Fundraising is about building relationships. Online fundraising can play an
increasing part in your program's overall fundraising plan. As the Internet
plays a larger role in more people's lives, online fundraising is gaining
popularity, but it can't be the entire focus of your fundraising plan. You still
need to create a fundraising campaign that gets people to notice your program,
and gets them to contribute their financial support. Think of it as one more
outlet to reach people, and incorporate it into your other aspects of
fundraising.
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Donate Button |  |
A simple way to get started with online fundraising is to have a
"donate" button on your own website. You can do this by using the
donation services provided by a charity portal, or you can have a
contractor in your area set one up for you. Try asking other
nonprofits, or other companies who they have used for their own
databases, or try college campuses in your area for students or other
professionals who would be able to do this work for you. The charity
portal is a much simpler and cheaper option, but having your own built
would give you more control over the look of the pages and immediate
notification to you when someone donates to your program. There are
even services available online that will help you create a customized
donation page. Check out the following services and online companies to
get an idea of the types of services they offer and what they can do
for you. See the article, Adding a Donate Now! Button to Your Website to find out more about marketing your own website, and how to integrate your fundraising efforts with your website.
Charity Portals, Donation Services, and Charity Malls
Charity portals are websites that offer a directory of nonprofits.
Once you register with one of these portals, you would be one of the
many nonprofits listed on the site. Charity portals are used by
individuals researching charities as well as foundations that are
interested in donating, so it's important to be listed and that your
listing be up-to-date. The portals job is to attract people to their
site and encourage visitors to make contributions to the nonprofits
listed. Often your listing is free, and the portal will even accept
secure credit card contributions on your behalf. Generally, there is no
cost to you for listing your program on the site, as the portals make
most of their money from advertisements on the sites, but some may
charge a fee when you get a contribution. An example of a charity
portal is Network for Good.
Donation Services also provide nonprofits with the ability to accept
donations. If you are interested in outsourcing the entire donation
process you would use one of these companies to do that for you.
Examples of this service include Groundspring.org.
Another option to raise funds for your program is to use a charity
mall, which is an online shopping mall that donates a portion of their
proceeds to the nonprofit specified by the person shopping, or an
online auction that directs funds to your project through bids. An
example of a charity auction website is MissionFish, and an example of a charity mall is GreaterGood.com. Note: Most charity mall websites are set-up to work with specific charities, but that could change in the future. |
