Digital Fundraising: Take Your Strategy to the Next Level
Technology and the online space are evolving at a staggering rate. Especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital activity has become increasingly relevant to the ways that we fundraise. Your nonprofit has probably been drastically impacted by the digital revolution, and you should use digital mediums to tell your story and garner more support for your mission.
That’s where digital fundraising comes in. Online channels provide unprecedented opportunities to reach new audiences, lend value to the donor journey, and ultimately raise more money for your nonprofit. This guide will give you everything you need to know to get into the digital fundraising world and achieve your revenue goals. Here’s what we’ll cover:
Whether you're a seasoned online fundraising pro or a newcomer, it's important to keep up with the fundamentals and changing trends. This guide can give you a solid reference point. Let’s dive into the exciting world of online fundraising.
Overview of Digital Fundraising
What is digital fundraising?
Digital fundraising is the use of online platforms and media to spread awareness for your cause and gather donations. According to the Blackbaud Institute:
As of 2021, online giving has grown 42% over the past three years.
12% of total fundraising takes place online.
28% of online contributions come from a mobile device.
As a fundraising professional, your goal is to capture the most eyes, hearts, and dollars, so if you haven’t already, you should pivot to where the most people are, which is online!
Digital fundraising can be used for a variety of campaigns of all sizes and scopes. Plus, it can be an extremely flexible and budget-friendly approach when backed up by the right strategy and tools.
How can digital fundraising benefit my nonprofit?
Digital fundraising provides the opportunity to build a community, both online and offline. Instead of being limited to your local supporters, you can reach audiences around the world who are passionate about your cause. Using digital platforms like social media is affordable, user-friendly, and can generate impressive ROIs. Plus, online platforms provide the flexibility to offer hybrid and virtual events so your distant supporters can still engage with your organization.
Besides providing the means to reach a larger audience, the digital space allows you to transform your storytelling strategy. For example, instead of simply using the written word on your mission statement, you can create a video on your website or include photos of your beneficiaries. The saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” is exactly what digital marketing is built on. Images and other digital content can make a more immediate and emotional impact than words alone.
Digital fundraising will also help you capitalize on the short-form content movement. Social media in particular has popularized this format (and perhaps shortened our attention spans), and it shows no sign of stopping. So, your nonprofit should make every effort to capture and keep your viewers’ attention. For example, if your long-form articles haven’t been getting clicks, you can offer them a concise, attractive infographic instead.
Fundraising is all about getting your cause in front of potential donors and showing them how their support could drive your mission forward. But you can’t make your case if you aren’t in the same space as your visitors. Meeting your prospects where they are is key, and, as you might expect, they’re online. Your nonprofit has to stay on the cutting-edge of fundraising tactics to compete for your donors’ attention, and digital fundraising provides many opportunities to do so.
How do I start a digital fundraising campaign?
One of the most important considerations for any digital fundraising campaign is defining your strategy. The internet, while powerful, can be a double-edged sword; the vastness of digital marketing can leave a lot of room for error. For example, if you skimp on your research and spend all of your time on the wrong strategy, you can get stuck in a rut and only reap a fraction of your potential gains.
Determining your strategy starts with setting your fundraising goals. Work with your team to establish your goals and the specific KPIs you’ll use to measure your progress on your goals, such as:
The total value of donations raised
Average donation value
Number of individual donations
Donor retention percentage over past campaigns
New donor acquisition
Donation upgrades/monthly giving acquisitions
Web impressions on specific landing pages
Clickthrough rates from email and social media
Newsletter sign-ups
Once you’ve finalized your objectives, it’s time to take a closer look at your database and learn more about your donors. You might look at the following information:
Age
Average gift amount
How they found your nonprofit
Hobbies
Preferred mode of contact
Preferred method of giving
Preferred social media platforms
Use this information to begin shaping a strategy. Which donors should you target in order to reach your goals? What are this segment’s giving habits? Where can you best reach them?
These valuable insights will help you learn which digital fundraising methods will be the most effective before you dive headfirst into launching the campaign. And if you’re missing any information, you can always conduct a survey of your supporters to gather more details.
Who can help me with digital fundraising?
If your organization is new to digital fundraising, wants to revamp your historical strategies, or is planning on launching a major campaign soon and looking to understand how digital methods fit in, you might want some external guidance.
In these cases, consider enlisting the help of a fundraising consultant. This professional can transform your fundraising approach to align with industry best practices and achieve optimal visibility. Plus, they can help you better understand your donor data so that you can determine which digital platforms will be the best investments for your organization.
Digital Fundraising Strategies to Help You Succeed Online
Now that you’ve set your goals, analyzed your data, and consulted a fundraising professional, it’s time to lay the foundation for your digital fundraising campaigns. Here are strategies and best practices to get your fundraising campaigns off the ground.
Fine-tune your website.
Your website is probably the most important part of your digital footprint. It’s your home base for your nonprofit, and it’s probably where many of your donors will turn to learn more about you. So, you should design it to be as accessible, convenient, mobile-friendly, and relevant as possible.
Web design doesn’t have to be complicated! If you don’t know anything about website design, the internet has a solution for that, too. There are many website builders that you can use to your advantage. Plus, there are even website builders that are made specifically for nonprofits. The right tool will help you create a design that best fits your needs and turn your website into a useful fundraising tool.
Optimize your donation page.
Once your website is optimized, it’ll be home to a vital piece of this puzzle: your donation page. Your donation page should be clearly visible and accessible from your home page. A great way to attract your visitors to the page is by including a prominent, colorful call-to-action button that says “Donate Now!” or another message that will prompt a clickthrough.
Here are a few fundamental best practices that you should follow while optimizing your donation page:
Host the donation page directly on your own website.
Suggest donation amounts and provide an easy sign-up option for your recurring donation program.
Don’t ask for too much information—You can always follow up to learn more about new donors later.
Include a concise reason to give and explain where the money goes.
Ensure there’s a clear visual connection between your main brand and your donation page’s design.
Make it mobile-friendly.
Embed a matching gifts database into your form so donors can kickstart the process of securing a donation match from their employer.
Keep in mind that if you have numerous funds or campaigns, you can allow your donors to pick which they want to donate to by including a drop-down menu on your donation page. This will allow you to more easily correlate performance to specific campaigns and marketing channels.
As you run more digital campaigns over time, continually look for ways to improve your online donation experience. Even the best online promotions can fall short of driving impact if excited visitors click through, only to be faced with a clunky donation page. The importance of this form cannot be overstated, so take the time to make it as user-friendly as possible.
Hone your approach to social media.
There’s no denying that social media plays a huge role in how nonprofits engage with their donors and communities today. You can use social media to increase brand awareness and spread your donation form far and wide.
It seems like there’s a social media platform for every niche these days. However, don’t let this mislead you; in this instance, less is more. Analyze your donor data to determine which social media platforms are more likely to attract your target audience and focus your attention on those, rather than trying to have a strong presence on every platform. Here’s some helpful information about which types of content to share on different platforms:
Tiktok: Short-form videos
YouTube: Long-form videos
LinkedIn: Photos and text posts
Facebook: Photos, videos, and text posts
Instagram: Photos, videos, and stories
Twitter: Text posts, photos, and videos
Knowing which types of content perform best on each platform is a basic stepping stone to get you started, but it’s up to you to research which kinds of content your audience responds best to. After all, you know your donors better than anyone! Make content that you know will inspire and excite your supporters and encourage sharing to reach new viewers. This expanded reach is one of the biggest benefits of an effective social media strategy.
Promote your monthly giving program.
It’s simple math that a recurring donation is more lucrative than a one-time donation of the same amount. Your nonprofit should capitalize on this opportunity to multiply your revenue by implementing a monthly giving program that you can promote online.
Most fundraising platforms today make it easy to add recurring donation options to your donation pages. Add a short explanation about what a monthly donation means to your beneficiaries and why it’s worthwhile to give on a consistent basis.
Once you’ve updated your giving form, circulate it as frequently as you can. Include the link in your social media bio, newsletter, and other promotional materials. Incentivize monthly donations by providing perks like a membership discount or free branded merchandise. This is one of the best ways to augment your digital fundraising efforts, so make sure all of your supporters know about it!
Apply for the Google Ad Grant.
Chances are you use Google many times a day, and you aren’t the only one; there are an estimated 5.6 billion Google searches per day. Needless to say, the search engine is a major part of the online space that commands a massive audience that you can leverage.
Nonprofits are increasingly relying on digital advertising, and Google makes it easy to get started in this space. The Google Ad Grants program provides approved nonprofits with $10,000 of free advertising per month. These ads allow your nonprofit to appear first when users search for specific keywords you choose that are relevant to your mission or community.
Google Ads are a worthwhile investment of your time because they can provide a built-in visibility boost to all of your digital activities. As you reach wider audiences online and generate more interest, you can see a steady stream of newcomers-turned-donors who found you online after a quick Google search.
Digital Fundraising Campaign Ideas
Now that you have your logistics in order, let’s discuss some digital fundraising ideas you can try out.
Host a peer-to-peer fundraiser.
In a peer-to-peer campaign, supporters will have their own donation pages and raise the most money for your cause by sharing their pages with friends and family on social media. This is an effective campaign because it uses "social proof," the idea that makes audiences more likely to consider donating when they see that their friend supports your organization. This means you can foster an audience that's already inclined to support your cause.
Also, the decentralized approach means you can reach a much wider audience than you would on your own. It can be highly engaging for supporters to play a more active role in this way, especially when you mix up your campaign with contests, challenges, unique hashtags, leaderboards, and more.
Leverage text-to-give.
You can meet your donors where they are by ensuring your website is mobile-friendly, but you can go even further with a text-to-give fundraising campaign. This format makes giving even easier by allowing donors to simply text a keyword to your unique number to trigger a new donation.
Implementing text-to-give software allows you to easily build this giving channel into future campaigns. It’s especially useful during virtual or hybrid events, as you can make quick donation appeals that won’t take your audience’s focus away from the main activities.
Set up an online fundraising store.
Consider starting an online merchandise store for your nonprofit with the proceeds going towards your cause. You can design merchandise with your nonprofit’s logo and branding or even make shirts specific to your current fundraising campaign. Here are some popular items to consider:
T-shirts
Sweatshirts
Hats
Water bottles
Keychains
Drink koozies
Bumper/laptop stickers
These campaigns work because they give donors something tangible to keep as a reminder of your mission. Plus, they give you a publicity boost as supporters wear or use your merch in public. Your supporters will love to represent your organization in style!
Start an email campaign.
No matter how much you’re on or offline, you likely use email every day to correspond with coworkers, donors, and partners. That’s why an email campaign is one of the best ways to reach broad digital audiences.
Use email best practices and strategies to ensure that your fundraising pitches are interesting and action-inspiring. Be sure to link to your donation page. This classic method doesn’t have a 4200% ROI for nothing!
Host virtual fundraising events.
Virtual fundraising events are popular due to their flexibility, accessibility, and user-friendliness. It’s become even easier to conduct entertaining and profitable fundraising events in a virtual or hybrid forum. Here are some virtual fundraising event ideas to inspire you:
Class or workshop
Roundtable discussion
Gala
Watch party
Online webinars or panels
Walk-, run-, or dance-a-thon
Game night
All of these fundraising events can be easily converted to a digital format with live streaming and video calls. You can monetize the event by selling tickets or making donation appeals. Don’t forget to market your event so that everyone knows when it’s happening and how they can attend.
Launch a crowdfunding campaign.
Similar to a peer-to-peer fundraiser, a crowdfunding campaign is a digital format that opens up your fundraiser to a wider audience.
Your nonprofit will create a crowdfunding page on an online platform and make a donation appeal. Then, you’ll use digital marketing techniques to spread your campaign to your supporters and their networks. You can incentivize participation by offering tiers of perks based on the donation amount, such as branded merchandise, discounted member dues, or gift cards. This approach is best for shorter or smaller-scale campaigns that drum up a burst of generous energy. It’s a great way to quickly tap into the online audiences you’ve worked hard to cultivate and grow.
Try an e-Card fundraiser.
An e-Card fundraiser is not only good for your organization but for the environment, too. For this campaign, your organization should partner with an e-Card distributor. Your donors will buy a card to send out, and the revenue will go to your organization. This event is particularly fun around the holidays in place of expensive paper cards. Partner with an e-Card vendor to facilitate the card-sending process and to spread some cheer!
Wrapping Up
Fundraising is the lifeblood of the nonprofit sector, and chances are, you rely on it to achieve your mission. Digital fundraising efforts will bring you to the cutting-edge of donor outreach and engagement, positioning you for the prosperity your organization needs.
For a seasoned and proven approach to fundraising, consider working with a digital fundraising consultant. They’ll help guide you through the fundraising strategy process and provide you with tools to make your mark online. Your organization deserves to be seen, heard, and supported, and digital fundraising programs will connect you with the right people to help you succeed.
Want to keep exploring the world of fundraising? Check out these additional resources:
Nonprofit Consultants: 5 FAQs & Our Top Recommendations. A consultant can help your nonprofit strengthen its internal operations and fundraising strategy. Learn more in this guide!
Creating a Fundraising Strategy: 12 Steps for Your Nonprofit. A detailed fundraising strategy can be a great asset to any type of campaign. Check out this guide to get step-by-step help for creating your own.
How to Start a Nonprofit Organization: A Step-by-Step Guide. Starting a nonprofit is no small feat. Check out this guide to learn all the steps you need to follow to create a successful org.
