and increased donations. These include a Donate button on your profile page, custom stickers for Stories, and also Facebook Live to run real-time fundraising drives.

Similarly, Instagram and Twitter have hashtags. Keep a close eye on the trends and utilize them in your nonprofit fundraising ideas across social media platforms consistently. For instance, the Ice Bucket Challenge on TikTok drew awareness to the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) cause. Harness the community power across your social media profiles and this way you not only engage your supporters but also succeed in bringing in new followers.

6. Update your organization’s website

A mobile-responsive website with a clear Call To Action (CTA), logo, and branding will ensure the online visibility of your nonprofit. Utilize SEO techniques and paid campaigns (as per your organization’s budget) to reach a wider audience. With a properly-designed website, you build credibility, and this, in turn, helps you maximize donations.   

7. Implement text fundraising

A mobile SMS can be used in many ways for nonprofit fundraising.  

Outbound texts- You can send text messages to donors to engage and connect with them. Provide them with key news and updates on your campaign.

Reminder messages- Set up automatic messages in order to remind the donors to complete their donations. You can also urge donors to make their gifts recurring or upgrade their membership plans.  

Text-to-donate- In this, the supporters text the campaign’s keyword to a designated phone number. In return, they receive a link to the website, fundraising page, or any other option to make a donation.

Text-to-give- Similar to the text-to-donate, here the supporters simply text a keyword to the designated short code number of the charity. The gift amount is deducted from the supporters’ phone bill.  

Mobile SMS fundraising is a simple yet effective means to get donors to support your nonprofit anytime from anywhere.  

8. Harness the power of online fundraising platforms

If your charity hasn’t got a website, you can still be online by setting up an attractive donation page on a reliable online fundraising platform such as givingx. It has all the necessary tools to easily set up a fundraiser and share it with your network. Some of the strategies you can employ here are-

• Providing a recurring giving option for donors
• Donors can manage their donations at any time
• Integrating employer donation matching
• Optimizing the page for mobile devices
• Accepting donations on your Facebook page.
• Integrating a visual thermometer to encourage donations.
• PDF donation receipts
• Varied payment methods
• Pre-filled custom amounts with descriptions

A donation page on givingx automates your nonprofit fundraising and boosts your virtual donation drive.   

Conclusion

Digital fundraising has changed the story for many nonprofits. Whatever the nonprofit fundraising ideas or campaigns, virtual or physical, integrate and link them all to a single fundraiser page on givingx. It is easy, affordable, and works best for your organization.  

If you want to learn more about virtual fundraising or want to set up a donation page, visit our website.