Streamowrks Blog
Today, online fundraising platforms offer a convenience that appeals to many donors.
With so many options out there, which are the best for your needs? Let's get into it.
First off: what is an online fundraising platform? Basically, it's a tool or software that allows you to collect and process donations securely—such as credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, Stripe, etc.
What should I consider when looking at platform options?
Not every platform will suit your nonprofit's unique needs and budget, so it's essential to ask yourself a few questions.
• Is it mobile-friendly?
• Can I customize it to match our organization's branding standards?
• Is it easy to integrate into my existing website?
• Does it offer more than just one-time donation options so donors can pledge a recurring gift? (Think one-time, monthly, and annually for donation options.)
Depending on the types of fundraising your organization does, you may also want it to incorporate options such as crowdfunding, peer fundraising, and text-to-give. In that case, you may want to see if it offers the following:
• Can I have a page that includes a goal thermometer?
• Are there ways it can easily integrate with social sharing?
• Does the platform allow text messaging?
• Does it allow peer-to-peer fundraising page creation and integration?
Other marketing programs traditionally conducted using direct mail are memberships, event registration, donation matching, and donor management, which some online platforms are now integrating into the digital space. If this appeals to you, here are some questions to ask yourself.
• Does the platform let your donors sign up for different membership levels?
• Can contributors sign up for events online as part of this platform?
• Company matching is great—does the platform allow this integration?
Of course, price is also a factor. Here's a list of fundraising platforms to see if they're the right fit for you.
Classy
Format for nonprofits who are looking for a robust and comprehensive fundraising platform. It offers the following features:
• events
• peer-to-peer
• branded donation forms
• crowdfunding
• multiple secure payment options and varieties of currencies
• CRM integration
Donorbox
Arguably one of the most powerful fundraising platforms out there, it offers the following that we discussed:
• crowdfunding
• text-to-give
• peer-to-peer
• memberships
• events
• recurring gifts
• embeddable donation forms
• branded donation forms
• multiple secure payment options and varieties of currencies
• CRM integration
Fundly
This platform was designed primarily for smaller nonprofits that can't afford larger-scale fundraising platforms. It offers the following:
• events
• branded donation forms/pages
• donation levels
• peer-to-peer
• social media integrations
• email integration
Soapbox Engage
This online donation platform integrates with Salesforce and also offers the following:
• online fundraising
• events
• email list sign-ups
• donation forms
• matched donations
• tracking URLs
• multiple secure payment options
Mightycause
This all-in-one fundraising platform is easy to use and offers the following:
• custom donation pages
• unlimited fundraising campaigns
• recurring gifts
• embeddable donation forms
• text-to-give
• crowdfunding
• peer-to-peer
• dashboards
Donately
Keep all of your different fundraising campaigns in one place. It offers the following:
• custom donation pages
• embeddable donation forms
• recurring gifts
• reporting
• peer-to-peer
• CRM integration
OneCause
This platform offers a variety of reporting and analytic options, as well as other great features:
• crowdfunding
• peer-to-peer
• text-to-give
• CRM integration
• custom donation pages
• embeddable donation forms
These options offer different payment plans, membership fees, and payment processing, so it's important to know what you are able/willing to spend for your online fundraising efforts.
Looking for more ideas on how to increase your fundraising efforts? Sign up for our educational nonprofit email series for more tips, tricks, and ideas.
