Technology + CSR: How to Get The Most Out of Your Programs

This guide covers how technology can help nonprofits get the most out of CSR programs.

An increasing number of businesses now participate in corporate philanthropy. In fact, 94% of major US corporations plan to increase or maintain their corporate giving over the next few years. While this is great news for businesses, it’s crucial to think about how to empower your corporate partners to keep up their generosity

If you lead or own a running retail store, sports club, or company, corporate social responsibility can benefit your business. For instance, you can get paid for sneaker donations, which helps your community lower its carbon footprint. We all know that sustainability is a top priority for the global population. 

In this guide, we’ll cover the benefits of CSR for businesses and the types of technology you should keep your eye out for to create a more cohesive and streamlined corporate giving experience.

The Benefits of CSR for Businesses

As a manager or leader, you’re probably already familiar with the benefits of CSR. Let’s refresh your memory on the main advantages:

  • Increased visibility. Your company can improve brand visibility through corporate giving programs such as matching gifts and payroll deductions.
  • Greater outreach. By connecting with local businesses, your organization gains access to its employees, customers, and greater network, resulting in heightened awareness of your company and its CSR efforts.
  • Elevated volunteerism. Partnering with other businesses or even nonprofits for CSR purposes may result in more fun volunteer projects your organization can do, which is a win for your team.
  • Networking with businesses. Corporations with CSR practices are more receptive to appeals for more significant support, such as sponsorships. For example, a local gym might be more inclined to donate gently used gym equipment to a community center nonprofit if they’ve established a connection through CSR.

There are several key things businesses gain from their generosity. According to 360MatchPro, CSR offers these four main advantages for businesses:

  • Employee engagement. A positive workplace culture motivates employees to work harder and stay engaged. CSR-focused events and initiatives provide excellent opportunities for employers to engage their team members with generosity.
  • Relationship-building. Aside from engaging employees, CSR events also allow employees and leadership to bond outside the office. It leads to stronger interpersonal relationships between employees and management, contributing to a more positive workplace culture.
  • Team member retention. More engaged employees are usually more satisfied with their work, making them less likely to seek employment elsewhere. CSR makes employees feel valued by their companies, as they’re able to give to the nonprofits they care about.
  • New talent recruitment. CSR initiatives add value to your compensation package to help businesses recruit new employees. Plus, with 71% of employees thinking that it’s essential to work at a company that gives back to the community, having CSR initiatives allows businesses to set themselves apart from competitors when it comes to hiring.

CSR Solutions for Businesses

As a general rule, the more convenient something is to do, the more likely it will get done. The same goes for CSR. Since your business stands to gain a lot from CSR initiatives, seek to encourage other local businesses and corporate partners to invest in CSR solutions together to make a greater impact.

CSR software refers to any business-oriented solution that enables for-profit organizations to participate in CSR activities. Here are a few types of CSR software solutions businesses should implement:

  • Employee giving tools. These tools are best paired with a matching gift program, where businesses choose to match donations made by their employees. Using employee-giving tools allows employees to check their matching gift eligibility and access applications so companies can easily approve applications for gift matches.
  • Volunteer matching solutions. For companies offering volunteer grant programs, volunteer matching software can greatly help. These tools may allow employees to track their volunteer hours, making it more convenient to see if they’ve fulfilled the grant’s requirements. Additionally, these software solutions can suggest volunteer opportunities to employees based on their volunteer history and interests, making them more likely to take advantage of the program.
  • Employee engagement platforms. One of the main benefits of CSR for businesses is increased employee engagement. That’s why employee engagement platforms that integrate with other CSR solutions can be a great help. With a comprehensive engagement tool, businesses can track employee engagement and satisfaction while encouraging employees to participate in their CSR programs and initiatives.

When looking into CSR solutions, focus on how these tools benefit your business and make CSR easier to administer. Emphasize how the right tools will make it more convenient for employees to take advantage of CSR initiatives by the business.

How Businesses Support CSR

Aside from investing in CSR software, companies can also support CSR initiatives in other ways. Consider the main types of corporate giving initiatives to get started.

Let’s take matching gift programs as an example. Your business could invest in matching gift software with auto-submission features to make it easier for employees to submit matching gift requests.

This feature will simply ask employees for their corporate email addresses. Then, the tool will collect all the data relevant to the donation and organization and transfer the information to the matching gift management software to send the match request automatically. This process takes the brunt of the effort off of employees, making it more likely that matching gifts will be requested and businesses can make a greater social impact.

Another way your business can support CSR is by promoting creative volunteer opportunities. Let’s say you’re taking Sneakers4Good’s recommendation and running a sneaker recycling program. Advertise this social good opportunity to employees, vendors, and other partners by emailing contacts and asking them to pass the message along to others. Additionally, you can also promote it as a volunteer opportunity, as you’ll need volunteers to coordinate the sneaker collection.

By investing in the right solutions, businesses can see greater brand awareness through CSR programs, taking their companies to new heights. 

This guide lists 10 kid-friendly fundraisers for churches to raise donations and awareness for nonprofit organizations.

9 Kid-Friendly Fundraisers For Churches Helping Nonprofits

To enhance its community outreach and make a greater impact, your church may support local nonprofit organizations. Together, your faith-based and charitable missions can help change lives in the community.

As a children’s ministry leader, you know the importance of engaging families, including your youngest churchgoers, in the church’s mission to reach the community. Kid-friendly fundraisers not only teach valuable lessons to children in your church, but they can also boost your efforts to support a nonprofit by getting entire families involved. 

The right fundraising idea can raise much-needed support and put the “fun” back in “fundraising,” which is why we created this list! Here are 10 kid-friendly fundraising ideas that will help children understand their role in God’s kingdom as they empower nonprofits to help others. 

1. Quiz show

According to Wonder Ink, increased biblical literacy can help kids recognize the Bible as the source of truth, whether they’re reading yet or not. Support children’s understanding of Scripture by testing their knowledge through a fun competition!

Host a “quiz show” where you challenge kids’ knowledge of the Bible. Have them compete to:

  • Locate a Bible verse first
  • Answer a question about a Bible passage
  • Recite a Bible verse

To reinforce biblical lessons, use Scripture from your children’s ministry program as the material for the quiz show. When you charge a small entry fee and sell tickets to those attending, you’ll further kids’ learning and raise money for nonprofit causes.

If you want to involve even more participants, turn your quiz show into a trivia game to test kids on their knowledge of your children’s ministry curriculum content. Create teams and prepare a list of trivia questions from your curriculum’s lessons and key takeaways.

Kids will study the curriculum and memorize Scripture to prepare for the competition. To incentivize participation, offer a prize to the winning team. For example, your church might match the amount raised for the nonprofit in honor of the winning team. 

2. Talent show

The children in your church have active imaginations and big dreams. Give them a chance to be in the spotlight with a talent show!

To raise funds for this event, charge a small entry fee for participants and sell tickets for those attending. Prepare a short introduction to the show to explain the purpose of the fundraiser and how kids are helping those in need by performing. 

3. Product fundraiser

Kids will get especially excited about fundraising when they see tangible results in return for their contribution. Raise donations by selling:

  • Food items: Tasty snacks like cookie dough and popcorn are enticing treats that kids can’t refuse! Keep them in the building or room where your children’s program meets so that they’re always available for purchase. 
  • Branded merchandise: Items branded to your children’s ministry will likely be top sellers because kids and their parents will be eager to represent their involvement in your children’s program by sporting your merch. 
  • Discount cards: Host a discount card fundraiser by selling coupons for goods or services from preferred merchants. These can help parents get discounts on family meals, school supplies, or other items or services.

In addition to selling products to people in your church, you can also encourage older kids to do the selling. Giving this responsibility helps kids become more directly involved in your church’s impact on nonprofit causes.

4. Bake sale

Invite kids and their families to bake tasty treats and sell them at a church-wide bake sale! This fun activity can encourage relationship-building between families as they spend time together baking and selling their baked goods. You’ll also engage the community if you choose to sell outside of your congregation, providing opportunities to minister to others and invite newcomers to your church.

Plus, this fundraiser maximizes the amount your church raises for nonprofits since parents and kids will donate their baked goods to your sale. That way, every dollar raised goes directly to nonprofits and their beneficiaries!

5. A-thon fundraiser

A-thon fundraisers collect donations for an activity completed by participants. When kids sign up for this challenge, their loved ones will donate based on the quantity of the activity completed. For example, a-thon activities often include:

Set an appropriate goal for each activity to make it achievable for kids. For example, collect donations for each page read in a read-a-thon to make the goal more achievable for early readers.

6. Campaign website

As children’s use of digital devices and social media increases, taking your fundraising efforts online is an engaging way for your church to raise nonprofit support. Older kids will enjoy helping you create a campaign page, through which your church can collect donations on behalf of the nonprofit.

Collect ideas from kids in your children’s program for the page’s design, layout, and interactive elements. While considering their input, remember to include the essential elements of a campaign website:

This image lists the essential elements of a campaign website, which are listed in the text below.
  • Social media sharing icons
  • Volunteer sign-up form
  • Your church’s branding
  • Explanation of mission and campaign
  • Donation form
  • Fundraising thermometer

After publishing the page, share the link with parents and other adult church members so they can donate and share the page with their friends. Provide fundraising updates with the kids in your children’s program and be sure to explain that their page design is helping to support an important cause.

7. Scavenger hunt

Create a scavenger hunt for your church’s kids with an enticing prize at the end. You can raise donations through a small entry fee for participating and by selling refreshments to parents as they wait.

You can make each clue a Bible verse reference that leads kids to the next one. For example, the first clue might be Matthew 6:19. When kids find the verse in their Bibles and read, “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven,” they’ll be prompted to look for the next clue on the keys of the worship team’s piano.

8. Book club

While book clubs are often free, your church can turn this into a kid-friendly fundraiser by selling children’s books to participants. You can also sell candy and snacks during the book club’s meeting times or t-shirts displaying the book club’s name.

As the children’s ministry leader, you may choose to lead the club yourself or recruit ministry volunteers to lead it for you. Either way, have members of the club explore books that study Scripture or even correlate with lessons from your children’s curriculum. 

For example, if kids are currently learning about how to Holy Spirit leads them, you could have the book club read The Go-and-Tell Storybook, which explores 30 biblical stories of the Holy Spirit coming. This will help your group remain focused on biblical topics while still raising support for nonprofit causes! 

9. Parents’ night out

Give parents a break by allowing them to take a night for themselves. Recruit children’s ministry volunteers to host games and fun at the church, then charge a small fee for parents who drop their kids off. 

Volunteers may spend the evening doing a service project for your nonprofit partner with the kids who are dropped off. Discuss how nonprofit support ties into your church’s mission and the calling as Christians to “love your neighbor.”

More fundraising ideas can be found on resources like BestFundraisingIdeas, which offers a comprehensive list of unique activities and events. No matter which fundraiser you choose to host, remember to emphasize the importance of kids’ involvement. Show your appreciation and explain how they’re helping others by participating.

Also, consider working with nonprofits that serve children. That way, the kids in your children’s program will feel more connected to the beneficiaries of their donations and resonate more with the cause.

Feature image for blog post on how to avoid perfectionism paralysis in capital campaigns

How to Avoid Perfectionism Paralysis in Capital Campaigns

If your capital campaign is going to be successful, you will need generous contributions from your very top projects.

In fact, according to recent research by Capital Campaign Pro, most campaigns raise more than half their goal (71%, on average!) from fewer than 20 donors. So how you approach those 20 donors matters a great deal.

And if you’re like many people, you may fall into the “We had better be perfect” trap. It’s a natural mistake. Because those top donors are so important, and you worry that you might not get more than one opportunity to ask them for a big gift, it’s got to be right!

As a result, you may be tempted to put off those big donor visits until all of your plans and your materials are buttoned down and look super professional.

In fact, you might feel paralyzed by your commitment to perfection and put off those big donor visits far longer than you should.

Here’s the truth, though. The drive to be perfect before you talk to your big donors, while understandable, is actually the wrong approach. Not only will it delay your campaign, it’s likely to diminish the chances of your success.

Why?

Because the essence of getting those large gifts isn’t buttoning down every detail. The essence is quite the opposite. Your task isn’t to make a perfect presentation, it’s to involve those large donors early and often in the planning of your project long before you make your pitch and ask for a gift.

Here are three things you can do to make sure you don’t fall into the perfectionism trap with your next capital campaign.

List of ways to avoid perfectionism paralysis in your next capital campaign, all of which are covered below

1. Mark planning documents as drafts.

Alternatively, get in the habit of using the phrase “preliminary plan.” Make sure to date each version of every draft. You will likely go through several drafts that will shift, change, and improve with each version. Without dating the versions and renaming and dating subsequent documents like your case for support or gift range chart, you won’t be able to keep track of which is an earlier version and which one is current.

2. Share draft versions with your most important prospects early on in the planning process.

Don’t wait until your plans are finalized. Think about it this way: If you don’t approach that local politician or business owner until everything is buttoned down and perfect, then all you have to talk to them about is money.

But if you share your plans while they are still in the formative stage, you can have far more probing and exploratory conversations with them. Those conversations will help you benefit from their ideas and give you insights into their interests and philanthropic motivations.

3. Know that it’s easier and less stressful to talk with donors before you’ve perfected your plans.

The more time and energy you’ve put into making everything perfect, the more likely you’ll find yourself selling and then defending your plans rather than discussing them.

It turns out that not only does trying to be perfect often slow you down, but it’s actually a less powerful approach to engaging your donors. And it is well-documented that engaged donors give more and give more generously.

So, don’t fall into the perfectionism trap. Train yourself to share your plans before they are fully formed and enjoy the benefits of getting wisdom and advice from the people who can help you most.

This guide explores the four ways fundraising software connects schools with donors.

4 Ways Software Bridges the Gap Between Schools & Donors

As a parent, teacher, or school administrator, you’re all too familiar with the challenges of school fundraising, including fatigue and burnout, disengaged students and parents, and a lack of communication. Unfortunately, these are problems that can lead to losses in potential fundraising revenue, and finding the right strategies to address these issues can feel like guesswork.

Choosing exciting fundraising ideas, engaging students, and creating targeted marketing campaigns can help you reach the right audience, but these things can be time and labor-intensive to do on your own. To quickly make impactful changes to your school’s approach to donor and community outreach, consider investing in specialized school fundraising software. 

In this guide, we’ll explore these four ways the right technology will help you connect with your donors to foster deep, loyal relationships:

  1. Better understanding of donor preferences.
  2. More convenient donation methods.
  3. Real-time, accurate data tracking.
  4. Prompt donor communications.

To reach and resonate with those who are willing to give to your school, you first need to understand them. To get started, we’ll cover how to learn about potential supporters and use your findings to inspire donations. 

1. Better understanding of donor preferences. 

Fundraising software tracks different types of fundraising data, including valuable insights about donors’ preferences and giving behaviors. For example, let’s say your school is following 99Pledges’ guide to organizing a read-a-thon, which recommends each student receive a personal donation page where their friends and family can pledge donations. When a donor donates to your read-a-thon, you’ll know:

  • Their first and last name
  • Contact information, such as an email address
  • Their preferred payment method (e.g., ApplePay vs. credit card)
  • The amount they gave
  • Which student they have a connection with
  • When they donated

Using this information, your school can tailor how it interacts with donors in the future. Specifically, you could:

  • Choose fundraising ideas that align with student and donor interests
  • Create targeted marketing campaigns that acknowledge their giving motivations
  • Reach out through preferred communication channels (e.g., offering the option to be reached by text, email, or mail )
  • Make tailored fundraising appeals based on past giving behavior

By creating more personalized experiences for donors, you show that you see and value them as people rather than dollar signs. 

2. More convenient donation methods.

Another way to leverage donor data is to optimize the giving process according to what is most convenient and familiar to your donors. For example, some donors may be most comfortable with writing a check or submitting cash to your school. However, many supporters find it easiest to give online, and fundraising software makes it easy to accept and track online giving.

When preparing for your next school fundraiser, make sure your software can accept popular online payment methods, including:

  • Credit and debit cards
  • GooglePay
  • ApplePay
  • Third-party processors like PayPal and Venmo

Keep in mind that accepting digital payment methods will also make the logistical side of fundraising easier for your school. Financial data will flow into your records, allowing you to track progress in real-time. Additionally, if you’re looking to get students outside through a fundraiser like a walk-a-thon, you can nudge supporters to donate online ahead of time or on-site using QR codes so volunteers don’t have to handle cash and checks.

3. Real-time, accurate data tracking.

When your school accepts more online donations, you can quickly and accurately track your fundraiser’s progress. This not only streamlines your recordkeeping but also opens the door for new donor engagement strategies.

Here are a few ways to engage donors and student participants using data about your fundraising progress:

  • Fundraising thermometers: Fundraising thermometers visually display your campaign’s fundraising progress for donors. When donors can easily check in to see how much money you’ve raised, they may feel inspired to give to push you closer to your goal.
This is an example of a fundraising thermometer (detailed in text).
  • Countdowns: Consider adding a countdown to your fundraising thermometer to create urgency. Keep it simple by adding a headline that says something like “There are only 10 days left in the read-a-thon! Help us reach our goal by donating here.”
  • Gamification: This strategy involves adding gameplay elements to non-game scenarios. In a fundraiser, you might create a leaderboard that shows who the top donors are. Consider offering prizes or incentives to top contributors, such as recognition on your school’s website.

This can also help ensure that your school is on track to meet its fundraising goals. For example, maybe you’ve set a goal to raise $3,000 from your back-to-school fundraiser and know that you need to raise $1,000 per week to meet the goal. With up-to-date revenue data, you’ll know if your school can achieve its goal by the deadline.

4. Prompt donor communications.

Communication with your donors is critically important to building relationships with them and showing your appreciation for their support. As noted by eCardWidget’s guide to thanking donors, it’s best to send thank-you emails within 72 hours of receiving the donation. But, it can be difficult to stay on top of sending these messages while juggling all of your other responsibilities. 

Rather than manually sending each message, you can automate the process with your fundraising software. This way, donors will receive donation receipts, thank-you messages, and pledge reminders on a much faster timeline without added stress.

Your donors will appreciate more tailored thank-you messages that show that your school truly values their contributions. If a donor gave to your sports team’s recent campaign, you’ll want to greet them by name, acknowledge which organization they donated to, recognize the amount they donated, and tell them about the impact that gift will have on your organization. 

Donors are the lifeblood of any successful fundraiser. However, recruiting new ones to support each campaign comes at a much higher cost than simply engaging past donors. By leveraging fundraising technology, your school can foster deeper relationships with its donors to build a robust network of supporters and nurture sustainable revenue streams.

In this guide, we’ll cover five essential skills to master to make you a better nonprofit web designer.

5 Skills to Make You a Better Nonprofit Web Designer

Stories are at the heart of web design. For nonprofits, conveying inspiring stories is critical to securing the necessary support for powering social change. 

With high stakes like these, first impressions matter. In today’s fast-paced world, it takes only 0.05 seconds for users to form an opinion about a website. Because of this, nonprofit web designers need to hone their skills to impress visitors and motivate them to get involved.

To help you round out your abilities, we’ll discuss five essential skills to develop and sharpen as a nonprofit web designer, including:

  1. User Experience Design
  2. Visual Design and Storytelling
  3. Nonprofit Content Creation
  4. Web Accessibility
  5. Stakeholder Communication

An effective nonprofit website is a valuable tool for marketing, increasing brand recognition, and boosting conversions. Focus on the following skills to stay at the forefront of nonprofit web design and create stunning websites that supporters return to again and again.

1. User Experience Design

Seasoned nonprofit web designers are well-accustomed to approaching their projects from the user’s point of view. Visitors should be able to land on the website and immediately begin interacting freely with your nonprofit’s content. To improve the user experience (UX) of a website, follow these best practices:

  • Avoid pop-ups that block the main content and consider using sidebars instead.
  • Include plenty of white space around text and images to avoid overwhelming users.
  • Improve your website load speed by compressing images and enabling lazy loading.
  • Break up large chunks of text with bullet points and images.

Additionally, make it easy for users to take important actions on your website by incorporating clear, eye-catching calls to action (CTAs) across your pages. For example, according to 360MatchPro’s fundraising statistics, making a website’s “Donate” button stand out can result in a 190% increase in donations.

Incorporate high-contrast brand colors and choose urgent, specific language for your CTAs to compel users to click through. For example, a college website might feature CTAs like “Apply Now” or “Take a Virtual Tour” while an animal rescue nonprofit might encourage people to “Donate Now” or “Adopt a Stray.” These buttons will guide users from step to step in their interactions with your website.

2. Visual Design and Storytelling

If a picture can paint a thousand words, then your nonprofit website is full of opportunities to tell readers about your organization’s mission, beneficiaries, and impact. A nonprofit web designer should be able to use captivating visuals to enhance the user experience and weave together attention-grabbing graphic design materials such as:

  • Images
  • Infographics
  • eCards
  • Videos
  • Animations

Set your visual web design up for success by starting with a mood board. In this resource, you’ll compile aspects such as color palettes, icons, logos, illustrations, and typography to use for brainstorming and fine-tuning. Developing a mood board allows you to share your design approach, collect feedback, and make major changes before delving into the actual project itself.

Make your nonprofit website’s visuals stand out by experimenting with animated, interactive, or 3D elements. Keep up with the latest web design trends by moving away from art styles like Corporate Memphis and opting for more custom, textured illustrations that add more specific value to your content. However, the user experience should still be your number one priority when designing your visuals.

3. Nonprofit Content Strategy

A well-rounded nonprofit web designer looks at each website’s content strategy as a whole to determine how to attract and retain visitors. You should be well-versed with content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, and know how to leverage their tools to fill your website with engaging content. Kanopi’s WordPress for nonprofits guide offers these tips for refining your website’s content strategy:

  • Use simple language and avoid jargon.
  • Engage website visitors by using more second-person than first-person pronouns.
  • Follow SEO best practices, such as using logical heading structures and choosing specific keywords for each page.
  • Create a blog posting schedule for consistent content.

All of the content on your nonprofit website should reflect your organization’s voice and tone. For instance, a nonprofit that is trying to come across as more playful and approachable might use more contractions and add emojis throughout its content, while an organization that is aiming to be more serious might include no emojis and limit the use of exclamation points.

4. Web Accessibility

Whether you’re trying to encourage website visitors to sign up for an upcoming event, visit your donation page, or explore the blog roll, make sure that your content is accessible to everyone. This includes people using mobile devices, screen readers, and other assistive technologies.

Keep these considerations in mind to ensure that all visitors have an excellent experience on your website:

  • Add captions and alt text to every image and video.
  • Use a color contrast tool to ensure that your colors have sufficient contrast.
  • Avoid using all caps to improve readability.
  • Ensure that all of your content is mobile-responsive.

To identify further accessibility improvements, your website should undergo a basic audit at least every six months, or following any major changes.

5. Stakeholder Communication

While every well-designed website will share common strengths and features, it’s important to tailor each website to your nonprofit’s audience and brand. To do so, you’ll need to acquire an in-depth understanding of how your target users prefer to interact with a website and what they’re looking for in a high-quality website experience.

One effective way to do this is by creating three to five user personas containing information such as:

This is a template that nonprofit web designers can use to develop user personas to guide their design decisions.
  • Age, location, and occupation
  • Technical proficiency
  • Goals or purpose for using your website
  • Potential barriers they might encounter

As you design your nonprofit website, reference these user personas to adjust your visual and content strategy to meet the specific expectations of your audience. Continue gathering user feedback through surveys and focus groups to stay on top of needs and priorities.

A strong nonprofit website provides a solid foundation for building relationships with donors, volunteers, and corporate partners in the community. Keep an eye on metrics such as time on site, landing page bounce rates, and number of pages visited to determine the effectiveness of your web design efforts. Use this information to make improvements, sharpen your skills, and boost your results over time.

Connect your nonprofit with local businesses.

4 Tips for Connecting Your Nonprofit With Local Businesses

Whether you’re seeking sponsorship, volunteer support, or joint marketing opportunities, establishing partnerships with businesses in your community is a powerful way to enhance your nonprofit’s impact. However, developing these partnerships can be challenging, time-consuming, and confusing without a strategic plan in place. 

In this guide, we’ll explore four tips for connecting your nonprofit with local businesses. From identifying potential partners to creating win-win collaborations, these insights will help you build strong cross-sector relationships that support your mission and drive positive change in your communities.

1. Research and Identify Potential Partners

To identify potential partners in the community, a nonprofit can follow these steps:

  • Define your objectives. Nonprofits often seek partnerships when organizing a large-scale fundraising event, launching a community initiative, or implementing a specific program that requires additional financial resources and support.
  • Research local businesses. Conduct thorough research to identify businesses in the community. Utilize online directories, local business associations, chamber of commerce listings, and social media platforms to identify potential partners.
  • Ensure your values align. Evaluate the values, missions, and corporate social responsibility initiatives of the identified businesses. Look for businesses that have a natural connection or alignment with your cause or mission. For example, a dog daycare business would be an obvious match for an animal shelter since they have similar clients and services. 

Reach out to the identified businesses to introduce your nonprofit and express interest in exploring a potential partnership. This can be done through phone calls, emails, or in-person meetings. 

2. Establish Clear Benefits

As you connect with local businesses, introduce your mission and communicate the benefits of a partnership. These may include: 

  • Community development: Partnering with a nonprofit allows businesses to contribute to community development and address social issues, which can have a direct impact on their growth.
  • Elevated brand reputation. Collaborating with a nonprofit allows businesses to align themselves with a mission or social good cause, which can enhance their brand reputation and perception among customers, employees, and influencers in the community. 
  • Increased brand awareness. Add the business’s contact information and logo to marketing materials like fundraising flyers, event invitations, and partnership-related emails to increase their brand visibility. Or, create a personalized video about your sponsor and post it to your social media pages.
  • Employee morale and engagement. Most employees value working for a socially responsible company. Creating matching gift programs, introducing volunteer opportunities, and sponsoring local nonprofits can improve their satisfaction. 
  • Tax benefits. Businesses may be eligible for tax benefits or incentives when they donate or support nonprofit organizations. These financial incentives can provide a tangible benefit to the business, helping to offset costs or improve the bottom line.

Customize these benefits to suit the specific goals, needs, and sectors of the businesses you’re approaching. For example, a pet rescue organization might ask a dog trainer to financially support their upcoming adoption event. In return, the pet rescue will use Gingr’s pet business software to promote the dog trainer’s services, potentially leading to an influx of new customers. 

3. Create Tailored Partnership Opportunities

Develop opportunities that cater to different types and sizes of businesses. Offer a range of options, such as:

  • Sponsorship opportunities: Sponsorships come in the form of financial or in-kind contributions. To incentivize larger gifts, Double the Donation’s guide to corporate sponsorships recommends creating tiered benefit packages that correlate to the level of support given. For instance, when you receive a donation of $10,000 or more, you might mention the business in a speech and display its logo on partnership-related materials. Businesses that give less than this might receive a social media shoutout instead.
  • Auction item donations: Many businesses have relevant products or services that would be valuable items to auction off at your next event. For example, a local hotel could offer a weekend stay, or an airline headquartered in your city could offer round-trip tickets. No matter what the business has to offer make sure you’re thoughtful about how you make your auction item donation request.
  • Joint initiatives: A joint initiative is a collaboration between a nonprofit and a partner organization, in which both work to create a mutually beneficial event, program, or campaign. It involves pooling resources and networks to achieve a greater impact than either organization could achieve alone. 
  • Employee engagement programs: Employee engagement programs focus on involving employees of a business or organization in volunteer activities, fundraising efforts, or other activities that support your nonprofit’s mission.
  • Research collaborations: Nonprofits and businesses might partner together to research studies or projects related to their missions. For example, an animal welfare organization might partner with a dog boarding business to research the safest, most effective accommodations. 

After presenting a business with a partnership opportunity, gauge their interest and thank them for their consideration, regardless of their decision. That way, they will be left with a positive impression of your organization.

4. Demonstrate Impact

If a business agrees to be your partner, take notes throughout the partnership, making note of successes and areas of improvement. 

Then, in your outreach, explain the impact that the partnership has made on your nonprofit and the community as a whole. Share success stories, testimonials, or data that highlight the tangible outcomes of your programs or initiatives. This builds credibility and instills confidence in other potential business partners, showing them how their involvement will make a difference.

Remember, connecting with local businesses requires building meaningful relationships based on shared values and mutual benefits. By taking a strategic and personalized approach, your nonprofit can form valuable partnerships that amplify your impact and strengthen the communities you serve.

Shop With Purpose: A Guide to Online Shopping Fundraisers

Shop With Purpose: A Guide to Online Shopping Fundraisers

It’s no secret that online shopping is rapidly growing in popularity. Research shows that e-commerce sales generated more than $856 billion in revenue in 2022, and approximately 2.64 billion customers are expected to make at least one online purchase sometime in 2023.

So, what do these statistics have to do with you, a nonprofit professional? They mean that, in your search for innovative fundraising strategies to engage your organization’s supporters and boost your revenue generation, you should consider tapping into the power of online shopping!

In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know to get started with an online shopping fundraiser for your nonprofit. Here’s what we’ll cover:

With the right tools on your side, you can turn an online shopping fundraiser into a lucrative year-round campaign for your organization. Let’s dive in!

Online Shopping Fundraisers: An Overview

An online shopping fundraiser allows your supporters to contribute to your nonprofit by making everyday purchases from participating e-commerce businesses.

To make this fundraiser work, you’ll need to sign your organization up with an online shopping fundraiser program. When supporters use the program’s app to shop online, a percentage of their total sale will go directly to your nonprofit at no additional cost to you or the shopper.

It’s likely that you heard of (or even participated in) AmazonSmile, one of the best-known programs that ran on this model, before its 2023 discontinuation. However, there are a variety of alternatives to AmazonSmile that your nonprofit can still partner with to run your online shopping fundraiser. Plus, these programs often offer benefits that Amazon Smile didn’t, such as higher commission rates and more flexibility in their retailer options.

Benefits of Online Shopping Fundraisers

Online shopping fundraisers benefit both your nonprofit and its supporters. Let’s explore some of the advantages from both perspectives.

For Nonprofits

Some of the reasons why your organization should consider launching an online shopping fundraiser include:

  • It’s easy to run. Once your partner program’s experts walk you through a simple onboarding process, your fundraiser will basically run itself. Then, all you have to do is promote the campaign and track your results.
  • It provides unrestricted funding. Some of the funds your nonprofit receives have to be used for specific programs or projects according to your agreement with the donor or grantmaker. However, the contributions from your online shopping fundraiser can be put toward any area of your nonprofit’s budget that needs additional funding, including operating expenses.
  • It helps diversify your nonprofit’s revenue streams. According to Jitasa’s nonprofit financial management guide, having multiple funding sources allows your organization to achieve greater financial stability. Online shopping fundraisers can be run year-round, making them a great way to supplement your nonprofit’s other fundraising efforts.

Online shopping fundraisers are also completely free for your organization to launch, and they work for nonprofits of all sizes and in all verticals.

For Supporters

Supporters can also benefit from your nonprofit’s online shopping fundraisers in multiple ways, including the following:

  • It’s a no-ask sale. Most other fundraising campaigns that involve buying items, such as product fundraisers or branded merchandise sales, require supporters to go out of their way to give to your organization. Online shopping fundraisers, on the other hand, allow supporters to contribute by purchasing items they were likely going to buy anyway, so they don’t have to spend any additional money to support your nonprofit.
  • It’s highly flexible. As long as the program you partner with has access to a wide network of retailers, supporters will have lots of options when it comes to shopping for your cause.
  • It allows them to shop more ethically. Shoppers can feel good about their online purchases when they know that they’re supporting an organization that makes a difference in their community at the same time.

Participating in an online shopping fundraiser can also be a great entry point for supporters to get involved with your nonprofit. If you review your fundraising data and notice that a brand-new supporter has just shopped for your cause, reach out to them with a welcome email series providing more information about your organization’s work and other ways for them to engage in it.

How to Launch an Online Shopping Fundraiser

According to ShopRaise’s guide to shopping for a cause, your organization can start its own online shopping fundraiser in just three easy steps. Let’s walk through the process in more detail.

1. Partner With a Fundraising Program

As stated previously, the first thing you need to do to launch your online shopping fundraiser is find a dedicated platform to launch your campaign. Look for a program that not only has connections to a wide network of retailers but will also handle all business negotiations for you. Additionally, make sure to ask about their commission rates and whether they can scale with your organization.

Once you’re onboarded with the program and they’ve created a branded landing page for your nonprofit, you’re ready to start spreading the word about your fundraiser to your supporters!

2. Market Your Fundraiser

Marketing is essential for a successful online shopping fundraiser, and leveraging multiple communication methods will allow you to reach as many supporters as possible. Provide instructions for how to participate in your fundraiser and reminders to continue shopping for your cause via the following channels:

The program you partner with can sometimes help with this step by creating email templates, flyer designs, and website banners advertising your fundraiser, all featuring your organization’s logo and brand colors.

3. Track Your Results

Through your online shopping fundraiser platform, you’ll be able to view real-time data on your nonprofit’s campaign. Analyzing this information serves two main purposes. First, you can hone your marketing strategy over time to prioritize the channels that drive the most conversions.

Second, you can recognize your top supporters individually. Send them personalized thank-you messages with their names and fundraising totals, and remind them to keep up the good work in shopping for your cause. To protect shoppers’ privacy, these two pieces of information are all your organization will be able to see—only the supporter will know exactly what items they purchased.

Online shopping fundraisers combine two societal trends—e-commerce and digital fundraising—to provide year-round funding for your organization. While it’s important to maintain your usual fundraising pushes, such as events and your year-end giving campaign, supplementing these efforts with online shopping makes it even more likely that your nonprofit will bring in the revenue it needs to further its mission.

4 Online Fundraising Campaign Ideas to Boost Your Reach

4 Online Fundraising Campaign Ideas to Boost Your Reach

These days, almost everything has gone digital—even fundraising. Hosting your fundraising campaign online is beneficial not only for the existing donors in your community, but also for reaching new donors. An online campaign can expand your reach beyond your community, acting as an innovative way to engage supporters from across the country and even the world. 

To get started, you’ll need a compelling fundraising campaign idea that aligns with your nonprofit’s goals and meets your unique audience’s interests and motivations. Not sure where to begin? Explore our roundup of the top online fundraising ideas guaranteed to spur donations and help you achieve your fundraising goals:

Host a combination of these campaigns or use them as inspiration to plan a unique online fundraiser at any point of the year. Let’s dive in! 

Peer-to-Peer Fundraiser 

Peer-to-peer fundraising is a fun and engaging way to get your supporters directly involved in the fundraising process. During a peer-to-peer fundraiser, you’ll hand over the fundraising reins to your most loyal supporters, empowering them to create their own fundraising pages. By tapping their personal networks to help meet their fundraising goals, your supporters will effectively introduce you to brand new donors, boosting your donor acquisition rate. 

To maximize the success of your online fundraising campaign, the OneCause guide to peer-to-peer fundraising best practices recommends leveraging these best practices: 

  • Recruit supporters to help: Market your peer-to-peer campaign online using channels like your website, social media, and email to help promote this opportunity and pique your existing supporters’ interest. You can also reach out to well-connected supporters, like board members and major donors, to serve as ambassadors and lend a helping hand in fundraising. 
  • Provide training and instructions: Consider hosting an online training session to go over peer-to-peer fundraising best practices and how to create a personal fundraising page. You can also consolidate these instructions in a digital guidebook that can be accessed at any time. Make sure you have a point-person to field any supporter questions and walk them through best practices if they need additional advice. 
  • Pair your campaign with exciting events: Consider hosting your peer-to-peer fundraiser alongside an event to increase engagement, such as a walk-a-thon, an online silent auction, or a livestreamed panel with members of your team who can discuss your cause in detail.  

Once your fundraiser concludes, remember to thank all of your peer-to-peer fundraisers who helped make it happen. A handwritten thank-you note or shout-out on social media can go a long way in helping your supporters feel appreciated and eager to champion your cause again in the future. 

Matching Gift Campaign 

According to 360MatchPro’s guide to corporate philanthropy, a matching gift campaign allows your nonprofit to double the impact of donors’ gifts with the help of corporate support. In a matching gift campaign, corporate donors will match gifts during a certain period of time. For example, if a donor gave $100 to your nonprofit, a corporate sponsor might match this at a 1:1 ratio, resulting in $200 for your nonprofit.  

To get started with matching gifts, follow these steps: 

  • Research companies with similar values and interests: Research local businesses and ask your board members and staff for references of companies who may be interested. Even if they say no to providing a matching gift, they may be a valuable resource to tap into for future fundraisers, such as sponsorship opportunities or silent auction item procurement.  
  • Create a corporate sponsorship proposal: Create a letter that pitches a partnership, outlines what type of support you’re seeking (such as matching at a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio), and when you hope to host a matching gift campaign. You’ll also need to explain how the gift matching will help bring your nonprofit closer to reaching its goals and how your corporate partner will benefit from this arrangement. For instance, you might promote their company in your marketing materials to help expand their reach in exchange for financial support. 
  • Follow up and express appreciation: At the end of your matching gift campaign, let your corporate partner know how much you raised and how the funds will be used to further your mission. Expressing gratitude can help you secure their support again in the future. 

Make sure to promote your matching gift campaign widely and well in advance so supporters know when it’s happening and how they can get involved.  

Text-to-Give Campaign 

A text-to-give campaign is one of the easiest ways to raise money online. It enables donors to give donations at any time on their own devices. Supporters simply submit donations right from their phones, making the donation process inherently convenient, simple, and rewarding.  

You can use text-to-give donation channels for everyday fundraising, not just during an event. Using it is easy—all your supporters need is a specific keyword and the short- or long-code that they’ll text (which should be provided by your text-to-give solution). This will automatically take mobile donors to your nonprofit’s donation page.  

Be sure to find a good software solution that can support virtual transactions and customizations specific to your nonprofit. Specifically, look for a text-to-give solution that offers features like: 

  • Gamification tools to inspire giving, including a scoreboard 
  • Automated email receipts 
  • Flexible payment options 
  • Donor data collection and automated reports

On top of having the right fundraising technology, you also need to make sure you’re doing everything possible to build up your contact list. Promote your text-to-give campaign widely to encourage all your supporters to opt-in. A multichannel marketing plan can help you put your text-to-give campaign at the forefront of supporters’ minds, so consider generating content related to text-to-give on your social media, website, and email newsletters. 

Crowdfunding Campaign 

If you’re looking for a campaign that will make a big impact without asking your donors to empty their wallets, a crowdfunding campaign might be right for you. A crowdfunding campaign raises smaller amounts of revenue from a large pool of donors—think $5 per person. If you ask a group of 100 donors to give that much, you will walk away with a hefty donation, and your donors won’t feel fatigued. 

Most crowdfunding campaigns happen online, so you’ll need to establish a strong digital presence for your fundraiser. Consider creating a fundraising microsite with the following elements: 

  • Embedded donation form with a simple donation process and limited prompts
  • Your nonprofit’s branding
  • Storytelling that explains how the donations will be used, including emotionally compelling visuals
  • Social sharing features so supporters can promote your microsite among their personal networks

After your crowdfunding campaign wraps up, be sure to show your appreciation to all of your participating donors and share how the donations will be used. By cultivating relationships with these donors, you can increase the likelihood that they’ll continue to come back and donate to your organization again and again! 

Wrapping Up 

As you think through which fundraising idea makes the most sense for your organization, consider your audience and what will excite them the most to give. Then, channel that idea into a well-designed online campaign that will help you spread awareness and bring in more funds.  

Before you dive into your new campaign, make sure you’re working with the best fundraising technology so you can run your online campaign seamlessly. An all-in-one fundraising platform will provide your nonprofit with everything you need to succeed, whether you’re hosting an in-person, online, or hybrid campaign. Happy fundraising! 

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