There are dozens of online fundraising platforms available for non-profit organizations to utilize to raise money from supporters. We researched the current generation of fundraising platforms to assess which one’s non-profit organizations should consider in 2022.
About PLATFORM Fees
Most fundraising software companies charge fees to cover their costs. Some fees are charged to the donors and some are part of the costs your organization incurs. Before signing up, be sure to read the fine print so that you understand what you can expect to pay to use the platform. Some common fees include:
● Transaction/Processing Fees – A percentage charged for each credit card transaction
● Platform Fees – Monthly, annual, or one-time fees to use the platform
Best Online Fundraising Platforms for Non-Profit Organizations
With so many online fundraising platforms to choose from, it can be difficult to know where to start. Below is a summary of the best online fundraising platforms for non-profit organizations and charities, including strengths, integrations and fees.
Donorbox
Donorbox makes it easy for non-profit organizations to raise more donations on their own website through an embedded donation form or popup widget. The platform states that it takes only 15 minutes to set up and allows donors to control their giving and set up automatic recurring donations. Donorbox doesn’t charge upfront costs but has a low 1.5% platform fee plus fees for processing individual payments. There are optional integrations with popular tools such as Salesforce or Mailchimp for an additional charge. Donorbox is one of few fundraising platforms that allows donors to opt to cover processing fees to reduce your organizations costs.
Classy
Peer-to-peer fundraising programs, where individual donors can have their own donation pages, is a popular concept for social media. Classy makes it possible to launch these easily. There are also features to support one time events and crowdfunding efforts. With their pay-as-you-go option, you can try out the platform risk free to see if it would be a good fit for your organization’s needs. There is also a monthly plan starting at $299 a month. The website pages and campaigns created with Classy look great and have unified dashboards that simplify the process of updating many campaigns at once.
Donately
Donately is a fundraising platform with an easy-to-understand dashboard that makes it easy to manage a number of different campaigns and peer-to-peer fundraising efforts at once. It offers donation pages, donor portables, and embeddable donation forms you can use to integrate the tool on your non-profit’s own website. It has popular features like other fundraising platforms, including donor CRM tools, recurring donation capability, and data reporting functionality. There is no monthly fee associated with the smallest plan, though there is a steeper 4% platform fee on donations if you go that route. It offers a solid balance between cost and available features.
Handbid
Handbid is great for NPOs that host silent auctions and other fundraising events, such as text to give campaigns. The software integrates with popular donor CRM tools to make it possible to have a more comprehensive view of campaigns. The least expensive plan starts at $792 a year, plus transaction fees. For non-profit organizations that rarely host silent auctions, this may not be the best option. However, the platform claims to have helped raise more than $200 million for charities using its tools.
Fundraise Up
Fundraise Up utilizes machine learning to increase fundraising revenue from the types of campaigns that your organization already organizes. The platform claims that it doubles the revenue of a campaign and has a number of well-known non-profit organizations that use the platform including Unicef USA, Autism Speaks, and Stand Up To Cancer. It accomplishes this by converting a higher number of visitors to become donors through quicker load times and donation processes with fewer fields to complete and redirects. Fundraise Up starts at $99 a month.
OneCause
OneCause adds contests and badges to donation pages to increase engagement and giving. The platform offers a nice range of features and data reports, including auctions, event planning, peer-to-peer fundraising capabilities, and text-to-give campaigns. The cost will vary based on your needs, so they offer an initial consultation to assist with best options.
Jotform
Jotform can help organizations gather data through the fundraising process with customizable forms that integrate with various payment processors and send the data to tables. Jotform doesn’t charge additional fees for processing transactions, so collecting donations through Jotform means that your organization will only have to pay what the payment processor charges. It offers non-profit table templates to help you get started.
RaiseDonor
RaiseDonors offers unlimited donation pages and forms, with custom reporting to know how campaigns perform. It offers the ability to offer custom receipts and thank you pages to streamline the process and make it easier to create a stronger fundraising campaign. RaiseDonors can also integrate with your donor CRM tool and other popular software programs that non-profit organizations use. The price to use the program starts at $99 a month with a 1.5% platform fee.
Donate Kindly
An ideal solution for new non-profits or small non-profit organizations is Donate Kindly. This tool just charges $.30 plus 2.9% fee per transaction. This makes it possible for all non-profits to have access to fundraising platform tools that can help them get started for free. Donate Kindly sends encrypted forms that are safe and customizable to match your organization’s branding colors. Despite it being a free tool, it offers both donor CRM tools to manage supporter lists and analytics reporting tools.
iDonate
iDonate is an affordable fundraising platform best known for its donation shopping cart that transforms the online donation experience into impact stories. At the time of this writing, there is not an annual fee, but there a 2% platform fee based on your transactions. Non-profit organizations are required to commit to using the platform for three years through a signed agreement. iDonate offers ongoing coaching for users to learn how to solicit more online revenue, which is an added benefit for non-profits just getting started with this type of giving campaigns.
Double the Donation
Many corporate employers offer gift matching programs for employees that donate to non-profits. Double the Donation makes it easier for non-profit organizations to solicit those donations by providing an active database of companies that will match gifts. The cost associated with using Double the Donation starts at $799 a year for up to $10,000 in matches identified.
GoFundMe
No list of online fundraising platforms would be complete without GoFundMe. Launched in 2010, GoFundMe is a well-known site for DIY fundraising campaigns. Non-profit organizations can have their own campaigns, and individuals can host campaigns to give money to others, including non-profits. There is no upfront fee to host a campaign on GoFundMe, but transaction fees start at $.30 plus 1.9% per transaction. Its popularity means that many donors already feel comfortable donating through this platform. While it lacks some of the more advanced features, its affordability and success in helping raise money for the past 12 years keep it as a solid option for your non-profit.
Fundly
Fundly is a similar crowdfunding platform that both non-profit organizations and individuals can use. Like GoFundMe, users have to upload all of the information about their campaigns on their own. There are no fees associated with starting your fundraiser and no minimums that you must raise in order to withdraw the funds. There is a 4.9% platform fee and a separate credit card processing fee associated with each donation. What sets Fundly apart is its easy-to-use mobile app that lets you track and edit your campaign from a smartphone or tablet.
Fundraising platforms can have a significant impact on a non-profit’s fundraising activities. New and more feature-driven fundraising platforms are developed and released each year. It is a good idea for non-profit organizations to investigate new options to see if investing in a platform could help drive additional resources to your organization.
Once you have acquired these additional funds, stretch your dollars further! Sign up for a free account for non-profit organizations to gain access to exclusive, wholesale pricing on the products you need to run your programs.
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