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A fundraising platform is a digital tool that allows your nonprofit to easily and securely accept online donations. These platforms typically come with a range of features and benefits, including the ability to create customized pages, enable recurring donations, support crowdfunding projects, and generate detailed reports and analytics.With all the fundraising software options available these days, however, it can be tricky to determine which one will work best for your organization and offer the best experience for your donors. What follows is a look at 12 popular fundraising software options, including the different features they offer, plus costs.
Why Is Raising Funds Important for Nonprofits?
No matter how big or small your nonprofit is, fundraising is likely an essential component of your business model. Whether real or virtual, fundraising allows you to fund your missions, develop education programs, and cover your overhead costs. It also provides a way to publicize your organization and its cause. The more people who know about your nonprofit, the more support you are likely to receive. Fundraising events like galas, races, and auctions help keep existing supporters engaged and tap into new networks.With the advent of virtual and online fundraising, nonprofits can now reach potential donors on a global scale quickly and affordably.Recommended: 18 Nonprofit Fundraising Ideas
12 Nonprofit Fundraising Platforms
The best fundraising platform for your nonprofit will offer the features you need most, at a price that fits your organization’s budget. Here’s a look at 12 nonprofit platforms you might want to consider.
99Pledges
If you host fundraising events that involve pledging, 99Pledges may be worth a look. This software is well-suited for walk-a-thons, jog-a-thons, fun runs, dance-a-thons, and similar events.When you create a campaign, each participant gets their own donation page that they can share through social media and email. The site also allows you to easily track and share your progress, and has no startup costs or platform fees Your organization will just need to pay credit card fees of 2.9% and $0.30 per transaction.
Bloomerang
If you’re looking to upgrade your customer relationship management (CRM) software into one all-inclusive system, you may want to consider Bloomerang. This donor management and fundraising platform includes a donor database and CRM system, dashboards, custom reporting, engagement meters, email marketing tools, data analytics, and integrated online giving forms. Plans start at $119 per month.
Bonfire
Looking to raise funds by selling t-shirts? If so, you may want to check out Bonfire. This platform specializes in helping nonprofits sell t-shirts without having to hold any inventory. With Bonfire, you can upload your shirt design, launch your fundraiser, and then promote your campaign and encourage your supporters to order shirts. At the end of your campaign, the platform will produce the t-shirts and ship them to your donors. You’ll get to keep the money you’ve raised minus Bonfire’s processing fee, which is 3.5% if you can verify that your organization is a nonprofit.
Classy
Classy is an online fundraising platform that allows nonprofits to create and manage online campaigns. You can use it to create donation websites, set up recurring giving programs, sell fundraising event tickets, and more. Classy also offers integrations with third-party platforms (such as Facebook and Salesforce), enabling you to create a powerful donation ecosystem.Classy likely isn’t the cheapest option (you need to contact the Classy customer service team for exact pricing) but it may be worth looking into for mid to large nonprofits that are ready to invest in a robust and comprehensive online fundraising platform.
Donorbox
Donorbox is fundraising software that allows you to quickly create an optimized donation payment system. You can embed the donation form into your website or use Donorbox’s pop-up widget. The software also allows you to give donors the option to cover processing fees so your nonprofit sees more of each donation.You can also use Donorbox to create special event pages, peer-to-peer campaign pages, crowdfunding pages, and donor profile data sheets.You can get started for free but Donorbox has a 1.5% percent platform fee, plus payment processing fees.
Fundly
Fundly is a crowdfunding platform that can be used by both individuals and nonprofit organizations. The platform makes it easy to create a campaign web page (offering plenty of tips and tutorials along the way) and connect it to your social media accounts. Fundly also comes with an app that allows you to track and edit your campaign from your phone.There’s no fee to get started and you don’t have to meet a fundraising minimum to access your donations. However, Fundly takes a 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction fee for credit card processing.
Fundraise Up
Fundraise Up is a fundraising platform that uses innovative machine-learning technology to help nonprofits get the most from their online donation processes. For example, it analyzes website visitors and tailors the suggested giving amount for each person. It also offers recurring giving, peer-to-peer fundraising, donor portals, automated emails, and cryptocurrency donations.Fundraise Up charges platform fees that start at 4% for each transaction.
GivingFuel
GivingFuel provides all the essential tools you need to manage fundraising in one package. The software makes it easy to build your donation page, plus offers text-to-give features, peer-to-peer fundraising, event registration, volunteer management, and employer gift-matching capabilities.Plans start at $0 per month, plus a 4.99% processing fee for credit card transactions.
Qgiv
Qgiv is a flexible, all-in-one platform that offers all the basics you need to support your fundraising efforts, including donation forms, text fundraising, events, auctions, and peer-to-peer campaigns. For an added price, you can also get Qgiv’s Giving Kiosk, which allows you to accept donations and registrations on your tablet. This can be a handy way to collect donations at events, board meetings, in your lobby, or on the go.Plans start at $25 per month plus processing and transaction fees.
Handbid
Handbid stands out for its auctions software, which simplifies hosting online bidding events. Users can bid seamlessly from their mobile devices, and nonprofits can use Handbib to livestream events and manage event check-in, check-out, and receipts. Handbid also makes it easy to host an online donation campaign, text-to-give campaign, and crowdfunding campaign.Handbid’s plans start at $792 per year for one event and $2,496 per year for multiple events.
Mightycause
Mightycause is another all-in-one nonprofit platform. The software makes it easy to create customized donation pages, conduct unlimited fundraising campaigns, accept monthly recurring gifts, create a text-to-give or crowdfunding campaign, and more.Mightycause offers two pricing tiers: the essentials plan for $59/month and the advanced plan for $99/month. The essentials plan is geared toward online fundraising. The advanced plan offers tools for event support, volunteer management, and more. Processing fees also apply.
OneCause
OneCause offers multiple, customizable tools for event fundraising, including custom online giving pages, mobile bidding and auctions, peer-to-peer giving, and text-to-give. While the platform is primarily focused on events, it also offers features like donor management, gift matching, and analytics.Their pricing varies according to the plan chosen. You have to request a consultation with customer service to determine costs.the software for your nonprofit.Recommended: Guide to Financial Management for Nonprofits
Other Ways for Nonprofits to Receive Funding
While fundraising platforms can make it easy for your nonprofit to accept and process donations you may also want (or need) to look into other sources of funding,
Grants
Grants for nonprofits are often available from government agencies, business associations, corporations, or other nonprofit organizations. While grants are essentially free money, the funds sometimes need to be used for a specific purpose, and competition for these awards can be stiff. When searching for grants, you can check Grants.gov, which is the largest database of federal grant opportunities. You may also want to look locally, as many grants targeted for nonprofits are offered at the state and local level. Recommended: Small Business Grants vs Loans
Revenue
While nonprofit funding largely comes from donations, gifts, and grants, you may be able to generate additional revenue through sales. For example, your organization might be able to sell tickets to events, create and sell publications, and charge membership fees. You may also be able to sell goods and services at a sliding scale rate (depending on income level of recipients) and/or earn money by providing services, such as writing articles or offering training sessions on topics related to your mission.
Business Loans
Some nonprofits may also be able to qualify for different types of small business loans. If you have a strong credit history and your nonprofit is generating revenue, it may be worth applying for a loan through your local bank or credit union. Just make sure that the bank or credit union lends to nonprofits. You may also want to explore online business loans. Online lenders tend to have more relaxed requirements and are faster to fund than bank loans. However, these loans often come with higher interest rates.When applying for small business loans as a nonprofit, you will likely need to provide financial documentation that proves your organization has sufficient revenue to pay back the loan. Because nonprofits are limited in how they can raise money, you may need to secure your loan with assets your nonprofit owns.Recommended: 9 Steps to Starting a Nonprofit in Georgia
The Takeaway
Whatever stage your nonprofit is at, the right fundraising platform can help you take it to the next level. These digital tools can make it easy to create the perfect donation page, develop your donor relations, explore different fundraising opportunities, and much more. As you shop around, you’ll want to look closely at the features that are most important to your organization and your supporters, as well as costs.Looking for other sources of funding for your nonprofit? You may be able to qualify for a nonprofit business loan. Just keep in mind that finding the right lender could take some time, effort, and legwork. One way to simplify the search process is to use an online loan search tool. With Lantern by Sofi’s online lending platform, for example, you can quickly get access to multiple loan options matched to your organization’s needs and qualifications with just one application.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best fundraising platform for nonprofits?
What is the fastest way to raise money for a nonprofit?
Is there a better platform than GoFundMe for nonprofit fundraising?
Photo credit: iStock/Drazen Zigic
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About the Author
Lauren Ward
Lauren Ward is a personal finance expert with nearly a decade of experience writing online content. Her work has appeared on websites such as MSN, Time, and Bankrate. Lauren writes on a variety of personal finance topics for SoFi, including credit and banking.
