For organizations and businesses to grow they need visibility and a reliable image, which can be challenging through regular marketing campaigns. You can achieve the necessary momentum by raising funds through a nonprofit organization.
Raise money for your business goals with creative fundraising ideas. Build customer trust, connect with non-profit partners, and become a marker of quality and good corporate social responsibility.
Explore the necessary steps in running an online crowdfunding campaign and partnering with charitable causes. Below is an overview of contemporary fundraising trends, ideas, and platforms, and how best to contribute and raise funds.
A good cause will increase success and customer loyalty, but it relies on engaging in accessible and captivating platforming. Luckily, digital accessibility and the pandemic response for community wellness are making charity more important than ever.
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Accessible to Everyone
The concept of giving is becoming stronger than ever, particularly among local communities. We’ll share the top trends online communities use to create fruitful and freely accessible fundraising events.
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Tried-and-True Methodology
There are several reliable and proven ideas that cultivate stellar fundraising results and develop an emotionally fulfilling charity medium.
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Transition = Advantage
Digital social media are a centralized platforms for international requests to help with environmental, societal, and institutional emergencies, sharing and crowdfunding to an unparalleled grassroots degree.
Move wisely to benefit from the impending digitization – harness the move to online giving.
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An Overview of Fundraising for 2022
The modern fundraising scene has seen a positive growth rate, increasing year by year. Online fundraising efforts have become the go-to alternative in a time of global limitations. As new and engaging methods emerge, fundraising continues to be as resilient as ever.
- Despite polarizing views, America is a giving country. It is proudly charitable, with increasing personal wealth distributed to various charitable organizations. For some, it’s a way to reduce tax liability by itemizing deductions to lower taxable income.
- Digital Altruism or online giving has enjoyed six consecutive years of increased growth. The last three years saw a total increase of 42% in annual online giving.
- It’s important to note that 12% of all donations in 2021 were made digitally, while at the same time, eCommerce accounted for 13% of all retail sales in the third quarter of that year. Digital giving and consumer trends are clearly in sync, with eCommerce consumption and online giving sharing a similar demographic.
- Total giving went up by 4.1% from the previous year, despite recent government, environmental, and self-imposed limitations on physical distancing. Online giving rates went up while physical donations decreased, shifting more towards the digital environment.
- Unlike many organizational practices, online giving has benefited from the pandemic, and the stresses of physical limitations have developed the necessary skills to move charity online.
The Top 15 Fundraising Ideas of 2022
People want a way to raise money on an individual level – and you can help them. Easy fundraising ideas start with your local community, but more robust fundraising campaigns can tackle large worrying news headlines.
You’ll need to fulfill a couple of steps throughout your fundraising launch:
- Describe your service and what the end goal will look like,
- Specify the required amount of money for your cause,
- Define the type of crowdfunding idea you’re offering,
- Plan the event, promote it on social media, and keep your donors informed throughout the process.
Translate the cause to a successful online fundraising campaign by making your methods memorable, accessible, and tug at the heartstrings of your participants. Here are the top 15 fundraising ideas for 2022:
1. Virtual Community Activities
Companies – including Printify – sponsor digital walkathons, runs, and donation banks by setting up a collective goal that participants can contribute to. Partner with a local non-profit cause or create a company-specific campaign.
Virtual community events are relatively easy to arrange. A physically active audience is sure to participate. Your event concept can be replicated from other successful events. Employees can promote the local wellness of their community and, in turn, raise more trust for your business.
2. Community Partnerships
Work with a local school, church, or non-profit business to enable effective altruism. You can fund research and development that aligns with your company values, which will naturally encourage supporters and bring capable professionals to global development jobs in the future.
A print-on-demand business can collaborate with eco-friendly manufacturers, or offer a percentage of its profits to charitable organizations. Community building is like networking. More connections impact visible change, more charitable consumers, and new future opportunities.
3. Online Giving Pages
You can get good results with a smaller budget and without partnering with a local organization. Create an online donation form on your own store website. It’s quick for consumers to donate and runs in the background, instead of needing to manage an entire step-by-step fundraising campaign.
With an existing product brand that promotes good values, an online giving page will give your message substance and legitimacy. Use an online fundraiser to make it clear that your business is not in it for a quick buck. Promote your staying power by offering actual change in line with what you’re selling.
4. Matching Donations
Corporate matching gifts are when a company matches its employees’ or customers’ donations. It’s a great way to rally individuals to a cause by doubling their collective contributions. The added exposure will naturally bring in more traffic and revenue down the line.
There’s always a risk donations exceeding your expectations, and you should set aside available funds accordingly. You wouldn’t want a good cause derailing your actual source of income or tarnishing your reputation by breaking that promise.
5. Live Streams
Digital live streams are a massive online success with freely accessible streaming services like Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook.
People are making heroic deeds visible – from children’s relief funds to live environmental clean-up vlogs. With a quick streaming setup and a creative idea, minor internet businesses have generated huge sums by entertaining their viewers in hours-long video sessions.
It’s an excellent way to create an active community that engages with the issue by chatting with the organizer, adding their own personalized donation messages live on screen.
6. Do It Yourself (Peer-to-Peer)
Not all ways to raise money need a perfectly planned event or campaign. You can do just as well with peer-to-peer fundraising. Either through texts, email, video, or real life, contact potential donors personally or with a few volunteers, and introduce the cause at a more intimate level.
Work to directly support a nearby community and raise awareness for an issue people are struggling to overcome. Much like canvassing, you can get your point across better by being the active voice of reason.
7. Merchandise Sales
Are you looking to promote your merchandise while raising money for charity? You can easily fit the two together. Offer your products in return for a specific donation amount, increasing the perks and gifts as the amount increases.
With print on demand, you’ve got a leg up over other organizations. You don’t have to order and stock items as an added expense. With zero inventory to manage, there’s no need to rely on a specific order limit, and you can skip fulfillment costs entirely.
8. Online Lessons
You’re bound to have a skill or two from your experiences to get this far in your business goals. If you have a unique story to tell, make a pay-per-view online lesson plan to help other aspiring entrepreneurs and local businesses .
The end value can be the education and insights alone, meaning you can use the money for your non-profit organization or involve fundraisers for humanitarian causes. Regardless, a few dollars for insightful industry trends are always in hot demand.
9. Google Grants
Google ad grants are long standing non-profit campaigns that focus on charitable donations. These might not fit every fundraising idea, but it’s a great way to attract donors to a truly charitable cause.
Google has strict eligibility quotas. You can browse their success stories to see if your ideal cause fits their grant program. Apply with their online form and see if your organization has what it takes to partner with one of the world’s leading tech giants.
10. Recurring Donations (Memberships)
There are multiple benefits to a subscription donation model. You can either start with a registration fee, with membership perks, or create a cycle of donations anyone can subscribe to.
Members get a continuous source of altruism without breaking the bank on a total goal. Recurring donations are great for long-term projects. For instance, if you decide to support a food bank, each subsequent donation cycle will determine that period’s budget.
An initial donation can’t account for a recurring necessity. With a continuous donation cycle, the progress made will be more evident for both you and the donation participants, creating automated, easy-to-repeat giving.
11. Virtual Celebrations (Digital Galas)
In the new norm of remote living, try a virtual celebration from the comfort of your guests’ own homes. Create a relaxing environment with a shared playlist on a music app like Spotify, or organize a virtual benefit concert with local artists for a small entrance fee.
Plan the occasion with a timetable – a list of virtual games, icebreakers, and themes such as costumes, personas, challenges, and fun conversation pieces.
Make the gift of giving fun. Hold a talent show or sell raffle tickets, giving the winning team a small prize from the initial entry fee. A successful gala can become a memorable event your participants would like to revisit.
12. Virtual Happy Hour
Sell tickets to the big release of a cocktail recipe, cook-off, or anything else you can think of. If your community is already likely to organize their own event, get-together, party, or seasonal cook-off, you can enhance that community feeling with a charitable cause.
Share an invite and promote it on social media. You can try an email chain, Facebook events page, or rely on word-of-mouth. Plan the occasion in a structured timeframe to let the guests have something to look forward to.
The best fundraising events come with an immediate sense of community belonging. Online bartending and mixed drink parties are the perfect occasions to learn a fun new recipe, enjoy an inhibition-free evening, and raise money to share some of that love with others.
13. Roundtable Discussions
Discussions and giving go hand in hand. Get together and discuss the game, a new show release, or social trends and events.
Create an open space for people with unique views and perspectives, and have a small fee for entry or an open donation option. You can host a live stream and let anyone add their opinion, much like a radio show.
For more serious topics, gather prepared professionals for a conference on the issues at hand. It can be in a debate format or a detailed reflection of facts and figures. Just remember that fundraising success should be the main goal of the event.
14. Virtual Games (Tournaments)
Pay-to-play game tournaments are a well-known phenomenon. Every video game or virtual tabletop session has a few competitive people ready to gloat about their victory with the excuse that it’s all for a good cause. Ask for a small donation upfront and set aside something for the winning prize.
Hosting a live game broadcast for everyone. The entertainment value is already great by itself.
15. Virtual Book Clubs
Read and discuss with like-minded people. Book clubs are excellent for literacy programs and educational charities. Decide whether you want to have a goal for total books read, or keep it casual with a roundtable discussion once everyone is finished.
You can donate books for others, or open a charity challenge to motivate your participants to read more.
Which Fundraising Platform Fits your Goal(s)?
With the approach decided, it’s time to dive into the specifics of how money will be collected and distributed. This depends on several factors. There are different strengths and weaknesses to crowdfunding platforms and applications:
Pros:
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Accessible
Set up online with a handy shareable link, and build momentum in online media channels. Multiple platforms have integrated donation systems you can take advantage of.
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Flexible
Select a platform that fits your fundraising needs. Test whether an idea is marketable without dealing with banks and initial financial risks. If one idea doesn’t work, you can transition to something else.
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Complete Control
Skip investors and fixed budgets, go straight to the people, and build a reliable network for future projects. Grassroots crowdfunding can facilitate large community growth.
Cons:
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Needs Extensive Preparation
Your published project needs to cover all possible results – successful or not – requiring a lot of time and effort to look professional and satisfy your community. You will have to spend a big part of your time on a good marketing strategy to get enough starting momentum.
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Not Everyone Donates Online
Most age groups donate through links in social media, but a large number of people prefer email, bank transfer, or cash. You’ll have to work with a specific audience in mind or employ more hybrid strategies.
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Platform Fees
You’re likely to lose some of your raised funds through platforming fees. Be mindful that your chosen option is both affordable and of good quality.
Crowdfunding platforms compete by offering unique services to help your fundraising strategy stand out. Here are 10 popular nonprofit crowdfunding platforms and some of their unique features:
- Kindful: Comes with built-in fundraising integration tools for nonprofit causes. Great for donation pages and peer-to-peer fundraising with a flexible donor management system. The service fee starts at $100 per month and scales up with more benefits.
- Classy: Expertly designed donation page options with an integrated API system for payment, donation forms, and campaign designs. Pay for only what you need or buy a full subscription partner program starting at $299 per month.
- PayPal: Great to start with and has its own customizable donation page options. No subscription is needed but it comes with a small transaction fee of 2.9%+$0.30 per domestic transaction.
- Handbid: Has its own crowdfunding and auction tools, as well as campaign and peer-to-peer donation features. Handbid has a yearly $695 platforming fee and additional fees for transactions.
- Qgiv: Integrated fundraising platform with its own customizable tools. You can receive donations and connect to the community from your smartphone, all in one app. The first monthly payment is free but all transactions have a 3.95%+$0.30 fee.
- Fundraise Up: Unique with its own innovative machine learning AI that suggests and tailors personalized donation amounts. Processing fees depend on the payment method and region. Transaction fees fall between 2% to 4%.
- RaiseDonors: You can use its tools to identify online donation trends and optimize your donation pages. The subscription pricing is $99 per month.
- GivingFuel: All-in-one application with highly customizable donation pages for every visitor. Starts with three months free but takes 2.99% in processing fees.
- iDonate: Provides coaching opportunities for fundraising creators and creative, personalized messages for the donors. All the must-have features start from $199 with a 2% processing fee.
- GoFundMe Charity: Well-known crowdfunding organization with a large audience. Excellent for grassroots fundraising that you can do independently, without any prior requirements. An affordable option with a 1.9%+$0.30 processing fee.
Capitalize on 2022’s Fundraising Trends
Flexibility is key. Different people will give in different ways. Maximize your reach by being on top of current trends, motivating people to join something brand new and relevant.
1. Mobile is the Future: a website-responsive fundraising page with full device integrations is expected if you want a quality fundraiser image.
- Streamline your business operations by adding online payments to scale faster. Digital wallets can save you transaction fees and are essential for small businesses that want to grow internationally.
- Are you trying to reach the entrepreneurial crowd? Try mobile bidding auctions, and expand on the sense of competition using one of the many crowdfunding platforms where online bidding is enabled.
2. Convenience is king: make it easy for people to give to your cause. Donor experience throughout the pandemic has evolved to expect more accessibility through online platforms. Don’t let the donor get stuck on the form page; offer support and information throughout the process.
3. Hybrid Strategies: blur the line between digital and in-person. Reach dual audiences and optimize services for multiple demographics. Offer safe in-person events with well-established digital alternatives.
4. New Technology: experiment with the new frontier of multimedia financing and community technologies.
- NFTs can work with art auctions and have a growing audience in digital nomad communities.
- Cryptocurrency offers unique financial alternatives but can be a double-edged sword due to polarizing opinions. Be well informed and act professionally, using crypto as an option, but not your main pull.
- Make content available after the initial release. Don’t stop at the launch. Move video, progress reports, and audience interactions out into the public.
5. New Privacy Laws: targeted advertising is facing new laws against information tracking. Last year, Apple launched new measures to protect consumer data. Do not rely solely on advertising services using targeted ads.
6. Emotions = Willingness to Give: focus on the emotional aspect of your charity. High-information audiences will follow well-documented reports, but most people are pulled in through their emotional willingness to help out.
Recap of Fundraising in 2022
Statistical trends lead to online giving. Most fundraising ideas should incorporate digital platforming. Optimize your campaign through social media, and take advantage of competing crowdfunding platforms to find the right fit for your community.
Foster a close connection with your donors and keep your channels active and open for future projects. Choose between community events, corporate donations, or try your hand at a new way to raise money for your business.
Don’t doubt your customers. A perfect fundraising event needs a legitimate cause and has to maintain a pragmatic effort for real change. Start fundraising and gain the momentum to become a relevant and trustworthy business.
Make It Happen Today!
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