How to Empower Your Donors to Give Stocks & Cryptocurrency
The fundraising landscape is constantly changing and evolving, responding to new technologies, giving trends, and global developments. For your nonprofit to keep up and tap into the future of fundraising, you need to stay open to new opportunities.
While much of the world’s attention is on artificial intelligence (AI), we’d like to bring your attention to another growing trend: the fundraising potential of appreciated assets.
More and more donors want to give non-cash appreciated assets like stocks and cryptocurrency, and your nonprofit can boost its fundraising revenue by empowering them to do so. Let’s explore four steps you can take to start taking advantage of this impactful giving method.
Make it easy for them to give non-cash donations.
Donating stocks and cryptocurrency isn’t as straightforward as giving with cash or a debit card, but it doesn’t have to be difficult! You can simplify the non-cash giving process by using a tool that allows you to accept these gifts right from your online donation page, with no transaction fees required.
With an intuitive crypto or stock donation platform, donors can give non-cash gifts in just a few steps:
- On your donation page, the donor scans your crypto wallet QR code or clicks a button to donate stocks.
- The donor sends cryptocurrency to your account or inputs their stock and brokerage firm information to initiate a stock transfer.
- Once the transfer is complete, the platform automatically converts the non-cash gift into cash and deposits it in your nonprofit’s bank account.
Emphasize how easy this process is on both your donation page and your nonprofit’s Ways to Give page to encourage donors to consider non-cash giving. Also, add information about how much additional impact donors can make with these types of donations. For instance, take a look at how the Hoffman Institute discusses stocks and cryptocurrency on its Ways to Give page:
Once you have the process set up and multiple pages on your website that promote non-cash giving, you can incorporate stock and crypto giving into all of your fundraising campaigns and easily accept non-cash gifts at any time.
Understand the benefits and potential concerns.
Next, make sure your team has a thorough understanding of both the benefits of non-cash giving and any concerns your donors may have. You’ll be able to promote these giving methods much more successfully if you can put yourself in the donor’s shoes and speak directly to their motivations, preferences, and fears.
Beyond the benefits to your nonprofit (such as earning larger donations and more sustainable funding), crypto and stock donations offer plenty of exciting benefits for your donors. These include:
- Tax benefits: Infinite Giving’s crypto donation page explains that in addition to receiving charitable tax deductions, cryptocurrency donors don’t have to pay capital gains taxes on their gifts. While individuals normally have to pay a tax on their crypto and stocks’ appreciation, they are not required to pay it if they donate the asset.
- Ability to give in larger amounts: If a donor’s cryptocurrency or stock appreciates in value after they buy it, they can end up donating more money to your nonprofit than they originally spent on the asset. Plus, since they bought the asset previously, the money won’t come directly out of their pocket and impact their day-to-day finances.
These are enticing benefits for donors, but be mindful that they may have concerns, too. For instance, donors might worry about their crypto gift losing value after they donate it, or they may think that the stock donation process is too lengthy to make a timely impact on your work.
If you run into these concerns, reassure donors that your organization will convert their gifts to cash immediately to preserve their value. Let them know that your non-cash giving platform streamlines the giving process for both stock and cryptocurrency donations, allowing your organization to receive donations as quickly as possible.
Launch a strategic marketing campaign.
With benefits and concerns for donors in mind, develop a multi-channel marketing campaign to promote non-cash giving. Plan to create content for all the channels your audience prefers, including email, social media, text messages, or direct mail.
Design promotional materials that explain:
- What cryptocurrency and stock donations are
- The tax benefits of crypto and stock giving
- How to donate stocks and cryptocurrency on your donation page
- Reasons to give non-cash gifts instead of (or in addition to) traditional donations
- How fast and secure your nonprofit’s donation process is
Vary the format of your marketing content and don’t be afraid to get creative. You might design how-to infographics, write a blog post about the impact of crypto donations, or record a video walkthrough of the non-cash giving process.
Then, use the data in your nonprofit’s CRM to identify individual donors who may be interested in non-cash giving and send them personalized fundraising appeals. This might include mid-level and major donors, those who’ve expressed interest in non-traditional forms of giving, or supporters with high financial capacities. Consider donor demographics, too—57% of crypto owners are Millennials while only 20% are members of Gen Z.
Recognize donors who give stocks and crypto.
One of the best ways to encourage more donors to give non-cash donations is to recognize and appreciate the donors who already do.
Public donor recognition can inspire others to learn more about non-cash giving and donate their own assets. At the same time, these efforts help you steward relationships with existing non-cash donors, boosting donor retention and encouraging them to give stocks or cryptocurrency again in the future.
Start with basic donation acknowledgment emails (which the best non-cash donation platforms can automatically send for you!), then think about additional ways to recognize those who give non-cash gifts. For instance, Kwala recommends sending gifts of branded merchandise, creating thank-you videos, or spotlighting donors in your newsletter or social media.
When you recognize these donors publicly, whether with a social media shoutout or a page on your website, make sure to highlight their giving method and explain the gift’s impact. You might say, “Deborah donated $10,000 worth of stocks, enabling us to provide brand-new technology for our community center that serves hundreds of families in need.”
Once you have experience with non-cash fundraising and accepting stock donations, consider tapping into other opportunities like investing your organization’s reserve funds to give them the potential to grow. While the process can seem daunting, a nonprofit investing advisor can help you through every step to make your organization more financially sustainable in the long term.
