top of page

A NONPROFIT'S GUIDE TO ONLINE FUNDRAISING

Assess where you are and where you
want to be

  • How much did you raise through online fundraising in the past year?

  • How many donors gave to your organization in the past year?

  • How many previous donors returned to support your organization?

  • Who were the donors who made significantly large contributions?

  • Which previous fundraising strategies were successful and why?

 

Once you understand your current situation, set realistic and challenging goals by taking into account the time, money and resources you must invest. If you raised ₹10 lakhs through 80 supporters in the past year, a challenging goal for the upcoming year would be to raise ₹25 lakhs from 250 supporters.

Assign responsibilities and establish timelines

What strategies will you implement to reach your goals?

​

Your strategies should be designed with a clear purpose in mind:

  • To acquire new donors, to reactivate old donors

  • To upgrade existing donors to recurring donors

  • To build better relationships with your major donors

  • Your strategies need to be attached to one of your goal

One of your strategies can be to launch a 1-month fundraising campaign during Daan Utsav.

​

GiveIndia has a fundraising event every year during Daan Utsav with matching reward opportunities. It would thus be a good idea to align your campaign with this event to boost your efforts. Assign the responsibility of this campaign to a staff member

and ensure that they do not have other responsibilities that might interfere with the

task-at-hand, during this time.

Possible goal and strategy

If your organization has raised Rs.10 lakhs through 80 supporters in the past year through online fundraising, a challenging goal for the upcoming year would be to raise Rs.25 lakhs 250 supporters.

Team Task

Assign individual responsibility to staff members. Establish a timeline for the implementation of each strategy. Establish a financial goal.

 

Since time and resources are being invested into this plan, assign a clear monetary goal for what your organization hopes to gain out of this exercise. Mark important dates: When does a campaign begin? When do board members need to be intimated? When is the evaluation of this strategy due?

Did you know?

The effect of peer-to-peer fundraising is magical! During a fundraising event (GiveIndia Fundraising Challenge 2021), one of our NGO partners raised Rs. 3.3 cores in less than 2 months through over 8,000 supporters. How did they do this, you ask?
​
They recruited over 1000 volunteers/ well-wishers/ previous beneficiaries to start fundraisers for them and reach out to their individual networks. Getting every supporter who believed in their cause to advocate for them resulted in this fundraising spree (also helping the NGO win additional rewards through the event). The exponential power of peer-to-peer fundraising is something that you can use too, to garner support for a cause of your choice. 

Segment your donors to increase the effectiveness of your strategies

Build your Organization's story

Craft clear messages that communicate your organization’s mission, your projects, accomplishments, and the value you offer to your donors:

  • What is your organization’s mission?

  • What are your impact numbers? What is your impact story? 

  • Tell heartwarming beneficiary stories. Provide regular updates.

  • Instill a sense of urgency by sharing the high stakes involved in your projects. 

  • What are the repercussions of not meeting your fundraising goals? Communicate this. 

  • Share how donors can help beyond making a donation. 

  • Urge donors to get involved in fundraising and volunteering. 

Analyzing the giving tendencies of your donors will give you valuable insight into how you can increase donation volume, convert existing donors into recurring donors, and acquire new donors based on previous patterns. Here are some segments that your donor base can be broken down into:

  • Loyal / Long-term

  • One-time

  • Major

  • Recurring / Monthly

  • Reactivated

Make a compelling story by centering it around a beneficiary whose life has been impacted by your organization's work.

Hook your audience’s attention and convey what is at stake with your story.

Feature the beneficiary’s own experience wherever possible - it's always better to hear from the source.

Don't be afraid to emphasize on emotions. Emotions move people to act.

Have a crystal clear call to action - to share on social media, to make a donation, or to start a fundraiser. 

 Storytelling checklist 

Did you know?

Why do donors give?

​

A survey of 3000 donors showed that donors give primarily because they believe in the organization’s mission, and secondly because they knew the organization would communicate the impact of the donation through program reports. While donors do want to claim tax deductions, this was found to be one of the least important reasons for giving. The task for any nonprofit is to communicate need and impact in the most compelling way, and show the donor that their contribution can make a difference!

Using social media for fundraising

Choose one or two channels to focus on at first: Consider Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and WhatsApp.

Optimize your social media pages by telling your story in the About section, including photos and videos, and linking to your website.

Use consistent branding and imagery so people will be able to easily recognize your posts.

Follow businesses and organizations that may be interested in your work.

Focus on storytelling. Create posts that share your origin story, impact stories, the stories behind your programs, and the stories of your staff members.

Reply to those who comment on your posts.

Engage your audience by asking questions and creating quizzes, polls, and other interactive content.

Thank people who share your posts.

Create a content calendar to organize your posts and plan ahead.

Use hashtags to make your posts more discoverable.

Include visuals to attract attention and make your posts more engaging.

Invite donors to host a Birthday Fundraiser and promote it on social media.

Ask followers to share your content on their social pages.

Using social media for fundraising might seem like a daunting task. Use this checklist to streamline your use of social media for fundraising:

bottom of page