Here’s how to make small digital changes for a big impact on fundraising.
Before 2020, charity fundraising strategies may have looked quite different.
The third sector was beginning to see the very real threat of society going cashless, and how that would affect fundraising.
For this reason, some were already embracing digital fundraising and introducing virtual ways of taking donations into their plans. With the onslaught of the Covid 19 pandemic, these charities that were already utilising digital fundraising luckily had some infrastructure and plans in place.
For charities that were dragging their heels a little bit on the digital fundraising front, the Covid 19 crisis will have posed a very immediate problem. Those with no digital fundraising infrastructure in place were suddenly forced to innovate and prove their versatility in order to continue to fundraise.
Digital fundraising isn’t going anywhere
We were moving towards a digital world and a cashless society before 2020, and now there is no doubt that a post-Covid world will have firm roots in the digital realm.
Virtual events
In a previous blog, we spoke about how virtual events actually have many benefits over in-person, and digital fundraising campaigns have those same advantages.
The 2021 market demands simplicity and cost-efficiency – Both of which can be found in digital fundraising methods. Whilst lockdowns and social distancing make traditional means of fundraising more difficult, their restrictions are mute in the online world.
What is one simple step you can take today to bring your charity closer to digital fundraising?
It’s important to make it as easy as possible for website visitors to make a donation to your cause. If they’re on your website, feel connected to your mission and feel moved to help, they want a convenient way to make a donation there and then.
Add a donate button to your website
This is perhaps the simplest yet most effective way you can take your fundraising online. You will likely already have a strategy in place for driving traffic to your website, to engage with a wide audience and communicate your cause with current and potential donors.
Adding a donate button gives anyone visiting your page an easily accessible way of making a digital donation there and then.
How can Donater help?
Here at Donater, we can provide you with a personalised online donation page, branded to match your organisation. We then add a Donate button to your website which takes donors straight to your dedicated donation page.
For donors browsing on their smartphones, making a donation couldn’t be simpler! All they need to do it pay via Google Pay or Apple Pay and they can donate in seconds. Anyone using a desktop can pay easily with their bank details.
If you want to take this a step further, you can utilise our QR code or Smart Sticker technology. They can be used almost anywhere – In packaging, on donation tins, windows, displays, the list goes on. They don’t require batteries or electricity so are very accessible. All donors have to do is scan the QR code or tap the sticker (NFC enabled) and they are taken straight to your online donation page. Easy!
This also gives you the opportunity to collect data from your donors, enabling you to contact them again in future and engage them with your cause.
With recent figures suggesting that the majority of the UK population now own a smartphone (84%), it seems vital that charities tap into ways of engaging digitally with their donors and make it easy and convenient for donors to give money via the tech in their hand.
Why does online fundraising remain so important?
It’s imperative that charities can continue to fundraise whilst traditional methods remain on hold. Online fundraising offers so much versatility and is easily linked to current strategies already in place to ensure charities are visible online.
2020 forced us all to embrace digital technology – Whether it was to keep in touch with family and friends, stay connected to work colleagues, do our shopping, or give us a break from our own 4 walls with endless scrolling.
We saw many successful online fundraisers in 2020 and we don’t expect this year to be different. With people spending more time online, charities need to make sure their causes and campaigns are visible in this realm.
How can charities stay visible?
It’s vital that charities have an online presence. It’s likely that charities were already present in the world of social media. Now that people can’t get out much, they are spending more time on social media so it’s the perfect place to engage donors with your worthy causes and online fundraising events.
How to use social media to engage your supporters
People need something to do – Whether it’s an extra incentive to go for a run, get on the exercise bike or host a virtual bake off. There are so many ways you can inspire your supporters (and gain new ones) to get involved and raise money for your cause.
In 2020, research suggests that 80% of all donations were made digitally. We’re expecting this to increase even further this year. Social media platforms offer the perfect way to communicate with potential donors in their own homes at the same time as offering the opportunity for direct fundraising.
Using stories, lives and video to connect to your supporters
Stories and ‘lives’ are a great way of speaking directly to your audience, offering a personal connection to all of your supporters whilst making it easy to share with their peers.
Video options on social media platforms enable you to appeal directly to your audience, offering both immediacy and intimacy. Tell them exactly how their donation will be used, and the good it will do. Then give them the immediate chance to donate directly.
What next?
There are many ways in which charities can take small steps into digital fundraising yet have big beneficial impacts. Our blog offers lots of tips and advice on socially distanced fundraising, online fundraisers and lots more.
If you want to take that first step for your charity and add a Donate button to your website, get in touch with us today and we can get started.