Choosing the right Online Fundraising Software to maximise donation value

It is even worse when it comes toward the point of making the online donation

. While charity fundraising departments and software vendors may assume that all a donor wishes to do is make a quick payment and exit, there is no effort to increase the value of the donation about to be made.

So donors are usually presented with bland payments processes with little or no engagement with the charity.

When considering developing or purchasing online fundraising software it is important for charities to define in their own minds where the online fundraising process begins and where it ends.

For the people they are wishing to attract to their donation screens the online fundraising process starts before they have even hit the charity website. Something has stimulated in their mind that they should go to a charity website, they may end up making a donation, volunteering their services, or doing some other good work to assist the charity.

What the software must do is maximise the value of the donation.

Effective online fundraising software will help charities maximise the return on their investment on the software. For example does the software have functionality to nudge donors to give a greater amount or does it just leave the donor unaided to decide how much to give?

Does the software provide the capability for example for donors when they have completed their payment to send a message to their family, friends and colleagues to say that they have made a donation and to invite their friends to do the same? Does the software give them quick and easy access to a resource centre which let's them send fundraising hints and tips?

Does the software provide the opportunity for matched fundraising or automatically provide incentives or reward fundraisers for the amount of money or number of donations raised?

Fundraising software must be seen as a marketing tool and not just a functional requirement to be tagged on at the end of the of the websites marketing process.

Here are hints and tips when evaluating online fundraising software:

Is the software geared to helping me market my cause or is it just offering a functionally efficient process?

Will the software eliminate manual operations by automating processes?

How much help will the software give you to turn names on your database into fundraisers?

How much help will the software give you to turn donors from one off givers into high value supporters?

And finally remember tracking. Good software provides tools for communicating, tracking and managing your campaigns and results so see the effect of your online fundraising efforts and continue to make improvements.

So good fundraising software is not just about passive functionality but about proactively assisting a Charity to better engage with their fundraisers and donors.

Choosing the right Online Fundraising Software to maximise donation value

By: John Samuel

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