6 Tips To Choose The Most Effective Online Fundraising Platform
You are able to solicit donations and to engage supporters by selecting online donation platforms.
There are numerous options available in the marketplace today, whether you're choosing a platform for your first time or moving to a different platform. There are numerous options for your nonprofit in terms of price as well as features and services.
The process of selecting online donation platforms However, the process can be daunting and require an enormous amount of time from staff. Here are six strategies to help you succeed in this selection process.
Assemble Your Selection Team
The best place to start is to create a group consisting of individuals who will guide the selection process to its success. You will need at the very least one person to manage fundraising and communications for your group. Finance professionals can deal with accounting concerns as well as an IT specialist is able to handle technical problems. Also, you should designate one person as the project manager to ensure that things are going.
It is possible to bring in an outside expert to assist you if you are concerned about your staff's ability to oversee the process of selection. You might have someone in thoughts, or may search for a contractor in TechSoup's Consultant Connection. free online donation platforms allows you to quickly find the best help to your business from consultants who are specialized in it.
Arm Yourself with the Best Reviews
The next step is to obtain two documents that are invaluable in your selection process. I strongly recommend these documents to any organization that are going through this procedure.
This is a comprehensive guide to donor management systems that is targeted at small-to-medium-sized nonprofits for whom fundraising is a priority. It can be used by any organization, no matter if it's a start-up with a modest budget or a large collection of fundraisers. This book is 156 pages long and covers a variety of systems. It also discusses many case scenarios. The report is free.
This report has 27 pages of details about seven donor management systems for managing donations. Firefly Partners has deemed these to be the most suitable choices for large and mid-sized organizations that want an integrated suite of fundraising tools, advocacy, email marketing, grassroots organizing, as well as peer-to-peer fundraising.
Conduct a thorough internal needs assessment
After you've gathered your team and done the research, it's time to define what you need in the online platform for fundraising. You should do this regardless of whether you're choosing the first platform you've used or migrating to a new platform. The assessment will help you identify your fundraising and communications priorities and their implications for engagement and marketing on the internet. The ultimate objective of your needs assessment is to compile an inventory of the functions you might require from an online fundraising platform.
For a comprehensive guide on conducting a needs assessment make sure you read the first section of the Consumer's Guide to low-cost Donor Management Systems. You should create a document that lists everything you need and classifies the items. Here is a list of items you must include.
To understand the interactions between your organization and its donors, create a map. The map can be used to describe the flow of data and user experience.
Describe the size of your constituent data file, including number of records. Identify the fields that are used to record information. How big will the file size grow in the coming years?
What do you think are your current and future needs for crowdfunding, advocacy, email marketing or grassroots organizing, as well as fundraising?
What data storage systems are currently in use to store your data?
What other than digital needs? Are there any non-digital requirements that can be addressed with an online platform, other than those that are digital? These might include keeping mailing addresses in storage, creating labels to mail outs, or keeping track of the number of calls or personal interactions with donors.
Calculate Your Budget Capacity
Consider your budget for Online fundraising platforms and the amount you're willing to pay both upfront and monthly fees. Different platforms have different costs. Make sure you're prepared to study the details and come up with cost scenarios that will allow you to project your costs over a long period of time.
The Vendor Landscape
The information provided above can be used to help you find a few vendors you'd like to talk with in order to get proposals. Make sure to include an exact description of the requirements. A business development person will contact you to schedule an appointment for a demonstration and will then draft an estimate of costs. When reviewing proposals, be sure to contact references clients as well as conduct your own research about businesses to assess their credibility.
Consider Your Migration Timeline & Capacity.
When you discuss the possibility of working with online vendors donation ensure that you evaluate the capability of your team to handle a move. Make a project plan which outlines the steps necessary to get your business up and running on the new platform, and also identifies those employees that will be accountable for each process. Consider the ideal time of year to make your transition to be sure to avoid the most busy times.