Online fundraising is a means by which nonprofits can raise money through the internet in order to fund their projects. It usually consists of an online donation page, a donation form, or a donation button on the website where donors can donate seamlessly to your nonprofit through the convenience of the internet.
It is true that social media plays an important role in online fundraising campaigns, but it should not be forgotten that there are also other forms of online fundraising, such as email and text to give campaigns, peer-to-peer and crowdfunding campaigns, and virtual events.
The benefits of online fundraising:
- Convenient and easier
It doesn’t matter whether you organize a number of events or have volunteers go door-to-door to collect donations for your organization, you must agree that these methods require a great deal of effort – planning, organizing, managing people, schedules, committees, subcommittees and many other headache-inducing tasks that require a great deal of effort.
The only work you have to do with online fundraising is strategic, such as setting goals and thinking about how to reach them. Fundraising online does involve a bit of work up front to get things set up, but the rest is usually handled by the technology you choose to work with.
- Cost-effective
To promote your fundraiser, you don’t have to book a venue, cater lunch for the committee meeting, send out 5,000 direct mail pieces or print 500 flyers. Some of the ideas in this post are free (other than paying for your staff’s time, of course), and some are low cost.
- Improves accessibility
Attending fundraising events can be challenging for some people. People can participate in your fundraising online from anywhere and at any time. Even virtual events like walk-a-thons typically last a few days to a few weeks, instead of just one day. As a result, participants can choose when, where, and how to participate.
- Increases reach
Taking advantage of social media makes this possible, so why not reach out to potential supporters beyond your local area?
Moreover, you can further amplify your online presence through marketing opportunities like Google Ad Grants. It is possible to determine which keywords will place you in front of the right prospects, then enhance conversion-optimized pages such as donation forms, event landing pages, and educational posts related to your mission.
- A new audience is attracted to it
A larger reach means more potential new donors. You will receive more support if your fundraiser is seen by more people. A successful online fundraiser will allow you to collect information from prospective donors, add them to your DMS (donor management system), and continue to build a relationship with them even if they don’t donate immediately.
- It offers a more targeted approach
With online fundraising, you are much more in control of who sees your message. For example:
- By personalizing your emails, you can make the recipient feel like the message was written just for them.
- By using social media ads, you can target people who are most likely to donate to your cause.
- The message, story, and visual media can be evaluated and adjusted quickly if they are not resonating with your audience. Everything is digital, so you can experiment with different versions and make edits quickly.