Fundraising Software - Snowball Fundraising

From Fundraising to Marketing: 3 Smart Nonprofit eCard Uses

Snowball Fundraising — Wed, 01 May 2024 15:13:55 +0000

Digital fundraising tools allow your nonprofit to connect with supporters instantly. However, most modern nonprofits understand the importance of online engagement. This means your organization will need a creative approach to ensure your digital outreach efforts grab supporters’ attention and have the desired impact.

For instance, you might try out multi-channel marketing, text-to-give tools, and one flexible but underused outreach strategy, eCards.

eCards are electronic postcards that nonprofits can use to connect with supporters in a variety of engaging ways. In this guide, we’ll review a few ways smart nonprofits are incorporating eCards into their supporter communications.

Donor Recognition

Recognizing donors is an essential step for inspiring future giving. Regularly emailing thank-you messages whenever donors give is a good practice your nonprofit should adopt if it hasn’t already. Try sending an eye-catching eCard alongside these donor recognition messages.

Compared to a standard email, eCards add extra flair to your donor recognition messages. This makes communication with your nonprofit more memorable, making donors more likely to remember and connect with your nonprofit again in the future.

Here are a few opportunities you can use eCards to steward donors:

Donations. When a supporter donates, send them an eCard thanking them for their gift. You’ll want to follow many of the same best practices of regular donation emails, such as sending them within 48 hours after the initial donation and tailoring the message to the donor. For the eCard’s visual element, consider adding a photo of your beneficiaries or an illustration that helps supporters visualize how their donation helps your cause.

Special events and occasions. For your recurring donors, send eCards on their birthdays, holidays, and other special occasions, such as the anniversary of your nonprofit’s founding. This will help you keep in touch with donors throughout the year and make your organization stand out as having unique outreach.

Event attendance. If a supporter attends an event, thank them for their participation with an eCard. You can also use eCards to invite supporters to events you think they may be interested in or to make an event feel a bit more special. For example, you might send out eCards for a gala aimed at your mid-tier supporters.

When it comes to recognizing donors, eCards are faster and cheaper than physical mail and more memorable than generic emails. Plus, once your nonprofit has a few eCard designs on hand, sending eCards to supporters can become an automatic part of your donor communication strategy.

Donor Recognition

Here are a few opportunities you can use eCards to steward donors:

Donations. When a supporter donates, send them an eCard thanking them for their gift. You’ll want to follow many of the same best practices of regular donation emails, such as sending them within 48 hours after the initial donation and tailoring the message to the donor. For the eCard’s visual element, consider adding a photo of your beneficiaries or an illustration that helps supporters visualize how their donation helps your cause.

Special events and occasions. For your recurring donors, send eCards on their birthdays, holidays, and other special occasions, such as the anniversary of your nonprofit’s founding. This will help you keep in touch with donors throughout the year and make your organization stand out as having unique outreach.

Event attendance. If a supporter attends an event, thank them for their participation with an eCard. You can also use eCards to invite supporters to events you think they may be interested in or to make an event feel a bit more special. For example, you might send out eCards for a gala aimed at your mid-tier supporters.

Charity eCards

eCards can be used to thank donors and earn new donors through charity eCard fundraisers. Rather than sending eCards to donors, nonprofits can sell celebratory eCards to supporters so they can send them to friends and family.

To set up a charity eCard fundraiser, follow these steps:

Determine your audience. Who are you selling eCards to, and why would they want to buy one? Many nonprofits host charity eCard fundraisers around holidays when supporters are likely already interested in buying greeting cards. Additionally, consider your audience when setting your price point. Most supporters will be willing to pay more for a charity eCard than a regular postcard, knowing their money is going to a good cause. However, some audiences, such as school students, will appreciate eCards in their budget.
Partner with an eCard platform. To create and distribute eCards, your nonprofit needs to partner with an eCard service. Look for eCard platforms that have previously worked with nonprofits. These vendors are more likely to have tools and features suited to charitable organizations like yours.
Design the eCards. Create eCards with fun designs that will appeal to the audience you identified in step one. Your designs can be photographs, illustrations, or even animations. For inspiration, eCardWidget’s charity eCards guide shares these eCards from the nonprofit One Tail at a Time’s holiday fundraiser:
Set up your eCard store. To sell your eCards, create a page on your nonprofit’s website where supporters can browse and purchase them. Your eCard platform should provide you with the necessary tools and directions for embedding eCards into your website so supporters can purchase them, add personalized messages, and send them to their intended recipients.
Promote your fundraiser. Once your charity eCard fundraiser is set up on your website, promote it to your supporters. Send them emails and post on social media to show off a few of your eCards’ designs and promote the joy of sending them to friends and family.

Charity eCard fundraisers are especially effective since they help nonprofits earn revenue and promote their cause to new supporters at the same time. After all, supporters buy your eCards and then send them to members of their personal networks who may be less familiar with your nonprofit. After receiving an eCard from a trusted friend or family member, these recipients may be curious about your nonprofit and become supporters themselves.

Volunteer Recognition

Just like with your donors, recognizing volunteers is essential to your nonprofit’s long-term health. Double the Donation’s volunteer statistics report shares that one-third of the nonprofit workforce is volunteers, and many small nonprofits rely entirely on volunteers to fulfill their missions.

Ensuring these supporters feel valued is one of the easiest ways to boost your volunteer retention rates. And just like with donor recognition, you can elevate your appreciation efforts with eCards.

For your volunteer recognition eCards, create and schedule personalized eCards to be sent automatically after a major event, fundraiser, or other initiative concludes to ensure volunteer appreciation is never forgotten.

If you need inspiration for unique designs for your volunteer recognition eCards, try looking at eCards that businesses use for employee recognition. These types of eCards usually call out specific positive behaviors, such as teamwork, creativity, and acting with integrity. With this approach, you can reinforce your nonprofit’s core values and send eCards that are highly personalized to each volunteer.

eCards are a highly flexible fundraising and marketing tool that enables nonprofits to connect with donors, recognize volunteers, and raise funds. Consider how your nonprofit can incorporate eCards into its outreach strategy if your audience is likely to be interested in eCards, and what eCard platforms can help nonprofits like yours.

The post From Fundraising to Marketing: 3 Smart Nonprofit eCard Uses first appeared on Snowball Fundraising.

Auction Software: The Best Features And Providers To Explore

Snowball Fundraising — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 17:22:32 +0000

Are you ready to plan your best auction yet?

Charity auctions are a brilliant way to engage supporters and rake in donations. In fact, nonprofits see a 50 to 65% average rate of return on charity auction items. But your nonprofit needs the right auction software to reap these benefits, especially while balancing everything from item procurement to bidder participation.

With so many options to choose from, how can you make sure you select the right auction tools for your nonprofit? We’ve put together a list of the most effective software providers for your reference, as well as some background information to help you know what to look for. In this guide, we’ll cover:

What is Auction Software?
Auction Software Features To Look For
Top Nonprofit Auction Software Providers
How to Choose Nonprofit Auction Software

The right platform can transform a typical event into a successful fundraiser that drives your mission forward. Let’s learn how by exploring the basics of auction software.

What is Auction Software?

Auction software is a digital tool that streamlines auction planning and management for both in-person and online events. These platforms often provide tools for participants, like event check-in and mobile bidding capabilities.

From event planning to participation to reporting on event success, the right nonprofit auction software can streamline every aspect of your fundraising event. But first, you’ll have to determine what you’re looking for so that you can select the perfect fit for your organization.

Auction Software Features To Look For

If you’ve never shopped around for this type of software, it can feel overwhelming to find what you’re looking for. Here are the top features you’ll want to keep in mind as you explore your various options:

Ticketing and Registration

Whether you choose to host an in-person or a virtual auction, ensuring effective ticketing and registration practices is crucial. After all, it’s how people attend your auction event! Consider the following questions when planning your registration process:

Will you charge for tickets? If so, how much will they cost? While some charity auctions charge a flat cover fee for participants, others rely instead on sliding donations or overall bid revenue to raise money. If you decide to charge, keep the price low to keep your guests in the mood to give.
Will you enforce a registration cap? A registration cap is primarily important for in-person events where you may run out of physical space for your attendees. However, even for virtual events, guest limits can lead to a feeling of exclusivity and urgency when you begin to promote your upcoming auction. Be sure to let your supporters know when you’re approaching your limit so they have the chance to register before it’s too late.

For any auction format, having an accurate estimate of attendees allows you to get a better sense of planned revenue and fundraising goals. Simplify the registration process to get as many guests registered beforehand as possible.

Online and Mobile Bidding

The way participants bid for auction items is arguably the most essential function of your auction software. It is directly through your bidding tools that attendees can take part in the auction and support your cause.

Remember, the more straightforward the bidding experience is, the higher the engagement potential and the more money you’ll raise for your cause.

With the number of mobile transactions drastically increasing, mobile accessibility is a nonnegotiable feature for your fundraising efforts. Your solution should allow users to bid from whichever device they choose—whether that’s a smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer.

Check Out and Donations

The check-out process is one of the most important elements of your charity auction because it’s what will likely leave a lasting impression on your guests. A streamlined and user-friendly process can leave attendees in a great mood and looking forward to your next event.

Here are a few things to consider when planning the auction’s check-out process:

Ensure payments are processed securely. Whichever auction software you decide on, make sure it uses a secure payment processing tool. This way, you’ll protect guest information, boosting their trust in your organization, their willingness to give, and your nonprofit’s reputation.
Speed up the check-out process whenever possible. Be sure to only require essential information for payments, which your team can even collect beforehand to streamline check-out continuously.
Offer multiple opportunities for additional donations. The revenue coming from auction items is a great way to raise money for your cause, but it shouldn’t be the only way. Make sure guests have the option to quickly and easily make additional donations at your auction, including before, during, and after the event.

With these best practices, you’ll be able to provide a positive user experience by saving time and keeping sensitive personal and financial information secure.

Donor and Attendee Management

Your CRM is the hub for donor profiles, contact information, engagement data, and more. This means it’s your top resource for crucial data that makes supporter outreach possible and provides analytics for your future auctions.

Some auction tools come with their own reporting and dashboard features. However, if you want a more comprehensive look at your data, choose auction software that integrates with your existing fundraising toolkit. This way, the data you collect on auction attendees can be quickly transferred to your donor database.

10+ Top Nonprofit Auction Software Providers

To kickstart your research, we’ll walk through our favorite software providers for charity auctions—whether you’re hosting an in-person event, a virtual rendering, or a hybrid event. Let’s explore your array of options.

Provider

Specialty

Best overall

Configurable

Virtual Events

App-based auctions

Affordability

Mobile bidding

Auction websites

Auction planning

Multiple Events

Accessibility

Large teams

Virtual auctions

Event management

Ease-of-use

Snowball: The best nonprofit auction software

Snowball’s powerful suite of fundraising tools effectively tackles your organization’s need for affordable yet robust nonprofit auction software. In addition to our easy-to-use online donation pages and text-to-give functionality, we now offer the greatest valued auction tools in the market. Here’s how we’ve already impacted over 15,000 customers:

4 out of 5 Snowball donations result in a card on file for future giving—effectively allowing for single-click gifts going forward.
We have a 98% customer satisfaction rate, empowering nonprofits to achieve their missions with unique fundraising tools and resourced networks.

This top-of-the-line auction tool provides fundraisers with the accessible resources they need to pull off a successful event. Supporters from anywhere in the Snowball network can seamlessly donate across organizations (including nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and schools) without having to re-enter their payment information constantly. Plus, participants can receive real-time notifications to keep the competition competitive.

Key Features

Snowball offers the following features:

Ability to accept additional donations via your Snowball account
Online event registration and ticketing tools
Unlimited app-based auctions with unlimited auction items
Mobile and online bidding options offering contactless participation, supported by all major browsers and devices for increased accessibility
Text-to-bid functionality optimized for live (virtual and in-person) events
Streamlined checkout process and automated email receipts
Email and text notifications when a guest has won or been outbid
Compilation of all auction data in one location
Real-time stats and fundraising updates
“Purchase Now” option for raffle tickets or instant item purchases
Flexible and secure payment gateways, with the choice of bringing your own or using the dedicated Snowball payment processing tool
High-quality customer support available in both English and Spanish

Your fundraising team will be well-equipped to run a successful auction with these tools and functions and raise more for your mission.

Pricing

Snowball is at the top of our list because it offers the best value of any auction platform out there. Choose from several free fundraising tools with our Essential Plan, or feel free to explore our more comprehensive Premium Plan for $549/year.

Our auction software package can be added for an additional fee but is also included in the Professional and Enterprise plans. If you’re looking for the most robust tools for the lowest price, Snowball is the most suitable tool for your organization.

OneCause: The best configurable auction software

OneCause is a comprehensive fundraising platform specializing in helping nonprofits maximize the impact of their charity auctions.

This software simplifies the planning, execution, and wrap-up of your charity auction event. With such tools, you’ll be able to raise funds for your organization and build donor relationships. Key features include:

Auction item management and procurement
Online ticket sales
Seamless registration process
Donation appeals, raffle ticket purchases, and max bids
Instant checkout and automatic email receipts
Post-event analytics and reporting

OneCause offers four auction software packages, ranging from a Do-It-Yourself plan up to a Full-Service plan. Contact their team to get a pricing consultation for more information.

Handbid: The best platform for virtual events

Handbid is an online silent auction software platform that works with nonprofits to pull off successful events. Together, your teams can bring in more revenue and better engage your guests and supporters.

With Handbid, your fundraising team can even run the entire show from your own home offices with ease, making this software great for hosting virtual events.

Key features include:

Web-based and live event bidding
Auction management tools
Display of real-time stats
Add-on ticketing functionality
Custom training and on-site staff availability

Handbid’s auction software is available in five pricing packages, beginning at $696/year. Depending on the number of events you’d like to host each year, you may want to look at one of their more expansive plans. Plus, Handbid offers substantial discounts to organizations that sign on for multiple years at a time.

Qgiv: The best software for app-based auctions

Qgiv is a comprehensive nonprofit fundraising toolkit with extensive fundraising auction functionality. With an app-based auction platform, the Qgiv team can help your team pull off a successful charity auction whenever you’re ready.

Along with peer-to-peer fundraising tools, online donation forms, and extensive data reporting, Qgiv’s software can bring in increased fundraising revenue for any nonprofit organization.

Qgiv offers the following features:

Unlimited app-based auctions
Mobile and offline bidding
Online sales of raffle tickets, refreshments, etc.
App-based or QR code check-in and checkout
Tracking and display of fundraising goals

With these auction tools and more, you can begin raising money through dynamic fundraising events in no time.

Qgiv’s software begins at $229/month. Or, you can invest in their all-in-one plan (including mobile fundraising, peer-to-peer, and auction software) for $399/month.

BiddingOwl: The best solution for affordability

BiddingOwl is a dedicated auction platform that can help your nonprofit team get up and running with auction fundraising without huge investments of time, money, or effort.

Not only does this solution provide the tools you’ll need for a successful auction, but it even gets you set up with your own, fully customizable auction website.

BiddingOwl offers the following features::

Auction site-building tools
Ability to accept donations online
Online ticket and raffle sales
Previewing and pre-bidding functionality
Text notifications
Automatic invoice processing

BiddingOwl’s auction software pricing is based on a percentage (5%) of total revenue collected by your event. For example, if an item sells for $100, BiddingOwl collects a $5 performance fee.

ClickBid: The best auction software for mobile bidding

ClickBid has been a pioneer in auction software since the rollout of mobile bidding tools in 2002. This dedicated fundraising auction platform provides the tools and resources any organization needs to ensure a successful event.

Despite its extensive functions and comprehensive offerings, the ClickBid software is intuitive and easy to use, even for auction beginners.

ClickBid offers the following features:

Early bidding functionality
Mobile bidding
Registration and check-in tools
Private auction platform
Silent or live virtual auction
“Second chance” auction to clear out inventory

Plus, if you’re hosting a virtual or hybrid event, the ClickBid team has the tools to engage participants in real-time through effective live-streaming practices.

ClickBid’s auction software starts at $795 for an annual license good for up to 4 events in a year. They also offer additional add-on services such as event live-streaming, mass messaging, and ticketing or landing pages.

RainWorx: The best platform for auction websites

RainWorx’s dedicated auction software, AuctionWorx, is a dedicated fundraising platform that empowers nonprofits to create their own charity auction websites with ease. With the available auction tools, you can quickly get your auction site up and running to start selling as soon as possible!

Then, you can decide whether to allow other businesses and community members to sell within your site, or you may decide to be the sole seller for your auction.

RainWorx offers the following features:

Ability to list own auctions or enable multiple vendors
Fixed price and make-an-offer functionality
The choice between single-seller or multiple-seller modes
Sales invoicing, sales tax, and shipping options

AuctionWorx by RainWorx can be purchased for a one-time licensing fee of $2,995. This includes access to the auction software package along with 12 months of standard support services.

GiveSmart: The best software for auction planning

GiveSmart hosts various auction tools, including event management, mobile bidding, and silent auction tools. Their comprehensive fundraising platform goes as far as to include intuitive online giving pages, text-to-give fundraising, and integrated live streaming.

With GiveSmart’s auction software, you’ll have everything you need to plan and host a successful charity auction for your cause. GiveSmart offers the following features:

Unlimited DIY events
Tech support with extended hours
Online training academy and onboarding services
Ticketing and seating charts
Event equipment

Plus, the GiveSmart team is ready and able to provide unique insights and dedicated customer support at varying levels, depending on the auction package you choose.

GiveSmart has three service plans, including Do-It-Yourself, Standard, and Premium packages. Request a demo from the GiveSmart team to learn more about their offerings and pricing levels.

Auctria: The best solution for multiple events

Auctria is a complete auction software provider that you can use to pull off fundraising events of all shapes and sizes. Its platform is easy to use for fundraisers and auction participants alike, providing a seamless experience to all.

Plus, their reporting tools are top-notch, allowing you to collect and analyze fundraising data that you can use to provide valuable insights into your performance strategy.

Auctria offers the following features:

Item procurement tracker
Bidder automation from registration
Printed materials generation
Streamlined checkout
Mobile and online bidding

From the beginning of the planning process to beyond your event, Auctria has the tools and features to help.

Auctria offers a free auction software plan known as the Explorer, which includes basic online bidding tools and other auction resources. However, they also have more comprehensive plans, such as the Emerald for $300/year or the Diamond for $600/year.

BidJS: The best auction software for accessibility

BidJS provides a dedicated platform that allows nonprofits and fundraisers to bring in more for any cause. The BidJS team prides itself on being one of the most accessible auction platforms, as it’s supported by all major browsers and devices, along with being multilingual-friendly.

BidJS offers the following features:

Timed auctions (including options to bid, buy now, or make an offer)
Live auctions through real-time webcast tools
Custom styling and branding
Multi-device and mobile-friendly
Data collection and management

The BidJS software is easy to install on any website, but if you have trouble, they have a team of partners worldwide that can help you out!

BidJS refers to itself as a “pay as you go” auction software package. With no set-up fees or commission, they offer monthly fixed-price contracts instead. Be sure to contact their team to get a quote.

Silent Auction Pro: The best platform for large teams

Silent Auction Pro offers multi-user silent auction tools that can help your team manage your event in the virtual space from anywhere. This tool automatically produces materials for both your team and attendees, such as program guides, bidding sheets, and invoices.

Silent Auction Pro offers the following features:

Real-time information tracking
Customized print and email templates
Streamlined check-in

With Silent Auction Pro’s data-tracking capabilities and follow-up materials, you’ll host an event that will engage your audience and keep them coming back to your future events.

Silent Auction Pro has a few options for your auction software, starting at $19.95/month with a $99 initial setup fee. Two in-person event platforms are available, starting at $348/year and 2% of auction sales and 1% of ticket sales.

Gavel Buddy: The best software for virtual auctions

Gavel Buddy is an excellent solution for a virtual auction, as auctions continue to gain popularity all the time. Gavel Buddy can help your team create your own auction website using their custom tools. Your supporters can view and cast bids from their personal devices from anywhere in the world.

Gavel Buddy’s tool is an excellent option for:

Short bidding turnaround
Customer support
Tracking outstanding balances for bidders to ensure payment
Effectively communicating news and updates to bidders and sellers

Gavel Buddy’s software packages are both set at $59/month. Check out their pricing page to choose the best package for your needs.

Accelevents: The best solution for event management

Accelevents provides an auction software that lets your event team set up a website quickly, so they can focus on the multitude of tasks an auction requires. Stay in touch with your registrants with Accelevents’s custom messaging features, which help you send out custom emails.

Accelevents provides key features for your auction such as:

Instant fundraising event analytic reports
Seamless bidding checkout with multiple payment options
Mobile and online bidding for any device

Accelevents also allows for streamlined registration and a multitude of virtual auction tools to help you raise as much as possible at your next event.

Accelevents offers multiple prices for its array of fundraising, ticketing, and event packages. Specifically, auctions are priced at $1 per ticket with a $249 activation fee for your organization.

Xcira: The best auction software for ease of use

Xcira is known for providing an easy virtual and in-person auction experience. Your team can engage all of your supporters near and far with optimized audio and visual auction broadcasting. Additionally, this platform takes the pain out of planning with floor plan options and other auction management tools.

Xcira offers the following features:

Floor Plan Management System for organizing your auction’s floor plan.
AuctionEar Mobile App for supporters to watch your auction virtually
Online marketplace for virtual auctions
Intelligent Conditioner Evaluator to create data reports for future fundraising and event strategies
Mobile bidding capabilities

With these features, your team can easily facilitate an auction in the virtual space that will raise ample funds. Contact Xcira to get a quote on their online silent auction software.

How to Choose Nonprofit Auction Software

After evaluating the top features and providers of auction software, it’s time for your nonprofit to officially make a choice! Follow these steps to narrow down your options and commit to a software provider.

Determine your nonprofit’s needs.

Start by evaluating your nonprofit’s target audience and event details. For example, would your supporter base rather attend a live auction or a silent one? Do you need additional fundraising tools, like mobile giving, or are you searching for auction-specific features only?

These details are specific to your organization and will help you narrow down your needs. This way, instead of looking at generally popular tools, you can identify a solution that streamlines your auction planning and management.

Set a budget.

Since your nonprofit is already paying to host the auction, you’ll want to ensure any tools you use fit into your event-planning budget. Determine how much you’re willing to spend on a platform and look for a provider that meets that price point.

If your budget is a significant factor in choosing auction software, narrow your research to providers that are upfront about their costs and offer flexible plans. This way, you’ll fast-track your search and find the solution that best meets your needs instead of spending too much time tracking down the cost of different solutions. Plus, providers that offer various add-ons can help you build the plan that you need rather than purchase a large plan with unnecessary features.

Compare products.

Once you’ve collected all the necessary information about what you’re looking for, you’re ready to make a decision! Compare the providers that meet your criteria and determine which one best fits your needs.

As you dive deeper into these providers’ offerings, be sure to consider online reviews and find out what other nonprofits have to say about the solution. For an in-depth look at the platform, schedule a demo with the provider and decide for yourself if the software would work for your nonprofit.

Additional Resources to Maximize Your Fundraising Efforts

Your upcoming auction has incredible potential for both strengthening donor relationships and increasing fundraising revenue. Investing in the right auction software solution can help your organization better manage your event from start to finish.

For more information, take a look at our other informational guides to powerful fundraising tools and strategies:

From Planning to Profit: How to Master Your Silent Auctions. How do you know which type of auction is right for you? Read through our guide to silent auctions to learn more.
Top 25 Charity Auction Websites For Better Fundraising. Learn how your nonprofit can enhance its fundraising results with a charity auction website!
Mobile Donations Made Easy: The Ultimate Text-to-Give Guide. Looking for another fundraising activity to add to your auction? Check out text-to-give in this complete guide.

The post Auction Software: The Best Features And Providers To Explore first appeared on Snowball Fundraising.

GoFundMe Alternatives: 10 Crowdfunding Platforms to Consider

Snowball Fundraising — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 22:01:01 +0000

Crowdfunding is more than just a popular fundraising strategy. It’s a proven strategy for individuals, organizations, and teams to increase their fundraising power through their online networks.

You may be familiar with some of the crowdfunding giants, like GoFundMe. However, there are other crowdfunding sites that offer similar capabilities, better value, and more specialized features.

With countless GoFundMe alternatives on the market, choosing the right crowdfunding platform for your cause requires extensive research and comparisons between providers.

To help you compile a strong list of candidates, we’ll go over some of our favorite alternatives to GoFundMe, including:

Snowball
Fundly
Bonfire
StartSomeGood
Plumfund
Kickstarter
GoGetFunding
Snap! Raise
FreeFunder
Givebutter

Each of these platforms has something unique to offer, whether it’s their scalability or tech support. Keep your nonprofit’s fundraising goals and crowdfunding campaigns in mind as you explore this list.

Achieve longterm fundraising success with Snowball.

1. Snowball – Best GoFundMe Alternative for All-in-One Fundraising

GoFundMe Alternative Overview

Snowball prides itself on being fast, effective, and accessible. Our platform provides individuals, groups, and enterprise-level organizations with a suite of robust fundraising tools designed to give your campaigns as wide a reach as possible.

Snowball aims to lower the barrier to entry for crowdfunding campaigns, offering a free package of essentials on top of the large selection of features included in all of our plans. With Snowball, your campaign has access to customized branding, unlimited administrative users, and a complete set of donor management tools.

Why this GoFundMe Alternative Stands Out

If you’re looking for an alternative to GoFundMe, Snowball is tough to beat. With our platform, your campaign has access to:

Text-to-give donations. Snowball’s secure text-to-give platform provides users with an unlimited number of keywords, meaning you can use your same fundraising number each time you launch a campaign.
Optimized donation tools. Snowball’s donation pages are designed to drive as many donations as possible. Gather recurring gifts and pledges, and add a fundraising thermometer to your campaign page to show supporters how close you are to fulfilling your goal.
Event management tools. An organization can rarely sit back and relax after launching its crowdfunding campaign. Keep excitement high and give supporters a reason to donate by hosting events that provide information and celebrate your project.

Pricing

Snowball offers various pricing plans, starting with our free Essentials package that only charges a payment processing fee of 2.9% and $0.30. Our Premium package costs $549/year for unlimited campaigns plus a payment processing rate of 2.5% and $0.30.

For more features, try our expanded Professional plan for $849/year or our Enterprise level package, starting at $999/annually.

2. Fundly – Best GoFundMe Alternative for Personalization

GoFundMe Alternative Overview

Fundly’s crowdfunding platform allows both individuals and organizations to raise money for charitable causes, individual projects, medical expenses, and more. This platform utilizes a “Keep it All” fundraising model, which means you don’t have to worry about meeting goals and deadlines to claim the funds you raise

Similar to GoFundMe, Fundly enables fundraisers to set up personalized fundraising pages. You can upload photos, videos, and a campaign description to your page, then get started posting fundraising updates and sharing your page on social media.

Why this GoFundMe Alternative Stands Out

Fundly is a smart choice with these features:

Outstanding customer service. Fundly’s customer service is best-in-class. If you run into an issue, their team will be there for you instantly.
Full customization. Fundly’s interface is user-friendly and customizable. You can add your logos, colors, and branding to make your page entirely your own.
Matching gift integration. This crowdfunding platform integrates seamlessly with Double the Donation’s matching gift automation tool, 360MatchPro, helping fundraisers raise more.

Pricing

Fundly’s platform is free, with the exception of a payment processing fee of 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction.

3. Bonfire – Best GoFundMe Alternative for Merchandise Sales

GoFundMe Alternative Overview

The best crowdfunding campaigns offer perks, such as merchandise! Consider selling t-shirts as part of your next crowdfunding campaign or thanking donors for giving to your cause with a branded clothing item. When people wear your merchandise in public, they provide free advertising for your organization and cause.

Bonfire makes it easy for anyone to design a T-shirt for their crowdfunding campaign. Simply upload your original design or use their web builder to create a product online.

Bonfire also lets supporters donate from anywhere. Not only is their platform optimized for mobile use, but you can also integrate your social media accounts into your crowdfunding website.

Why this GoFundMe Alternative Stands Out

If you’re looking for a platform for your product fundraiser, Bonfire offers:

Fundraising-specific option. Bonfire isn’t just a T-shirt manufacturer. Their services are designed with fundraising in mind, providing unique features for fundraisers.
Design features. If you’re got a graphic designer on staff, you can upload a premade design onto a wide variety of products. If not, Bonfire’s web-based design feature makes it easy to create professional images.
Campaign scheduling. Bonfire requires campaigns to collect enough orders to cover production costs. Schedule your drive for anywhere between one and three weeks, and if you don’t make your minimum production number, you can relaunch and try again!

Pricing

Bonfire charges 3.5% for processing and 4.5% for the use of their platform. Other than that, you receive 100% of the profits from your campaign without paying any production costs.

4. StartSomeGood – Best GoFundMe Alternative for Recurring Campaigns

GoFundMe Alternative Overview

StartSomeGood is a crowdfunding platform designed to help individuals, nonprofits, and other organizations fundraise for social impact causes.

This platform has a more selective process for accepting campaigns. In return, campaigns receive the full support of StartSomeGood’s team, which includes promotion through their social media, newsletters, and even eBooks.

StartSomeGood uses an All or Nothing fundraising structure, so those campaigns that don’t meet their goals won’t receive their funding. This can be a strong motivator to raise funds in a short amount of time.

Why this GoFundMe Alternative Stands Out

Here are a few reasons we love StartSomeGood’s crowdfunding platform:

Personalized feedback. The customer support at StartSomeGood is hard to match. When your project is accepted, you’ll automatically receive input and advice from StartSomeGood’s global support team, ensuring your project is at its best from start to finish.
High-quality fundraising pages. Because StartSomeGood individually approves each campaign submission, all campaigns are vetted and held to the highest standard. It takes a little more work, but high-quality content will lead to more successful campaigns.
96% satisfaction rate. When you partner with StartSomeGood, your campaign is almost guaranteed success. Their team will work as hard as yours to design, promote, and execute a pitch-perfect fundraising campaign.

Pricing

Submitting a project is free, but accepted projects are subject to a 5% platform fee and additional payment processing fees.

5. Plumfund – Best GoFundMe Alternative for Virtual Crowdfunding

GoFundMe Alternative Overview

Plumfund is a crowdfunding platform that enables fundraisers to collect donations for virtually any kind of personal cause or project. From baby showers to travel, anyone can meet their personal fundraising goals on Plumfund!

Designed to make giving feel good, Plumfund is one of the most user-friendly sites to request and collect cash gifts. Fundraisers can share their stories, post photos, and accept donations all on their personalized fundraising pages. Plumfund’s easy updates feature allows fundraisers to share their successes and show donors exactly where their contributions have gone!

Why this GoFundMe Alternative Stands Out

Here are a few of Plumfund’s standout features:

Free gift registry. In addition to their free crowdfunding tools, Plumfund also equips users with the tools to set up free online registries for any occasion. You can add your wishlist to your campaign page, giving your donors options for how they contribute.
Freedom from deadlines. Unlike more traditional crowdfunding platforms, Plumfund focuses less on meeting goals and more on giving gifts. That means you can keep your registry or campaign open as long as you’d like, without fear of not receiving your funds.
Social media integration. Donors can add comments using their Facebook accounts directly to fundraising pages, making sharing messages of support as easy as possible.

Pricing

Plumfund is free for fundraisers accepting offline cash and check gifts. If fundraisers accept credit card donations, donors are subject to third-party processing fees (2.59% plus $0.49 per transaction).

Achieve longterm fundraising success with Snowball.

6. Kickstarter – Best GoFundMe Alternative for Creative Campaigns

GoFundMe Alternative Overview

Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform for creative endeavors, ranging from music and films to arts and crafts and even food-related projects. With millions of backers across their projects, Kickstarter comes with an audience looking for new creative crowdfunding campaigns to sponsor.

Explain the details of your project, add pictures to your page, and set stretch goals all on one page hosted on Kickstarter’s website. Kickstarter encourages full transparency, so don’t be afraid to share with your backers precisely what their donations will go towards.

Why this GoFundMe Alternative Stands Out

As the top creative crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter offers:

Increased visibility. With massively successful projects making the news, Kickstarter attracts a broad audience of backers to all of its crowdfunding pages, even the small ones.
Deadline incentives. All Kickstarter projects operate on a deadline, meaning backers interested in your project will be encouraged to get their donations in before time’s up.
Artistic focus. It can be easy for your creative project to get lost among the many other crowdfunding campaigns. Kickstarter’s focus on artistic and creative works only provides a focus not found on other platforms.

Pricing

Kickstarter operates on an all-or-nothing model, meaning you’ll only receive funds if you meet your goal. They also take 5% of the funds raised.

7. GoGetFunding – Best GoFundMe Alternative for International Fundraising

GoFundMe Alternative Overview

Are you looking to accept donations from around the world? GoGetFunding is available for international fundraisers, accepting a variety of currencies and offering page displays in multiple languages.

GoGetFunding places no limitations on what kind of projects you can run, allowing you to start crowdfunding for personal projects, your favorite causes, and more. With GoGetFunding’s press support, there’s even a chance that your crowdfunding campaign will wind up in the news!

Why this GoFundMe Alternative Stands Out

In addition to its reduced site fees, GoGetFunding improves upon GoFundMe by offering:

Global Paypal support. Some donors prefer Paypal, and GoGetFunding lets them donate how they want, no matter where they are in the world.
Personal fundraising coaches. Creating your crowdfunding page is just the first step for a successful campaign. GoGetFunding offers 24/7 fundraising support, so your team can get expert advice right when you need it.
Optional deadlines. Deadlines can be a valuable incentive to earn funds in a short amount of time. However, if you want to keep your fundraising campaign open indefinitely, you can do that, too!

Pricing

GoGetFunding charges a 4% fee on funds raised, in addition to a 2.9% and $0.49 payment processing fee.

8. Snap! Raise – Best GoFundMe Alternative for Children

GoFundMe Alternative Overview

Snap! Raise is a crowdfunding platform designed to support children. Whether you’re fundraising for a group or a single child, Snap! Raise empowers individuals to become champions of the next generation by leading safe, secure, and robust fundraising campaigns.

Snap! Raise’s ecosystem of fundraising tools works to save time spent on administrative tasks and enable fundraisers to devote themselves to earning donations. Their smart campaign setup streamlines most of the time-consuming tasks associated with crowdfunding, letting your team get straight to fundraising.

Why this GoFundMe Alternative Stands Out

Snap! Raise’s children-focused crowdfunding platform provides organizations with:

A comprehensive program dashboard. Get a visual overview of your entire campaign in minutes before diving into detailed fundraising rosters, reports, and supporter profiles.
Team gear. Build team spirit for your fundraisers and your donors by offering custom uniforms branded for your cause. These are especially great for children’s sports teams.
Secure campaign tracking. Track your campaign’s progress with Snap! Raise’s sophisticated measuring tools. With a dedication to full transparency, you can always be sure exactly where your donations are going.

Pricing

Snap! Raise has no platform fees, but can charge up to 20% of total funds raised.

9. FreeFunder – Best GoFundMe Alternative for Small Nonprofits

GoFundMe Alternative Overview

Crowdfunding for a personal cause? Consider FreeFunder, a crowdfunding platform built for small causes and projects, from artistic projects to individuals raising money for their favorite causes.

FreeFunder supports current crowdfunding projects right on their website, allowing visitors to browse current crowdfunding campaigns based on their category. But that isn’t the only place donors can find your campaign. FreeFunder’s fundraising widgets can easily be added to your website, letting your supporters donate without navigating away from your website.

Why this GoFundMe Alternative Stands Out

FreeFunder takes pride in the causes it supports, giving users access to:

Fast support. Reach out to FreeFunder to receive support to get your crowdfunding campaign up and running as fast as possible.
Mobile-friendly pages. With increasing numbers of people using their phones to browse the internet, mobile-friendly pages are a must. FreeFunder’s fundraising pages are designed for both desktop and mobile, letting users give straight from their phones.
Text-to-donate tools. Text-to-give is the fastest way to give. FreeFunder provides text-to-give numbers then lets organizations choose their keyword to spread during events to promote their crowdfunding campaign.

Pricing

As its name suggests, FreeFunder is completely free! FreeFunder will even donate to your campaign once it reaches a certain amount of funding and shares on Facebook.

10. Givebutter – Best GoFundMe Alternative for Donor Management

GoFundMe Alternative Overview

Givebutter’s unique social fundraising campaign pages are designed for a wide range of audiences, including nonprofits, schools, sports teams, and companies. With a focus on fun, Givebutter’s focus on community ensures that users crowdfunding through its platform can always keep their donors engaged.

Integrate your Givebutter campaign with social media to boost your outreach or send emails and text messages to engage supporters one-on-one. With trackable links and automated messaging tools, Givebutter lets your nonprofit understand the data behind its crowdfunding campaign while building a positive frontend experience for donors.

Why this GoFundMe Alternative Stands Out

Givebutter offers users a variety of benefits, including:

Team fundraising. Team fundraising lets multiple fundraisers engage in peer-to-peer fundraising for your campaign together. Givebutter’s multi-team fundraising takes this to the next level by allowing multiple teams drive funds.
Supporter feeds. Givebutter prides itself on its fun and attractive layouts, and its supporter feeds are no exception. With Givebutter’s supporter feeds, donors can comment and interact with your campaign in a social media-style layout.
Live-streaming support. Givebutter lets users stream their campaigns via Facebook, YouTube, and Zoom. Embed your live stream on your campaign page to get in touch with supporters as they donate.

Pricing

GiveButter is free, only charging a credit card processing fee of 2.9% and $0.30 per transaction.

Wrapping Up: Investing in a GoFundMe Alternative

Take the time to research your GoFundMe alternative options before launching your next crowdfunding campaign. Assess your campaign’s focus, goals, and needs, then build a list of potential candidates. Use our list as a jumping-off point to consider what features are must-haves and what’s an appropriate budget for your campaign.

Continue your research by reaching out to providers to request demos, asking organizations similar to yours for referrals, and learning more about how you can promote your crowdfunding campaign once it launches. Here are a few resources to help you get started:

Text-to-Give | Complete Guide for Nonprofits and Fundraisers. Text-to-give is the fastest way for your supporters to start contributing to your campaign, and many platforms already offer text-to-give support. Get familiar with text-to-give basics and start spreading your campaign’s fundraising number.
20 Giving Tuesday Ideas + Tips to Raise More for Your Cause. Giving Tuesday is one of your crowdfunding campaign’s best opportunities for earning funding fast. Learn how to make the most of this year’s Giving Tuesday ahead of time.
4 Ways Your Nonprofit Website Can Drive Donations. Fuel your crowdfunding efforts by launching virtual fundraisers and events to promote ita campaign on your nonprofit website. Follow these tips to make sure your website is optimized to drive donations.

Start crowdfunding with Snowball!

Our comprehensive fundraising suite will help you raise more.

The post GoFundMe Alternatives: 10 Crowdfunding Platforms to Consider first appeared on Snowball Fundraising.

4 Digital Fundraising Tools To Boost Donor Engagement

Snowball Fundraising — Tue, 09 May 2023 18:34:23 +0000

The convenience and expansive capabilities of digital tools make online fundraising a powerful method of raising money for nonprofits. However, monetary contributions are only one aspect of nonprofit fundraising. To effectively garner support for an organization’s cause, donor engagement is crucial.

Whether donors give their money, time, recommendation, expertise, or any other resource for the sake of your nonprofit, their involvement is crucial to furthering your work. In this guide, we’ll explore four digital fundraising tools that your nonprofit can use to effectively engage these donors and boost their support:

Text-to-give software
Crowdfunding platforms
eCards
Social media

Among a wide variety of fundraising software choices are several options that allow you to pair nonprofit fundraising and outreach efforts. When your nonprofit invests in these tools, donors will become invested in your cause and be more likely to continue giving their support.

1. Text-to-give software

The popularity of mobile-based communication strategies for nonprofits is ever-increasing for good reason! Whether you’re recognizing donors with a thank-you phone call or sharing volunteer roles through event management apps, supporter communication is undeniably simplified by the use of mobile devices.

Since donors likely access your nonprofit’s website, social media accounts, and other platforms from their phones, adding text messages to your fundraising strategy should be a logical next step. Get started by using text-to-give software, which allows nonprofits to accept donations via text message. To set up text-to-give, follow these steps:

Choose a software provider. Research text-to-give platforms and compare their features and prices to decide which one will best fit the needs of your organization.
Create a number. Choose a number that will be easy for your supporters to remember. They’ll send text messages to this number, so it’s important that they get the number right.
Promote your cause and unique number. Leverage your already existing communications platforms to provide easy instructions and encourage participation. Since the process is straightforward, a quick step-by-step guide will be more than enough to guide them through the process.
Accept and track donations as they’re submitted. If you choose a text-to-give platform that automatically tracks your fundraising data for you (and you should!), then all of your information will be in one place. As it automatically updates to reflect your fundraising progress, you’ll be able to track details such as the amount raised, average donation size, and total progress made toward your goal.

Allowing donors to participate in your fundraiser from their phones is a surefire way to secure future engagement since text communication is such a personal and direct way to get in touch with supporters. Their initial donation will be convenient, but you can also offer text updates as a way to continue contacting supporters after the fundraiser.

2. Crowdfunding platforms

If you’ve ever contributed to a GoFundMe campaign, you’ve participated in crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is a fundraising process that collects a large number of small donations. Instead of securing one major gift, your organization focuses its efforts on soliciting small gifts from many donors.

Smaller gifts are often perceived as a more reasonable appeal for donations, and donors are more likely to participate in a fundraiser when the requested donation size makes sense for their budgets. Plus, these requests can be tied to more specific, actionable results than a large gift. For example, a $10 donation might cover the cost of one book for an underfunded school, whereas a $100,000 donation might be broadly budgeted throughout the year.

As you explore your options for crowdfunding platforms, find one that includes:

Social media integration. Choose a platform that makes social media sharing easy so that you can promote your campaign on your usual platforms. This capability will also allow your supporters to share the fundraiser on their personal accounts so your marketing can reach a larger audience.
Customization options. Since crowdfunding campaigns raise money for a specific project or cause, you’ll want to leverage your organization’s specific appeal to gain support. Find a platform that allows you to customize your donation page and incorporate your branding so supporters can easily associate the appeal with your organization.
Similar campaign capabilities. Crowdfunding campaigns can often supplement other fundraisers. In this case, an online platform that can manage both fundraisers will streamline your nonprofit’s fundraising efforts.

When a large number of supporters work together to fund a specific initiative, donors can truly get a sense of your nonprofit’s community. Although this is the foundation of every fundraising initiative, crowdfunding especially puts teamwork on display as your nonprofit accomplishes its goals.

To further engage donors in your crowdfunding campaign, track your fundraiser’s progress with compelling visuals. Double the Donation recommends using fundraising thermometers to encourage greater giving and get supporters excited about your progress. With a clear illustration of the campaign’s goal and progress, donors can easily see the importance of their contributions.

Snowball’s all-in-one fundraising software makes it easy to raise more for your nonprofit.

3. eCards

As with any message, specificity is a key factor in donor engagement. Supporters who feel individually noticed and appreciated will likely be more invested in your cause and return to help with future campaigns.

An eCard is a digital greeting card, typically sent via email, that can be customized to match your nonprofit’s branding and personalized with a specific message for your donors. They’re great options for sending messages of gratitude, but can also be used to invite supporters to events, urge them to make donations, or just wish them a happy birthday.

eCardWidget’s guide to donor retention recommends sending eCards outside of appeals and special occasions to show donors that you care about them. For example, you can send an eCard including a thank-you message to show your appreciation. You can also allow donors to “buy” charity eCards with their donations and send them to friends. By engaging directly with supporters and allowing them to engage with each other, eCards will strengthen your nonprofit’s community.

4. Social media

Nonprofit social media strategies often guide marketing by spreading awareness, promoting fundraising efforts, and sharing updates about your nonprofit’s work. Instead of strictly publishing information, it’s important to remember that these platforms can be used responsively, as well. To effectively engage with donors through social media, you might:

Ask for their opinions through story polls and comments.
Respond to their comments on your posts.
Invite them to reach out via direct message and respond.
Comment on and share their posts (when the post is relevant to your nonprofit).
Create posts that thank donors and their significant contributions (with their permission).

When you shift your perspective and begin to view social media as an interactive communication channel, your nonprofit can leverage the benefits of engaging with supporters on these platforms. Although social media messages and comments shouldn’t replace your thank-you letters or appreciation gifts, it’s a great opportunity to make donor engagement a part of your nonprofit’s daily operations.

As with any fundraising strategy, the most effective tool will be the one that resonates with your supporters. Get to know your current and prospective donors, then develop an outreach plan that engages them most effectively.

The post 4 Digital Fundraising Tools To Boost Donor Engagement first appeared on Snowball Fundraising.

Discover the Ultimate Salsa Labs Alternative: Snowball Fundraising!

Snowball Fundraising — Tue, 25 Apr 2023 14:20:15 +0000

The recent news about Salsa Labs sunsetting has left many nonprofit organizations searching for a reliable and efficient fundraising platform to replace their existing software. If you’re looking for the best Salsa Labs alternative, Snowball Fundraising is the ultimate solution to support your organization’s fundraising efforts. In this comprehensive blog post, we’ll explore the numerous benefits of choosing Snowball Fundraising and demonstrate why it’s the perfect choice for former Salsa Labs clients.

Comprehensive Fundraising Tools for a Salsa Labs Alternative:

Snowball Fundraising offers an extensive range of fundraising tools designed to cater to the diverse needs of nonprofit organizations. From online donation processing and text-to-give to event fundraising and our robust online auction tool, our platform ensures a seamless transition from your previous software. As a top Salsa Labs alternative, Snowball Fundraising enables you to create, manage, and grow various fundraising campaigns with ease.

Powerful Donor Engagement Features:

In the quest for the best Salsa Labs alternative, it’s crucial to find a platform that prioritizes donor engagement. Snowball Fundraising provides outbound messaging capabilities, allowing you to connect with your donors through multiple channels such as email, SMS, or social media. This feature ensures you maintain strong relationships with your supporters and keep them informed about your ongoing initiatives.

Seamless Integration for a Smooth Transition:

Transitioning from one platform to another can be challenging, but Snowball Fundraising, a leading Salsa Labs alternative, aims to make this process as seamless as possible. Our platform is designed to integrate with popular nonprofit software, ensuring you can maintain your existing data and workflows with minimal disruption. Say goodbye to complicated migrations and hello to smooth transitions.

User-friendly Interface:

When searching for Salsa Labs alternatives, it’s essential to find a platform that’s easy to use. Snowball Fundraising’s intuitive interface makes it simple for your team to navigate and manage your fundraising campaigns. Our platform is designed to be accessible for users with varying levels of technical expertise, ensuring that everyone in your organization can contribute to your fundraising success.

Exceptional Customer Support:

Our dedicated customer support team is here to help you every step of the way. From onboarding to ongoing assistance, we are committed to providing the guidance and resources you need to make the most of your Snowball Fundraising experience. When evaluating Salsa Labs alternatives, having responsive and knowledgeable support can make all the difference.

Competitive Pricing:

We understand that cost is an essential factor for nonprofits, and we offer competitive pricing plans to accommodate organizations of all sizes. With Snowball Fundraising, you can access our robust suite of tools and features without breaking the bank. As a cost-effective Salsa Labs alternative, our pricing structure ensures your organization gets the best value for your investment.

Scalable Solutions for Growing Nonprofits:

As your organization grows, so do your fundraising needs. Snowball Fundraising is designed to scale with your nonprofit, providing you with the tools and features to accommodate your expanding fundraising initiatives. When searching for Salsa Labs alternatives, it’s crucial to find a platform that can grow with you and adapt to your organization’s ever-evolving needs.

As former Salsa Labs clients, we understand that you may be concerned about finding a suitable replacement for your fundraising software. Snowball Fundraising is committed to providing you with a comprehensive, user-friendly solution that will help you achieve your goals and make a lasting impact on your cause. With our robust suite of tools, exceptional customer support, and seamless integration capabilities, Snowball Fundraising stands out as the ideal Salsa Labs alternative for your organization.

Ready to make the switch to Snowball Fundraising, the premier Salsa Labs alternative? Contact our team today for a personalized demo and learn how we can help your organization thrive in the wake of Salsa Labs’ sunsetting. Don’t wait any longer—experience the difference Snowball Fundraising can make for your nonprofit, and let us support you in making an even greater impact in your community.

The post Discover the Ultimate Salsa Labs Alternative: Snowball Fundraising! first appeared on Snowball Fundraising.

Online Donation Platforms: What to Know & 10 Top Picks

Snowball Fundraising — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 15:52:28 +0000

As a nonprofit professional, you recognize how important traditional fundraising is in advancing your mission and making an impact on the community. More recently, virtual fundraising strategies have emerged as a leading method for driving donations. Online donation platforms are at the center of managing these funds, and they are crucial to your achievements.

In an increasingly digital world, online fundraising software will be an essential tool for your nonprofit’s success. Let’s dive into the best practices regarding your online donation platform. Here’s what you’ll need to know to get started:

4 FAQs About Online Donation Platform
Top 10 Online Donation Platforms
Wrapping Up: Investing in an Online Donation Platform

With this information at your disposal, your nonprofit can choose the best online donation platform for your team. Let’s get started!

Snowball makes giving online easy.

4 FAQs about Online Donation Platforms

What are online donation platforms?

Online donation software allows nonprofits to accept and process donations through their online channels. Most importantly, this software equips your organization with the necessary tools to build efficient and professional online donation forms.

Though functionality varies by provider, the right online platform should provide your nonprofit with the following features to help drive your mission forward:

Custom donation pages
Automated donor data collection
Payment processor integration

It’s crucial to have these resources in your nonprofit’s toolkit, as donors are more likely to interact with your cause online.

What are the different types of online donation platforms?

There are several ways to accept donations online. For instance, your nonprofit can leverage:

Online Donation Forms: The most fundamental element of online fundraising is the online donation page which houses your donation form. Simply put, a donation form is a designated area on your website where donors enter their giving information (like basic contact and payment data) so you can accept their donations.
Mobile Giving: Mobile giving platforms make it possible for donors to donate using smartphones, tablets, or other mobile devices whenever and wherever they’d like. Leveraging mobile giving can be as simple as ensuring your donation page is mobile-optimized, meaning it functions just as well on a smartphone as it does on a laptop. You can also utilize dedicated mobile giving methods, like text-to-give services.
Email Donation Buttons: Email giving strategies typically incorporate buttons with pre-set giving amounts. These buttons direct the donor to a web page where they can complete the donation process or enable the donor to confirm the donation entirely through email.
Peer-to-Peer Fundraising: Peer-to-peer fundraising refers to supporters raising funds on your behalf with individual or team campaign pages. The best online donation platforms make it easy for individuals to create their own personalized fundraising pages and track their progress.
Crowdfunding: Crowdfunding is a fundraising technique that involves obtaining smaller donations from a large public audience. This is typically done online through a dedicated crowdfunding site and leverages social media promotion to raise money for a cause.

The best online donation platforms, like Snowball, combine all of these features into one comprehensive suite, allowing your nonprofit multiple touchpoints for collecting donations online.

What are the benefits of online donation platforms?

Benefits of Online Donation Platforms for Nonprofits

Because online donation platforms are accessible to the general online public, they offer a host of benefits for nonprofits, including:

Automated Donor Data Collection: With online donation software, your donation pages seamlessly integrate with your other fundraising tools, allowing your data to be centralized and accessible across platforms. This helps your team avoid errors associated with manual data entry and ensure more accurate insights from your CRM.
Increased Fundraising Revenue: Online donation platforms make it possible for donors to give with just a few clicks. With ease and simplicity offered by online giving platforms, your organization can start to raise more funds to reach its goals.
Lower Donor Abandonment Rates: Having intuitive, user-friendly online donation software reduces the number of donors that abandon the donation process midway.

With an online giving platform, your team can work to combat barriers to giving, such as a lengthy or complicated giving process. This makes giving easier for donors, which in turn helps to encourage repeat gifts and expand your donor base.

Benefits of Online Donation Platforms for Donors

Online donation software doesn’t just benefit nonprofit organizations; it also works for the end-user as well. Here are the top benefits of giving online:

Multiple Ways to Give: Online giving allows your supporters to make contributions in a way that’s convenient for them on their preferred digital devices. Common platforms include text-to-give, a link on social media, email, or your website.
Streamlined Donation Process: Online donations make it easy for donors to contribute because it requires minimal steps. A donor simply clicks on a link to your donation page, fills out the form, and presses submit!
Secure Fundraising System: With online donation software, your donors can be confident that their sensitive financial and personal information is safe and secure when they go through the giving process.

In the end, online giving is easy, intuitive, and safe for both your donor and organization.

What should you look for in an online donation platform?

As you look for the best online donation platform for your nonprofit, keep an eye out for these essential features:

Customizable donation pages
Seamless integration with existing software
High data security measures
Personalized assistance
Low payment processing fees

Your organization’s needs are paramount but consider your donor’s needs as well. For example, does your donor base use their cellphones often? If so, consider investing in a software platform with a text-to-give option.

Top 10 Online Donation Platforms

We’ve compiled a list of our favorite online donation software providers. Be sure to consider each option before making a final decision!

1. Snowball – Best Online Giving Platform for All-in-One Fundraising

Snowball is an online giving company that features streamlined donation pages, event management tools, and text-to-give services.

In addition to providing a straightforward platform for collecting donations, we process donations quickly. That way, your nonprofit can put contributions to good use in no time!

Online Donation Platform Features

Snowball’s essential plan includes this comprehensive suite of tools:

Customizable online donation pages
Recurring gifts options
Access to transaction and donor data
Unlimited administrator access
Effective online support

With this tech stack, your fundraising, donor, and event management tools are housed in one place. This eliminates any data transfer errors and risks that come with it. If your organization feels as though you’ll need more than the essential package, there are plenty of upgrade opportunities as well.

Pricing

Snowball has four tiers of giving software, with each package providing more crucial features to improve your fundraising efforts. Snowball’s most basic option, the essential plan, is free to use and only charges a standard processing fee of 2.9% + 30¢ per donation transaction. The Premium plan offers unlimited text-to-give and access to Snowball’s powerful CRM.

2. Fundly – Best Online Giving Platform for Crowdfunding

Fundly is a crowdfunding platform that offers a personalized online donation page option, allowing users to update their sites with a variety of multimedia options to engage supporters further.

Online Donation Platform Features

Crowdfunding relies heavily on sharing your fundraising information online. That’s why Fundly has:

Facebook Open Graph Actions integration
Pages optimized for mobile giving
Customizable donation pages

Your donors and their networks will be able to promote and engage with your fundraiser online when using Fundly.

Pricing

Getting started with Fundly is free. This provider charges a platform fee of 4.9%, in addition to a standard credit card processing fee of 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction for donors.

3. Double the Donation – Best Online Giving Platform for Matching Gifts

Double the Donation is a popular fundraising tool for matching gifts. Double the Donation helps market matching gifts to supporters and provides easy ways to request gift matches from their employers.

Online Donation Platform Features

Double the Donation’s extensive database offers nonprofits crucial data regarding the matching gift programs of thousands of corporations—and the database is constantly being updated with the most current data! Popular premium features include:

A simple setup process
An embeddable plugin for your site
Increased earnings due to matching

If you’re ready to earn matching gift revenue, be sure to check out Double the Donation’s options.

Pricing

Double the Donation charges $999/year for thousands of matching gift identifications. If you’re weighing your options, contact their team to get a customized quote.

4. ABC Fundraising – Best Online Giving Platform for Schools

ABC Fundraising is an online giving company that supports schools in hosting highly profitable product fundraisers. With your own online storefront provided by ABC Fundraising, you can sell anything from branded face masks to cookie dough.

Online Donation Platform Features

While ABC Fundraising is not a direct donation platform, this takes the work out of coming up with ways to select a successful fundraiser. Here’s what it can offer for your fundraising strategy:

High-profit product fundraisers
Proactive customer support
An expansive resource for fundraising event ideas of all kinds

With these tools, you’ll run a successful and fruitful campaign with plenty of product fundraisers to drive your mission forward.

Pricing

ABC Fundraising offers a free information kit regarding pricing and its steps to get started with their software.

5. Bonfire – Best Online Giving Platform for Merchandise Sales

Bonfire specializes in creating custom products for nonprofits and individuals. Popular items include t-shirts, hoodies, and tank tops branded to your organization. When supporters purchase your items, you receive a profit. If your team opts to use Bonfire, your team will be able to set up your fundraising page to help direct interested donors to your custom customized product page.

Online Donation Platform Features

Hosting a fundraising campaign with Bonfire not only helps your team raise money, but it gives your donors a gift with your organization’s name on it. This method of fundraising helps spread awareness about your cause. Here’s how:

A free online store for your products
Easily customizable t-shirts and items
Hands-on customer support
Availability to ship your items worldwide

Consider creating items branded with your nonprofit to gain these benefits.

Pricing

Bonfire handles merchandise financing, eliminating issues regarding potentially wasted inventory. This platform is free to use and only deducts an 8% fee from donations when supporters buy your product. Additionally, they offer a flat $5 shipping fee to anywhere in the U.S.

Snowball makes giving online easy.

6. Donately – Best Online Giving Platform for Software Integration

Donately is a comprehensive online fundraising solution that works to help organizations of all sizes. If your team is looking for a donation-form builder, peer-to-peer fundraising software, or on-site fundraising tools, they’re able to help.

Online Donation Platform Features

Donately helps create effective donation forms. Your team can use this free software to build giving forms that fit your nonprofit’s brand. Once you create these forms, you’re able to embed them on your organization’s website or launch a giving page for easy access! Here’s how:

Customizable donation page features
Options for recurring donations
Text messaging capability to communicate with supporters

Plus, Donately offers a comprehensive integration library to connect to your existing analytics software, payment processors, and CRM systems, and more. With these integrations, you’ll be able to create an efficient and easy-to-use donation experience for your supporters.

Pricing

Donately requires no up-front fees and simply begins to charge only when you start seeing fundraising success. For your first $100k in fundraising revenue, there is a 3% fee— which continues to decrease as your nonprofit’s fundraising revenue increases.

7. CharityEngine – Best Online Giving Platform for Donation Tracking

CharityEngine is considered an “all-in-one” nonprofit solution with various tool options to supplement the centralized donor database. This CRM database can house data regarding each step of the donor journey.

Online Donation Platform Features

In addition to their CRM function, CharityEngine also offers various fundraising tools such as :

Peer-to-peer fundraising pages
Online stores
Advocacy campaigns
Email templates and more

These attributes are extremely helpful when it comes to collecting funds online through various outreach methods.

Pricing

Contact CharityEngine to learn more about their pricing structure and book a demo.

8. Handbid – Best Online Giving Platform for Auctions

Handbid provides mobile silent auction software for nonprofits. This tool is designed to integrate all of your auction needs into the virtual space, including a custom event app and pre-event bid browsing. With Handbid, your supporters will bid and interact with your auction via online devices.

Online Donation Platform Features

When your team uses Handbid, you can drive fundraising further with these features:

Fundraising progress puzzle
Peer-to-peer fundraising portal for your supporters
Buy-it-now options for auctions

With tools from Handbid, your team can run a seamless auction to raise more.

Pricing

Handbid offers various pricing packages, which you can customize for your specific fundraising needs. Their packages start at $792 per year.

9. OneCause – Best Online Giving Platform for Event Fundraising

OneCause is a comprehensive fundraising software that helps nonprofits easily facilitate online giving. You can use this software to create branded giving pages and customized forms, plan events, and sell tickets.

Online Donation Platform Features

Regardless of the type of event you choose, you’re sure to run a successful fundraiser with OneCause. Their platform:

Helps you manage silent, live, and online auctions.
Seamlessly captures guest info.
Securely processes credit cards during check out.
Empowers attendees with bids on their mobile phones.
Provides instantaneous checkout and automated receipts.

Use OneCause’s unique auction tools to make the most of your fundraising event.

Pricing

Contact OneCause for more information about available pricing packages for your organization.

10. Soapbox Engage – Best Online Giving Platform for Salesforce Users

Soapbox Engage provides nonprofits with cost-effective and user-friendly ways to publish an online fundraising page for online giving.

This tool can be combined with other Salesforce apps, which enables nonprofit professionals to customize their toolkits and increase their fundraising capabilities. These items can supplement most areas, including data analytics, donor data, form creation, and more.

Online Donation Platform Features

Soapbox Engage is scalable for nonprofits of any size. Some important features include:

Seamless Salesforce app integration
Effective event hosting features
Information sessions for organizations

With this platform, you can streamline event registration and ticketing, accept donations, create surveys, and facilitate an online shop.

Pricing

Start with a free trial and a demo from Soapbox. Then, choose your pricing plan starting at $59 a month.

Wrapping Up: Investing in an Online Donation Platform

You’ve reviewed your options carefully and have picked the perfect online donation software for your nonprofit. Now, all you have to do is prepare your team for implementing the new tool. Some providers offer training resources while others might let you take the lead on learning the ins and outs of the product. When your group is well-versed in your online donation platform, you’ll be able to answer any questions or concerns from supporters that may arise during the giving process.

For more information about online giving, check out these additional resources:

Text-to-Give | Complete Guide for Nonprofits and Fundraisers. A form of online giving, a text-to-give campaign helps donors easily contribute to your cause with a keyword and number. Find out more about how to implement this into your fundraising strategy.
Virtual Fundraising: The Complete Guide. Is your nonprofit shifting to a virtual fundraising strategy? Here’s what you’ll need to know to sustain your fundraising revenue online.
Nonprofit Donation Processing: Full Guide + Top 7 Providers. Nonprofit donation processing allows you to take control of your online donations and provide donors with a safe and easy way to give!

Achieve fundraising success with Snowball’s online donation platform.

Our comprehensive tools will help you raise more.

The post Online Donation Platforms: What to Know & 10 Top Picks first appeared on Snowball Fundraising.

Top 10+ Blackbaud Integrations Nonprofits Need to Know

Snowball Fundraising — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 19:52:57 +0000

If your nonprofit is one of the many organizations that have taken advantage of Blackbaud’s excellent product offerings, you may be wondering how you can extend your software even further by implementing a custom integration.

While Blackbaud offers a number of valuable fundraising and constituent relationship management (CRM) software options, you might need to look outside the Blackbaud catalog to build a tech stack that’s fully responsive to your needs, goals, and strategies.

If that’s the case, we recommend checking out these third-party integrations designed to seamlessly connect to your Blackbaud product and enhance your fundraising power

Snowball — Top Blackbaud Partner for Nonprofit Security Solutions
DNL OmniMedia — Top Blackbaud Partner for Nonprofit Technology Consulting
360MatchPro — Top Blackbaud Partner for Matching Gift Opportunities
Double the Donation — Top Blackbaud Partner for Matching Gift Opportunities
Goodshop — Top Blackbaud Partner for eCommerce Fundraising
VolunteerHub — Top Blackbaud Partner for Volunteer Management
Qgiv — Top Blackbaud Software Integration for Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
Fonteva Events — Top Blackbaud Software Integration for Event Management
Board Effect — Top Blackbaud Partner for Board Management
SJ Consulting LLC — Top Blackbaud Partner for Web Design
Almabase — Top Blackbaud Partner for Alumni Management

Let’s get started to find out which Blackbaud partners are the right fit for your nonprofit.

Grow your fundraising revenue with Snowball!

Snowball — Top Blackbaud Partner for Nonprofit Fundraising Solutions

Blackbaud Partner Overview

No fundraising strategy is complete without mobile giving, and Snowball has you covered when it comes to simplifying the mobile donation process for your supporters and for your team.

With Snowball, you can promote easy giving via mobile donation pages, mobile-ready email buttons, and text-to-give. Plus, their simple two-step giving process reduces donation page abandonment to ensure your nonprofit receives the support you deserve.

Our Favorite Blackbaud Integration Features

When you integrate Snowball’s online and mobile giving tools with your Blackbaud software, you’ll be able to capture valuable mobile gift data and store it seamlessly in your Blackbaud database. That means that you can capitalize on the convenience of text giving (and other mobile channels) without sacrificing any donor information along the way!

The Blackbaud integration also gives you access to other Snowball features, including:

Unlimited online donation pages.
Recurring gift capabilities.
Unlimited user access.
Fundraising event thermometers.

The ease of Snowball plus the power of Blackbaud can be your nonprofit’s ticket to fundraising success!

Learn More About This Blackbaud Software Integration

Contact our team of Blackbaud specialists to implement your integration as soon as possible. After all, your mobile donors are waiting!

DNL OmniMedia — Top Blackbaud Partner for Nonprofit Technology Consulting

Blackbaud Partner Overview

DNL OmniMedia is a technology consulting firm specifically trained in Blackbaud’s suite of products. As a longtime Blackbaud partner, the DNL team has years of experience helping nonprofits assess their strategies and develop custom solutions to meet their goals.

And since DNL OmniMedia understands that every organization is different, they take a client-focused approach to every project they take on. When partnering with their team, you’ll receive a completely customized suite of nonprofit technology services that are developed to align with your unique needs.

Our Favorite Blackbaud Integration Features

DNL OmniMedia works to extend your Blackbaud solutions through a dynamic consulting experience that includes:

Technical strategy
Custom Blackbaud configurations and development
Data migration and maintenance
Analytics and reporting

Plus, DNL offers custom products built for the Blackbaud Luminate Online suite. Their specialized tools can help you enhance your advocacy efforts, peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, and online giving interface.

Learn More About This Blackbaud Software Integration

If you’re already using Blackbaud technology and have a potential project in mind, reach out to DNL OmniMedia with a proposal. Their team will get back to you with a plan for how to make the integration run smoothly.

360MatchPro — Top Blackbaud Partner for Matching Gift Opportunities

Blackbaud Partner Overview

If your organization is looking to increase the number of donations coming in with hardly any added effort on your part, 360MatchPro by Double the Donation may be the solution for you.

360MatchPro is a next-level matching gift program that automates the majority of the matching gift process. This allows your organization to receive the benefits of corporate philanthropy without having to manage the minute details yourself.

Our Favorite Blackbaud Integration Features

Embeddable search tools make 360MatchPro a leading Blackbaud integration for matching gift fundraising. When you combine 360MatchPro with your current Blackbaud software, you’ll be able to take your fundraising to the next level through specialized features such as:

Matching gift search tools
Automatic screening
Customizable email templates
Data security

Through these features and more, your integration with 360MatchPro will allow you to take part in matching gift programs and see all that corporate philanthropy can bring to your organization.

Learn More About This Blackbaud Software Integration

Contact 360MatchPro to learn more about what their software does and how it might fit in with your existing Blackbaud toolkit.

Goodshop — Top Blackbaud Partner for eCommerce Fundraising

Blackbaud Partner Overview

This Blackbaud partner provides a new method of charitable giving through online shopping. Once your nonprofit has registered your cause with Goodshop, supporters can choose to donate a portion of any online purchase they make to your organization.

With Goodshop, there’s no extra work for you or your donors.

Our Favorite Blackbaud Integration Features

In addition to their core service, Goodshop helps your nonprofit raise money through their:

Coupon-finding browser extension
“Shopfunding” site
Search engine

And your donors don’t have to worry—there’s absolutely no cost to them to use Goodshop’s platform. Because Goodshop receives funding through their retailer partnerships and advertisements, the additional donations are really just that: free money for your cause!

Learn More About This Blackbaud Software Integration

Goodshop offers Blackbaud integrations for their partnered nonprofits, making it easy to track and manage your eCommerce fundraising sources. Register your cause to start taking advantage of this powerful partnership.

VolunteerHub — Top Blackbaud Partner for Volunteer Management

Blackbaud Partner Overview

VolunteerHub is the only volunteer management and engagement platform that integrates with Blackbaud software. Their comprehensive features make running a volunteer event simple. With kiosk and mobile check-in tools, volunteers can register and lend their support with ease.

Plus, VolunteerHub’s volunteer management software offers CRM integration, a cost-effective solution to increase automation and yield more actionable information.

Our Favorite Blackbaud Integration Features

VolunteerHub’s core features include:

Customizable campaign pages for each volunteer event
Complete scheduling, sign-up, and recruitment tools for volunteers
Waiver tracking to cover liability risk
Automated recognition and rewards to drive engagement

These features seamlessly integrate with your Blackbaud technology, making it a smart choice for any organization that relies on volunteer programming.

Learn More About This Blackbaud Software Integration

VolunteerHub sets up and maintains your Blackbaud integration for you. As with all of their offerings, support is included at no additional cost. Contact their team for more information.

Grow your fundraising revenue with Snowball!

Qgiv: Top Blackbaud Software Integration for Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Blackbaud Partner Overview

Qgiv makes peer-to-peer fundraising simple by enabling nonprofits to quickly build an event using their user-friendly interface. Then, you can design custom event registration forms, spread the word via social media integrations, and keep track of your progress on their interactive dashboard.

Most importantly, everything Qgiv offers is unlimited. From registration forms to training, you won’t have anything holding you back when it comes to fundraising!

Our Favorite Blackbaud Integration Features

Qgiv syncs your peer-to-peer efforts with Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge NXT fundraising platform. That way, you’ll have your full Raiser’s Edge functionality plus all of the benefits of Qgiv, including:

Customizable donation forms and confirmation pages
Donation form social sharing
Embeddable donation widgets
On-site donation kiosks for event day giving

With Qgiv and Raiser’s Edge working together, you’ll have unlimited peer-to-peer potential and powerful donor management and fundraising campaign options.

Learn More About This Blackbaud Software Integration

Check out Qgiv’s integrations overview to find out more about how to connect Qgiv and Raiser’s Edge.

Fonteva Events: Top Blackbaud Software Integration for Event Management

Blackbaud Partner Overview

For organizations that plan regular events, from small-scale meetings to large galas and conferences, Fonteva Events is the ideal event management solution.

Built to work in Salesforce, Fonteva Events is an end-to-end event management platform with a robust set of features to help streamline and enhance every part of the event planning experience. Oversee your events using the software’s user-friendly dashboards, customize your event management interface, and generate reports on your event’s success.

Our Favorite Blackbaud Integration Features

While not an integration per se, Fonteva Events is a native Salesforce app. That means if you’re a Blackbaud Luminate Online user, both Fonteva Events and your Luminate platform will be part of the larger Salesforce ecosystem.

When you pair the two together, you’ll have access to event management features that don’t come standard to Salesforce or Luminate, including:

Flexible guest management tools, including an event agenda builder
Custom ticketing options
An event microsite generator
eCommerce tools for event merchandise or online donations

Plus, Fonteva puts no limits on the types or number of events you can plan.

Learn More About This Blackbaud Software Integration

You can get started using Fonteva Events with your Luminate Online platform by contacting their team for more information.

BoardEffect — Top Blackbaud Partner for Board Management

Blackbaud Partner Overview

For nonprofits, your board has a major impact on your fundraising and outreach strategies. If you’re looking to develop more effective board management and engagement, try implementing BoardEffect, a specialized solution for streamlined board activities.

BoardEffect has tools for every role within the board management process. Administrative assistants can use these tools to manage board materials and centralize schedules, while executives can use the system to get a complete picture of your board’s goals and impact.

And of course, your board members themselves can leverage BoardMax’s board portal to track meetings, action items, documents, and much more!

Our Favorite Blackbaud Integration Features

BoardMax can help you develop more focused board strategies with features like:

Meeting management
Reporting capabilities
Document hosting
Board member task management

By keeping all of your board management activities and documents in one accessible location, you’ll make it much easier for everyone on your team to complete their necessary tasks and succeed in their roles.

Learn More About This Blackbaud Software Integration

Contact BoardEffect’s technical support team to find out how you can integrate your Blackbaud software with their board management services.

SJ Consulting LLC — Top Blackbaud Partner for Web Design

Blackbaud Partner Overview

A digital strategy firm dedicated to developing your nonprofit’s online efforts, SJ Consulting offers web development and online marketing solutions for organizations looking to kick their digital presence up a notch.

SJ Consulting integrates with several popular content management systems, including WordPress, Drupal, Luminate Online, and custom platforms, to build out nonprofit websites that are optimized for success. Their team of designers and coders can ensure that all of your systems work together for one complete online fundraising and marketing system.

Their consultants can also help you guarantee that your web presence contributes to your overall strategic goals, too, including increased donations or broadened awareness for your cause.

Our Favorite Blackbaud Integration Features

SJ Consulting takes a holistic approach to your web presence. Along with building a strategic website, this firm can help you with:

Online giving programs
Social media
Email marketing
Web analytics

On top of their nonprofit engagements, SJ Consulting also offers free monthly webinars on relevant topics in the nonprofit online marketing sector.

Learn More About This Blackbaud Software Integration

Contact the SJC team for training resources and support so that you can make the most of your Blackbaud integration.

Almabase — Top Blackbaud Partner for Alumni Management

Blackbaud Partner Overview

Almabase is an alumni management system made specifically for schools.

The platform integrates with Raiser’s Edge NXT to store alumni contact information, such as their emails, social media accounts, and phone numbers. Almabase also connects to Blackbaud Merchant Services (BBMS) so you can accept donations without modifying your gift processing.

Our Favorite Blackbaud Integration Features

Our favorite features of Almabase include:

Event management
Email marketing
Alumni directories
Giving pages

With these features, you can create an online community for your alumni and drive meaningful support.

Learn More About This Blackbaud Software Integration

Reach out to Almabase and they’ll connect you with a specialist who can show you how to unlock higher participation and donations with Blackbaud integrations.

With these Blackbaud integrations, you can improve your fundraising capabilities and engage supporters in new, engaging ways. To ensure you choose the right Blackbaud partners, make the software search a collaborative effort with your entire team. When everyone is on the same page, you can implement and maximize your tech stack more effectively.

To learn more about nonprofit software, check out these additional resources:

Nonprofit Software: Ultimate Guide + 9 Powerful Solutions. Nonprofit software is the key to managing and growing your organization. Check out these top software providers to drive your mission forward.
Text-to-Give | Complete Guide for Nonprofits and Fundraisers. Text-to-give is a powerful fundraising tool for any cause. Learn the essentials and find out how to harness the power of mobile giving for your nonprofit.
Fundraising Software: 26 Leading Providers for Any Nonprofit. Fundraising software can help you manage campaigns and raise more! Consider these providers during your search for software.

Looking to enhance your fundraising technology?

Partner with Snowball for the most comprehensive features.

The post Top 10+ Blackbaud Integrations Nonprofits Need to Know first appeared on Snowball Fundraising.

Nonprofit Software: Ultimate Guide + 10 Powerful Solutions

Snowball Fundraising — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 18:17:50 +0000

Nonprofit software exists to help manage and grow organizations just like yours. With the right tools, you can raise awareness for your mission, increase your fundraising revenue, and manage your constituents— all while staying organized and on budget.

There are plenty of high-quality and affordable solutions that deserve your attention. In this guide, we’ll help you find the right software for your nonprofit with information like:

Nonprofit Software FAQs
Best Nonprofit Software: 9 Providers
Additional Resources on Nonprofit Software

Ready to power your mission with nonprofit software? Let’s get started!

Snowball’s all-in-one fundraising software makes it easy to raise more for your nonprofit.

Nonprofit Software FAQs

Review these common questions to discover what nonprofit software is

and how it can support your organization. With this foundational knowledge, your

software search should be a breeze!

What is nonprofit software?

Nonprofit software refers to any technology that helps organizations facilitate, track, and oversee their day-to-day operations. The primary reason that nonprofits invest in digital solutions is to maximize their potential in several areas, including fundraising, donor management, and event planning.

Why is nonprofit software important?

Manual, paper-based processes are outdated and inefficient. That’s why nonprofits of all sizes can benefit from adding nonprofit software to their toolkits. Whether you need an event planning package or a productivity suite, nonprofit software can help:

Improve decision-making: Most nonprofit software tools do the heavy lifting with data analysis so that you can make better decisions faster.

Cultivate relationships: From personalizing solicitations to keeping notes on donor activity, the best nonprofit software has tools for managing your supporter relationships.
Streamline operations: Nonprofit software excels at automating tasks and reducing the need to switch between platforms to store, track, and report information.

With nonprofit software, you can put your best foot forward towards accomplishing your mission.

What are the different types of nonprofit software?

There are several different types of software that can accommodate your nonprofit’s every need. These solutions generally fall into three categories which include:

Fundraising software: Fundraising software makes giving easy by tracking donor relations, accepting donations online, and building campaigns.
Marketing software: Marketing software helps nonprofit maintain and grow their supporter lists with personalized, automated outreach.
Donor management software: Donor or consumer management software (CMS) is a database that stores, tracks, and analyzes your relationships with donors.

Whether you need fundraising support or a more comprehensive solution, the key is to choose tools that make your operations run smoothly, so you can focus on developing relationships and making an impact.

Best Nonprofit Software: 10 Providers

If you’re having a hard time finding the right solution for your organization, review our list of best nonprofit software providers for inspiration:

Best Nonprofit Software for All-in-One Fundraising – Snowball

Nonprofit Software Overview

Snowball is a comprehensive fundraising platform that helps nonprofits raise more. Our suite of innovative features allow you to customize campaigns, host auctions, and collect donations all from one platform. One standout feature is our Text-to-Give service which brings powerful nonprofit fundraising right to your supporters’ mobile devices. Receive donations anytime, anywhere with less user error.

Plus, with our built-in donation management tools, you can collect, manage, and update key information about your donors to more effectively secure their support.

How to Get Started with This Nonprofit Software

Snowball offers a tiered pricing system, so you can choose a plan that’s cost-effective and right for your organization. Start fundraising for free with an Essential plan or take full advantage of Snowball’s Professional tier for unlimited access to auctions, email blasts, and after-hours support.

Best Nonprofit Software for Donor Management – Bloomerang

Nonprofit Software Overview

Bloomerang is a donor database software perfect for nonprofits of all sizes. Store and leverage your donor information to retain donors, find new prospects, and view donor engagement statistics. This practice helps manage your donor relationships, leading to recurring giving and consistent support.

How to Get Started with This Nonprofit Software

Bloomerang offers a fairly wide range of pricing options based on your needs. For organizations that need fewer than 1,000 donor records, the price is just $99/month. If you’re a brand new nonprofit just getting started with donor management, Bloomerang even offers a free version to help you get on your feet.

Best Nonprofit Software for Donor Engagement – CharityEngine

Nonprofit Software Overview

CharityEngine is a CRM solution that automatically tracks and stores donor engagement information, including correspondences, visits to your website, donations given through donation platforms, involvement with advocacy campaigns, and more. This helps you redefine the donor journey and build relationships with vital supporters.

How to Get Started with This Nonprofit Software

When you invest in CharityEngine, you’ll be assigned a dedicated project manager and implementation team to help get you started. Contact CharityEngine about their pricing plan.

Best Nonprofit Software for Website Building – Morweb

Nonprofit Software Overview

A strong online presence is the key to increasing your brand visibility and raising your cause. That’s why Morweb provides nonprofits with the tools, support, and web design needed to thrive online. With their easy drag-and-drop style design capabilities, your team can create custom pages that drive traffic in no time.

How to Get Started with This Nonprofit Software

Morweb provides crucial tools such as donation forms, CRM integrations, and consulting services to those interested, starting at only $99/month. Plus, if you already have a site and want to upgrade to Morweb, their web design agency team will help you migrate all of your existing content and data over safely.

Best Nonprofit Software for Matching Gifts – 360MatchPro

Nonprofit Software Overview

360MatchPro by Double the Donation is a matching gift automation software. This tool is perfect for large nonprofits and educational facilities wanting to get the most out of their matching gift revenue. If your organization retains $25,000 or more each year in matching gifts, 360MatchPro will automate the match process.

With this tool, you’ll never miss out on another matched donation again. Once someone donates, 360MatchPro uses their entered data (such as an email domain or employer details) to determine their eligibility for a match.

How to Get Started with This Nonprofit Software

360MatchPro’s software is simple to set up and configure to your organization’s current software. Contact their team to find out which pricing plan is right for you.

Best Nonprofit Software for Event Planning – Regpack

Nonprofit Software Overview

Regpack is an online registration software for event planning. This platform offers key features such as embeddable registration forms, group registration options, scheduling and check-in tools, and online payment processors. Additionally, you can streamline communication with registrants through automated messaging tools and extract useful insights from data reporting and analytics.

How to Get Started with This Nonprofit Software

Starting at $125/month, Regpack is a powerful tool that can help grow your nonprofit. Schedule a demo with their team to see how the platform supports your goals.

Best Nonprofit Software for Productivity – Boardable

Nonprofit Software Overview

Boardable ensures your board of directors are connected and working in tandem. With Boardable’s tools like an agenda builder, a meeting center, document storage, task manager, goal tracking and reporting, voting capabilities, and more, your team can productively work towards your fundraising goals and push your mission forward.

How to Get Started with This Nonprofit Software

If you’re deciding between software packages, try out a free trial of Boardable. Then, once you’re ready to buy, choose a pricing plan that fits your budget.

Best Nonprofit Software for Volunteer Management – Mobilize

Nonprofit Software Overview

Mobilize is an effective volunteer recruitment and management platform for both in-person and virtual events. With this tool, your event team can use their robust data reporting features and streamline volunteer recruitment. Plus, their peer-to-peer recruitment tools make it easy for organizations to grow their supporter bases.

How to Get Started with This Nonprofit Software

To get started, visit Mobilize’s site for a free demo. Or try out their services with a limited starter account. This allows your team to host five events and collect up to 500 petition signatures.

Best Nonprofit Software for Finances – File990

Nonprofit Software Overview

File 990 is a top choice for nonprofit tax filing software because it’s designed to help you get your Form 990 completed before the annual deadline. This helps nonprofits maintain tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(3). For smaller nonprofits just getting started, having some guidance and structure around the 990 filing process is a smart idea.

How to Get Started with This Nonprofit Software

With File 990, you don’t pay until you are ready to submit your return to the IRS. Plus, their prices are 30-90% less than most professional accounting services.

Best Nonprofit Software for Finances – SureImpact

Nonprofit Software Overview

Understanding how your organization’s programs and services affect the communities you serve is essential to fulfilling your nonprofit’s mission. SureImpact’s impact measurement tools empower nonprofits to assess the efficacy of their work and demonstrate their value to funders, ensuring their ongoing support.

With a user-friendly interface, SureImpact makes information easily accessible to nonprofit staff, leadership, and funders. Nonprofit professionals can use impact data to improve their offerings. By providing data directly to stakeholders, SureImpact allows nonprofits to show that they are delivering tangible results.

How to Get Started with This Nonprofit Software

Visit the SureImpact website to learn more about their nonprofit solutions, and schedule a demo for a comprehensive look at their platform.

Additional Resources for Nonprofit Software

Technology makes it possible to expand your nonprofit’s reach and better serve your community. To ensure you’re making the right choice, look for nonprofit software that integrates with your existing technology and has intuitive features so your team can get started with ease. In the end, you should have a comprehensive tech stack that helps you save time and raise more.

For more information on nonprofit software, check out these additional resources:

Virtual Auctions: How to Plan a Fruitful Event in 5 Steps. Virtual auctions bring your favorite charity event into the digital age. Find out how virtual, hybrid, and in-person auction software can support your cause.
Text-to-Give | Complete Guide for Nonprofits and Fundraisers. Text-to-give is a powerful fundraising tool for any cause. Learn the essentials and find out how to harness the power of mobile giving for your nonprofit.
Fundraising Software: 26 Leading Providers for Any Nonprofit. Fundraising software can help you manage campaigns and raise more! Consider these providers during your search for software.

Ready to unlock the power of nonprofit software?

Look no further than Snowball!

The post Nonprofit Software: Ultimate Guide + 10 Powerful Solutions first appeared on Snowball Fundraising.

Fundraising Software: 26 Leading Providers for Any Nonprofit

Snowball Fundraising — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 20:32:12 +0000

Getting up and running as a brand new nonprofit is a major challenge—and costly software is a huge part of that. Finding the right donation tools early in the planning process will help you build a solid foundation to grow on.

Any nonprofit can benefit from low-cost fundraising software that can give you a major leg up! We’ve developed a guide to over 20 of our best suggestions for platforms that your team should consider during the search for your software.

Utilizing cost-effective fundraising software as a part of your strategy is an excellent method for managing your campaigns and bringing in new streams of revenue, all without shelling out too many overhead costs. Here’s what we’ll cover in this guide:

Best All-in-One Fundraising Software
Free and Affordable Fundraising Software for Nonprofits
Fundraising Software for Donor Management
Other Top Fundraising Software for Nonprofits

Let’s jump in and learn all about our favorite fundraising software solutions and what makes them unique.

Best All-in-One Fundraising Software

Snowball is an online fundraising platform that features streamlined donation pages, event management tools, fundraising thermometers, and more.

In addition to providing an easy and innovative way to accept gifts, Snowball’s online donation software allows nonprofits to process donations faster—which means you get paid faster and can use the contributions more quickly!

Why This Low-Cost Fundraising Software Stands Out

Snowball’s Essential plan includes a comprehensive suite of tools, including an online donation page, recurring gifts, access to transaction and donor data, unlimited admin access, and effective online support. This means all of your fundraising tools will be in one place, so you can avoid the hassle of transferring data from one system to another!

Our Essential plan only charges a standard processing fee of just 2.9% + 30¢ per donation, making it an affordable option for any organization. If you decide later to upgrade your plan to include text-to-give software, the Snowball Premium plan is available as an inexpensive annual subscription.

Snowball’s fundraising software is the most effective solution for organizations that need user-friendly features on their donation pages, event pages, and text-to-give campaigns.

Beyond the capabilities your team receives with a Snowball Essential account, Premium offers bonuses that make it worth the upgrade. For instance, you can host an unlimited number of campaigns and events on the Snowball Premium platform each year, as well as unlimited access to event ticketing tools and email blasts for outbound email marketing.

For access to the entire Snowball suite of digital fundraising features, including text-to-give, try out the Professional plan. You’ll get all of the features included in Premium with outbound text messaging and unlimited auctions. If you’re looking to run a text-to-give campaign to drive your mission forward, you can set an unlimited amount of text trigger words to make for the most effective fundraiser yet. This can take your campaign from good to great at a low price.

Empowered with a host of robust fundraising tools, Snowball’s fundraising software is the most effective solution for organizations that need user-friendly features on their donation pages, event pages, and text-to-give campaigns.

Additional Details

The Snowball Premium plan is a low-priced annual subscription at $549 with a transaction fee of 2.5% + 30¢. For only $300 more a year, get access to all Premium features, as well as outbound text messaging and unlimited auctions with the all-in-one Professional plan.

Take a Personalized Tour

Schedule a demo with one of our fundraising consultants. We’ll show you how the Snowball platform has benefited other nonprofit organizations, and how it can help you.

Free and Affordable Fundraising Software for Nonprofits

Bonfire

Bonfire’s free fundraising site specializes in customized and branded apparel, such as t-shirts, hoodies, and tank tops. When you sell your organization’s apparel with Bonfire, you’re given a fundraising page to promote your cause and sell as many items as possible.

Why This Free Fundraising Software Stands Out

Hosting a Bonfire campaign is a unique way to raise money for your organization and get new donors involved. What’s better than getting a gift in return for your generosity? When supporters purchase your merchandise, your organization gets the profit! But supporters aren’t limited to purchasing t-shirts to help your cause. They can provide additional donations unrelated to purchases.

Additional Details

Bonfire handles the finances by managing every step so you don’t have to worry about up-front costs and wasted inventory. The services are completely free— they simply deduct an 8% fee from donations made upon checkout. They’ll even ship your orders for a flat $5 shipping rate to anywhere in the U.S! Try out their pricing calculator for the most accurate estimate.

ShopRaise

ShopRaise is an online shopping platform that is totally free for your organization and your supporters to use. When your supporters download the ShopRaise mobile or web app, they can shop at their favorite retailers in support of your cause. Your organization can earn up to 10% of every transaction!

Why This Free Fundraising Software Stands Out

In addition to being free, using ShopRaise doesn’t require much investment of your staff’s time or resources to advertise the opportunity to your supporters. ShopRaise provides you with custom marketing materials to distribute.

Your supporters likely already shop at the retailers on the ShopRaise platform. Nationwide stores like Walmart, Petsmart, and Macy’s are on the app, meaning supporting your cause can be seamlessly integrated into your supporters’ daily lives. All they have to do is download the app and make their regular purchases. There’s no downside to signing up. This is as easy as fundraising gets!

Additional Details

When a ShopRaise user chooses your organization to support at the beginning of their ShopRaise app experience, the app rebrands to feature your organization’s name and logo. That means your brand appears on the users’ iPhone (or Android) home screens, plus your organization’s name pops up whenever they select a different store or proceed to checkout. These valuable branding opportunities are just one of the perks of using this effortless fundraising platform. Visit their page to get started with ShopRaise.

99Pledges

99Pledges is an effective peer-to-peer fundraising platform, perfect for fundraising events such as walk-a-thons, dance-a-thons, read-a-thons, or any similarly structured fundraiser. The online fundraising pages are easy for donors to share with their networks via email, text, and social media.

Why This Free Fundraising Software Stands Out

Each participant in your campaign receives a customizable donation page that’s ready to share— no technical set-up required! Your team can track your fundraising activity by increasing social shares and the total amount raised in donations.

Additional Details

99Pledges campaigns are free to run! Additionally, your organization keeps 90% of all donations made online via credit card and PayPal and 100% of all donations made via cash or check.

Fundly

Fundly’s crowdfunding platform lets users customize an online donation page for their campaign. The site allows you to easily update your fundraising pages with photos, videos, and personal anecdotes to engage with your audience and encourage repeat visits to your content. An excellent bonus is that your team can do it all from your smartphone with Fundly’s mobile app!

Why This Free Fundraising Software Stands Out

Fundly is all about helping your team get the word out about your fundraiser. With optimized content and a straightforward user interface, your fundraising pages will attract supporters. In addition, Fundly’s integration with Facebook Open Graph Actions shares all of your campaign activity to your Facebook profile for more exposure for your cause.

Additional Details

It’s free to get started with Fundly, which then only charges a platform fee of 4.9%, in addition to a standard credit card processing fee of 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction.

Fundraising Letters

Fundraising Letters is an online fundraising solution that provides downloadable templates for constituent correspondence, including matching gift requests, sponsorship letters, donation requests, and thank-you letters.

These templates allow for a streamlined communication process and help build solid donor relationships. You can use these standardized fundraising letter templates as a starting point and then personalize each letter as much as you want to engage your donors.

Why This Free Fundraising Software Stands Out

Each letter template includes a separate section with key takeaways and a short explanation of why that particular letter is effective. There are over 80 fundraising letter templates to choose from, each of which is optimized for a different target or occasion.

Additional Details

All of these customizable fundraising letters and templates are 100% free to download and use as you choose. Simply enter your email address, and the templates will be delivered to your inbox in minutes so your team can start drafting your appeals as soon as possible.

Fundraising Report Card

During your campaign, there are many important metrics to be aware of and major data points to collect—it can be tough to get started collecting and evaluating this key fundraising data. With Fundraising Report Card’s innovative tools, nonprofits can analyze reports tracking different fundraising metrics and suggest actionable insights to take things to the next level.

Why This Free Fundraising Software Stands Out

Fundraising Report Card allows you to take advantage of the unlimited potential available in your fundraising data. This will help you build and grow your donor relations by offering insights into key performance indicators, growth tracking, acquisition reports, lapsed donors, and churn.

Additional Details

Since Fundraising Report Card is free to join, your nonprofit can enjoy zero fees as you learn more about how your fundraising strategy is performing. If you like what you see, you can upgrade to any of their additional three low-cost plans that start at just $30/month.

Nonprofit Courses

Nonprofit.Courses offers training for Nonprofits and their staff, boards, and volunteers through thousands of videos, podcasts, books, and documents.

Why This Free Fundraising Tool Stands Out

All of their materials are categorized by type of content as well as by subject to make it easy to find what you need. They also have an advanced search option if you’re looking for something very specific. Whether you’re a leader at a nonprofit organization, staff, a board member, a volunteer, or just someone interested in the nonprofit sector, there’s informative content here for you!

Additional Details

Almost all of their educational resources are free, although you can buy some of them. Explore all of their resources to find what you need.

Google Analytics

As Google’s own digital analytics software, Google Analytics provides insights into key marketing metrics concerning your audience, advertising, behavior, conversions, and more. This software can also provide recommendations concerning which social platforms can target audiences most effectively.

Why This Free Fundraising Software Stands Out

With this tool, you’ll be able to see insights native to Google’s analysis tools that can help your team make more informed decisions going forward. For example, you’ll learn your visitor’s journey and view key demographics of your audience, including the gender, age, and location of individual users.

Additional Details

Google Analytics is completely free to use and perfect for small to mid-sized organizations! There is, however, a premium version called Google Analytics 360 for the largest nonprofits and other enterprises that can cost over $150,000 annually. Additionally, there are Google Ad Grants available for nonprofits to help you get access to Google’s suite of tools if they aren’t currently in your budget.

Mailchimp

As an all-in-one marketing automation platform, Mailchimp helps you promote your nonprofit and any campaigns you run with key promotional tools such as email campaigns, social media marketing, and digital advertisements. The platform then supplies real-time performance reports and key insights into your campaigns, allowing you to analyze and improve your strategy as necessary.

Why This Free Fundraising Software Stands Out

Implementing a strategic marketing plan is crucial to getting the word out about your fundraisers and general nonprofit endeavors. This intuitive fundraising software allows you to take advantage of key tools without needing a background in design or marketing.

Additional Details

Mailchimp offers four different plans, with the most basic tools available at no cost and the premium plan reaching upwards of $299/month. The free plan includes access to a marketing CRM, basic marketing templates, and custom audience targeting.

It’s surprising these fundraising software options are free with the extensive capabilities they offer! Be sure to check out upgrade options for even more benefits.

Fundraising Software for Donor Management

Bloomerang

Bloomerang is an all-in-one database solution for nonprofits that value functionality, adaptability, and user experience above all. Not only is Bloomerang’s robust donor management database an invaluable tool for building relationships in your community, but it also empowers you with the expert fundraising technology you need.

Why This Fundraising Software Stands Out

With an interactive dashboard, Bloomerang helps nonprofits keep track of their fundraising progress through customizable fundraising tools. Since Bloomerang is cloud-based, you’ll never have to worry about outgrowing the system: it’ll scale with your cause as it grows.

Additional Details

Bloomerang offers a streamlined software product for startup nonprofits called Bloomerang Lite, completely free up to your first $100k in annual revenue. For those who have outgrown the Lite version, Bloomerang also offers more robust plans starting at just $99/month.

CharityEngine

CharityEngine is an effective CRM solution that will store your relevant data about donors. This software is a complete solution from the start of the donor journey to encouraging recurring donations.

With CharityEngine’s platform, your team can launch advocacy and fundraising campaigns, reach supporters, and report on important KPIs. With this, you’ll maintain good data hygiene with their automated services.

Why This Fundraising Software Stands Out

In addition to their CRM, this platform offers secure payment processing with PCI certification. Your organization and donors can have peace of mind that their sensitive data is stored safely.

With CharityEngine, you’re also able to manage events by storing information about your venue, speakers, and ticketing data in a central hub. Then, use your event’s data with the software’s custom reporting and dashboard features. It’s now easy for your organization to track fundraising and campaign data to make better inferences for the future.

Additional Details

CharityEngine starts at $499 a month.

Are you ready to plan your best auction yet?

Lumaverse

Lumaverse is a comprehensive fundraising software solution that can equip your team with the tools for more targeted fundraising to maximize their efforts. Manage your donor data, event information, registration, and marketing with this all-in-one product. This software can transfer data collected from your crowdfunding campaigns to your intuitive fundraising and donor management system with ease.

Why This Fundraising Software Stands Out

Lumaverse offers such a diverse array of tools and services that any organization is bound to find a package that fits their needs. Their software is affordable for the smaller nonprofits looking to get started with a simpler solution and grow alongside larger-scale organizations.

Additional Details

Their CRM plans begin at only $65 per month.

CiviCRM

CiviCRM is a constituent relationship management tool that helps keep your donor data organized, standardized, and accessible to your whole team. This tool offers management tools regarding membership, event hosting, and advocacy campaigns in addition to a standard contact management feature to boost your efforts and strengthen relationships.

Why This Fundraising Software Stands Out

CiviCRM is classified as open-source, which means it’s easily customizable to meet your nonprofit’s specific needs. This tool allows organizations to centralize constituent communications, expand upon their current donor base for deeper engagement.

Additional Details

CiviCRM is completely free to use, with upgrades available for purchase beyond their basic features. Additionally, they provide extensive self-service resources as well as the option to consult an expert for any issues that arise concerning the installation or customization of your CRM.

Salesforce NPSP

The Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) is a set of nonprofit-specific data management tools built onto the existing Salesforce CRM software. The NPSP reports and analyzes data from your donors, volunteers, and events to provide a comprehensive look at your nonprofit as a whole.

Why This Fundraising Software Stands Out

The NPSP provides Salesforce’s unique features and a wide range of apps available. These attributes make it an excellent data and donor management choice for organizations that want to form strong data-driven strategies.

Additional Details

The Nonprofit Success Pack can be added onto the main Salesforce structure for free for eligible nonprofits, as made available through the Salesforce AppExchange. Keep in mind that additional apps and customizations will require investments.

Other Top Fundraising Software Platforms for Nonprofits

Double the Donation

Double the Donation is the go-to matching gift fundraising tool. Their database allows your organization to easily market matching gifts to your supporters, and streamline the matching gift submission process.

Why This Low-Cost Fundraising Software Stands Out

Double the Donation has the most comprehensive matching gift database in the nonprofit space, and it is constantly growing and being updated by their team. Your organization can embed the database widget easily onto any page to provide a quick and easy way for your donors to look up their eligibility and submit their match requests.

Additional Details

Double the Donation costs $499 per year for complete access to their database and their partnership network of turnkey integrations. Try out a demo to see for yourself!

Funds2Orgs

Funds2Orgs is an online fundraising platform that helps you organize and carry out a shoe drive for your nonprofit. This type of campaign simply asks for donations of gently worn used and new shoes to be picked up by a member of the Funds2Orgs team. These donated shoes are then exchanged for a check to your organization’s cause!

Why This Low-Cost Fundraising Software Stands Out

This is an interactive and engaging fundraiser that you can host without asking for monetary donations from your donors. Your supporters likely have old shoes lying around, and it’s easier to part with a pair of old sneakers than hard-earned cash!

Additional Details

Funds2Orgs’ shoe drive fundraisers are free to host, with zero out-of-pocket costs— and you’ll receive a check within two business days of wrapping up your fundraiser.

These low-cost fundraising software options are excellent for organizations looking for a cost-effective way to upgrade from basic tools. Look into the best option for your team, and drive your fundraising further.

Mobilize

Mobilize helps organizations bring people together to learn, grow, connect and make change through their community and outcome-centric approach. They offer a solution and strategy that is people-focused.

Why This Low-Cost Fundraising Software Stands Out

Their features include community management, communications, smart networking, mobile functionality and personalization, a data suite, event management, and backend support. They are also compatible with a variety of integrations to allow for customization.

Additional Details

For small organizations with under 500 members, they offer a free plan. There are also premium and enterprise plans available for larger organizations.

Getting Attention

Getting Attention offers Google Ad Grant management strategies as well as data hygiene and search engine optimization services. This organization works closely with your team to ensure you’re finding the right donors for your organization.

Why This Low-Cost Fundraising Software Stands Out

They can help with Google Ad Grant applications, clean up the data in your Google account, help you reactivate your account or get it unsuspended, and assist with keyword research. They start with a consultation phase, then research, before launching. And even after launch, they’ll continue monitoring everything for you.

Additional Details

Get a free consultation or get in touch to learn more about the services they offer.

DonationMatch

DonationMatch offers a turnkey “smart” platform that automates virtually everything except decision-making. Their software is modeled after a matchmaking platform and finds more “best fit” event opportunities for donations while significantly reducing the effort involved.

Why This Low-Cost Fundraising Software Stands OutAdditional Details

Their platform for nonprofits has one multi-use application to discover donations for which you qualify. With their matchmaking tools, they can help you reach multiple companies in one place, offer automatic tracking of requests, offers, and responses, enable data exportation for auction software, and even share social media cheat sheets for thanking donors.

Additional Details

You can make a free account to get started with limited capabilities or upgrade if you need more functionality.

Other Favorite Nonprofit Software Companies

DonorSearch

DonorSearch offers a powerful prospect research tool in addition to other services that simplify the fundraising process. By helping you find exactly who to target with individualized prospect research, you’ll have a better understanding of how to distribute your time and marketing efforts effectively. With wealth screening and proven philanthropy data, DonorSearch will give you the most accurate view possible and reduce the need for manual research.

Why This Fundraising Software Stands Out

The prospect research tool will give you basic background information on the individual or corporation, such as birthplace, occupation, family information, and philanthropic history! The results give you a list of their recent donations, including the type of gift, location, amount, and date.

Additional Details

While their main services are contracted, a condensed version of the prospect research tool, called DS Giving, is free and perfect for an introduction to prospect research for smaller nonprofits!

360MatchPro

360MatchPro, created by Double the Donation, is a complete matching gift automation tool. Nonprofits frequently miss out on matching gifts because they can’t possibly reach out to every single match-eligible donor, or they don’t have the time to reach out to ask if someone is match-eligible.

With 360MatchPro, you don’t have to. The platform uses email scanning capabilities to find supporters who work for companies with known matching gift programs and can identify and reach out to supporters with unknown employers.

Why This Fundraising Software Stands Out

Don’t miss out on significant matching gift revenue any longer. With 360MatchPro, you can build a personalized and automated communication stream to reach out to your donors, educate them on matching gifts, and then encourage them to complete their matches.

Additional Details

360MatchPro starts at $3,000 per year. Contact Double the Donation to learn more about how you can supercharge your matching gift program today.

Capital Campaign Toolkit

Capital Campaign Toolkit offers campaign toolkits for nonprofits that include online tools, expert advising, and peer support to help you run a successful capital campaign. They’ll help you create a winning case for support, develop persuasive campaign materials, build confidence soliciting major gifts, engage your board members to help, and more.

Why This Fundraising Tool Stands Out

All plans include group advising calls, a private Facebook group where you can connect with like-minded peers, and 24/7 email support.

Additional Resources

They offer essential, premium, and custom plans to fit your needs regardless of the size of your organization.

ABC Fundraising

ABC Fundraising is a tool that helps organizations run profitable product fundraisers. No matter if you’re a religious organization or a sports team, they offer an expansive amount of ideas and options to help your team drive funds to your organization effectively and engagingly.

Why This Fundraising Software Stands Out

ABC Fundraising can boost your funds by providing profitable products, proactive customer support, a resource for selling your products, and an expansive resource for fundraising event ideas of all kinds.

Additional Details

ABC Fundraising offers a free information kit regarding pricing and steps to get started with their software.

Boardable

Boardable offers easy-to-use nonprofit board management software that enables your leadership to communicate virtually. With central document storage, discussion areas, remote voting capabilities, and task-tracking functionality, any nonprofit board can go paperless without risking productivity.

Why This Fundraising Software Stands Out

Nonprofit boards drive organizational progress and often need to make timely decisions to promote growth. Thanks to Boardable’s mobile app, your board can conveniently communicate anytime, anywhere.

Additional Details

Built by nonprofit leaders, Boardable offers all the intuitive features organizations need to build highly effective boards. To understand how it’ll work for your team, take the powerful platform for a test drive with the free trial, where you’ll gain full access to the software for 30 days.

Soapbox Engage provides helpful Salesforce apps for nonprofits to customize their toolkits and make the most of fundraising data. These apps serve a wide variety of needs with accurate data analytics, donation tracking, donation form building, and event hosting capabilities.

Before Soapbox Engage, choosing the right apps was expensive and time-consuming. With the help of this suite of apps, organizations can use affordable and effective tools in no time.

Why This Fundraising Software Stands Out

Soapbox Engage provides access to valuable tools to connect with donors and drive fundraising. Explore their guide to Salesforce donation apps for more information and examples of apps in action.

Additional Details

Soapbox Engage apps start at $49/month per app, and unlimited packages start at $199/month.

Now that your team has an idea of what excellent fundraising software looks like, make a list of your favorites and seek out more information about how each provider can help you reach your individualized goals.

Wrapping Up: Invest in the Right Fundraising Software

There are plenty of cost-effective fundraising software options out there— you just have to know how to find the best ones! Snowball’s all-in-one features will be hard to beat, but now that we’ve given you the top fundraising software solutions, you can mix and match the best solutions for your organization. And with the right low-cost tools, you’ll be able to save on overhead costs, leaving more revenue to go directly toward your nonprofit’s mission.

Additional Resources

Check out these resources to help with all your fundraising needs:

How the Top Crowdfunding Websites Compare to GoFundMe: Are you hosting a crowdfunding campaign? Looking for a GoFundMe alternative? We’ve got you covered!
Virtual Fundraising: The Complete Guide For 2021 & Beyond: Supplement your next campaign with successful fundraising ideas and best practices in this complete guide.

Online Fundraising Ideas | 24 Effective Virtual Campaigns: Virtual fundraising events are effective, engaging, and can easily be hosted to abide by social distancing guidelines. Find out more in our comprehensive resour

Take a Personalized Tour

Schedule a demo with one of our fundraising consultants. We’ll show you how the Snowball platform has benefited other nonprofit organizations, and how it can help you.

The post Fundraising Software: 26 Leading Providers for Any Nonprofit first appeared on Snowball Fundraising.

Top 8 Paypal Alternatives: Expert Tools for Nonprofits

Snowball Fundraising — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 18:17:56 +0000

If you’re looking to accept payments online, your organization has probably considered using PayPal, a common payment processing tool for businesses, nonprofits, and individuals. However, upon closer inspection, you’ll find that it doesn’t offer the full range of features that your nonprofit needs to reach your fundraising goals.

In this guide, we’ll help you find PayPal alternatives to meet your nonprofit’s specific needs. Here’s what we’ll cover:

What are the benefits of PayPal alternatives?
Top 8 PayPal Alternatives for Nonprofits
Additional Resources for PayPal Alternatives

Whether you’re considering PayPal or are already using their tool, you should be aware that there are better options that offer more customization, ease of use, and integrations. Let’s get started!

Start fundraising and accepting donations with Snowball.

What are the benefits of using PayPal alternatives?

While PayPal aims its features towards the general public, the small details of a high-performing online donation page are overlooked. For instance, donors using PayPal have to go through a series of pages and clicks before accessing your donation form. This complicated process can lead to donor abandonment and cause your nonprofit to miss out on precious funds. Plus, PayPal puts limits on your account so that you can only withdraw $500 a month, meaning your nonprofit won’t be able to withdraw all of the donations it needs to fund important projects.

Thankfully, there are several PayPal alternatives specifically geared towards nonprofits. These software providers provide your organization with:

Greater customization: Creating a customized donation form will help highlight your nonprofit’s mission and make it easier for donors to know how their funds will be used. For instance, if your university is looking to raise money from alumni, your online donation form will look slightly different than an animal shelter raising money online.

Simplified giving: Most PayPal alternatives provide ways to cut down on the time it takes to make a donation so that fewer donors abandon the process. For instance, some organizations have opted to use passwordless login systems that allow donors to make an account without the hassle of remembering a password.
Greater technical support: If your nonprofit ever runs into technical problems, you should expect excellent customer service. Most online giving providers have a technical support team that is available to answer your questions and resolve any problems. With so much support readily available, your nonprofit can save time trying to contact the technical team and focus the efforts elsewhere.

With alternatives to PayPal, you’ll also be able to create a donation that can be completed entirely on your nonprofit website. Donors won’t be redirected to a different site, which will eliminate any confusion about who is receiving their gift.

Top 8 PayPal Alternatives for Nonprofits

1. Snowball — Best PayPal Alternative for Fundraising

Paypal Alternative Overview

At Snowball, we make fundraising easy with unlimited fundraising campaigns, customizable donation pages, and mobile giving.

Plus, it only takes a few steps to complete a donation, thanks to our passwordless process. When someone wants to donate or make a purchase, all they have to do is click the instant payment button and their gift is made!

These first-time donors are also prompted to enter their payment information, which will be saved into the Snowball system. Any future purchases can be made with a simple click of a button, helping to reduce donor abandonment.

Standout PayPal Alternative Features

Some of the many features at Snowball include:

Mobile-optimized donation pages
Customizable forms that fit your brand
Instant payment buttons
Secure payment processing

Branded donation pages look more professional and establish trust, making donors feel confident about using your site.

Paypal Alternative Cost

With Snowball’s premium plan, you receive access to unlimited fundraising campaigns, customizable donation pages, and text-to-give. Plus, your nonprofit will only pay a 2.5% + 30¢ per transaction.

2. Fundly — PayPal Alternative for Crowdfunding

Paypal Alternative Overview

Fundly is an alternative to PayPal that focuses on helping donors raise money through social sharing. Their leading crowdfunding platform allows nonprofits and individuals to build a fully customized fundraising page with their logo and brand’s colors.

Additionally, nonprofits can include perks for specific donation amounts—a feature not available with PayPal. These incentives can be the push many supporters need to contribute.

Standout PayPal Alternative Features

With Fundly’s platform, organizations can expect the following features:

Crowdfunding updates
Space to upload images and videos
Social sharing buttons
Incentives and giving levels

Fundly also offers an advanced version of their platform called Fundly Pro. Organizations will have access to even more features like the ability to create peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns.

Paypal Alternative Cost

Setting up a crowdfunding campaign is free! Organizations will only pay a platform fee and 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction payment processing fee once they start receiving funds.

3. Qgiv — PayPal Alternative for Nonprofit Events

Paypal Alternative Overview

Qgiv makes it easy for your supporters to give. With their on-site kiosks and mobile giving options, you can provide donors with multiple giving options and raise more at your fundraising events.

Standout PayPal Alternative Features

Individuals can use Qgiv to:

Create donation forms
Launch peer-to-peer fundraising
Accept on-site gifts
Enable mobile text giving

Qgiv is available to nonprofits large and small. Your team can even get started using Qgiv for free with their Start package! Once you’re ready to grow your fundraising efforts, they also offer more advanced plans your team can choose from.

Paypal Alternative Cost

Qgiv’s online fundraising tools start at just $25/month with a 3.95% + $0.30 transaction fee.

4. Donately — PayPal Alternative for Nonprofits, Churches, Individuals, and More

Paypal Alternative Overview

Donately is a great PayPal alternative because it’s simple to start using their many online fundraising tools to accept gifts from supporters. Not only can your organization process donations, but you can also build beautiful giving pages and donation forms to get your community excited about giving back.

Standout PayPal Alternative Features

Individuals can use Donately to:

Embed donation forms
Launch giving pages
Accept and track offline gifts
Integrate with apps

Donately is a PayPal alternative that meets the needs of all kinds of nonprofit organizations, from charities to churches. Even if your team doesn’t have extensive online fundraising experience, their intuitive tools and interface will make it easy for you to get started fundraising in no time.

Paypal Alternative Cost

Donately charges just $69/month for organizations raising over $100,000 a year. After that benchmark, their rates decrease as you reach big fundraising milestones.

Start fundraising and accepting donations with Snowball.

5. Soapbox Engage — Best PayPal Alternative for Salesforce Users

Paypal Alternative Overview

Soapbox Engage provides nonprofits with an easy and affordable way to build engagement through online fundraising, event registration, and donor management. It also integrates seamlessly with the Salesforce CRM, allowing you to pull data and make better informed decisions about your donors. Pull from your data to inform your decisions in every aspect of your operations.

Standout PayPal Alternative Features

Soapbox Engage offers some core features as a top PayPal alternative for nonprofits on Salesforce, including:

Seamless integration with the Salesforce CRM
Fully customizable and unlimited donation forms
Flexible options to choose your processing service
Intuitive data reporting and analytics tools

The Soapbox donations app is a perfect way to build out your Salesforce toolkit. Its features and options make it one of the most useful donation forms and payment processing tools. Plus, you can easily activate peer-to-peer fundraising options for donors.

Paypal Alternative Cost

The Soapbox Engage donations app starts at $59/month with considerable discounts for nonprofits. For all-in-one functionality, their unlimited plan gives you access to six of their most popular Salesforce apps.

6. Venmo — PayPal Alternative for Social Sharing

Paypal Alternative Overview

With Venmo, sending donations to nonprofits is easy. Plus, it’s a social sharing platform, meaning users can comment on their friend’s transactions and inspire their peers to continue donating to your cause.

Standout PayPal Alternative Features

Individuals can use Venmo to:

Send and receive money
Make purchases through mobile apps
Transfer money to their banks

This alternative to PayPal offers a more enjoyable experience when sending money, because every user has a feed that shows their friends’ transactions.

Paypal Alternative Cost

Venmo is completely free to use. Individuals can send money for free using their Venmo balance, bank accounts, and debit cards.

7. Google Wallet — PayPal Alternative for Personal Use

Paypal Alternative Overview

Google Wallet is a simple and easy to use alternative to PayPal. With over a billion active email accounts, you’ll be able to send to and receive money from practically anyone.

Standout PayPal Alternative Features

Some of the features you can expect from Google Wallet include:

Request payments from friends and family
Data encryption and fraud protection
Direct deposits to your bank account

The money that’s sent through Google Wallet can be directly deposited into your bank account so there’s no need to transfer money between applications.

Paypal Alternative Cost

Users can send and receive money with Google Wallet for free; they just need to have a Gmail account.

8. Giveffect — PayPal Alternative for Donor Management

Paypal Alternative Overview

Giveffect is a comprehensive nonprofit management software that can consolidate donor retention and event-planning into one helpful package.

While Paypal can only handle payment processing, Giveffect can handle event management and payment processing, making your entire organization’s fundraising campaign more effective and organized.

If you need an app that performs like Paypal but can also take care of other fundraising tasks like wealth screening and data analytics, then Giveffect is right for you.

Standout PayPal Alternative Features

Giveffect has some great fundraising features like:

Peer-to-peer fundraising functionality
Wealth and major gift screening
Personal and corporate fundraising

Streamline your development plans and budget design by using one effective and efficient software.

Paypal Alternative Cost

GiveEffect offers a variety of plans depending on your nonprofit’s goals and needs, so see the pricing page of their website for more details!

Additional Resources for PayPal Alternatives

PayPal may be a popular online payment platform, but it’s not the only one. From platforms that specialize in crowdfunding to mobile fundraising, there are plenty of other alternatives to help your nonprofit raise more.

For more information, check out these amazing additional resources:

Complete Text-to-Give Guide for Nonprofits and Fundraisers. Looking for more information on mobile fundraising? Check out our complete guide on text-to-give tools.
Mobile Giving & Fundraising: Complete Intro for Nonprofits. Mobile giving is a crucial tool for fundraising in the nonprofit space. Our guide explains best practices for implementing mobile giving and why it’s necessary.
Virtual Auctions: How to Plan A Fruitful Event in 5 Steps. Virtual auctions bring a favorite charity event to the digital realm. This guide walks you through the main steps for pulling off a successful event.

Snowball’s mobile-optimized campaign pages capture online donations with ease.

Take your fundraising to the next level!

The post Top 8 Paypal Alternatives: Expert Tools for Nonprofits first appeared on Snowball Fundraising.