Fundraising software to use in 2021
According to the Global Trends in Giving Survey, 80% of all donations were made digitally in 2020 and online donations are predicted to increase again in 2021. This has jumpstarted the focus on and investment in digital fundraising for many charities.
There are vast differences in digital fundraising literacy and capability across the sector. When you are building your digital fundraising toolkit for 2021, you may be looking at essential tools to establish a programme or software that will support innovation as you continue to grow your income.
Here we consider five options to help you expand your 2021 digital fundraising toolkit.
Processing donations via your website
If you are relying on a third-party donation tool that does not integrate with your site, you could be missing out on donations.
Many organisations use popular website-builder WordPress. It offers some excellent plug-ins to integrate a donation form to your site, including GiveWP and the basic form-builder WP forms Pro, which can be adapted to take donations.
Paypal also offer a range of tools for non-profits that includes a donation button. As a trusted payment provider, while still a third-party tool, the product may offer a smoother donation pathway. It is a relatively new service, however, and elements like the reporting system continue to evolve.
Pricing
Give WP: $360 (£265) per year
WP Forms Pro: $199.50 (£147) per year
Online fundraising pages and campaigns
Virtual events are likely to feature heavily in your events and community fundraising plans for 2021.
The most well-known platforms for this type of fundraising are JustGiving and Virgin Money Giving, but there are many more. Platforms that can adapt or that are designed to offer a sense of community and connection will play an increasingly important role. For example, Ema creates a visual representation of your campaign and the community of donors who have contributed to it.
Pricing
Just Giving: 0% with voluntary contribution options, 1.9% +20p (per transaction)
Virgin Money Giving: £150 joining fee, 2.5% processing fee, 2% (per transaction)
Social media fundraising tools
In 2020, 44% of donors in Europe donated through Facebook Fundraising Tools, up from 16% in 2018, according to the Global Trends in Giving Report.
Facebook have their own fundraising tools which you can apply to use if you have a charity or non-profit business page. While Facebook fundraisers and the donate button have been in operation for several years, additional functions such as the Instagram donate button and the ability to fundraise during live streams were added in 2020.
YouTube also have fundraising tools, available to creators whose channels are part of the YouTube Partner Programme and have at least 10k subscribers.
Tools to support charities with social media fundraising have also begun to emerge, such as GivePanel, whose platform enables you to get Facebook fundraiser’s data quicker and create more fundraisers using the specialist tools they have developed for Facebook groups.
Innovation isn’t only happening to create helpful tools, GoPoolit is a whole new social networking platform with the primary purpose of generating funds for charities.
Pricing
Facebook: no fees for direct donations, 50% + £0.24 per transaction on personal fundraisers.
YouTube: no fees for donations using the ‘donate’ button or ‘LiveChat’ function.
GivePanel: available on request
GoPoolit: available on request
Round up donation apps
With the traditional tin and bucket shaking collections all but obsolete during COVID-19, the ability to recoup small donations digitally has become an important tool for your kit.
Pledjar and Roundups are apps that allow users to round up their purchases and donate the change to their chosen charity. They are totally digital replacements for the checkout collecting tin. Both apps use open banking to view donor’s transactions and automatically roundup their spending.
Pricing
Pledjar: 10% payment fee
Roundups: 5% fee per £5 donation
Software to support crowdfunding
As the needs that charities meet continue to change rapidly, crowdfunding offers an alternative method for raising funds fast.
Jes Bailey from Crowdfund360 recommends Crowdfunder and Chuffed as the best platforms for charities to use. She says: “Crowdfunder often has local authority money to give away...as match funding and makes Gift Aid pretty simple. Chuffed is a social enterprise itself so...it feels good to use...It also allows offline pledges to be easily added and shown.”
Pricing
Crowdfunder: donors are invited to give extra to support the platform. 5% + VAT fee may apply
Chuffed: donors prompted to support the platform
Digital fundraising success
Having a software toolkit to support your ability to raise funds online will be increasingly important in 2021. The tools you use should be complemented by a flexible and resilient strategy that meets the motivations of your donors and staff or volunteers with digital skills.
