New Fundraising Technique for Nonprofits, Part 2

Using my newfound knowledge of internet marketing (don’t ask me how I know), I’ve run across the idea of membership sites, where, for example, you pay one fee and get a year-long access to a bunch of useful information that is archived and also added to on a regular basis.

Taking this idea and applying it to nonprofits, I came up with these ideas.

A lot of nonprofits now have a way to donate directly from their webpage. Network for Good, for example, can be set up to accept donations on a nonprofit’s behalf. The visitor just clicks on a button on the nonprofit’s website and is sent to the Network for Good’s website.

The process varies, but it is generally pretty painless for the person donating– UNTIL the final checkout, that is.

The first time I donated to an organization online (I wanted to beat the end of the year deadline for donations in that tax year) I was shocked when I saw that there was a “processing fee” that I could pay or that amount would be deducted from the amount that I donated. As I recall, it was about 4.5% of the total. I felt burned by paying a processing fee to the middle man in this process and I haven’t contributed in this way again.

Convenience always costs, of course, but there is absolutely no reason why a nonprofit should be giving away so much of the money that could be used for services to clients.

An organization can EASILY set up its own business PayPal account and keep nearly 100% of the money people want to donate. (PayPal takes a fee, too, but it is smaller than what I paid to the other organization in order to donate. And there’s not just one way to set this up.

I recommend that nonprofits set up a button on their website that can be good for a one-time donation through PayPal (the giver does NOT have to have a PayPal account to donate). Even better though, in my opinion, is setting up a “membership” program, where the person agrees to donate a set amount per month, through PayPal. This way, the person can donate a smaller amount each month that may add up to more than would be given all at once (the “installment plan”). The process is entirely automated and costs next to nothing.

Just as traditional fundraising programs do, you can set up different levels of giving, with different amounts of incentives. The Silver level might get 2 free tickets to a benefit; the Gold level might get 4 tickets. The Platinum level could receive 4 free tickets and a pass for all four people to a pre (or post)-event reception with the featured speaker.

This “membership” approach fits in precisely with traditional fundraising practices but automates the process and makes it possible to spread the total amount over the year. This benefits both the agency and the donor.

Let me know what you think by using the comment area.

Using knowledge for success,

Dr. Rick Hoefer

Explore posts in the same categories: Capacity Building, Fundraising, Nonprofit Management, Social Work Management

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