The truth is, finding and applying for grants does not have to feel overwhelming. With the right preparation and a clear sense of where to look, grants can become one of the most reliable and rewarding parts of your fundraising strategy.

Grants, which are large donations given by foundations, corporations, or government entities to support your work, are an essential income source for many nonprofits. In fact, foundation and corporate grants make up about 15 percent of nonprofit revenue on average. Whether you are brand new to the process or looking to sharpen what you already do, there is room to grow, so let’s dive in!

Grant Basics: What You Actually Need to Know

A grant is different from an individual donation in one important way: it comes from an institution, not a person, and it almost always comes with a formal application process. To receive a grant, your nonprofit submits a written proposal to a foundation, corporation, or government agency explaining what you need the money for and how you will use it. You back that up with data, documentation, and a clear plan.

Grant amounts vary widely. Some are a few hundred dollars. Others are in the hundreds of thousands. Many funders also award multi-year grants, meaning you might receive $20,000 a year over three years rather than a single lump sum. That kind of sustained support can make a real difference for programs that need time to grow.

Why Grants Belong in Your Fundraising Mix

If your nonprofit relies heavily on one or two funding sources, you are taking on more risk than you probably realize. Losing a major donor or a key event revenue stream can put your programs in jeopardy fast. Grants help protect you from that.

Here are three reasons grants deserve a spot in your annual fundraising plan.

They grow your organization. Larger grant awards give you the capacity to invest in your work at a scale that individual donations often cannot match. That might mean hiring staff, expanding a program, or finally funding that initiative you have been talking about for two years.

They diversify your income. Think of your funding sources the way a financial advisor thinks about a portfolio. Spreading your income across individual donors, events, earned revenue, and grants gives you stability. If one stream slows down, the others can carry you.

They relieve financial pressure. Most grants are significantly larger than individual gifts, and multi-year awards give you predictability that makes long-term planning a lot easier.

4 Common Types of Grants

Before you start searching, it helps to know what kinds of grants are out there. The four most common types for nonprofits are:

1. Program Support Grants

These are restricted grants, meaning the money must be used for the specific program or project outlined in your proposal. They generally do not cover administrative costs, so keep that in mind when you are building your budget.

2. General Operating Support Grants

These are the most flexible and most sought-after type of grant because they can cover almost any expense, including overhead. They are also the least common. Most foundations prefer to fund specific programs rather than general operations, but when you find a funder who offers operating support, it is worth pursuing.

3. Research Grants

These are most common for health and science-focused organizations and are often awarded to researchers affiliated with academic institutions. If your nonprofit is doing research or evaluation work, it is worth exploring whether research grants might be a fit.

4. Matching Grants

Some funders will commit to a certain grant amount on the condition that you raise an equal amount from other sources. These can be a great motivator for your donor community and a strong signal of funder confidence in your work.

4 common types of grants

4 Practical Tips for Finding Grants

1. Establish a Budget Before You Start Searching

One of the most common mistakes nonprofits make is searching for grants before they know exactly what they need the money for. Funders want to know precisely how their dollars will be used. Vague requests rarely get funded.

Start by identifying the specific project or expense you need funding for. Then build a line-by-line budget that accounts for every cost: staff time, supplies, services, travel, and any administrative expenses allowed under the grant type you are pursuing. When you know exactly what you need and why, your proposal will be far more compelling, and you will be able to quickly assess whether a given grant is even worth applying for.

2. Know Where to Search

There is an enormous amount of grant money available for nonprofits, but it is spread across thousands of foundations, corporations, and government programs. The key is finding funders whose priorities genuinely match your work.

Start local. Talk to other nonprofits in your community. Ask who they are funding, who has been responsive, and who tends to give to organizations your size. Your regional community foundation is often one of the best places to start, and building a relationship with a program officer there can open more doors than any database search.

From there, you can expand your search with free resources like:

• Candid – It is the most comprehensive database of private foundation grants available. Many public libraries offer free access, so check with yours before paying for a subscription.
• ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer – You can pull 990 tax filings for free. A funder’s 990 shows you exactly who they have given to, for how much, and over how many years. This is some of the most useful research you can do.
• Grants.gov – It is the go-to resource for federal grant opportunities and is relatively straightforward to navigate.

Your state’s nonprofit association often maintains a regional grant database that gets overlooked. It is worth checking.

If you want to speed up your research, AI tools like Claude or ChatGPT can help you quickly summarize a foundation’s priorities from their website or annual report, saving you time before you commit to a full application.

3. Make Sure You Actually Match the Criteria

Once you have a list of potential funders, take the time to read their guidelines carefully before you invest hours in writing a proposal. Grant criteria vary significantly from funder to funder, and applying to a foundation that does not fund your issue area, your geography, or your organization type is time you will not get back.

Look for alignment in a few key areas: the type of work they fund, the size of organizations they typically support, their geographic focus, and whether they have funded similar organizations before (which you can check in their 990).

A strong tip from experienced grant writers: look at what other nonprofits similar to yours are getting funded for. If you run a youth mentorship program, research who is funding other mentorship organizations in your region. That list of funders is your starting point.

4. Get Your Documents in Order

Most grant applications ask for a similar set of supporting documents. If you have these ready before you start applying, you will save yourself enormous amounts of time and stress.

3 simple steps to make sure you are grant ready

The documents most funders request include:

• Your organization’s history and mission statement
• A description of the population you serve and the needs you address
• A summary of your programs and how they are distinct from other services in your community
• Your major accomplishments to date
• An explanation of how you measure and evaluate your impact
• Staff and leadership bios
• A list of partner organizations
• Financial documents including audited financials, a program budget, a budget narrative, a list of other funders, and your most recent Form 990.

You will also almost always need your 501(c)(3) determination letter and your most recent annual report.

Keep all of these in a shared folder (Google Drive works perfectly for this) so anyone on your team can access them quickly. Updating them once a year takes far less time than scrambling to find them the week before a deadline.

One more thing worth doing: search your organization on Candid and Charity Navigator and make sure your profile is current and complete. Many funders check these sites as part of their due diligence, and an outdated or incomplete profile can raise questions you do not want them asking.

A Few Questions We Hear a Lot

You may be asking them to, so let’s put it out in the open! 

Question: Can I Use Grant Money for Online Fundraising?

Answer: Yes, in some cases. How you use it depends on the type of grant. Here are a few ways nonprofits often combine grants with their online fundraising:

• Donation matching: Use grant funds to match individual donor gifts during a campaign, which can significantly boost your results. CauseVox’s platform makes it easy to feature a match prominently in your campaign.
• Capacity building: Some grants are specifically designed to fund infrastructure and administrative expenses, including the cost of fundraising tools and consulting services.
• Social proof: Announcing a grant award on your fundraising page signals credibility to donors. It shows that an institutional funder has vetted and invested in your work.

Just make sure you understand the restrictions on any grant before you use it. A program grant cannot automatically be redirected to fund a crowdfunding campaign.

Question: Should I apply if I only meet some of the requirements?

Answer: In most cases, no. Every funder has specific criteria, and applying when you do not clearly meet them is rarely a good use of your time. Read the guidelines thoroughly. If you are unsure whether you qualify, call or email the program officer and ask before you apply.

Question: Should I hire a grant writer?

It depends on your capacity. A strong grant application can take anywhere from 20 to 100 or more hours from start to finish. If your team is already stretched thin, hiring a freelance grant writer can be a smart investment. If you want to build the skill in-house, make sure the person taking it on has the time, training, and tools to do it well.

Question: What if my nonprofit is brand new?

Most funders want to see demonstrated impact and a diversified donor base before they invest in an organization. That does not mean you cannot start applying, but it does mean you should be building your individual donor community at the same time. Running a peer-to-peer or crowdfunding campaign, even a small one, shows funders that real people believe in your work. That matters more than you might think.

You Are Ready to Start

Grant funding is not reserved for large, established organizations with full-time development staff. It is accessible to nonprofits of every size, and the fundraisers who are most successful at it are not necessarily the best writers. They are the most prepared and the most persistent.

Use this guide as your starting point. Build your document library now, before the next deadline hits. Research funders who genuinely align with your mission. And remember that every application you submit, funded or not, makes the next one better.

At CauseVox, we work with nonprofits every day who are building the kind of healthy, engaged donor communities that make grant applications stronger. Ready to join the unified fundraising platform so you can save time, raise more, and build deeper donor relationships? 

Sign up for free today! 

Since 2012, nonprofits and charities of all sizes and missions have raised money and awareness on GivingTuesday. And here at CauseVox, we’ve seen firsthand how awesome this “Global Day of Giving” is for organizations.

We believe that GivingTuesday is one of the best days of the year— not only to run a fundraising campaign but to also get everyone from current donors to prospective supporters interested in your work going into the busy year-end fundraising season.

Sure, you can send out a couple of social media posts directing your audience to your donation page on GivingTuesday, but if you really want to make your efforts worth it, you’ll need to start preparing early.

Download the Ultimate GivingTuesday and Year-End Toolkit:

By September 30th

Do Your Research: Look into GivingTuesday best practices and browse GivingTuesday resources available from:

• GivingTuesday website
• CauseVox’s free library of fundraising tips and resources

Learn about the resources available such as sample press releases and social media prompts to avoid duplicating any efforts.

Create Your Team: Whether your team consists of just you or a group of fundraising, marketing, and management-level professionals, you can still get the job done.

Set Your Goal: Base your goal off of the needs of your organization. It can be financial (example: $100), impact-driven (20 meals provided), or a mixture of both ($100 to cover 200 meals). Then, make sure it meets the SMART criteria:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time-Based

Determine Your Audience: Who do you want this campaign to reach? Your intended audience may include current donors, prospects, your social media audience, etc.

Pick A Theme: Get creative with a relevant campaign theme. If possible, try to incorporate your mission and goal into the theme.

Choose Your Medium: Decide how you’re going to collect donations. Remember, much of the sharing power of GivingTuesday comes from social media, so it’s best to allow people to give where they are, online. We suggest focusing on:

• Using a crowdfunding or peer-to-peer fundraising platform
• Your website

Create Partnerships: Look for community partners that may want to combine your campaign efforts (such as another nonprofit). Also, don’t forget to reach out to local businesses and major donors for a potential gift match incentive.

By October 31st

Create Your Story: Your nonprofit’s story is what causes people to give. Therefore, it’s important to spend time ensuring that you’re telling your story effectively. For inspiration, use CauseVox’s Nonprofit Storytelling guide.

Donation Website: Create your GivingTuesday campaign.

You can raise more with less effort on GivingTuesday by using CauseVox to create your GivingTuesday campaign.

Create Your Free GivingTuesday Campaign on CauseVox

Create and Finalize Your Marketing Plan: Determine the marketing avenues you’ll use to promote GivingTuesday and create a detailed plan that includes:

• Target audience
• Platforms used:
  • Email
  • Social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, X, Tik Tok, YouTube, etc.
  • Direct mail
  • Phone/text
• Estimated day/time of distribution
• Content message (written story, image, video) and purpose (donate now, awareness, etc.)

Partnerships: Confirm all partnerships and matches

Hashtag: Though not necessary, it may be helpful to create a special #hashtag that you and your followers can use on GivingTuesday to share progress and increase energy around the campaign.

Recruit Personal Fundraisers: If you’re running a peer-to-peer fundraiser, reach out to potential personal fundraisers and confirm their involvement. Create a toolkit to help streamline their experience.

Start Promotions: Start getting people interested in the campaign using the following:

• Social media posts
• Emails to current supporters
• Local media if possible

By November 15th

Increase Campaign Updates: Ramp up your marketing efforts and make your goal known. Start posting 2-3 times per week.

• Use social media to update your audience about the upcoming event (1-2 times per week)
• Send out a reminder email

Draft a Press Release: If sharing with local media, create, edit, and finalize a press release.

Donation Website: Ensure your online fundraising campaign is ready.

Personal Fundraisers: If your campaign involves peer-to-peer fundraising, complete final preparations. Distribute the personal fundraiser toolkit and help fundraisers set up their own fundraising pages.

Media: Distribute press release and contact media outlets (newspaper, radio) about coverage on GivingTuesday.

GivingTuesday- December 2nd

Gather the Troops: Make sure that all hands are on deck to help share the campaign, collect donations, and be on-call for technical support.

Track Progress: Keep up with campaign progress and share updates on social media throughout the day. If you’re using CauseVox, your fundraising meter will track donations for you and your audience in real-time. You can also choose to use an impact meter so that donors won’t just know how much they’ve contributed, but also the impact of those dollars.

December 3th – January 1st

Thank Donors: Thank your donors as early and as personally as possible. We recommend handwritten notes, a phone call, or another personal gesture.

Final Reporting: Report final results and impact to donors.

Transition to Year-End Campaign: Keep the momentum from GivingTuesday going into your year-end fundraising efforts.

As you know, time really does fly once the leaves start falling. Start preparing your GivingTuesday campaign now before it’s too late!

CauseVox makes it easy for you to manage your campaign with less hassle. With auto-receipting and easily accessible data, you’ll be able to spend less time on admin, so you have more time to nurture your new donors!

Raise More With Less Effort on GivingTuesday

Don’t let clunky technology keep you from reaching your GivingTuesday fundraising goals.

You can create a GivingTuesday campaign that you and your donors will love, helping you raise more with less stress and frustration.

Plus, you’ll save tons of time on administrative tasks and data management, so you have more time to invest in your fundraising strategy.

Create Your Free GivingTuesday Campaign on CauseVox.

But donors aren’t the only people who make your fundraising events and campaigns successful, and they aren’t the only people whose needs you should be considering. In fact, before you begin recruiting personal fundraisers, asking for donations, or asking supporters to share your campaign with others on social media and through email, it’s great to have a head start.

One of the most effective ways to propel your fundraising event and campaign to the next level, both in terms of financial and promotional support, is through sponsorships. We’ve seen a number of highly successful crowdfunding and peer to peer fundraising campaigns powered by CauseVox that relied on the backing of sponsors— and the results were nothing short of remarkable.

Sponsors help your fundraising efforts, so it’s important to think about them as you’re planning your next fundraising campaign. This guide will help you understand the why, the how, and the who of sponsorships, plus give you steps that will help you ace your sponsorship requests.

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Sponsorships 101:

What Is A Sponsorship?

Sponsorships are financial, in-kind or product contributions made by a for-profit business or corporation to a nonprofit organization. In some circumstances, the charitable organization provides the sponsoring company recognition in the form of marketing and promotions.

What Types Of Resources Do Sponsors Provide A Nonprofit?

One of the wonderful things about sponsorships is that they’re incredibly flexible. The sponsor can provide any number of resources to you, and you can choose to recognize them in any way it makes sense at your event. Usually you’ll want to make this agreement in advance of the event or campaign together with your sponsor.

Depending on the needs of your organization, you may choose to ask for one or more of the following from your sponsor partner:

• A financial contribution
• Pro-bono services (such as accounting services, media/marketing, printing, etc.)
• Gift match agreement
• Volunteer support
• Fundraising campaign promotion to their audience
• Staff involvement in peer to peer fundraising

Keep in mind that this is, by no means, an exhaustive list. There are virtually an unlimited number of ways for a business to support a nonprofit.

What’s In It For The Company?

Sponsorships aren’t just a one-way street, businesses also reap benefits. In our ethics and value-focused corporate culture, companies are now proving that they care about causes through corporate social responsibility initiatives. This helps improve a company’s image, thus attracting employees and vendors interested in working with a socially responsible company.

Part of your job as the nonprofit is to make the sponsorship look enticing to sponsors by offering them promotions and marketing, access to the attendees of your event, or other benefits. That could include:

• Free registrations to the event
• A resource table at an event
• Adding their logo/name to marketing materials
• A chance to speak at the event
• Signs or logos on your website or at the event space
• Give attendees a discount or coupon to use with the sponsor
• Links back to their website from your event page

Are There Any Tax Implications?

In order for the sponsorship to remain tax-exempt, it’s important that a nonprofit not provide promotions/services over the value of the sponsorship.

Also, a nonprofit isn’t allowed to promote/advertise a certain product sold by the sponsoring company. For example, if a beverage company donated cases of soda to your nonprofit, you could add their logo to your website and hand out that product at an upcoming fundraising event.

However, you are not legally allowed to tell people at the event to “buy the product” or link to that particular product in any event marketing.

What Do Businesses Look For When Choosing an Organization to Sponsor?

The relationship between your organization and the sponsoring business is a professional relationship. While a sponsorship appears to be a donation on the outside (and it is in every legal sense), it’s also a business transaction. With that in mind, there are some elements you’ll want to highlight about your campaign when you approach a potential sponsor.

An Audience: Businesses like to see that you have a donor/volunteer/client base that will learn about the sponsorship. Maintaining a website, staying current on social media, and sending out a regular newsletter or direct mailings shows your organization is running effectively and that you have an active audience—things a business is definitely interested in knowing before sponsoring.

Impact: Facts and stats also matter, especially if they clearly show the impact of your nonprofit’s work. Of course, you know all about the importance of reporting your nonprofit’s results and following a strategic plan, so we won’t dive into the nitty-gritty of that here. Just realize that a sponsor is definitely going to want to know all about the positive impact your organization has on your community, so annual reports, client stories, and metrics like a donor’s return on investment handy.

A Plan: Possibly the most important thing your nonprofit can bring to the table is a detailed plan. Knowing what you plan to do with the sponsorship money/product/etc is essential. You’re not going to secure that contribution (and, in turn, build a relationship with that business) if you don’t operate like a business does. Show your sponsor where their dollars are going and how it will make a difference.

The 411 On Recruiting Sponsors

Recruiting sponsors requires a strategy. Here’s how to recruit sponsors for your fundraising events and campaigns.

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1. Set a Goal

Start the sponsorship recruitment process by examining your nonprofit’s needs. Answer these questions:

• Why do we need a sponsorship?
• What is our ultimate goal?
• What do we hope to gain from it?
• What can we provide the sponsoring business?
• What is our timeline?

Then, create a concrete plan using these answers, incorporating SMART goal setting practices.

• Specific: A certain dollar amount, product, etc.
• Measureable: The sponsorship must be trackable
• Attainable: Make sure what you’re asking for is reasonable for both your nonprofit and the sponsor
• Relevant: The sponsorship should help you meet your nonprofit’s mission
• Time-Based: Create a timeline for the sponsorship process

Your goal may look something like this: Our nonprofit must secure assistance from 2 corporate sponsors and/or $2,000 before April 15th for our May online crowdfunding campaign. These sponsorships will help offset marketing and fundraising costs. Sponsor logos will be added to all promotional materials.

2. List Prospective Sponsors

Since getting sponsorships is just one aspect of fundraising, consider the relationship-building aspect of recruiting sponsors. At the end of the day, you don’t just need the money/products, you want a long-term relationship with that sponsoring business.

The Can Do Woofaroo listed their sponsors on their CauseVox page.

There are a few different approaches you can take in identifying  potential sponsors. Here are some of our favorite options:

• Local businesses: being in the same area as a business is a great starting point to pitch a sponsorship. When they sponsor your event, the local community sees their name and their commitment to philanthropy. Approach them from this community perspective.
• Board member employers: Many of your board members likely work for businesses that have a budget for sponsorships. Work with your board members to approach their employer about sponsorship. They’ll know the best person to ask as well as what may appeal to their employer in a sponsorship. You can also reach out to volunteers who have ties with a business.
• Past sponsors: if an organization has sponsored in the past, you know that they’re interested in what you’re doing. They should receive communication throughout the year, just like a donor, and get an update when there are new opportunities for them.
• Organizations interested in your audience: this is where you’re likely to find new sponsors. One of the largest benefits you can offer a sponsor is the eyes and ears of your audience. Think about who wants to reach these people. For example if you’re running an event on mental health, you might approach therapy clinics, mental health advocacy organizations, or even pharmaceutical companies. If you need more ideas, look at events similar to your own and see who sponsored them.

Make a list that includes the business’ contact information and any mutual relationships your organization has with that business, such as an acting board member who works/owns a company. Leveraging relationships may seem like an “old school” way of gaining sponsors, but it works!

3. Create a Sponsorship Package

Next, develop a sponsorship package. This document includes all the information a business needs to learn about the opportunity. Most sponsorship packages include all or some of the following information:

• The names of all sponsorship levels/opportunities
• Benefits of each level
• Cost per level
• Dates for event/activities/campaigns, if applicable
• Contact information

With a quick Google search, thousands of sponsorship package examples popped up.

The 2021 Young Professionals Golf Classic by Fred’s Footsteps listed out their sponsor options on their CauseVox page, and updated as opportunities sold out.

Walk the State by Parkinson’s Nebraska laid out their sponsor levels as part of their CauseVox page.

Though both of these examples are different, they contain enough information for a sponsoring company to make an informed decision about participating. One important thing to note is that the benefits each event offered were tailored to the type of event. The golf tournament offered foursomes as part of their benefits, while Walk the State gave audio commercials during the event, taking advantage of having many participants in one place.

4. Reach Out

You now have everything you need to start reaching out to your business contacts. Now it’s time to reach out to your contacts.

Phone Call and/or In-Person Meeting

In cases when you know the business owner/decision maker, it’s best to schedule an in-person meeting or make a phone call to discuss the opportunity. This is also a good tactic if some of your supporters also work at this business.

Go into the meeting or phone call with a clear plan. Most conversations will go like this:

• Meet and greet, introductions
• Casual small talk on topics such as the business climate or what’s going on in the community
• Discuss your nonprofit’s current impact. How are you making a difference in local lives? What are your organization’s plans for the upcoming year? When possible, talk about stellar employees/associates of the company who are helping in your nonprofit’s efforts (volunteers, board members).
• Transition into the sponsorship request. Give the decision maker information about the opportunity, including cost, benefits, etc. At this point, hand and/or email a copy of the sponsorship packet to the decision maker if they haven’t already gotten one. Explain the impact of the sponsorship.
• Leave time for questions
• Don’t expect an answer immediately. Decisions such as who/where to allocate funds are often left to employee committees or other governing bodies.
• Suggest a follow-up date to confirm the decision (a week to a month is completely reasonable)

Letter

If you’re unfamiliar with the business or are working with limited resources, a letter is sometimes the first point of contact between your organization and the potential sponsor. While it may not seem as ideal as a personal conversation, a letter is a great way to introduce your cause and start building a relationship.

A sponsorship introduction letter should include the following elements and look something like the example below.

• Contact information (letterhead information)
• Personal greeting
• Information about your nonprofit and your impact
• Your present needs (“sponsors”)
• How that business fits into the equation
• Request for in-person meeting/phone call

April 21, 2017

XYZ Nonprofit

Tina Jepson

555.555.5555

Dear Mr. Peterson,

Your company continues to make a positive impact in our community through new hirings and your philanthropic generosity. It’s businesses like yours that help make everyone’s lives in our community stronger and safer.

Here at XYZ nonprofit, we have the same goals. We want to see members of our city happy, healthy, and safe and that’s why we developed the L.O.V.E. Initiative. Through the aid of our generous sponsors and donors, we were able to prove wrap-around services for 100 families at-risk for homelessness right here in our county last year. The families we work with are just like yours and mine, and they are getting the help they need to not only survive, but thrive in school, their jobs, and at home. When one of us succeeds, we all do.

We are currently looking for sponsors to help fund our fundraising efforts for the upcoming fiscal year. If your company decides to participate, we’ll name you as a sponsoring partner is all the communications going out throughout the year. For reference, I also included a sponsorship packet below.

I would love the opportunity to discuss our future partnership with you. Let’s schedule a phone call sometime next week.

Thank you for your consideration!

Sincerely,

Tina Jepson, CEO XYZ Nonprofit

5. Next Steps

Follow up with your contact 1-2 weeks after the first contact with a phone call or email.

If they do decide to become a sponsor, send an official thank you letter to show appreciation and to outline their benefits.

Whether or not they decide to sponsor, continue to build a relationship with that business. While something like a financial sponsorship may not be on their radar at this time, that doesn’t mean you can’t partner with them for corporate volunteer opportunities or another initiative down the road.

Building relationships of any kind takes time and effort, and the same goes for recruiting sponsors. And, at the end of the day, remember that it’s as much about developing a lasting relationship with local businesses as it is gaining a sponsoring partner.

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How CauseVox Supports Your Sponsorships

Throughout this process, it’s essential that you have technology that supports your work. If you’re offering multiple sponsorship levels, you don’t want to be invoicing each individual sponsor or finding ways to charge their credit cards on your end. Instead, you can use CauseVox’s ticketing tiers to build in multiple sponsor levels that businesses can purchase right on your page.

The Open the Doors gala used ticketing tiers to sell gala tickets as well as a full table option, a common sponsor choice.

One way you can use ticketing tiers to entice your sponsors is by also offering them free attendance for some of their employees or community members. CauseVox makes it easy with promo codes: create one for each sponsor that they can use to register folks for free!

In addition to ticketing, CauseVox’s flexible and customizable campaign pages allow you to highlight your sponsors in a wide variety of ways. Check out some of the options:

The Gauntlet listed their sponsors in the sidebar section of their CauseVox page.

Dorcas Ministries’ Day of Thanksgiving created a blog post update with all of their sponsors listed out.

Another option is to share your sponsors logos in the about section of your page. This works best when you create a single graphic out of multiple logos.

Power-up Your Sponsorships with CauseVox Ticketing & Events

If you’re ready to implement these ideas, let CauseVox help you make it easy and painless. 

Don’t let yourself stay stuck on a ticketing platform that’s clunky and out of date. Make the move to CauseVox for the best ticketing platform that will help you to entice sponsors and highlight them throughout your event.

Book a demo to get started with CauseVox’s event ticketing today!

This post has been updated in January 2022 for relevance and accuracy.

Thankfully, there is actually another way (a great way) for you to help a charity you love —you can fundraise for them!

And you don’t have to be a seasoned fundraiser to raise money for charity. In fact, all it takes is the same passion that got you interested in the cause in the first place.

Here are 5 ideas to help get you started raising money for charity.

(Afterwards, check out our comprehensive post of over 200 fundraising ideas for nonprofits of all kinds.)

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1. Check Out Their “Involvement” Options To Become A Peer-to-Peer Fundraiser

Peer-to-peer-fundraising is a technique that thousands of nonprofits and charities use to get current supporters to fundraise on behalf of the organization, and it’s a great, easy way for you to help raise money for charity.

Oftentimes, charities promote their own peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns on their website. So before you start fundraising on your own, check their website for opportunities to become a fundraiser.

For example, Canine Cancer Alliance (CCA) raised nearly $30,000 using CauseVox to power their peer-to-peer fundraising campaign – Wag Love.

Canine Cancer Alliance included a clear call to action at the top of their page to register or donate in support of their mission to support canine cancer research. By registering, each participant creates a customizable fundraising page which they can share with friends and family, maximizing their fundraising impact.

In addition, CCA took the registration URL and linked it to their website’s event page. Now when individuals are on CCA’s website, fundraisers can signup directly and donors can quickly make a donation.

If your favorite charity already has an option for you to become a personal fundraiser, then you’re in luck. Follow the steps on their website to set up your own page and begin raising money for charity.

2. Set Up Your Own Fundraiser

If your favorite charity doesn’t have an established peer-to-peer fundraiser ready to go, don’t worry. You can set up a crowdfunding campaign yourself—and it’s easy!

To begin (and to maximize the power of your gift), contact the charity directly to see what they need.

Most nonprofits and charities will give you information with regard to donation amount and impact, which can help you set a goal. For example, you can learn how much money you need to raise to sponsor a client, fund a meal, conserve an acre, etc.

From there, create a goal and a timeframe for your campaign, making sure that both are specific, attainable, reasonable, and relevant. Keep in mind that most online fundraisers run about a month, but even day-long campaigns are helpful for a charity.

Then, create a crowdfunding site for your campaign and get to work sharing it with your networks.

Don’t be overwhelmed by the idea of setting up your own page. It’s a quick process and when you use CauseVox, you’re given the same support as any large charity.

If it’s your first time writing your own campaign appeal as an individual or organization, check out our Fundraising Appeal Throwdown!

This webinar will teach you all the essential elements of a winning fundraising appeal, including how to use compelling language to draw readers in and craft effective calls to action to convert more donors.

3. Fundraise On Special Days

You can create your crowdfunding site and raise money for charity any time of the year. But, capitalizing on special days such as holidays and birthdays can add an extra oomph that amplifies your fundraiser.

“Capitalizing on special days such as holidays and birthdays can amplify your fundraiser.” tweet this

Not only are timely holiday and birthday fundraisers effective (especially if people give you gifts anyway), but they also prove how committed you are to the cause, which should motivate even more family and friends to give.

A number of nonprofits and charities encourage their supporters to “donate” their birthdays and provide fundraisers with the support to carry out their own campaigns. One example is Innovation: Africa‘s ongoing iCampaign.

Innovation: Africa makes it easier than ever for fundraisers to sign up and get started. Check out their website landing page. It includes three easy steps and the CauseVox account creation link to Start a Campaign!

However, it’s not necessary to work with an ongoing campaign. To donate your birthday or holiday, simply create an individual fundraising page on your own using crowdfunding software.

4. Perform A Personal Challenge

A popular way to raise money for charity is through a personal challenge. You may have heard about people shaving heads, running marathons, or dyeing their hair once they’ve met a specific fundraising goal. At CauseVox, we think this is a phenomenal, fun, and effective way to raise money for charity.

For many, their challenge is symbolic, such as the David Lichman Mustache Challenge. In this campaign, 2 veterans pledged to shave their 25+year old mustaches once they hit a goal of $25,000, which went to support charities helping other veterans.

Is there a symbolic or inventive challenge that you can participate in for your fundraiser? Brainstorm different ways that you can mobilize donors through a personal challenge and then tie that into your crowdfunding campaign.

5. Use Your Story The Right Way

Whether you’re a personal fundraiser for an ongoing charity-run peer-to-peer fundraiser, or you’re doing it all on your own, you’ll be encouraged to share your story. After all, there has to be a reason why you feel strongly about the charity you’re supporting.

Maybe it’s because you were once a recipient of their services or you knew someone who was. Or, you could just have an affinity for the cause. No matter the reason, it’s important that you share that connection with your prospective donors so they’re inspired to give.

Most personal fundraisers use the written word, but you can also create a video or even share an image of something that connects you with the cause. When you use CauseVox, you’re given ample space to give your audience the information they need as to why and how they should give.

There are many storytelling best practices that charities use, some of which you can incorporate into your own personal fundraising story.

Focus on the following:

• Set up the problem. Explain what the charity does to help others.
• Include an emotional component. Let your audience know why you were moved to get involved and why they should too!
• Tell your donors how they are part of the solution. Let them know how far $20, $50, $100 can go in improving the world.

Don’t forget to add some facts about the charity itself such as who/what they serve and their mission.

There are a number of ways that you can help a charity that you love, including raising money for it. And remember, if the charity doesn’t already provide you with an opportunity to fundraise, don’t hesitate to create your own campaign using CauseVox.

Also, check out our guide, How To Tell Stories That Connect, Move, & Inspire, which provides more information on creating a powerful story.

“There are a number of ways that you can help a charity that you love, including raising money for it.” tweet this

Get started on CauseVox

Ready to raise more for your organization or favorite charity? CauseVox makes it easy for you to make a big impact with less effort

We’ll give you donation-optimized forms to convert more donors on any type of campaign including peer-to-peer, crowdfunding, birthday fundraisers, challenges, special events + more!

Book a demo to learn how to maximize your fundraising on CauseVox.

This post has been updated in December 2021 for relevance and accuracy.

If they gave once, it’s because they care about the impact you’re making!

Instead of thinking about their gift as a matter of luck, switch your mindset and consider how you can retain that new donor for campaigns and years to come. Here are four easy, effective ways you can retain your giving day donors immediately.

1. Monthly Giving

Arguably, the easiest way to retain your giving day donors is to entice them to give multiple gifts over the course of the year through your monthly giving program.

Why is this easy? It all comes down to where and how you place the monthly giving “ask.” Most nonprofits use their donation form strategically to include a monthly giving option. For example, Fiver Children’s Foundation has a permanent monthly giving option on their donation form. As soon as a donor types in a donation amount or selects from a preset donation tier, a box with the suggestion automatically appears.

You can also promote a specific monthly giving program after a giving day. For inspiration, check out The Collective, the recurring giving program of The Adventure Project.

Interested in adding a monthly giving option or expanding your recurring giving program? Read this: How To Run Successful Recurring Gift Campaign

2. Email

A donation receipt and automatically generated “thank you” note goes a long way in showing your giving day donors that you 1. acknowledge their gift, and 2. appreciate it. However, it’s high time we move past the email transaction and use this communication tool to foster our personal relationships with donors.

Yes, you should continue to send that automatic email. But after that, add a personal touch. Use email to communicate what’s happening at your nonprofit and inspire them with compelling, emotional stories about your work. Activate your donor by asking him or her to subscribe to your eNewsletter. Direct them to your blog. Send them a message and ask them to provide feedback from the campaign.

Show them that you care, that you recognize their passion, and that they play an integral role in your success.

Perfect your initial emails to new donors with the help of this post: How To Boost Donor Retention With Your Welcome Email Series.

3. Donation Tiers

Some nonprofits avoid donation tiers because they don’t want to put a suggested gift amount out there in the hopes that donors will ultimately give more. That’s understandable. But using donation tiers to connect donors to your mission is a surefire way to help with retention efforts.

Take Fiver Children’s Foundation, for example. They’re online fundraising pros (they run phenomenal #GivingTuesday campaigns, and fundraise year-round), and they’ve mastered the art of the donation tier.

By equating a gift amount with the intended impact, Fiver Children’s Foundation promotes transparency and their organizational efficiency, which are both needed to build trust and assist retention efforts.

If you’re eager to master the art of a donation tier that drives donations, read this: How To Create Donation Tiers That Drive Donations.

4. Reporting

Although some of your giving day donors may not expect a report back on the impact their gift made post-campaign, it’s a vital service that they undoubtedly deserve. How you choose to report back is entirely up to how your organization communicates with donors. Common reporting methods include:

• Email
• Blog post on your website
• Blog post on your fundraising site
• Direct mail
• Social media post

If possible, avoid cut and dry statistical reporting. Sure, your donors want to know how much was raised and how many others gave to the campaign, but that’s not what will motivate them to give again.

Focus instead on communicating donor impact. Shoot a video of a client telling a story about their journey and your nonprofit’s role in their future success, take pictures of employees in the field, working to make the world a better place, or find another way to show your donors how they’re a part of it all.

Are you ready to fine-tune your nonprofit impact story? Focus on the hero’s journey! Start with Megan’s post: The Hero’s Journey: How To Write A Compelling Story That Inspires Donors To Get Involved.

Remember, some effort at the beginning of your nonprofit-to-donor relationship has the potential to pay off big time down the road. After all, a once-retained donor is more likely to give again. At the end of the day, retaining your giving day donors is crucial to help expand your base of long-term donors and extend the power of your giving day long into the future.

Almost everything we do and say to recruit a donor and encourage them to stick around circles back to donor retention. 

Digital Fundraising is a cycle of attracting, nurturing and converting donors.

This may be called a funnel in the marketing world, but we like to call it a cycle as it should be considered a continuous, repeating process that’s designed to drive predictable and sustainable fundraising growth.

There’s no denying that digital fundraising is based on relationships and connections. When you effectively attract, nurture, and convert donors well, you’re building a relationship that lasts.

Not only are you increasing each donor’s lifetime value with digital fundraising, ultimately, but you’ll also inspire your supporters to become advocates.

The 2020 Q2 Fundraising Effectiveness Report just came out, and it shows that donor retention is on the rise, which makes it a great time for your organization to implement donor stewardship as we approach year-end giving.

I believe it’s high time we push mass emails and dispassionate social media posts aside for a more personal, donor-centric stewardship approach. This is especially pertinent as year-end approaches, and your donors are solicited by dozens of causes.

Are you with me? Good!

Let’s dive into how you can use donor stewardship practices to maximize your year-end efforts.

Defining Donor Stewardship

Stewardship happens AFTER someone makes a donation to your organization. Those post-donation touch points, such as thank yous, emails, and direct mailings all fall under the stewardship umbrella.

If it’s for the purpose of communicating and building relationships with donors, then it’s stewardship.

Four Essential Donor Stewardship Methods

Stewardship looks different depending on many factors, including donation amount, donor preferences, and your organization’s capacity. However, I’ve outlined four key donor stewardship methods that any nonprofit can use to help assure your donors that you’re a responsible steward of their money.

1. Say Thank You

A “Thank You” sets the standard for all future communications. It tells your donor you:

• Received the gift
• Appreciate the gift

And when you send a thank you promptly, and with a personal message, it also tells your donor you:

• Are organized
• Are efficient
• Value the donor as a person, not just as a wallet

The initial “thank you” note to a first-time donor is the foundation of that relationship. To ensure your thank you is enough, be sure it meets these criteria:

• Separate from the donation receipt
• Addresses your donor by name
• Acknowledges the gift amount
• Includes information about the particular campaign the donation was made under
• Written legibly (if handwritten)
• Signed by a person, not the organization as a whole
• Does not include another “ask” to give

Must your thank you be handwritten? I’m a stickler for tradition, but donors are overwhelmingly telling us that they prefer email over direct mail, even when it comes to thank you notes. It’s hard to argue with data, so you be the judge.

2. Inspire Them

A large portion of stewardship revolves around strategic communication. The right messages help solidify and build your relationship.

In these messages, inspiration is essential. It’s this inspiration that connects your donor emotionally to your cause. I find that some of the more effective inspirational messages highlight your donor’s role in the whole process.

For example, impact-based stories help to tell success stories of the people/places/things your donor is funding. Do you know what your donor doesn’t want to hear? Most donors don’t care to know about how much money you raised, but they do want to know how many lives they’re changing.

Another technique to try is donor spotlights. Post these on your website, social media, and in your newsletters to other donors.

3. Designate & Report

Many donors choose to designate their gift to a particular program or initiative. In these cases, stewardship job should include reporting back to your donor about their particular designation.

Again, ignore the cold, boring data and focus on the stories behind the numbers.

4. Engage

Give your donors an outlet within your organization through engagement opportunities. This could take the form of volunteering or serving as a board or committee member, or you could also ask for your donor’s insight.

Questionnaires, such as the Net Promoter Score or a simple, “How are we doing?” survey, can allow your donor to voice their opinion and feel a part of the process.

You can also take this engagement to another level by asking your donors to rally others to get involved through peer-to-peer fundraising and social sharing.

Need a more help engaging your donors? Download our free ebook, the Donor Engagement and Retention Strategy Playbook.

A Year-End Plan

Now that you understand how stewardship works, it’s time to make a plan to help you incorporate stewardship into your year-end fundraising efforts.

Make Stewardship A Job Duty

Unless you have a stewardship officer at your nonprofit, stewardship responsibilities should fall to everyone on your development team.

Task descriptions could include one or more of these elements:

• Develop and implement stewardship strategies that strengthen long-term relationships with donors.
• Ensure stewardship plans are communicated to everyone that needs to know within the organization.
• Organize meetings, prepare communications, and arrange events for donors.

Establish a Standard Matrix

Creating a matrix for stewardship is a development best practice. This matrix guarantees that everyone is on the same page. Your matrix may look something like this.

Finally, create a year-end fundraising calendar so that your organization stays at the forefront of your donor’s mind as you close out the year.

Create A Calendar

Include weekly touchpoints from the beginning of November through New Year’s Eve, paying attention to these dates:

• Thanksgiving
• #GivingTuesday
• The week prior to New Year’s Eve
• New Year’s Eve

Add a mix of online and offline touches, including email, direct mail, social media, and phone communications.

Use A Platform

An online fundraising platform like CauseVox can help streamline the development process, giving you more time to focus on stewardship and outreach. If you don’t already use one, consider the many benefits a platform can provide:

• One-stop shop for donations
• Automatic donation receipts
• Peer-to-peer fundraising features
• CRM and donor tracking

Stewardship isn’t tricky, but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming an afterthought for many of us. As year-end fundraising efforts ramp up, and competition for donor funds increases, so does the need for stewardship.

Create a plan, bring everyone in your organization on board, and then implement it before the year comes to a close. Now is as good of a time as any!

Ready To Raise More With Less Effort This Year-End?

With CauseVox you get more than a tool. You’re empowered to raise more with less effort implementing strategies that help you convert and retain more donors.

To learn more about how CauseVox can make it easy for you to manage relationships with your supporters all year long, schedule a one-on-one demo.

For most nonprofits, upwards of 30% or more of donations come through the door in these last months of the year. That’s a lot! Therefore, differentiating your cause from others out there is the first step in securing those last-minute donations before the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve.

A smart way to stand out is to understand what your donors are looking for in a nonprofit to support. Thankfully, there’s a lot of data out there that proves there are both major differences and striking similarities in the way each generation of the population gives to charity.

If you’re eager to appeal directly to your donor populations this year-end, consider these six generational fundraising statistics.

Defining Generation Populations

There are sometimes slight differences in the way studies define each generation. For this post, we followed these guidelines.

• Greatest/Silent/Mature (Pre-1945)
• Baby Boomers (1946-1964)
• Generation X (1965-1980)
• Millennials (1981- 1995)
• Generation Z/Centennials (1996- ?)

6 Generational Year-End Fundraising Statistics You Need To Know

1. Find Your Donor Niche

Millennials and Generation X most often throw their support under causes dealing with children, youth, animals, and welfare. Baby Boomers have a different focus which centers around health and wellness.

No one magic cause resonates with an entire generation (wouldn’t that be nice?); however, there are commonalities among each population. These affinities make sense when you consider them.

For example, many Baby Boomers are of the age where health and wellness are top-of-mind. Some of them are dealing with elderly parents, health issues of their own, and family and friends who’ve been impacted by illnesses like cancer or Alzheimer’s. Their inclination to support causes that hit close to home isn’t surprising.

The same goes for Millennials and Generation X, who are balancing life with their own children and are thus more likely to give to organizations providing aid to children and youth.

What does this mean for you? Take a look at your donor base and determine if you’re marketing to the right generation. Create one or more donor personas to help you pinpoint your typical donor/s, and craft your year-end communications around them.

2. Reporting Impact

Per The Next Generation of American Giving study, donors under 50 showed markedly more interest than older Americans in seeing a charity’s results. Nearly 60 percent of millennials and half of Generation X donors said that seeing results from their contributions influenced their decision to give. By contrast, only a third of the oldest generation said the same.

Reporting the impact of a donation is a relatively new practice, and it’s something that the younger generations demand frequently. Nonprofits with a majority of Generation X, Millennial, and Generation Z donors will find that impact reports help retain donors down the road.

On the other hand, Boomers don’t care as much about these reports. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still report the information to them, but just realize it isn’t an essential element in their future engagement and eventual retention.

What does this mean for you? Incorporate impact reporting into your retention strategy. If you have a younger donor base, use impact, not just as an after-donation report, but as an inspiration to donate, such as through an impact meter on your donation page.

3. Email and Social Media Inspire Donations

Millennials and Generation X are more often swayed to donate on social media, whereas Baby Boomers tend to respond to emails. On the flip side, only 6% of Millennials and 9% of Gen X appreciate a direct mail appeal, whereas Boomers are more inclined to give after receiving direct mail over a website request.

Sure, younger generations grew up with new technologies like cell phones and the Internet, but older generations do a good job of keeping up with the fast pace of change. Yet, that doesn’t mean that all generations prefer the same types of technology, especially when it comes to donation asks.

Social media is, by far, the best way to connect with Generation Z, Millennials, and Generation X. That’s where they’re absorbing content, connecting with friends and brands, and sharing things that matter to them with others.

Email is preferred by Boomers, who often use it to make a decision on whether or not to give.

If you’re using direct mail to appeal to younger generations, consider switching to an online method. However, Boomers are more likely to respond to that direct mail solicitation.

What does this mean for you? Know your audience and their communication preferences. Use your nonprofit CRM to track which method your donors are using to give, and what messages/media prompted that gift. Data is your friend!

4. Mobile Connectivity

86% of Boomers own a cell phone, compared to 92% of Generation X and 95% of Millennials.

The vast majority of people own a cell phone, but how they use their mobile device is key. Centennials, Millennials, and Generation X use it to check emails, connect on social media, and send text messages. They also use their mobile devices to donate to causes they care about.

Although Boomers own and use phones, they do so differently than other generations. If you call and leave a message, they may just call you back (a Millennials probably won’t).

What does this mean for you? Optimize all your communications for mobile. Make sure you have a mobile-friendly website, mobile-optimized donation pages, and optimized emails.

5. Gift Amounts

Fewer Boomers plan to increase their gifts in the coming years. However, 21% of Millennials and 18% of Generation X expect to increase giving.

Although the gift amounts for Baby Boomers are disproportionately higher than those of Gen X and Millennials, only 10% plan to increase their giving in the upcoming year. Compare that to Millennials (21%) and Gen X (18%), and you can see their influence is growing.

What does this mean for you? Before you focus all your attention on these younger generations, consider instead how to you can encourage all of your donors to increase giving. Try step-up programs or suggest monthly giving as an option.

6. Online Crowdfunding & Peer-to-Peer

Generation Z, Millennials, and Generation X are more likely to participate either as donors or fundraisers for online crowdfunding and peer-to-peer fundraisers than Baby Boomers.

The premise behind online crowdfunding and peer-to-peer fundraising has been around for decades, but the Internet has surely modernized the practice.

Today, close to half of Generation Z, Millennials, and Generation X are willing to or have already participated in an online crowdfunding or peer-to-peer campaign. Baby Boomers aren’t as likely to use peer-to-peer, however, they are actually more likely to participate in a Facebook fundraiser than their younger counterparts.

In their 2017 campaign, the Asian American Arts Alliance learned about the power of online peer-to-peer fundraising, and the importance of having a broad audience of personal fundraisers sharing the campaign with their own networks.

What does this mean to you? If your donor base is young, diversify your fundraising with an online fundraiser.

To Sum It Up

As you can see, there are both similarities and differences in the way people of different generations absorb and respond to information. If you’re looking for a way to truly connect with donors, then incorporate some of the data outlined above.

Here are a few ways to get started:

• Track your donors birthdays
• Understand your typical donor/create donor personas
• Segment your year-end donor communications based on age
• Spruce up your online communication and giving options

Donors today expect a highly personalized experience during year-end, and catering to their age demographic is a big part of that.

To learn about how CauseVox can help you meet your fundraising goals, schedule a demo with our team.

References

• Global Trends in Giving Report
• Chronicle of Philanthropy
• Bridging the Donor Generational Gap
• CMS-Connected
• The Next Generation of American Giving
• The Charity Divide

Here are seven donation page examples that you can use throughout your fundraising plan to raise more.

7 Donation Page Examples For Your Nonprofit

1. Collect Everyday Donations

Most nonprofits are already collecting donations online, but if you’re not careful, it’s easy for problems and confusion to arise.

For example, it’s common for nonprofits to use a third-party processor to process the transaction. But once a donor redirects to a different website that doesn’t look anything like your nonprofit’s website, it’s easier for them to avoid following through on the donation. That’s NOT what you want.

Plus, too often we see organizations using unnecessarily long forms that aren’t mobile-optimized, or just a standard PayPal button that doesn’t give your donors giving options or a professional giving experience.

Instead of collecting online donations using clunky software, try an optimized donation page designed to help you increase donation amounts and boost conversion rates to help you raise more everyday.

Also, to maintain consistency and provide donors the best experience, make sure your donation page keeps your donor on your website. 

With CauseVox, you can embed your optimized donation page right on your website.

Don’t have your donors get redirected to a 3rd party site or clunky form that makes it difficult to donate on mobile.

With CauseVox, you can embed your branded donation page on your website through a pop-up, or a new embeddable form directly on the page.

The CauseVox Donation Page is optimized to give your donors a delightful experience on any device. With mobile-optimized pages, Apple and Google Pay options, and a reduction in the fields required to complete donations, it’s never been quicker or easier to give online.

Ensuring your donors have a good donor experience tells them that their convenience, time, and gift matter to you, and increases the likelihood they’ll give again!

Make sure your giving experience is great, and you’ll see the benefits in your relationships with donors and see more donations pouring in on your website.

2. Promote Your Special Appeals and Specific Programs

There are certain times throughout the year when you may be more inclined to run a special fundraiser, such as an appeal to fund a specific program and donation pages are a solid option to collect donations. 

Whenever possible, give your donors different options to choose from when making a donation. This can include recurring giving, suggested amounts and customizable donation tiers with descriptions (suggested levels of giving). 

Use the design features on the donation page setup step to create donation tiers specific to the campaign you’re running. By having donation tiers tied to impact, donors are more likely to make a donation based on the impact they can create, as opposed to a dollar amount. This often leads to larger donations, while helping donors feel like they’re making a difference for your mission.  

3. Partnerships & Corporate Sponsors

Do you partner with another nonprofit, business or corporation that promotes giving amongst their employee or client base? If so, you can customize a donation page specific to that audience.

You can even include their logo directly in their header and co-brand the page!

This way, your partners are empowered to send the page out to their community in an email, or potentially embed a donate button on the website to your charity.

Stupid Cancer uses CauseVox to keep their brand consistent on their donation page. Custom-branded donation pages build trust with donors, and increase both the size of average gifts and likelihood that a donor will make a second one.

Use colors in line with your organization’s branding, or in line with the branding of your partner organization, such as the colors in the logo or other marketing materials. Familiar branding and imagery are always helpful in ensuring consistency and accountability.

With CauseVox, you won’t need to call IT or learn to code to build your branded page–it’s very easy, even for non-techies.

4. Use In Email Appeals or Social Media Blitzes

Donors don’t just get to your donation page through a web search. Often, they’re directed there from your emails and social media profiles.

Make it easy on your donors by linking directly to your donation page through email appeals and any social media fundraising blitzes you run.

A simple call-to-action encouraging people to “Support,” “Donate,” etc. along with a link to a  donation page customized with amounts specifically related to your email ask will direct people to where they need to go to make a gift. It’s almost too easy!

See how CauseVox makes it easy to create and manage branded donation pages and embed them directly on your website whether you’re using WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, or another CMS.

You may be asking: Why would I use a customized donation page when the page on my website works just fine at capturing donations? There are a few reasons why your donors will have a much better experience giving through an official donation page.

• It’s easily personalized for each campaign. For example, some nonprofits choose to maintain their website’s default donation page for general donations but rely on donation pages for each specific appeal.
• It’s trackable. With a donation page, you can quickly view which marketing appeals are bringing in donations. Then, you can adapt and adjust your fundraising techniques moving forward.
• It’s perfect for donor segmentation. Donation tiers aren’t one-size fits all, especially if you’re targeting both your major and small gift donors within the same campaign. Instead of using one donation page for all donors, you can create multiple ones targeted at different donor segments.

5. Try Donor Segmentation

Since we just mentioned that if you know one segment of your donor base is more likely to give online, than it’s vital you meet them where they are.

Start by performing some data mining through your donor management software or another tracking system. Check specifically for donors in these categories:

• Donors who gave at least once online
• Donors who subscribe to your email list
• Donors who have connected via social media
• Donors who are likely to make a recurring gift (those making 2+ gifts per year, major donors)

Regardless of whether you’re running a special fundraising campaign, looking to boost your recurring giving numbers, or simply want to make donors aware of your donation page, sending out an impactful nonprofit story with a link to your donation page may appeal to these key groups.

Pro Tip: Create different donation pages based on donor segments. You may want to send larger donors to a customized donation page with tiers specifically set with appropriate asks.

6. Events

It’s not surprising that some donors are unable to make in-person events, regardless of how exciting your organization’s polar plunge, 5k, or dinner fundraiser may be.

But just because they can’t attend doesn’t mean those donors aren’t interested in giving. Go ahead and send out a customized donation page to your loyal donors that can’t make it to ensure they’re given a chance to contribute.

With CauseVox’s new donation page interface, users can make a donation in two steps, which makes the process of achieving donations super simple and seamless. 

If donors have to wade through a clunky platform or multiple steps just to make a donation, chances are high they could get frustrated and leave your site before completing the transaction. 

CauseVox’s new donation page interface takes the guesswork out of the process and gets the donor from point A to point B in two simple steps. 

7. Recurring Giving

By incorporating a recurring giving option on your donation page, you automatically set your nonprofit up to bring in more money.

Given the fact that monthly/recurring donors give upwards of 42% more over the course of the year than one-time donors, it’s always a good idea to encourage donors to give a recurring gift.

Go ahead and add that option right on the donation form.

Plus, recurring donations keep your donor engaged. 

The Fundraising Effectiveness Project of 2015 found that 19% of first-time nonprofit donors were retained compared to 63% of repeat donors, meaning that your chances of losing a donor decrease the more frequently they give.

When you use CauseVox for your recurring donation pages, you’re increasing the donor’s engagement and ensuring they stay involved.

You can set up customized Recurring Donation Tiers for your donation page, crowdfunding or peer-to-peer campaign, helping you to easily assign flexible gift levels for your recurring donation – separate from your one-time donations.

Using Recurring Donation Tiers, you can:

• Set up the perfect gift sizes to convert more recurring donors on your donation form.
• Increase recurring donor gift sizes, helping increase overall digital giving all year long.
• Customize the giving experience for your recurring donors.

Learn more about how you can use Recurring Donation Tiers to convert more recurring donors and increase gift size.

If a donor is engaged with your mission, why wouldn’t you go after recurring donations? By pre-selecting “monthly recurring” vs. “one-time” donors can make a monthly donation with just one button, eliminating frustration and making it easy for donors to continually support your mission.

Plus, if your donors are committing to give monthly, you’ll want to use a service that helps you retain donors.

If a donor’s credit card fails, CauseVox automatically sends emails to rescue lapsed recurring donors and give them a quick and easy way to update their card, helping prevent donor churn and help you continue raising more long-term.

**Insider Tip: And while you’re at it, ask your donors to cover the administrative costs at the same time. We found that, just by asking, your nonprofit or charity is likely to entice 80% of your donors to cover those extra fees through donation tipping!

You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how many donors decide your cause is worth the extra mile (and an extra 3%)!

Raise More With Less Effort Through CauseVox Donation Pages

When it comes to collecting donations, you have a lot of options. Before you start printing those pledge forms or gathering phone numbers for a marathon phone-a-thon, consider setting up a donation page. Before you know it, you’ll be on your way to raising more online.

Learn how you can use CauseVox Donation Pages to raise more online.

This post was originally posted on 3/6/18 and was updated on 7/20/20.

Simply put, your job is easier when you know you can count on a group of loyal donors time after time.

But how do you get donors to remain committed to your organization?

If you are a seasoned fundraiser, you may be familiar with the Harvey McKinnon quote that summarizes donor retention. “Donor loyalty is not about the donor being loyal to you, it is you being loyal to the donor.”

“Donor loyalty is not about the donor being loyal to you, it is you being loyal to the donor.” tweet this

Yes, there are many factors involved with donor retention, but it all boils down to how you are making the donor feel.

Let’s discuss donor retention in detail and consider why donors decide not to give second gifts. By focusing on remedying these problems, you are sure to improve your organization’s retention numbers.

Defining Donor Retention

Donor retention specifically refers to the percentage of an organization’s donors that decide to give a subsequent gift. Nonprofits and other fundraising organizations should keep track of this number as it is a solid indication of successful donor management.

The Fundraising Effectiveness Project, a joint effort between the Urban Institute and the Association of Fundraising Professionals, found that the average donor retention rate in 2011 was 41.5%. This means that nonprofits are retaining less than half of their donors.

That’s not good! Here’s why many donors decide not to give another gift.

Why Donor’s Don’t Give Second Gifts

1. They Weren’t Asked

This is a very simple point, but it is worth mentioning at the beginning of this discussion. Do not, under any circumstance, forget to ask your donors for a gift during your next campaign. This is the number one mistake that fundraisers make.

Many donors will not actively seek out a place to give their donations. They wait until they are asked. You are essentially competing with an unlimited number of other groups for that donor’s money, so don’t forget to ask or assume a gift is something without directly requesting it.

“Many donors will not actively seek out a place to give their donations. They wait until they are asked …” tweet this

2. They Weren’t Thanked

Thank yous are a simple way that an organization can show the donor that they not only received the gift but that it was appreciated.

Laws around donation receipts are pretty standard. But it is important to remember that a donation receipt is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a thank you.

3. They Didn’t Feel Special

Donors need to feel as though their gift was not only appreciated, but essential. When organizations fail to recognize how a donor’s gift fits into the bigger picture, such as through an annual report, pamphlet or another update, they are not likely to retain that donor.

4. They Weren’t Engaged

An organization may have done a great job of asking for a donation, thanking the donor, and then informing them of the return on their gift. But, was that donor engaged after the donation was given?

Engagement and retention are directly linked. When donors aren’t involved with your organization on a level past their money, they are less likely to stay with you for the long haul.

Improve Your Retention

But all’s not lost. There are many ways that you can avoid the traps listed above.

By shifting your focus onto retaining your donors after their initial donations, you are setting yourself and your organization up to succeed. Improve your retention rates by focusing on the following:

Download your free donor retention playbook and calculator:

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1. Keep The Lines Of Communication Open

Remember to stay in contact with your donor within reason. You may consider shooting out a monthly or quarterly newsletter and update your Facebook status a few times per week. Either way, each correspondence should include a call to action.

Keeping the lines of communication with your donor open will keep you top of mind when it comes time for a campaign or fundraising event.

2. Learn About Your Donor

Stay away from treating your donor like a monetary transaction. Just as they are investing in your work, you must invest in them. Aside from gathering contact information, you may want to acquire personal information such as age, names of family members, employment information, etc.

Then, don’t just sit on that information. Use it! Send out targeted emails or mailings depending on your donor demographics. If you organize in-person events, check the guest list beforehand and jot down a few notes about the donors scheduled to attend.

Make them feel special because, after all, they really are.

3. Share Your Success Stories

Don’t just report your information in an annual report or another statistical document and then throw it under a subheading on your website.

Share that information with your donors! Gather personal stories, impressive statistics, and calculate your donor’s return on investment and then send it out via mail, email, newsletters, Facebook, YouTube, etc.

A little information goes a long way in ensuring the donor feels that their money is going toward something big.

4. Engage Your Donors

We briefly discussed ending each correspondence with a call to action. Now, let’s take that one step further. Use what you have learned about your donors to move them up your donor engagement ladder.

If you haven’t created one of these, be sure to check out this online guide. The premise behind the ladder is fairly straightforward.

All donors start at the bottom level. As they engage with you and your organization, whether through their giving, connecting via social media, subscribing to the newsletter, or even attending events (just to name a few), you can visually see them moving up through your engagement levels.

Here’s a great example:

Engagement equals donations. The more invested your donor is in your organization, the more loyal they will be.

“Engagement equals donations. The more invested your donor is in your organization, the more loyal they will be …” tweet this

5. Make Your Thanks Count

You need to immediately acknowledge receipt of every donation that you receive, regardless of the amount. Include a message that is personal, informative, and conveys sincere appreciation.

Handwritten notes are ideal, but in our fast-paced world you may not feel as though there is time to do this. If you can’t write your note, at the very least be sure you are personalizing a digital thank you to the best of your ability.

Use your donor’s name (never use a generic salutation), follow with an acknowledgment of their donation amount, and then briefly describe how their gift makes a difference in your organization.

Or, switch it up completely by sending a personal video message, picture, or something entirely different. The bottom line- put a face behind the organization.

Nonprofits that can successfully retain a substantial amount of donors year to year are doing something right- they are making sure that the donor remains the number one priority. Keep your donors loyal, and you’ve got smooth seas ahead.