Matching Gift Process: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide

Matching Gift Process | A Complete Step-by-Step Guide

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As one of the most popular forms of corporate philanthropy, matching gifts are on the rise. This CSR tactic provides an easy way for organizations like yours to double incoming donations. However, many organizations are not taking full advantage of matching gifts⁠—largely due to a lack of understanding (among donors and staff alike) about the prevalence of the offering and the simplicity of the matching gift process.

Though it can vary based on specific companies and organizations, the basic matching gift process follows these key steps:

Here's what the matching gift process looks like.

Note: In this guide, we’ll dive deep into the traditional matching gift fundraising process. Keep in mind, though, that if a company was not prepared to launch a broadly accessible matching gift program or an organization sought a more personalized partnership with a business in its network, there’s another opportunity: custom matching gifts.

In the case of a custom matching gift program (also referred to as “one-off” or “unique” matching gift initiatives), a corporation commits to matching employee gifts to a single nonprofit cause. However, it’s important to note that the processes involved in establishing, marketing, and disbursing funding through these alternative programs tend to differ. If you’re looking to pursue a custom matching gift partnership, we recommend checking out our complete guide to custom matching gift programs here.

*While 360MatchPro offers custom matching gift management functionality, this feature is designed specifically for fundraisers looking to manage custom matching gift initiatives—360MatchPro does not work directly with corporations. If you’re a company interested in creating a matching gift program, contact us, and we’ll share information about our corporate vendor partners.

Now, without further ado, let’s start at the beginning of the standard matching gift process.

Step 1 in the matching gift process

Step 1: An individual donates to a nonprofit.

The first step in the matching gift process occurs when an individual makes a personal donation to an organization. This is a prerequisite for the gift-matching initiative, and it’s essentially what kicks off the rest of the procedure. After all, you can’t match a gift without a gift to match!

Luckily, there are tons of ways for individual donors to support their favorite causes. Depending on the companies the donors work for, different giving types may be eligible for matching gift program participation.

For example, an individual may give via a cash donation, online giving page, peer-to-peer campaign, direct mail, event contribution, and more. Meanwhile, some companies enable employees to give matchable donations through their CSR platform. And others will even match gifts of securities, such as stocks and mutual funds!

 

Here's what making a donation can look like in the matching gift process.

Here’s how the matching gift process can begin using an online donation form.

According to matching gift research on the topic, “The more options an employee has to give and to get their gift matched, the more likely they are to utilize available company matching opportunities.”

Step 2 of the matching gift process

Step 2: Their matching gift eligibility is determined.

Unfortunately, not every donation made to a charitable organization is going to be match-eligible. Not only do donors need to work for participating companies to qualify for corporate gift matches, but the donations themselves must also meet certain criteria in order to be approved. Thus, after a donor submits their personal donation, it’s time to determine whether that gift will be matchable.

In order to do so, you’ll need to compare the recently contributed gift against the donor’s employer’s matching gift guidelines. These should include:

  • Types of qualifying employees
  • Types of qualifying nonprofit causes
  • Minimum and maximum match amounts
  • Match submission deadlines
  • Matching gift ratios

Though some donors may go into the process fully aware of their matching gift eligibility status (for example, if their employer had previously promoted the opportunity to its staff), many will not know whether their company even offers such a program. That’s why more and more organizations are choosing to incorporate matching gift promotions immediately following the giving experience⁠—including on the donation confirmation page, follow-up emails, and more.

Luckily, top matching gift tools (that include access to a comprehensive matching gift database) should provide your donors with access to employers’ matching gift guidelines as well as links to company-specific match request forms. This will enable users to determine matching gift eligibility in just a few clicks.

Here's what determining eligibility can look like in the matching gift process.

A quick search using a matching gift database tool can provide detailed eligibility data.

Step 3 of the matching gift process

Step 3: The individual submits a matching gift request.

Each matching gift an organization receives is the direct result of a matching gift request from a donor to their employer. And though the online submission process can vary by company, the traditional request process typically involves the following steps:

1. An employee logs into the company’s matching gift submission website.

While some employers develop their own matching gift submission process internally, most contract behind-the-scenes facilitation of the program to a matching gift program provider designed specifically for the purpose. Those companies are typically provided with an online portal through which they manage their employer matching gifts programming.

Matching gift submission process step 1 - screenshot

For donors looking to submit their matching gift requests, the first step is to log into their employers’ online portal with their unique username and password. (Hint: Those with difficulty logging in may have access to support assistance through the management provider!)

2. The employee searches for the nonprofit they donated to.

Once logged into their employers’ giving portal, the employer/donor should be prompted to locate the organization to which they gave from within an online database. For example, an individual may be asked to provide the nonprofit’s:

  • City
  • State
  • Country
  • Zip code
  • Name (or keywords)
  • Tax ID number (EIN)

Matching gift submission process step 2 - screenshot

While a donor may not have all of the above information, entering as much of the data as possible will increase the likelihood that they’re able to select the correct organization in the following step.

Top tip! For this reason, we recommend providing your donors with easy access to your organization’s contact information and other essential details, so they have everything they need to submit their matching gift requests.

3. The employee selects the correct nonprofit from the search results.

After an employee provides the requested information about the organization they donated to, the matching gift management platform compares data against thousands of nonprofits in the system. Typically, a number of organizations meeting the search criteria are then compiled, and the employee is encouraged to select the correct listing with which to complete their request.

Matching gift submission process step 3 - screenshot

If the organization is not found, the individual is typically able to add a new organization by manually entering the nonprofit’s information—such as their mailing address and tax ID number⁠—to submit their match request.

4. The employee registers their donation.

After selecting the correct organization from the provided list, the employee donor is then able to provide details about their most recent donation to the nonprofit. Information requested will typically include:

  • Payment type
  • Donation amount
  • Donation currency
  • Date of payment
  • Match amount requested (as calculated using the company’s predetermined matching ratio and maximum match amount)
  • Optional anonymity or memorial status
  • Optional donation program designation

Matching gift submission process step 4 - screenshot

Ultimately, this data will be reviewed by the donor’s employer (or matching gift management provider) to ensure the donation meets the company’s matching gift eligibility criteria.

5. The employee submits their matching gift request.

This final step is the simplest of them all!

After providing detailed information about their nonprofit donation, the donor is asked to review the information for accuracy and submit their gift request to the company for processing and review.

Matching gift submission process step 5 - screenshot

However, Double the Donation has recently rolled out an all-new streamlined way for donors to submit their matching gift requests with matching gift auto-submission.

NEW! Matching Gift Auto-Submission with Double the Donation

With newly out-of-beta auto-submission functionality, Double the Donation enables donors to bypass steps 1-5 highlighted above and complete their matching gift request more quickly than ever before. And it can all be done directly from an organization’s gift confirmation page!

Matching gift request process with auto-submission

Here’s how it works: During the giving process, donors are prompted to enter their employers’ names as usual. If an individual works for a company that has auto-submission enabled through their corporate giving platform, they are flagged as auto-submission-eligible.

Once they are redirected to their thank-you screen, the individual is prompted to enter their corporate email address (or potentially another piece of information to verify their identity) and authorize Double the Donation to submit the match request on their behalf.

From there, Double the Donation processes the matching gift request behind the scenes, passing data pertaining to the initial gift along to the CSR platform used by the individual’s employer to review the submission.

Step 4 of the matching gift process

Step 4: The employer reviews and verifies the match request.

At this point, the donor will have completed their portion of the matching gift process⁠—and the rest will fall on the nonprofit receiving funds and the company contributing funds, respectively.

Now, the employer will typically review the employee’s matching gift request and ultimately determine whether to approve the matching donation. One of the key stages in this process involves the matching company ensuring that the initial donation was actually made. Otherwise, they won’t want to match a nonexistent donation!

While some companies manually verify each donation, many utilize gift receipts as proof of an individual’s personal contribution. In this scenario, the company will simply analyze the provided donation receipt and matching gift request to ensure the donation meets the company’s matching gift standards. If so, the donation match will be approved.

Here's what donation verification can look like in the matching gift process.

A gift receipt, like this, may function as proof of an individual’s personal contribution.

In other cases, however, the organization’s team will be responsible for verifying that the original donation was made as reported to the donor’s employer. When this occurs, the nonprofit will be required to attest to the validity of the original donation in order for the company to issue its matching gift.

(Tip: if you do get a request for donation verification, see to it as quickly as possible to avoid unnecessary delays in the matching gift disbursement process!)

Step 5 of the matching gift process

Step 5: The employer matches the donation.

Once the original donation is verified and approved, the actual disbursement process is triggered. As a result, the company offering the matching gift will issue its corporate donation in the amount offered by its matching program (typically at a dollar-for-dollar rate of the employee’s initial gift, but depending on the preset matching gift ratio).

Here are a few things for organizations to consider when it comes to this step in the matching gift process:

Disbursement schedules

Different companies have different disbursement schedules, so it may take a while for companies to process the verification and issue the check. Many businesses opt for a monthly distribution, but more information about a specific company’s timeline can often be found online or by using a matching gift program database.

Grouped donation matches

If a company receives multiple matching gift requests from multiple employees to the same nonprofit, they may decide to combine the matches together in a single donation.

For example, let’s say Ashley requested a donation match for $100 and John requested a match for $500, both to the Cat Rescue Club. Ashley and John’s employer, the Home Depot, may provide the Cat Rescue Club with one check worth $600 rather than two separate donations.

Here's what match disbursement can look like in the matching gift process.

Here’s what a corporate matching gift may look like, once disbursed.

Step 6 of the matching gift process

Bonus Step: The nonprofit thanks its donors!

Though this final step is not technically required for organizations looking to increase corporate revenue with donation-matching, recognizing donors for their participation is a critical component of an optimized matching gift process.

Consider this sample recognition message, which reads:

“Dear Jenny,

Thank you for your generous support of Cat Rescue Club.

We are pleased to inform you that we have just received a corporate matching gift as a result of your recent contribution. We appreciate the time you took to initiate the matching gift process.

Cat Rescue Club greatly appreciates your continuous support.

Sincerely,

Matching Gifts Manager
Cat Rescue Club”

Here's what match recognition can look like in the matching gift process.

Here’s an example of an effective matching gift recognition.

Following up after receiving a match enables your team to close the loop that may otherwise be left open. If a donor is never made aware that their match request was successful, they’re not likely to participate in a matching program again in the future. When you confirm the completion of the match, however, you leave a positive impression of both your organization and the matching gift process for donors to hold onto.

Not to mention, sending out a thank-you message after collecting a matching donation allows you to communicate your appreciation of the donor and their support. Once again, feel free to remind the individual of the increased impact that their matching gift has brought to your cause.

Matching gifts can seem like an immense task for nonprofits and donors who are unfamiliar with the programs and all they entail. When you take a closer look at what’s really involved, however, getting your donations matched is entirely doable⁠—some might even say easy!

Just remember, equipping your team with the right tools for the job is essential, especially for those looking to further streamline and simplify the matching gift process from start to finish.

Interested in learning more about the matching gift process and other strategic corporate fundraising opportunities? Check out our other educational resources:

Learn more about optimizing the matching gift process with Double the Donation.

Nonprofit Stock Donations and Matching Gifts: What to Know

Nonprofit Stock Donations and Matching Gifts | What to Know

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Donations of stocks, mutual funds, and other securities are increasing in popularity as a way for individuals to support their favorite causes. After all, these gifts offer exclusive financial benefits both to the donor contributing the gift and the nonprofit receiving it. But what about nonprofit stock donations and matching gifts? Are gifts of securities typically eligible to be matched by donors’ employers?

These are good questions⁠—and they’re cropping up more around nonprofits and donors alike. As a nonprofit fundraising professional, you surely understand the value of corporate matching gifts and are seeking to get as many company matches flowing into your mission as possible.

That’s why we’ve put together this guide that will cover everything your team should know about stock donations and matching gifts by exploring the following topics:

Ready to dive into the world of securities and gift matches? Let’s begin with a brief overview of nonprofit stock donations.

Donating Stock to Nonprofits: FAQ

Just getting started with nonprofit stock donations? These are some frequently asked questions⁠—and answers⁠—on the topic.

What are stock donations?

The basics of nonprofit stock donations and matching giftsStock donations are a unique method of giving in which individual donors can support nonprofit causes by transferring ownership of stock shares from themselves to the organization in question.

Stock donations are also referred to as gifts of securities, which typically encompasses transfers of stocks, bonds, or mutual funds.

In order to secure the full financial benefits of a stock donation, the donor should have held the stock for at least one year from the time of the gift. The organization then has the option to sell the stock immediately upon receiving the donation or allow its shares to continue to appreciate in value. Nonprofits typically outline their generally accepted types of donations and liquidation procedures in their gift acceptance policies.

Other Key Terms to Know:

Mutual fund donations

While stock donations typically involve the transfer of shares within a single company, mutual funds can include a portfolio of thousands of stocks, bonds, and other securities compiled as a single entity.

But when it comes to donating assets to charity, mutual fund donations function similarly to stock donations⁠—and similar rules apply regarding mutual fund and stock donations and matching gifts. Most companies that match gifts of stock will also match mutual fund donations and vice versa.

One thing to note, however, is that the mutual fund transfer process can be a bit more complicated than that of single stocks and may require a more hands-on process by the organization receiving the securities.

Marketable securities

Another term you might see in the realm of nonprofit stock giving is marketable securities. These are a specific category or type of investment, and most publicly traded stocks, and those most likely to be donated to a nonprofit, will fall under this umbrella.

Also known as marketable equity or marketable investments, these are essentially financial assets that are easily liquidated or readily convertible into cash. These are typically considered short-term investments and can be sold with minimal impact on their market value.

Why do individuals donate stocks to nonprofit causes?

Nonprofit stock donations are becoming a favorite giving method among donors for multiple reasons. For one, gifts of securities such as stocks enable donors to contribute more to an organization and its mission than they might be able to on their own.

If an individual purchases $100 in stock from a company that has since appreciated to double in value, they will be able to funnel $200 toward a cause that they care about⁠—despite having only paid $100 for the initial stock shares! (And if the donor’s employer will match their stock donation, the end value can reach higher than $400⁠—but more on that later.)

Additionally, when donating stocks that have been appreciating for more than a year, donors actually contribute 20% more to the nonprofit than if they had first sold their stocks and made a cash donation with the proceeds. That’s because when an individual sells their stock, they’re subject to pay significant capital gains taxes, which are not applicable should they transfer the stock to the receiving organization.

Are all stocks able to be donated to nonprofit organizations?

Most stocks will be eligible for donation purposes to most nonprofit causes. However, some organizations may place certain stipulations on the types of companies whose stocks they will and will not accept.

For example, the American Heart Association refuses donations of stock or other interests in companies relating to tobacco, nicotine delivery, or cannabis. In the case that an individual attempts a stock donation that is not accepted by the organization to which they gave, the securities will ultimately be returned to the donor.

Nonprofits That Accept Stock Donations

Many nonprofit organizations accept charitable gifts of stocks and mutual funds, and the trend is continuing to grow. In the next few years, we can expect more and more charitable causes to collect and incorporate gifts of securities into their overall fundraising strategies.

Donors interested in contributing stock to a particular cause are encouraged to explore their website, as the information regarding stock donation acceptance is often included within the organization’s “ways to give” page.

As of now, we’ve pulled a list of ten well-known causes and their current guidelines for donating stock.

American Heart Association accepts stock donations and matching gifts.

1. American Heart Association

The American Heart Association (or AHA) gladly accepts gifts of stocks (and mutual funds) from generous donors and provides easily accessible guidelines and instructions for multiple methods of doing so.

Here’s what their website had to say:

“You can use stock to support the organization through:

  • Electronic transfer – Your broker can transfer shares using the AHA’s Depository Trust Company (DTC) number and account number to ensure delivery.
  • Mail – You can mail paper certificates to the AHA.

Electronic Delivery of mutual fund shares is the most secure and practical delivery process available. If you would like to donate a gift of mutual funds to the American Heart Association, please contact us to confirm AHA’s brokers can accept the funds.”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

LLS accepts stock donations and matching gifts.

2. Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, also known as LLS, encourages charitable donations of stock and mutual fund assets as well. They even provide a brief overview of the tax benefits offered to stock donors who are considering the option!

Here’s what their website had to say:

“If you own stock or a mutual fund that has appreciated in price since you purchased it, consider using that asset for your charitable giving. You get an income tax deduction for the full market value of donated securities that you have owned more than one year and you will avoid the capital gains tax on the appreciated value.”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

ASPCA accepts stock donations and matching gifts.

3. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

The ASPCA is another organization that accepts stock transfer donations as a way for donors to support their cause. Within their plethora of suggested giving methods, gifts of security are highlighted along with detailed instructions on how to conduct the transfer process.

Here’s what their website had to say:

“For credit to ASPCA – American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals – Prior to transfer, please call the organization with the name of stock and number of shares to be transferred.”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

Syracuse University accepts stock donations and matching gifts.

4. Syracuse University

Syracuse University provides donors and prospects with information regarding multiple kinds of stock donations⁠—including marketable securities, closely-held securities, electronic stock transfers via DTC, and mutual fund transfers. Their site also prominently displays contact information for the university’s advancement department which will help facilitate the transfer!

Here’s what their website had to say:

“When planning to make a gift of securities to Syracuse University, please notify Advancement Services. Gifts of publicly traded securities that have appreciated in value allow you to claim a charitable deduction for the full market value of the securities on the date the gift is made. You pay no capital gains tax on the appreciation.

Gifts of stock in closely held corporations may result in substantial tax benefits in the form of charitable deductions and avoidance of capital gains taxes. Closely held securities can be especially attractive in funding charitable remainder trusts or charitable remainder lead trusts. Because special regulations apply to gifts of this kind, we encourage you to consult your tax adviser and the University’s development staff when considering such a gift.”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

Piedmont Healthcare accepts stock donations and matching gifts.

5. Piedmont Healthcare

Piedmont Healthcare utilizes its website to encourage stock donations by interested supporters. One way they do so is by briefly highlighting the benefits to both their institution as well as to the donor contributing the appreciated securities (of both stocks and mutual funds).

Here’s what their website had to say:

“Gifts of appreciated securities, such as stocks or mutual funds, that have been held for over a year are a wonderful way to support Piedmont while potentially realizing important benefits for yourself.

Instruct your broker to transfer shares to Piedmont Healthcare Foundation by contacting Truist Bank via phone or email.

Contact your mutual fund company about the process of transferring mutual fund shares. A special form and signature guarantee will likely be required by them to initiate a charitable transfer.”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

FSU accepts stock donations and matching gifts.

6. Florida State University

Florida State University provides stock donors (and prospective donors) with detailed instructions that outline the securities transfer process. The FSU Foundation incorporates tips and tricks for donors aiming to contribute stock to the university, whether electronically or with physical certificates.

Here’s what their website had to say:

“When donors’ securities are held in a brokerage account, the donor instructs their broker to transfer the securities to the university’s account.

Donors should also request that their brokers send confirmation of transfer to the FSU Foundation, Inc. The confirmation should indicate the donor’s name, the security being transferred, the Foundation account which should be used, and the date of transfer. Donors should then follow up with a letter to the FSU Foundation with instructions regarding their gift designation so that the gift can be properly credited.”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

National Kidney Foundation accepts stock donations and matching gifts.

7. National Kidney Foundation

The National Kidney Foundation includes stock donations as one of their suggested ways to support the institution⁠—along with other giving ideas such as cryptocurrency, vehicle donations, fundraising events, and more.

This organization provides interested stock donors with a downloadable PDF made available through their “Get Involved” web page.

Here’s what their website had to say:

“Please complete and email the included form to Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management prior to transfer.”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

Lazarex accepts stock donations and matching gifts.

8. Lazarex Cancer Foundation

The Lazarex Cancer Foundation also encourages stock donations within their “How You Can Help” page. This section quickly highlights the significant tax benefits to the organization and the subsequently increased impact a supporter’s gift can make.

Here’s what their website had to say:

“Did you know that your gift could go further by donating stock directly? Direct stock gifts let us use 100% of your donation, rather than losing up to 37% of it to capital gains tax. Thus, you can make a bigger impact at zero additional cost to you. If you would like to make a stock donation, please contact the Lazarex team.”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

St. Jude is an example of a nonprofit that accepts stock donations and matching gifts.

9. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

One of the largest youth-focused research hospitals in the nation, St. Jude receives support from a widespread supporter base. Under its “Ways to Give” page, the organization provides a detailed guide on the benefits of stock donations with a step-by-step walkthrough of the process.

Here’s what their website had to say:

“Donating stock directly to a charitable organization, like St. Jude, can increase the amount of money received by the charity while reducing the tax burden for the donor. When you donate appreciated securities (investments that have increased in value from the time they were purchased), some individuals and households may be able to take advantage of IRS tax provisions to claim a charitable tax deduction for the full, fair market value of the securities.

  • Step 1: Choose what type of stock and how many shares you want to donate.
  • Step 2: Contact your financial institution to request the transfer.
  • Step 3: Contact us to inform us of your gift.
  • Step 4: Look for a tax receipt and acknowledgment letter for St. Jude.”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

American Cancer Society is an example of a nonprofit that accepts stock donations and matching gifts.

10. American Cancer Society

For individuals looking to support the American Cancer Society, gifts of security are marketed as a key form of philanthropy under the “Ways to Give” umbrella on the organization’s website. Upon navigating to the “Stock Gifts” page, donors are met with information on various ways to donate stock in support of ACS⁠—including online, physical delivery, and electronic transfer authorization.

Here’s what their website had to say:

“A gift of appreciated securities held for more than one year may provide significant benefits to you as a contributor, such as:

  • Entitling you to a charitable income tax deduction for the fair market value of the gifted securities as of the date of the gift.
  • Eliminating capital gains tax that would ordinarily become due if you had sold the appreciated securities on the open market and donated the proceeds from the sale to charity
  • Claiming your charitable deduction against up to 30% of your adjusted gross income. Any unused deductions can be carried forward over the next five years.
  • Providing a way to help you achieve your long-term financial objective of reducing your income and estate taxes.”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

Matching Stock Donations: The Basics

Clearly, stock donations are a great stream of additional fundraising revenue for nonprofits, and they’re becoming an increasingly sought after resource. At the same time, organizations are looking to get their charitable donations matched by donors’ employing companies.

So, do the two ideas coincide at all? Here’s what your fundraising team needs to know about the relationship between nonprofit stock donations and matching gifts.

Are stock donations typically eligible for corporate matching gift programs?

The #1 factor that determines whether an individual’s stock donation is eligible for a match through their employer is who their employer is and what that company has established in its matching gift program guidelines.

For example, some companies consider gifts of securities a particular form of in-kind donation (which the company chooses whether or not to match based on their program guidelines). In that case, stock donations made by employees of these companies will be eligible as long as that company matches in-kind gifts.

On the other hand, many businesses have classified stock donations as a form of monetary gift (in the likes of cash, debit/credit payments, or bank transfers) or a common exception to the in-kind donation rule. Donors employed by these companies are typically able to secure a gift match on behalf of your organization⁠—so long as the value of the stock falls between the businesses’ predetermined thresholds.

All of that to say, many corporations choose to match the tax-deductible value of a contribution regardless of how it was given to a nonprofit organization – yet, this does vary based on company, so make sure you’re aware of your match-eligible donors’ company parameters.

Additionally, you’ll want to keep in mind that, as gifts of securities continue to grow in popularity among donors, we can expect many companies to begin adopting stock-inclusive matching gift program criteria for employee gifts in the near future.

How can I know if an individual’s stock donation qualifies for a match?

Let’s say your organization has just received a generous stock donation from a supporter of your cause. You may already know that their employer offers a matching gift program, and you’re looking to determine whether the stock gift is eligible for a match as well. Or, perhaps you’re unaware of whether the employing company matches any sort of employee donations to begin with. In either case, the answer should be located within the corporation’s matching gift program guidelines.

Nonprofits looking for this information may decide to conduct an online search for a company’s publicly-facing matching gift program guidelines to determine whether stock donations are mentioned. Donors seeking the information on their employers’ giving program can do a similar search of online resources, or they may look to internal documentation in an office policy handbook, workplace giving portal, etc.

However, the easiest way to uncover match-eligibility status for any donation⁠—stock or otherwise⁠—is by utilizing a matching gift company database.

Luckily, Double the Donation offers the most comprehensive database available, with detailed listings for tens of thousands of companies. Nonprofits and donors alike can begin typing a company’s name within the embedded autocompleting search tool and be instantaneously met with match qualifications, types of eligible donations, and more.

Find out a company's policies for nonprofit stock donations and matching gifts with a searchable company database.

If the provided guidelines mention stock donations as a viable option for matching donations, you have your answer⁠—the gift of stock is likely matchable for your cause!

If available documentation fails to reference gifts of securities at all, we recommend encouraging donors to inquire about the possibility with their companies to find the most definitive answer to the question at hand. Sometimes corporations might not list specific contribution methods, yet those gifts will still qualify for a match!

What are corporate stock donation matches worth?

When a stock donation⁠ (that has previously been identified as eligible for a corporate matching gift⁠) is requested by a donor, the employer typically agrees to match the value of the stock on the day on which the stock transfer was made.

Thus, nonprofit donors are able to secure a match by their employer equal to the purchase price plus the appreciated value of the stock⁠—which is typically greater than the individual’s initial financial investment!

Nonprofit stock donations and matching gifts process

What trends are expected regarding stock donations and matching gifts?

As of 2024, it’s estimated that many companies are willing to match the tax deductible value of a charitable gift, regardless of how that gift was made – the gift just has to benefit a charity and provide tax deductible value. With that being said, this can vary by company-specific program guidelines. As more and more companies match stocks and mutual fund contributions, it’s important for donors to check with their employer to know which types of gifts might qualify for a match.

The more popular stock grows as a form of nonprofit giving, the more companies will adopt stock-inclusive matching gift program guidelines.

And when you take a look at the financial benefits to parties on both sides of the transaction (one research study reported fundraising growth of up to 55% for organizations that allowed non-cash donations such as stock as viable donation options!), and the ease with which gifts of securities are becoming, this form of gift matching will likely continue to grow.

Examples of Companies That Match Stock Donations

Companies that match employee stock donations do so for the same reason as to why they match cash donations. These typically include corporate tax benefits, increased employee engagement, and positive public relations efforts.

Here are a few examples of companies that match stock donations made by their employees to qualifying charities!

Chevron matches gifts of stock donations.

1. Chevron

Chevron is well-regarded as having a generous corporate matching gift program, agreeing to match up to $10,000 in charitable donations per employee on an annual basis. And the best part is that they do match the market value of stock donations that their employees transfer to nearly all nonprofit organizations.

Here’s a glimpse at what Chevron says about stock donations and matching gifts:

“Gifts can be given to nonprofits on the Chevron Humankind site via a payroll deduction or credit card payment, or given directly to the nonprofit offline (e.g. check, cash, stock, etc.).”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

Google matches gifts of stock donations.

2. Google

Google offers both full and part-time employees the opportunity to participate in its corporate gift-matching initiative! Gifts worth up to $10,000 (including stock donations) will be matched to many nonprofit causes, including educational institutions, health and human services, cultural and community organizations, environmental nonprofits, and more.

Here’s a glimpse at what Google says about stock donations and matching gifts:

“Your gift must be in the form of check, credit card or marketable securities with a quoted market value. Gifts of securities will be matched with cash. The value of the stock will be calculated using the price at the close of the market on the day of transfer of the security.”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

General Electric matches gifts of stock donations.

3. General Electric

General Electric has matched a wide range of employee donations since 1954. In fact, it was the first corporation to roll out a corporate gift-matching program, though it was a fairly limited offering compared to what we see now!

Since then, GE has expanded its employee giving program to encompass new methods of giving⁠—including contributing securities⁠ such as stocks—as well as more nonprofits being eligible to receive funding.

Here’s a glimpse at what General Electric says about stock donations and matching gifts:

“Gifts may be made via cash, check, debit/credit card, or stock. Gifts may also be made by current payment from an entity such as a personal foundation or donor advised fund if that entity has been funded solely by the eligible GE participant.”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

Merck matches gifts of stock donations.

4. Merck

Merck & Co. matches numerous types of employee donations to charitable organizations. Within the company’s matching program criteria, they include a fairly detailed account of stock donations⁠—including the process for requesting a corporate match and the benefits employees receive from giving this way.

Here’s a glimpse at what Merck says about stock donations and matching gifts:

“Matching funds can be requested for one-time cash, check, credit card, or stock donations, via the Merck Gives Back (MGB) website.

When making a stock donation, enter the market value of the stock on the day you issued the stock to the nonprofit organization. The organization will be asked to confirm the realized value of the stock donation and the Merck Foundation P4G program will match funds equal to the realized value of donated stock.

You can deduct the full current value of the stock (regardless of purchase price) and avoid the capital gains taxes associated with selling the stock for profit; therefore, you pay no taxes on the appreciated value of the stock and take the full deduction for the current value of the stock.

You may not donate Merck stock options; however, you may donate Merck stock after you exercise your options.”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

State Farm matches gifts of stock donations.

5. State Farm

State Farm Insurance matches donations made by current full-time employees, part-time team members, and retired workers alike⁠—in any way they give to nonprofits. This includes gifts of securities and mutual funds, for which they detail a few stipulations of match eligibility.

Here’s a glimpse at what State Farm says about stock donations and matching gifts:

“Donations of Mutual Funds Units and Securities traded on the New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange or NASDAQ National Market meeting the following requirements:

  • The eligible donor must be the sole owner or have final authority to transfer ownership of the security or mutual fund unit to the eligible organization.
  • Ownership must be signed over to the eligible organization.

Please note: The exact value of the donated securities or mutual fund units will be based on the closing market price the date the transfer is complete.”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

Verizon matches gifts of stock donations.

6. Verizon

Verizon offers its employees multiple matching gift program options, the individual matching grants program being the one in which stock donations are considered match-eligible contributions. The company matches to nearly all 501(c)(3) organizations (or an equivalent internationally), with schools being eligible for a $5,000 donation or stock match and other nonprofits for a $1,000 donation or stock match.

Here’s a glimpse at what Verizon says about stock donations and matching gifts:

“Donations must be in one of the following forms: Personal check, Paypal, money order, payroll deduction, credit/debit card payment, wire/bank transfer, transfer of stock certificate.”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

Apple matches gifts of stock donations.

7. Apple

Apple offers a slightly different type of corporate stock donation-matching program but will match certain gifts of securities nonetheless. Apple matches any type of stock donations as well as donations of just Apple stock.

Here’s a glimpse at what Apple says about stock donations and matching gifts:

“Visit the Employee Giving portal to request a matching donation for your volunteer time or to make a one-time or repeating monetary donation to the charitable organization (or cause) of your choice using a credit card or PayPal account. You can also request a match for a monetary or stock donation you’ve already made.

To be eligible, your monetary donations must be paid in full — not pledged — via cash, personal check, credit card, PayPal, or Apple stock.”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

Edwards Lifesciences Matching Gift Logo

8. Edwards Lifesciences

Edwards Lifesciences, a leading medical technology company based in Irvine, California, matches donations up to $5,000 per full-time employee per year.

Here’s a glimpse at what the company says about stock donations and matching gifts:

“Edwards Foundation will match the tax-deductible portion of employee’s gifts made by cash, check and credit card. The Foundation will also match stock donations, as well as gifts coming out of an employee’s donor-advised fund (DAF).”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

Bank of America matches gifts of stock donations.

9. Bank of America

With a matching gift program that doubles team member gifts of between $24 and $5,000 per person per year, Bank of America reports contributing more than $25 million in matching gifts per year!

Here’s a glimpse at what the company says about stock donations and matching gifts:

“Gifts must be personal contributions paid directly to organizations (cash, check, credit card, securities, etc.) or paid through Bank of America’s employee giving platform via payroll deduction or credit card.”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

PNC Financial Services matches gifts of stock donations.

10. PNC Financial Services

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. incentivizes its employees to give back to the causes they care about. And it does so with a matching gift ratio of up to 4:1—and a program that’s inclusive of gifts of stock.

Here’s a glimpse at what the company says about stock donations and matching gifts:

“Gifts must be in the form of a check, credit card, or marketable securities with a quoted market value. You may be asked to provide proof of your contribution in the form of a canceled check, bank statement, credit card statement, or a transfer of stock certificate. Gifts of securities are valued based on the date of the gift.”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

EOG Resources matches gifts of stock donations.

11. EOG Resources

EOG Resources encourages giving among its workforce with a particularly generous matching gift program. In fact, its matching gift annual maximum of $75,000 is one of the highest program caps available, inspiring team members to give bountifully as well.

Here’s a glimpse at what the company says about stock donations and matching gifts:

“Employee must attach a copy of the 1) check, 2) debit/credit card receipt, 3) brokerage statement for a stock donation, or 4) check issued by my personal or family foundation or donor-advised fund.”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

Eli Lilly matches gifts of stock donations.

12. Eli Lilly ⁠and Company

Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly invites its current full-time, part-time, and retired employees to get involved with its philanthropic efforts! Matching up to $30,000 for current team members and $7,500 for retirees on an annual basis, the company demonstrates its commitment to doing good by giving back to the organizations its staff supports.

Here’s a glimpse at what the company says about stock donations and matching gifts:

“A contribution must be in the form of a check, credit card, or marketable securities (with an established market value determined by the average price on the day the contribution is made).”

Read up on the full program guidelines here.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to nonprofit stock donations and matching gifts. Some companies will match employee gifts of securities, while others will not.

But the good news is that more and more corporations are beginning to be inclusive of stock and mutual fund donations within their employee matching programs. That means you’ll want to keep an eye out for new programs being established and existing matching gift companies expanding their eligibility criteria.

Interested in learning more about matching gifts and other nonprofit fundraising opportunities? Check out these other Double the Donation resources:

Maximize stock donations and matching gifts with Double the Donation.

Maximizing your giving day and matching gifts revenue with the tips in this guide.

Maximizing Your Giving Day Revenue with Matching Gifts

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Hundreds of institutions are gearing up for their yearly Giving Days, many of which are rapidly approaching come springtime. But what you might not know is that Giving Days and matching gifts go hand in hand⁠.

This is especially true when nonprofit or university fundraisers are able to effectively align the two ideas—and that’s why we’ve created this resource to guide organizations like yours through the process of doing so.

Specifically, this guide will cover everything you need to know about Giving Days and matching gifts, the impact of each on overall fundraising, and what your team can do to set your cause up for success.

We’ll walk you through the following key topics:

If your organization hosts an annual Giving Day (or is looking to organize one), you’d be remiss if you didn’t incorporate matching gift practices into your overall plan.

Ready to find out how? Let’s jump in.

Giving Days + The Importance of Matching Gifts

Giving Days are often some of an institution’s biggest money-makers. These campaigns enable fundraisers to collect large amounts of much-needed revenue that help sustain their missions throughout the rest of the year.

Matching gifts can work to elevate the ROI on these strategically planned efforts. At the same time, they provide a positive experience for donors and fundraisers alike.

Here’s what you need to know in order to make the most of each fundraising tool:

What are Giving Days?

A Giving Day is generally a 24-hour period in which an educational institution or nonprofit cause drastically ups its fundraising efforts in order to engage with donors and solicit a large amount of revenue in a short time. Giving Days typically rely heavily on online fundraising and may encompass a number of events as well.

Comprising a relatively small portion of the year (typically 1/365), Giving Days tend to see significant results⁠—with some organizations collecting the majority of their fundraising revenue during the limited amount of time.

What organizations host Giving Days?

Although fundraising groups of all shapes and sizes might establish an annual Giving Day tradition, these tend to be particularly popular among school fundraisers. This typically includes:

  • Colleges and universities
  • K-12 schools
  • Private religious institutions
  • Traditional public schools
  • Charter and magnet schools

Higher ed institutions and K-12 schoools alike often produce incredible results with academic-focused Giving Day fundraising efforts. In fact, many education-based causes even utilize their Giving Days as one of their most primary sources of revenue each year. And doing so is a fantastic opportunity to engage alumni and leverage school spirit to drive a sense of community toward a common goal.

Where do matching gifts come in?

Corporate matching gifts enable organizations like educational institutions and other 501(c)(3) nonprofits to maximize existing support and increase revenue. And this happens without having to ask your donors for more of their hard-earned dollars. All you have to do is encourage them to participate in their employers’ workplace giving initiatives!

Here's how Giving Days and matching gifts help raise money.

At a critical time like your annual Giving Day, support will likely be at an all-time high. That means getting those contributions doubled (and sometimes even tripled) is more important than ever.

Not to mention, fundraising studies report that the existence of matching gift opportunities is often a driving factor in donor decision-making. For example, 84% of donors stated that they’re more likely to give charitably if their employer offers to match their dollars. At the same time, 1 in 3 individuals surveyed indicated that they’d make a larger donation should a match be applied.

While each company that matches employee donations chooses which types of charitable efforts it will support, the good news is that education institutions (which are often the primary organizer of annual Giving Days) are almost always included as an eligible cause.

The bottom line is that you don’t want to miss out on the key benefits of matching gifts at any time⁠—let alone your most important fundraising day of the year.

Raising More with 360MatchPro: A Feature Overview

The right software can be the difference between a fruitful, goal-surpassing Giving Day campaign and one that ultimately falls short⁠—and surely, you’re looking to establish the former.

Find out what 360MatchPro by Double the Donation can offer, and see why it’s the leading solution in the education and nonprofit fundraising spaces.

Let’s walk through an overview of top features, functions, and benefits:

User-Friendly Company Search Tool

Millions of donors who work for companies with employee gift-matching programs are never made aware of the opportunities through their employers. One of the best ways to counteract this knowledge gap is by providing your supporters with Double the Donation’s intuitive matching gift company search tool.

This widget⁠—which can be embedded within your online donation form, confirmation page, dedicated matching gift web page, Giving Day campaign page, and more⁠—prompts donors to enter their employer’s name in an optional search box. As the donor begins typing, the smart tool auto-fills suggested company names, taking into account typos, spelling variations, and subsidiaries.

The donor selects the correct company from the search tool, which then pulls employer-specific matching gift program information from an extensive matching gift company database. Now, the individual has access to their donation eligibility criteria and online match request forms (if available) and is encouraged to take the next steps.

Double the Donation's search tool can be used to increase revenue for both Giving Days and matching gifts.

Double the Donation also provides nonprofit users with unique custom matching gift program functionality that empowers organizations to add and manage “one-off” match programs in their own database tool. So if your organization secures a custom matching gift partner ahead of your Giving Day (which we’ll cover in more depth below), you’ll be able to easily configure the program to populate when your donors search the company name.

One-off or custom matching gift programs can improve your Giving Day impact.

*As a note, this feature is designed specifically for fundraisers looking to manage custom matching gift initiatives—360MatchPro does not work directly with corporations. If you’re a company interested in creating a matching gift program, contact us, and we’ll share information about our corporate vendor partners.

Match-Eligible Donor Screening

Studies show that employing more than one approach to donor eligibility screening results in an average of 77% more identified match-eligible gifts. Luckily, 360MatchPro utilizes four main identification methods⁠—donation form search tools, confirmation pages, donor communications, and email domain screening.

The more opportunities you have to determine whether a particular donor is eligible for a corporate match, the more likely you are to ultimately receive a match from that individual.

Double the Donation's donor screening tool can be used to increase revenue for both Giving Days and matching gifts.

Automated Email Follow-Ups

Following up in the first 24 to 48 hours after a donor makes a gift can be a great way to inform or remind individuals about matching gift opportunities, share program guidelines, and keep your organization and its mission at the forefront of their minds. However, managing a ton of donor follow-up emails can be a huge undertaking on a typical day⁠—let alone on a Giving Day when you’ll likely process multiple times the normal number of donations.

That’s where automated email communication comes in! With Double the Donation’s email streams, organizations can enable customizable follow-up messages that trigger at just the right time to drive matching gifts⁠ while ensuring no donations fall through the cracks.

Double the Donation's automated follow-up tool can be used to increase revenue for both Giving Days and matching gifts.

Streamlined Data Management

Effective matching gift fundraising relies on the ability to collect, track, and analyze key data points. For this reason, 360MatchPro allows organizations to view where donors are in the gift-matching process, determine percentages and totals of matching gift eligible dollars, forecast matching gift revenue for the future, and more.

This functionality provides users with real-time data that can be used to measure current success, identify areas with room for improvement, and locate the highest-value revenue opportunities going forward.Double the Donation's data management tool can be used to increase revenue for both Giving Days and matching gifts.

Top-Notch Customer Support

Any software can have a bit of a learning curve, and ensuring you have the help you need to learn the ropes effectively is of utmost importance. This is especially true when you have a huge upcoming fundraising initiative like a Giving Day.

At Double the Donation, each new client has an onboarding specialist of its own to get up and running quickly⁠—sometimes in less than 24 hours! These matching gift fundraising experts are ready to guide you through the process of getting started, provide you with tips and tools for optimal practices, and be there to answer any questions your team may have.

Interested in learning more? Get in touch with the Double the Donation team today to request a personalized demo.

5 Key Tips for Matching Gifts on Giving Days

Looking for practical and actionable steps you can take to improve your nonprofit or school’s fundraising strategies regarding both Giving Days and matching gifts? You’ve come to the right place!

Here are some tried-and-true practices that we recommend for optimal engagement success:

1. Highlight matching gifts in all Giving Day communications.

More than likely, you’re already planning your upcoming Giving Day communication plan, which will comprise a number of different marketing channels and strategies to spread the word. Be sure to incorporate matching gift information in all of them!

Remember, donors are more likely to give⁠—and to give in larger quantities⁠—if a matching gift is available. Providing additional touchpoints about matching gifts during your Giving Day can be exactly what some of your supporters need to encourage them to make their donations.

This might include email blasts, social media posts, digital newsletters, blog posts, text messages, phone calls, fundraising appeals, and more.

2. Collect employment information during the giving process.

In order to provide donors with employer-specific matching gift guidelines, you’ll first need to have a record of the companies for which individuals work. And the best⁠—and fastest⁠—way to uncover this information is by simply asking them.

Donors already provide you with a ton of information during the donation process, such as their name, contact information, payment details, and more. What more is one additional, optional question?

When you prompt your supporters to provide the name of their employer directly within your online giving form, you can store that information with each donor record to use for effective matching gift communication strategies in the future. And if you already have access to this information for your school’s alumni, you can leverage those data points as well.

Then, you’ll be able to communicate to a donor not only whether their employer matches donations but whether their particular gift is eligible for the program and how soon they must submit a match request. And for companies whose matching gift request forms are available online, you can even provide the donor with the exact form they’ll need to complete!

3. Prioritize your highest-value prospective match donors.

When you automate your low and mid-level donor communications through 360MatchPro, you allow your team to retain more time and effort to put toward your particularly high-value prospective matching gifts. That might mean making a personal phone call to explain the importance of matching gifts, walking through the process of requesting a gift match, writing a personalized thank-you letter that highlights the increased influence of matching gifts, and more.

You already know the effect that a major gift can have on your institution’s Giving Day. Now, just imagine that impact being doubled when a huge donor participates in their company’s gift-matching initiative. It’s certainly worth going a few steps further to ensure these individuals are aware of the programs in place and how they can plan a role in your success.

Thus, you’ll want to keep an eye out for major donors who work for top matching gift companies, and see what you can do to go above and beyond in driving those match requests to completion.

4. Identify corporate partners to organize custom matching gift programs.

Another often-underutilized type of matching gift initiative called a custom or “one-off” matching gift program, has the potential to bring your Giving Day matching strategy to new heights. After all, not all companies have widely available matching gift programs. However, many are willing to consider the practice, especially in a smaller-scale initiative.

In the months or weeks leading to your upcoming Giving Day campaign, consider reaching out to donors’ employers who don’t currently match gifts and propose the opportunity for a unique, limited-scale program instead. Rather than matching donations its employees make to any nonprofit or educational institution, the company would commit only to matching gifts made to your specific group.

Custom matching gift programs can improve Giving Day and matching gift results.

Since custom match programs are generally time-limited campaigns in the first place, they work particularly well when aligned with Giving Day (or week, month, etc.) efforts. And if you use Double the Donation’s matching gift platform (as highlighted above)—or are looking to get running with it before your Giving Day (as recommended below)—there’s a built-in functionality for managing custom programs now available to all standard account users!

5. Get your fundraising tools set up ASAP.

It’s not too late to get set up with the matching gift tools you need, even if your organization’s Giving Day is quickly approaching. But you certainly don’t want to wait any longer! The sooner you plan to get your Giving Day software up and running, the more time your team will have to prepare for the big event and get acquainted with the solution.

The first step is to take a good look at your organization’s tech stack. If you’re lacking a matching gift software solution⁠—such as the industry-leading platform described above, 360MatchPro by Double the Donation⁠—it’s time to make that investment. Even better, 360MatchPro integrates seamlessly with tons of top donation platforms, including some of the largest school and higher ed fundraising tools. This allows your institutions to get started easier than ever before!

(Tip: Many organizations have reported raising several times the initial subscription cost on their Giving Days alone, providing a positive ROI sometimes within the first 24 hours of purchasing!)

Once you have your matching gift solution in hand, ensure it’s live and functioning within your online donation pages by the time your Giving Day rolls around, and you’ll be all set for success.

Final Thoughts

Giving Days and matching gifts share a lot of the same goals: to raise substantial amounts of revenue, provide donors with new and exciting ways to support their favorite causes, and equip fundraising teams with more efficient practices, to name a few. When the two fundraising components are intertwined, education and nonprofit fundraisers tend to see better results than they could have imagined.

With so many dollars flowing to organizations like yours on these special days, it would be a huge missed opportunity not to get those gifts matched when eligible. And luckily, Double the Donation is here to help!

To learn more about Giving Days and matching gift efforts, check out some of our other resources below:

Improve your giving days and matching gifts with Double the Donation.

This article will explain six unique fundraising ideas that don’t involve selling to upgrade your fundraising strategy.

Top 6 Unique Fundraising Ideas That Don’t Involve Selling

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Every year, nonprofits, faith-based groups, and schools need new fundraising ideas. What’s more, it’s crucial to include fundraising ideas that don’t involve selling.

Let’s face it: donors and families don’t like to sell merchandise on your behalf. Yes, they’ll do it—if they have to—to support your cause, but they don’t like it. In fact, many families don’t like selling so much that they’d rather just donate by buying the merchandise themselves. However, they get stuck with items such as chocolates, food, and useless items they don’t want and will likely throw away.

Discovering alternate fundraising ideas that don’t require selling merchandise is vital to your fundraising strategy. Let’s dive into six key fundraising ideas that don’t involve selling!

1) Shoe Drive Fundraiser

The top fundraising idea that doesn’t involve selling is a shoe drive fundraiser! One of the top reasons why it’s the top non-selling fundraising idea is because your community doesn’t have to sell merchandise on your behalf. Plus, they don’t even have to contribute financially.

Also, it’s the most socially responsible fundraiser you can host! When you host a shoe drive fundraiser, all you do is collect gently worn, used and new shoes. In the process, your community will keep shoes from going into landfills, and in turn, you’ll save the environment. Talk about social responsibility!

Once the footwear gets picked up by a well-known shoe drive fundraising company, you receive a check. Simple, right? What happens to the shoes from there is fairly straightforward. They get sent to small business owners in developing countries in need of merchandise to sell so they can escape poverty.

2) eCard Fundraiser

Another incredible no-sell fundraising idea is an eCard fundraiser. Instead of selling a product that ends up unused, donors receive an eCard in exchange for their donation. Then, they can send these eCards to friends and family to brighten their days.

To set up your e-card fundraiser, follow these simple steps:

  1. Find an eCard software provider. For best results, look for a company that regularly works with nonprofits so they can help you transform your eCards into a fundraising tool.
  2. Design your eCards. Unleash your creativity by designing eCards that reflect your nonprofit’s branding. Be sure to write a short message that will explain to recipients the cause the eCard is helping to support.
  3. Sort your eCards. Consider creating different designs for different campaigns or times of year. Organize your eCards into relevant groups to make it easy for donors to choose which ones they’d like to send.
  4. Upload your eCards. All that’s left to do is upload your eCards and start offering them to donors! Add them to your website and online fundraising store. Then, promote the opportunity to current and potential supporters.

For example, you could add an eCard fundraiser to your broader holiday giving campaign. Create holiday-themed eCards that donors can send to friends and family to wish them a happy holiday season. That way, you can earn more for your cause and make the donation experience more meaningful.

To get a glimpse at what a holiday eCard campaign looks like in action, check out UnitingWorld’s Christmas eCard page!This screenshot shows how UnitingWorld implemented a holiday eCard fundraiser.

Another way you can use eCards is by offering tribute donation cards. When a donor makes a donation, give them the option to send a tribute eCard. These types of eCards explain the cause the donor contributed to so they can share your organization’s mission with friends and family. Not only can this help increase donations, but it can also gain you more exposure for your nonprofit.Work with our recommended eCard software provider to leverage eCard fundraisers.

3) Grow-a-Beard Fundraiser

Sure, this grow-a-beard fundraising idea is catered to men, but women can still support them! November is known for the Movember movement, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t ask the men in your community to grow their mustaches and beards for your cause. If they feel connected with your organization, they won’t hesitate to join in.

Also, if your community has a veterans’ group or sports team, you can partner with them. To get started, all you have to do is ask your male supporters to grow their facial hair for a month. As part of the initiative, each participant agrees to help you raise funds. And this is where you can ask women, girls, and boys to join in on the fun!

Your fundraisers have to ask sponsors to support them (and your cause) as they grow their facial hair! Encourage participants to turn to their family and friends for monetary support. By the way, if you get a group of men who work for a business to participate, perhaps it’s something their corporation will also support.

4) Chef Competition Fundraiser

Are you or people you know foodies? Well, an excellent and tasty fundraising idea is a chef competition! Think of it as your own Master Chef competition.

All you have to do is recruit amateur chefs (and even bakers!). Then, find a venue. Start by considering a school cafeteria or the hall of a church in your community. After securing a venue, promote your chef competition and invite people to attend your event. This fundraising idea will be a lot of fun for your community because people will actively participate and vote on which chef or team offers the best dishes.

In exchange for a charitable donation, everyone gets to participate, and the experience will be one that will be memorable for your community and your cause!

5) Film Festival Fundraiser

Many people love movies, so a film festival is a great fundraising idea. Almost everyone has a cell phone on them at all times. Due to technology and social media, people already constantly take pictures and shoot videos. So, take advantage of what people already do and ask them to do it for your cause.

Invite your supporters and other community members to enter their films into your amateur film festival. Select a date on your calendar when you can screen the movies. Also, think about different movie themes that might be of interest to your community. Depending on your community and your budget, screen the films at a local hall or auditorium, and charge attendees an admission fee.

Not only is this a great way to raise money, but it also brings the community together through common interests.

6) Karaoke Fundraiser

Chances are, you have donors and supporters who love to sing. Plus, thanks to constantly evolving technology, you no longer need heavy karaoke equipment. All you need is a good mic, an amplifier and a screen to stream lyrics.

Choose a date on your calendar for this engaging fundraising idea, and see if a local restaurant or bar will partner with you. In exchange for providing you with a venue, you need to effectively market the event and get as many people as possible to attend.

Then, the restaurant or bar will either allow you to charge an admission fee or provide you with 5 to 10 percent of the receipts for the evening. To secure even more donations, you can record the event and ask people to donate so that you can send them the MP3 music file.

Now you have six fundraising ideas to try that are fun, free, and doable! However, no fundraising event is really over until you send out thank-you emails. Not only is it a great way to extend your thanks, but it also gives you a better chance of retaining first-time donors.

A good place to start is with an email list grouped by recurring or first-time donors. This way, you get to personalize the message for each group better. 

Sending a thank you email lets your donors know the value and impact of their contributions. When you build relationships with donors, you help them feel more inclined to continue supporting you, your cause, and other fundraisers you may have in the future.

Kristy Fonterela, the VP Marketing at Funds2Orgs, is the guest author for this post on fundraising ideas that don't involve selling.Author: Kristy Fonterela, VP Marketing, Funds2Orgs. Kristy Fontelera is a creative professional with a background in corporate and nonprofit social media advertising, content creation, and brand strategy. As the VP of Marketing, she works with a suite of global fundraising brands as well as manages national and local social media accounts for clients and entrepreneurs. Kristy enjoys new books, traveling, Fleetwood Mac, and picnics with her pup. Most of all, Kristy is a passionate individual who loves nothing more than to help others make an impact in their market and the world.

Plan a Fundraiser that Engages Kids: 6 Top Tips for Schools

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Your school undoubtedly enjoys supporting the programs and activities that your students love, and you should be able to continue to do so. But as an educator or member of the PTA, your time is limited. You have many tasks vying for your attention and it can be difficult to balance everything and still perform each task well.

School fundraising should not be another source of stress in your life. Fundraising for all of your kids and teens’ favorite programs can be fun and engaging for you, your students, and your community. However, to avoid becoming overwhelmed with stress as you organize the fundraiser, utilize an effective event fundraising software.  

To cultivate a fundraiser that kids will want to participate in and promote, you should:

  1. Plan a fun event.
  2. Stay organized.
  3. Encourage personalization.
  4. Allow healthy competition.
  5. Offer incentives.
  6. Make it shareable.

If you follow these 6 best tips for school fundraising, you will be blasting through your fundraising goals in no time—and getting your kids involved in the fundraising process. So, without further ado, let’s start learning how to create the best and most engaging fundraiser your school has ever seen!

1. Plan a fun event.

The best way to guarantee your students actually want to get involved in your fundraiser is to make it fun and simple. It is entirely possible that the goal of raising money is not enough to get the students to engage with the fundraiser.

Depending on the age of the kids, they may not quite grasp the importance of money in making sure the programs you provide can still be offered year after year.  

To ensure the students value the fundraiser, try planning your fundraiser around a fun event. To get some inspiration for fundraising ideas, click here.

A Fun Run or Jog-a-thon is an excellent example of a fun and easy event that’s well-suited for school-aged children.

The concept of a Fun Run or Jog-a-thon is simple. The student should recruit friends, adults, and family to pledge money for each unit of distance that they run or donate a lump sum for the entire distance. This could look like:

  • Uncle Joe pledges $3 for every lap ran by Timmy S.
  • Janet pledges $2 for every half mile ran by Ellie H.
  • Charlie donates $50 to Louis’ Fun Run fund.

An effective walk-a-thon allows for the kids to hang out with their friends and stay active while supporting their school.

2. Stay organized.

One of the hardest parts of organizing and promoting a large-scale school fundraiser is making sure all of your data stays organized. You may be unfamiliar with fundraising techniques and strategies—and that’s completely normal!

To stay organized and properly manage the information you gather from your Fun Run or Jog-a-thon you should employ a Fun Run/Jog-a-thon fundraising software, like 99Pledges.

The best software will track and manage the pledges made to your Fun Run or Jog-a-thon so that you don’t have to! Yes, you heard that correctly. You will never have to sit with a calculator adding up the money that each pledgor owes to your child’s fundraising page.

This technology will allow you to load each child’s information into the program and create a custom-made, individualized fundraising page for supporters to donate or pledge money to.

If you want to get kids and teens involved invested in your fundraising efforts, you need to have an organized system that can easily integrate students into its process.

3. Encourage personalization.

While you are all fundraising for the same end result, your fundraiser participants may have many reasons for becoming involved. Some people might participate because they are passionate about the cause or the program that your event benefits. Meanwhile, others may want to compete for incentives or simply participate in your fun event.

Whatever the reason for their participation, you should encourage students to personalize their fundraising page to entice more supporters.

With the right software tool, each student will be able to fundraise separately for a common goal. While some fields on their unique page may be consistent throughout all the supporters, such as the:

  • School name or program
  • Description of the fundraiser
  • Per participant goal
  • Date of the fundraiser

The students or their parents should still have the option to write a fundraising letter that offers an impassioned appeal for donations and pledges that will be more likely to draw in friends and family supporters.

This fundraising letter should:  

  • Describe the fundraising event in their own words.
  • Explain what the fundraiser benefits.
  • Convey the student’s reason for participating.
  • Provide donation information.
  • Thank the supporter in advance.

It is not likely that friends and family members will donate or pledge money simply because it is a good cause. They want the emotional appeal—they want to donate and pledge money because it is something the student is passionate about.

Feel free to encourage your students to make this fundraiser their own. This will not only cause the students to become more invested in the outcome of the fundraiser, but it will also boost your fundraising revenue!

4. Allow healthy competition.

One of the benefits of your PTA hosting a participant-based fundraising event is that the work is divided up among a wide range of people. While we know it can be difficult to motivate such a wide group of kids, make sure you don’t underestimate the power of healthy competition.

Friendly competition among friends has the potential to greatly enhance your fundraising revenue and encourage students to work hard to gain supporters.

The students should be able to have some sort of visual that represents how much each student is fundraising. A good software tool will display top donations that can serve as motivation for students to seek out additional support for their pages.

If you choose to do a walk-a-thon, or any variation of the event-a-thon, it is easy for the students to see how hard their peers are working. The student may be more inclined to walk further or read more or hit more baseballs if they can see how well other participants are doing.

While good, old-fashioned competition is one of the best motivators in fundraising among kids and teens, you must remember to provide some incentives that will further encourage the students to put effort into the campaign.

5. Offer incentives.

If you want to modify your fundraising strategy to maximize the number of students who are meaningfully engaging with your fundraiser, you should offer incentives to participants. Kids and teens love free stuff and added perks— but then again, who doesn’t?

To make competition a sustainable motivator and to help students stay excited about your fundraiser, you must give them a light at the end of the tunnel. They need something to look forward to and something to latch onto as they fundraise.

Don’t worry. The incentives don’t need to be elaborate or expensive, just something that will appeal to the kids and teens participating in your fundraising event.

Potential incentives you may want to offer include:

  • A pizza party for the classes with the highest participation rates.
  • Giving a percentage of the total earnings to the class who raises the most money.
  • Allowing the class to allocate the money they earn above their goal to a project of their own.

Depending on the age of your students, they may respond better to different incentives. Make sure you offer incentives that you know your students will love and want to achieve.

An easy way to incentivize all of your students at once is to provide fundraising team t-shirts. These can be custom made based on class, grade, or school depending on the size of your fundraiser. The kids will love the free merch and be excited to wear it, which will, in turn, promote the fundraiser.  

To see how you can increase excitement in your fundraiser with a tangible incentive, check out Bonfire’s custom school shirts.

6. Make it shareable.

The best tactic to include in your fundraising plan when hosting a school fundraiser that kids and teens will want to be a part of is to make it shareable on social media. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and so many more social media platforms have taken over how people communicate with one another and share news that is important to them.

Depending on the age of your students they may have their own social media accounts or, at the very least, it is likely their parents have accounts. Enabling students to share the fundraiser with remote friends and family members and to engage with the fundraiser on their own terms will make it more likely that the students actually want to participate.

You will be able to reach more people and encourage the students to promote their own fundraising page if the event-a-thon software that you use allows mobile sharing of personalized pages, your students and their parents are sure to want to spread the word about the school fundraiser.

Your school fundraiser should be easy and fun for everyone involved—student, teachers, parents, and supporters alike! With the right software, your walk-a-thon or other exciting fundraising events can engage your students and increase your fundraising revenue.

This post was contributed by Brad Dowhaniuk.

Brad Dowhaniuk is the co-founder of 99Pledges, which provides schools and teams with an easy-to-use, web-based fundraising solution to manage and drive success in Fun Runs, jog-a-thons, baseball hit-a-thons, and much more.

Matching Gift Retention is the Future of Fundraising

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With so many different ways to fundraise for our nonprofits, we’re being pulled in too many directions, and our ability to focus on the most impactful channels is becoming difficult. The future of fundraising is a strategy that enables organizations to overcome resource constraints and competing data sources to maximize fundraising and optimize programs.

Two areas that are worthy of tactical coordination are matching gifts and donor retention. In this post, we’re going to outline why retaining your matching gift donors, in particular, is going to have an amazing impact on your organization’s immediate revenue and long term sustainability.

Why retention needs to be your central strategy

The cost to acquire $1 from a new donor averages $1.25, yet retaining a donor comes at a significantly lower cost. According to research by acclaimed nonprofit researcher Adrian Sargeant, if an organization retains 10% of their current donors then their net growth in giving for the “typical” nonprofit will grow by 50%.

This data has historically focused solely on the individual donor and not taken matching gifts into account. Given that the majority of companies offering matching gifts are matching at a 1:1 ratio, while others can give as much as $4 for every $1 donated, there is an amazing amount of potential when we focus our retention efforts on match-eligible donors.

From a pure revenue generation standpoint, organizations will be able to dramatically alter their revenue projections if they can identify and retain donors who have historically been able to match their gifts.

So where do we begin?

Data stewardship will maintain your impact

A common source of frustration for donors is poor communication, which is typically a symptom of a much larger issue surrounding data integrity. It costs an organization $1 to verify a record upon entry, $10 to dedupe and clean data AFTER input, and $100 per bad record if nothing is done.

Identifying matching gift opportunities and maintaining donor retention both begin with having accurate data on your donors, so kick off your retention strategy by investing in data stewardship. This can be achieved by concentrating on small changes to processes that your organization may be missing right now:

This becomes especially important when leveraging impact-focused integrations like the 360MatchPro integration with NeonCRM’s donor management system, since having an accurate name and email on file will ensure that the automated marketing will be automatically delivered to drive more matching gift requests to completion.

An important process adjustment includes logging which businesses a donor works with. If you notice on LinkedIn or through your matching gift outreach that a person has changed jobs, be sure that this change is reflected in their account in your database of record.

Use personas to hone your retention message

Once your organization has established a confident foundation for your donor database, you will be able to begin strategic outreach and cultivation around donor retention. Rather than randomly calling people who have donated in the past, your organization can implement a data-driven outreach plan that centers around the creation of donor personas for your retention stewardship needs.

The concept of personas originally came from the marketing world as a way to group buyers into key segments of your audience. Since then, there has been some exciting work done around developing donor personas specific to the nonprofit industry.

Developing a persona to organize your work around can help to clarify the key items that will relate to your audience. Instead of creating mass messaging that doesn’t appeal to anyone, organizations should be crafting communications that speak directly to a specific audience.

An added step that your organization could be taking involves running reports specifically on donors who have requested matching gifts in the past. Being able to create a persona specifically around match-eligible donors will be an empowering step toward maximizing your impact. Take it one step further and create personas around new match-eligible donors versus lapsed match-eligible donors.

Make donor love central to your mission

Beyond poor communication, another reason that your organization may be losing donors is the donation experience itself. Review how easy it is to make a donation on your website and, more specifically, how clear your instructions around initiating a matching gift are.

Donor love should be at the center of the giving experience. You can do this by centering fundraising appeals around your organization’s mission and message as well as the donor’s role in making an impact. Make the experience about the donor’s ability to drive change and ensure that your organization is not taking a “me me me” approach to communications.

You can start by taking a hard look at your organization’s website since it will be one of the primary resources that donors use to determine whether they will be giving to your nonprofit.

No matter what your organization does, focusing on your mission will always ensure that donors feel an emotional attachment to your organization.

Donor retention is about ensuring that you are building a lasting relationship with the individual that is giving to you. Matching gifts take that relationship to the next level, involving a generous corporate partner as well as your individual donor. By combining matching gifts with a strategy focused on donor retention, you will be able to chart an exciting path towards sustainability and growth for your nonprofit.

Tim SarrantonioTim Sarrantonio is a team member at Neon One and has more than 10 years of experience working for and volunteering with nonprofits. Tim has raised over $3 million for various causes, engaged and enhanced databases of all sizes, procured multiple successful grants, and formulated engaging communications and fundraising campaigns for several nonprofits. He has presented at international conferences and is a TEDx speaker on technology and philanthropy. He volunteers heavily in his hometown, Niskayuna, NY.

 

Shoe Drive Fundraising: A Mini Guide for Schools and Clubs

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What is shoe drive fundraising?

Shoe drive fundraising is quickly becoming one of the most popular fundraising options for schools and clubs of all sizes! As an incredibly simple and effective fundraising method, shoe drives are a fantastic way to engage your community, set a great example, and raise some serious funds.

Check out our quick guide to starting and directing your own shoe drive fundraiser! Use this table of contents to navigate the page and find some quick answers:

  1. Who conducts shoe drive fundraisers?
  2. How does shoe drive fundraising work?
  3. What are the benefits of shoe drive fundraisers?
  4. What are some ways to conduct a shoe drive fundraiser?
  5. How can I promote my shoe drive fundraiser?
  6. Additional fundraising resources

Shoe drive fundraisers are perfect for schools and clubs.

Who conducts shoe drive fundraisers?

Shoe drive fundraising is a great choice for practically any group or organization that heavily interacts with its members, constituents, or other stakeholders at the ground level.

This means that shoe drive fundraisers are especially well-suited for community-based organizations, particularly schools, school-based clubs, and youth organizations.

Shoe drive fundraisers are perfect for schools!

Schools of all sizes can host extremely successful shoe drive fundraisers!

Kids outgrow shoes so quickly! Families tend to have plenty of gently used pairs of shoes lying around that no longer fit. A shoe drive fundraiser is not only an easy fundraising idea, it also lets parents cut out some clutter while helping support their local school.

Shoe drive fundraisers are a perfect choice for your club!

Clubs can also hit their fundraising targets with shoe drive fundraisers!

A shoe drive fundraiser will generate interest all around your school, but, depending on your club’s focus, these fundraisers also offer wonderful opportunities to raise awareness about a number of social and environmental issues!

During a time when both public and private schools around the country face budgetary struggles like never before, it’s important that schools remain aware of all their fundraising options. Shoe drive fundraisers are among the easiest fundraisers for schools to conduct, as facilitator services will typically provide schools with the materials they need and then collect the donated shoes.

Plus, this stress-free fundraising model makes shoe drive fundraisers and ideal choice for any small organization:

  • PTA groups
  • Parent-led booster clubs
  • Student-led organizations in schools
  • School or community athletic clubs
  • Small community-based associations
Learn more about shoe drive fundraisers for educational organizations and schools!

Check out the steps to conducting a shoe drive fundraiser!

How does shoe drive fundraising work?

With the right shoe drive fundraiser facilitator, the entire process is incredibly simple. They’ll help you set some realistic (but ambitious) fundraising plans. You’ll start reaching your shoe collection goals in no time!

Collect your donated shoes to hand over to your shoe drive fundraiser facilitator.

  • 1. Recruit some volunteers.

    Find the individuals in your school or club willing to help lead your shoe drive fundraiser, and invite them to get involved! They’ll mostly be needed for collecting shoes, identifying partners, and promoting the campaign.

  • 2. Promote your shoe drive fundraiser.

    Explain the shoe drive fundraiser to your school or club members, then ask them to bring their spare pairs soon. Share your campaign on your social media page and in your newsletter emails. Shoe drive facilitators like Funds2Orgs will even provide you with free marketing and fundraising tools for the length of your fundraiser.

  • 3. Collect shoes.

    Provide your donors with easy opportunities to donate their pairs of shoes. Set up a dedicated donation bin in an open location, or provide each classroom or chapter meeting with its own donation bin. As you collect the shoes, fill the special bags or containers provided by the facilitator.

  • 4. Reach your goal and contact your facilitator.

    After you’ve reached your shoe collection goal, contact your shoe drive fundraiser facilitator to arrange a time for them to collect all your shoes. The process is simple and stress-free!

  • 5. Receive your check!

    The shoe drive fundraiser facilitator will calculate the value of your collected shoes and issue a check for the funds you raised. Shoe drives can raise some major funds! For example, some schools and organizations have raised thousands of dollars after just six weeks!

There are several major benefits to shoe drive fundraising.

What are the benefits of a shoe drive fundraiser?

Shoe drive fundraisers are an ideal fundraising solution for schools, school-based clubs, and community organizations for a number of reasons, mainly these 4 key benefits:


Minimal Costs

It takes very little money to host and promote a shoe drive fundraiser. With Funds2Orgs, there are zero out of pocket costs!


Fast Funds

Receive a check for your raised funds in as little at 2 days after your shoe drive fundraiser facilitator collects them!


Global Philanthropy

Your donated shoes will be provided to entrepreneurs to re-purpose and resell in developing economies, stimulating organic growth.


Environmental Stewardship

Discarded shoes are notoriously hard on the environment. Recycling them in a shoe drive fundraiser is a productive way to be responsible!

Shoe drive fundraisers represent a low-cost, high-impact fundraising option for schools and organizations of all sizes! Plus, the most engaged shoe drive fundraiser facilitator services offer great learning opportunities on the environment and the global economics of philanthropy.

There are tons of ways to incorporate shoe drive fundraising into your fundraising goals.

What are some ways to conduct a shoe drive fundraiser?

Shoe drive fundraising is an extremely versatile fundraising method!

They work great as standalone fundraising campaigns. It’s easy to organize a campaign and set some goals with your shoe drive fundraiser facilitator, who will then provide you with some marketing ideas and tools.

Promote your shoe collection drive to your classes, chapters, or anyone else. Then be sure to provide collection bins or bags to your volunteers or classrooms. You might be surprised how quickly you can reach your collection goal!

Shoe drive fundraisers also make an effective additional component to any of your other campaigns or events!

If students or parents will be gathering for an event to benefit your school or club anyway, it’s easy to incorporate shoe drive fundraising into your planning and promotions.

If you host any of the following types of school fundraising events, think about the ways that a shoe drive could be integrated into your fundraising:

  • Game Nights or Tournaments

    Maybe two pairs of donated shoes could replace a registration fee for your casual competition events!

  • Raffles

    Offer free raffle or auction tickets as an incentive to encourage shoe donations!

  • Online Fundraising Campaigns

    Your crowdfunding or peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns are perfect opportunities to add shoe drive fundraising as additional challenge elements.

  • Service or Product Sales

    Think car washes and bake sales. Why not offer shoe donations as a payment option?

  • Fairs or Festivals

    Larger festival events are perfect for promoting or incorporating your shoe drive fundraiser!

Explore more school fundraising ideas!

Shoe drive fundraisers are easy to promote to your community and members!

How can I promote my shoe drive fundraiser?

If you’re conducting a shoe drive fundraiser as either a standalone fundraising project or alongside a larger campaign, it’s crucial that you spread the word and encourage your students, members, and community stakeholders to make donations!

As a unique fundraising concept, shoe drive fundraisers are fairly easy to promote.

There are a number of key promotion strategies that work great for shoe drive fundraising:

1. Printed Materials

Creating printed materials to explain and promote your shoe drive fundraiser is essential, especially for schools! Flyers, letters, collection tracking charts, and door hangers are necessary tools for clearly labeling and explaining your fundraiser to students and their parents.

Some shoe drive fundraiser facilitators will even provide you with handy templates to quickly create your own printed promotional materials.

2. Social Media Promotions

Your school or club probably already relies on at least one social media platform to promote events or stay in touch with parents or members.

Be sure to promote your shoe drive fundraiser on your social media pages, especially Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Upload some pictures of your volunteers collecting shoes, or maybe even record a video to explain how the fundraiser works!

3. Promote with Your Other Events

If you choose to incorporate your shoe drive fundraiser into other events that you host, it’s important to clearly communicate this in all your promotions!

Invite attendees at your sporting events, sales, community service projects, and festivals to bring some pairs of shoes to donate. Be sure to offer some creative incentives, too!

4. Promote with Your Partners

Reach out to any community partners who might want to get involved! Local businesses and other community-based organizations make great partners for shoe drive fundraisers.

Similarly, if you’re a school considering a shoe drive fundraiser, be sure to get your PTA involved (and vice versa)! The more volunteers and donors, the easier it’ll be to promote your fundraiser and reach your goals.

Additional Fundraising Resources

When beginning a new fundraising project or setting new goals for your school or club, it’s important to do your research! Start with these resources to find the best options and strategies to help you succeed.

15+ Best Crowdfunding Websites

Check out these top crowdfunding websites!

Crowdfunding has quickly become one of the best ways to raise funds online.

Be sure to find the platform best suited to your needs by using this handy guide from Double the Donation!


15+ Best Crowdfunding Websites

Free Fundraising Guides from Funds2Orgs

Free fundraising guides from Funds2Orgs!

Check out these free fundraising guides from leading shoe drive fundraiser service, Funds2Orgs!

They offer free resources that can help any type of nonprofit or fundraising project, so be sure to explore.


Free Fundraising Guides from Funds2Orgs

21 Effective Fundraising Ideas for Kids

Check out these great fundraising ideas for kids!

If you’re fundraising with kids, your strategies can’t just be engaging — they have to be fun!

Check out this helpful list of some effective fundraising ideas from Bonfire for some ways to get started.


21 Effective Fundraising Ideas for Kids

Improve your fundraising plan with these 6 tips.

6 Simple Fundraising Plan Tips [With Free Templates!]

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Your nonprofit’s fundraising plan is the backbone of your success as an organization.

Without a solid fundraising plan in place, there would be nothing to guide your fundraising efforts and no way to tell if your nonprofit is on track to meet your goals.

Before implementing any change in fundraising strategy, you need to have an official fundraising plan in place. To get you started, here are 6 simple tips to consider:

  1. Gain fundraising plan input from key stakeholders.
  2. Develop goals (and challenges)!
  3. Set a fundraising plan timeline.
  4. Determine your fundraising methods.
  5. Build corporate partnerships into your fundraising plan.
  6. Tailor your case for support.

Bonus! Once your fundraising plan is in place, you should periodically assess your strategy. Check out Double the Donation’s ultimate fundraising strategy assessment to stay ahead of the curve!

Ready to get started on your fundraising plan? Let us break these tips down into a bit more detail.

You can improve your fundraising plan by gaining input from key stakeholders.

1. Gain fundraising plan input from key stakeholders.

Stakeholders are an important part of your nonprofit’s team. Not only do they help fund your organization’s philanthropy, but they typically have final say over big-picture fundraising decisions.

Since a fundraising plan outlines a nonprofit’s key activities, it is important to get support from these board members and other key stakeholders.

There are a couple of ways you can gain input from your stakeholders:

  • Experiential input. You can ask stakeholders directly about what fundraising strategies have worked well for your nonprofit in the past. Inquire about past fundraising activities, strengths and weaknesses. Take their feedback into consideration and be sure to demonstrate to them how you address their input.
  • Consultant interviews. You might find it helpful to bring in a fundraising consultant. They can conduct stakeholder interviews to determine what is most important to your board and how to get everyone on the same page when designing your fundraising plan.

Remember: Your nonprofit’s board members are just as passionate about your organization’s mission as you are. Do not think of their approval as a bureaucratic hurdle to overcome, but rather an important step towards improving your fundraising plan.

You can improve your fundraising plan by developing goals and challenges.

2. Develop goals (and challenges)!

When designing your fundraising plan, your final product should reflect your nonprofit’s primary goals above all else.

It is easy to fall into the trap of vaguely fundraising without an endpoint in sight, but to stay on track your nonprofit needs to actively work toward a defined set of central goals.

Before designing your fundraising plan, your nonprofit needs to sit down and agree upon what goals to prioritize across all levels of your organization. Your goals should be:

  • Specific, actionable, and measurable. Do not just decide to increase fundraising revenue, or plan to retain more donors. Set numeric benchmarks and timelines, and decide how you will tackle these goals.
  • Evaluated against metrics. You cannot accurately assess your progress towards achieving a goal without having metrics in place to track your success. Diligently monitor consistent metrics so you can see how well you are improving and when you need to make changes to your fundraising plan.

(Bonus tip! Be sure to collect valuable data when carrying out your fundraising plan to help evaluate these metrics and shape your future fundraising plans. Check out Fundly’s guide to nonprofit CRMs for an idea of how your nonprofit can maximize the power of your donor database to improve your fundraising strategy.)

Additionally, one way to help your nonprofit stay on track is to identify upfront what potential challenges or obstacles you will face in the process of achieving your goals.

Some obstacles you might encounter could be:

  • Seasonal fundraising dry spells
  • Low donor retention
  • Failure to obtain major gifts
  • Poor fundraising event attendance
  • Inadequate online engagement

For example, an animal shelter that wants to increase donor retention by X% over the summer months might identify the challenge of supporters being less engaged during this season since they may be traveling or caring for children on summer vacation. To reach their goal, they’ll need to recognize this challenge and develop strategies to overcome it.

Remember: Use your nonprofit’s history to guide you in identifying roadblocks and deciding on goals. Every nonprofit has its unique strengths and weaknesses and when designing a fundraising plan, it is important to know going in what is reasonable to expect from your organization.

You can improve your fundraising plan by setting a fundraising plan timeline.

3. Set a fundraising plan timeline.

Staying on top of your goals also means staying on top of your fundraising plan’s timeline.

Fundraising plans typically plot out a 3-5 year timeline for your nonprofit, with the first year being very detailed and the following years becoming less defined.

Your fundraising plan’s timeline should be developed into an annual fundraising calendar that details the year’s worth of activities for your organization.

Set a fundraising plan timeline.

When developing your timeline, keep a few things in mind:

  • Milestones. Structure your timeline around a set of core milestones. These will both guide your progress and help you regularly assess your fundraising strategy.
  • Accountability. Your timeline (and subsequently, your fundraising calendar) should clearly identify what departments are responsible for individual fundraising activities. This will help keep the different arms of your nonprofit on track and help your departments prioritize tasks throughout the year.
  • Accessibility. Your timeline and calendar should be easily accessible to all members of your team, regardless of their department or role. Every team member should be aware of what other departments are up to; this way, they will have a better sense of the big picture of your organization and how your core fundraising goals are being achieved.

Not sure where to start when designing your fundraising plan timeline? Consider enlisting the help of a fundraising consulting firm. If you need a recommendation, DonorSearch has got you covered with their list of the top 11 fundraising consulting firms in the field!

Remember: During the design process, your fundraising timeline should be as specific as possible and you should hold yourself to the timeline as much as you can. However, if you find you are not progressing as quickly as you had planned, identify the roadblock and always give yourself room to edit the timeline if necessary.

You can improve your fundraising plan by determining your fundraising methods.

4. Determine your fundraising methods.

A common thread among these tips has been specificity and when plotting out your fundraising plan, it is doubly important to specifically determine your fundraising methods.

It is not sufficient to simply say you will raise $XXX by such-and-such date. You need to plan out how you will raise that money and from whom you will solicit donations.

Fundraising is not a one size fits all process, and you should curate your fundraising methods with your prospects in mind. For example, consider these fundraising methods and how they serve prospects:

  • Online donation pages. If your donors cannot all come to you, meet them where they are. Online donation is simply convenient; for nonprofits interested in prospects in varying geographical locations, utilizing optimized online donation tools is a must.
  • P2P fundraising. For nonprofits seeking to grow their network of donors, P2P fundraising is a great way to engage constituents online and leverage the power of their social network to help your organization reach a broader audience.
  • Text-to-give. Mobile giving is a fundraising style that has been growing in popularity over the last several years. Like online donation pages, text-to-give fundraising makes it convenient for donors to give. Additionally, because donors are not tied to a desktop, they may consider donating more frequently.
  • Fundraising events. A strategic fundraising event help you engage donors and bring in major donations, too! Just make sure you plan out your fundraiser well in advance so you have plenty of time to consider important elements, such as the type of event, when and where to host it, and what technology you’ll need to pull it off.

Remember: You should consult your nonprofit’s existing data when determining which prospects to pursue and which fundraising methods best serve your prospect pool. Consider past data and metrics when determining fundraising methods, as well as what has worked for other nonprofits of a similar donor makeup and mission as yours.

You can improve your fundraising plan by building corporate partnerships into your fundraising plan.

5. Build corporate partnerships into your fundraising plan.

Corporate partnerships can be important sources of revenue and support for nonprofits.

When designing your fundraising plan, develop a strategy that will help you achieve corporate partnership so that you do not bypass such a valuable asset.

If you already are partnered with a corporation, consider these ways to leverage that relationship during the fundraising plan design process:

  • Event sponsorship. Your corporate partner could agree to sponsor a fundraising event for your nonprofit. With their name and notoriety attached, prospects may be more inclined to participate in your fundraiser.
  • Challenge grants. Your corporate partner might be amenable to offering your nonprofit a challenge grant. With a challenge grant, your organization and your partner agree upon a specific fundraising goal. If the goal is met, they might match the amount of funding raised or commit to donating an agreed-upon sum.
  • Matching gifts. One of the simplest ways to incorporate corporate philanthropy into your fundraising strategy is to seek out a matching gift tool. In a matching gifts program, a corporation agrees to match the donations of their employees either to a certain percentage of the donation or to a consistent maximum value. With a tool like this one offered by Double the Donation, donors can quickly determine whether their donation might be matched by their employer.

Take a look at DTD’s matching gift tool in action! The donor simply types the name of their company into the tool, and then DTD searches their database to see if they are matching gift-eligible.

Partnering with a corporation for a matching gifts program is an effective way to boost fundraising efforts.

Remember: Every nonprofit has unique needs and that extends to any relationship you have with corporate sponsors. You do not have to go after a partnership with a multi-million dollar company if that does not suit the scope of your organization. Partnering with small local businesses can get the job done, especially for regionally-focused nonprofits.

You can improve your fundraising plan by tailoring your case for support.

6. Tailor your case for support.

Your case for support underpins the success of your nonprofit, but it is often taken for granted when designing fundraising strategy.

Organizations and hospitals often create cases for support when they launch a capital campaign. These documents outline every detail of the campaign from how the funds will be used to the ways supporters can contribute.

Moreover, the case for support acts as an effective promotional tool to help educate potential donors on the importance of your cause. The content in your case for support can easily be posted on your website or published in a brochure.

While they’re common practice for capital campaigns, organizations should create a case for support as a part of any fundraising strategy.

Donors will not give to your organization unless you have a compelling case for support, so you need to take the time to thoughtfully develop your case.

Your case for support should answer these important questions:

  • What is our mission?
  • Why should donors give to this cause?
  • Why should they give to our organization in particular?
  • How much should donors give?
  • What specifically will our nonprofit do to achieve our mission?

At all levels of engagement, your nonprofit should actively communicate with donors the ways that your fundraising strategy addresses your case for support. The more compelling your case, the more likely it is that donors will give to your organization.

Remember: Your case for support should govern your fundraising strategy. Just as you should choose fundraising methods that target your prospects, you should similarly design your fundraising plan with your case for support as a foundation.

Your fundraising plan is the single most important tool in your arsenal when enacting a new fundraising strategy. Get closer to achieving your nonprofit’s fundraising goals by designing a detailed fundraising plan today!

Additional Resources

  • Conduct a Fundraising Feasibility Study: 6 Steps to Success. Capital campaigns can help your nonprofit reach larger goals as part of an effective fundraising plan. But first, you need to conduct a capital campaign feasibility study before your campaign can begin. With our step-by-step guide, your feasibility study is sure to give you the information you need to succeed!
  • Top 5 GoFundMe Alternatives. After developing a fundraising plan, your nonprofit may decide to pursue crowdfunding as a way to meet your fundraising goals. You might initially consider GoFundMe as a crowdfunding host, but don’t make your choice so quickly. There are many other crowdfunding sites just like GoFundMe (but better)! Check out our guide for some awesome alternatives.
  • 14 Charity Auction Tools. Similarly, your nonprofit might choose to hold a charity auction as a fundraising event. Not only are auctions great ways to raise funding, but they’re also useful events to strengthen your donor relations. Be sure to consult our guide to the 14 best charity auction tools that are perfect for nonprofits of any size!
In this guide, you’ll discover more than 10 online fundraising ideas to bring in revenue for your nonprofit.

10+ Online Fundraising Ideas: Raise Money in the Digital Age

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We all know that online fundraising is quickly taking the nonprofit world by storm. More people than ever are making their charitable contributions via online avenues. That’s why we’ve compiled 11 of the best online fundraising ideas that can help your nonprofit raise more money in the digital age!

Here’s what we’ll be covering:

  1. Crowdfunding
  2. Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
  3. Matching Gift Drive
  4. T-Shirt Fundraising
  5. Gift Card Fundraisers
  6. Online Donation Forms [Free or Paid]
  7. Online Giving Days
  8. Text-to-Give Campaign
  9. Online Auctions/a>
  10. Viral Fundraising Campaign
  11. Online Cashback Websites
  12. Donation for a Vote

Tools mentioned:

Let’s take a look at each of these online fundraising ideas in more detail.

Online Fundraising Idea #1: Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is proving to be one of the most popular ways for nonprofits and individuals alike to raise money for causes, projects, or events that they care about.

For those new to the term, crowdfunding essentially makes use of a nonprofit’s or individual’s existing network of supporters, friends, family members, coworkers, peers, and even acquaintances.

Nonprofits and individuals can set up crowdfunding pages and then share those pages on social media sites and via email.

A typical nonprofit crowdfunding page looks like this:

Fundly's crowdfunding pages make online fundraising quick and simple.

Most crowdfunding platforms allow nonprofits to:

  • Upload images and videos.
  • Write a detailed description.
  • Post updates and comments.
  • Share the campaign across social media sites and email.
  • Set up giving levels or tiers.
  • Send out automatic acknowledgements to donors.
  • Track metrics like number of donors, average donation amount, and total amount raised.

If you want to make the most of your nonprofit’s crowdfunding campaign, follow these best practices:

  1. Interact with your supporters: Your donors want to know how your online fundraising campaign is going! Keep them in the loop by posting updates and responding to their comments on your crowdfunding page.
  2. Post at least 4 photos or videos: Media gives your donors some context and allows them to see exactly what they’re donating to. Make sure that your photos look professional and highlight the people, animals, or communities that your nonprofit serves.
  3. Set up giving levels: Including donation tiers or giving levels on your campaign page allows donors to select the one that they prefer. To create an even bigger impact, you can list out the specific actions that your nonprofit can accomplish with each donation amount.

Main Takeaway: Crowdfunding is one of the best online fundraising ideas for nonprofits. Most crowdfunding platforms enable you to get up and running in just a few minutes, and you can start raising money from your supporters in no time!

Bonus: Start your crowdfunding campaign today!

Online Fundraising Idea #2: Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Peer-to-peer fundraising or virtual events are a type of fundraising that many nonprofits pair with fundraising events like walkathons, marathons, and in-person events that need to be transitioned to virtual.

Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns typically follow this structure:

  1. A nonprofit sets a goal, determines a timeline, and plans a peer-to-peer event.
  2. The nonprofit reaches out to loyal supporters and asks them if they want to participate in the fundraiser.
  3. If supporters are willing to participate, they then set up their own online fundraising pages (with the nonprofit’s help). These individual pages link up to the nonprofit’s main peer-to-peer fundraising page.
  4. Individuals reach out to their networks to ask for donations on the nonprofit’s behalf.
  5. Supporters’ friends and family members make donations via the individual’s peer-to-peer fundraising page.
  6. The nonprofit collects the donations, acknowledges and thanks supporters and donors, and hosts the (typically active) event.

This individual peer-to-peer fundraising page is linked to the nonprofit’s primary fundraising page.

This peer-to-peer campaign follows a few best practices that we’re a huge fan of:

  1. They include several images: Both the nonprofit’s main page and the individual’s campaign page have images and videos that allow supporters to see exactly what their donations are going toward.
  2. They describe what the contributions will help accomplish: Each page highlights the need for homes and volunteer time in Austin. Both pages have giving tiers that describe what a donation amount will be able to buy. For example, $300 will buy a stove, while $500 will buy a roof.
  3. Each description is detailed: A good peer-to-peer campaign description is the key to encouraging people to donate to your cause. Without it, people won’t know why you’re raising money! This campaign has listed out the reasons for fundraising and lets people know why building homes in Austin is important.

Main Takeaway: Peer-to-peer fundraising is a type of online fundraising that enables your nonprofit to raise more money and acquire more donors. As your supporters reach out to their networks, your nonprofit can introduce more people to your cause and mission.

Bonus: Check out the top priorities you should be looking at as you evaluate the various peer-to-peer fundraising platforms!

Online Fundraising Idea #3: Matching Gift Drive

Take online giving one step further by encouraging your donors to search for the matching gift programs for which they might be eligible. Companies of all sizes will often match (or more than match) their employees’ donations to nonprofit organizations!

There are even useful tools you can embed directly onto your websites or campaign emails. Here’s how the National Audobon Society incorporated a user-friendly search tools directly into their ways to give page:

Check out how the National Audobon Society incorporated matching gifts tools into their site.

For a fundraising campaign, create some buzz by asking a local company or major donor to match donations made on a particular day. Time sensitive drive campaigns work well because they create urgency, a good motivator for supporters. Plus, since each donation goes twice as far, donors will be more likely to participate.

Best of all, and unlike ongoing corporate matching gift programs that apply to eligible employees, matching gift drives don’t have restrictions on who can participate!

The key to a prosperous matching gift drive is promotion. Get the most people to participate by sending emails to your donors on the days leading up to the event. 

Social media is also an effective place to promote your online fundraiser. If your museum is running a matching gift drive, for example, you can publish posts on Facebook and Twitter that tell donors any tickets purchased or contributions made during your drive will be doubled by your sponsor.

Also, let donors know about the many ways they can contribute. Provide your donors convenient ways to give, such as:

  • Donation pages.
  • Text-to-give.
  • Mobile-responsive forms.
  • Crowdfunding pages.

The more fundraising options donors have, the more likely they are to make a donation.

Additionally, if you’re hosting a giving day, but only accept donations through a form on your website, this limits the number of people that can contribute to your cause. 

Always ensure that you have a variety of ways to collect donations before launching your matching gift drive.

Main Takeaway: Knowing that their gifts will double for a limited time is a great motivator for donors. Use that knowledge to your advantage and host a matching gift drive.

Bonus:  For matching gifts year-round, check out another example of how Mercy Corps helps their supporters determine if their employer matches donations on their branded matching gifts page from Double the Donation.

Online Fundraising Idea #4: T-Shirt Fundraising

Another effective way for nonprofits to fundraise online is by selling t-shirts. Your nonprofit can deisgn t-shirts as merchandise for your organization and sell them online to your supporters.

T-shirt fundraisers are a fun, engaging way to raise money for your nonprofit because they allow supporters to show their love for your organization while still getting something back in return.

For supporters who many not be able to donate as much as they would like due to financial limitations, t-shirt fundraisers offer them the opportunity to contribute to your cause without breaking the bank.

Your nonprofit can get started by promoting t-shirt sales in conjunction with different fundraising campaigns. For example, you might sell holiday-themed t-shirts during year-end giving to capitalize on the seasonal spirit.

Even further, the t-shirts you sell can double as marketing materials for your nonprofit’s brand. When people see their friends wearing your organization’s shirts, they may get inspired to start contributing to your nonprofit.

T-shirt fundraising is a great way to raise money quickly.

When choosing an online host for your t-shirt fundraising initiative, select one that:

  • Offers plenty of t-shirt customization options.
  • Allows you to upload original designs for your shirts.
  • Gives you the freedom to set your own t-shirt prices.
  • Charges a low-overhead fee so you can keep more of your profits.
  • Gives you the ability to customize your nonprofit’s t-shirt sales page.

As your organization starts selling t-shirts, remember that customization is key! Supporters are more likely to buy your organization’s shirts if they feel the product (and sales process) reflects the brand they have come to know and love.

Bonus: Learn more about selling t-shirts to raise money for your nonprofit with Bonfire!

Online Fundraising Idea #5: Gift Card Fundraisers

What if you could raise money by having supporters do something they were probably going to do anyway? Gift card fundraising is an innovative way to bring in revenue online, and it’s convenient for supporters because they get to contribute to your cause simply by buying a gift card for a friend or family member.

Digital gift cards tend to work best for these types of fundraisers, as they can be delivered to supporters’ inboxes within minutes of their purchase. Then, supporters can forward their email to the loved one they want to give the card to as a gift.

Every time someone buys a gift card through your fundraiser, a percentage of the sale automatically goes back to your nonprofit. The exact amount varies depending on the retailer who provided the gift card, but it’s often around 5.5%. However, these contributions add up over time to make a major difference for your organization!

To launch a gift card fundraiser through a gift card fundraising platform (like ShopRaise), follow these three easy steps:

This is a screenshot of the landing page for ShopRaise's gift card fundraiser, a convenient online fundraising idea.

  1. Register your organization. The experts who run your fundraising platform will walk you through a simple onboarding process, answer any questions you may have, and provide the app your supporters will use to purchase their gift cards.
  2. Spread the word. Marketing is essential to a successful gift card fundraiser. Leverage all of the communication channels your nonprofit uses to make supporters aware of your fundraiser and provide instructions for getting started. The platform you partner with may be able to provide some marketing materials to help you with this step.
  3. Track results. Your organization’s dashboard will display real-time fundraising data to help you thank your top supporters individually and encourage them to continue buying gift cards to support your cause.

Consider starting your gift card fundraiser at a time of year when people are likely to be buying a lot of gifts. For instance, you could launch in November to prepare for the holiday season or in April as your supporters start thinking about Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, peak wedding season, and upcoming graduations. Just make sure to leave your fundraiser open year-round so supporters can buy gift cards for their loved ones’ birthdays in between these busy seasons.

Main takeaway: Gift card fundraisers are an easy virtual idea that can be run year-round. They’re free for your organization to launch and convenient for supporters as they can contribute to your cause by buying gift cards they were going to purchase anyway.

Bonus: Explore the ins and outs of gift card fundraising with ShopRaise!

Online Fundraising Idea #6: Online Donation Forms

One of the most traditional ways to raise money online is through the tried-and-true online donation form. In many cases, donation forms allow you to brand your page and create special fields to capture specific, related information.

Best of all, online donation forms can be mobile-friendly so even more of your supporters have access. 

Since there are many customization capabilities available, your organization can create a form that is completely unique to your brand.

There are many vendors available that offer both free donation forms and paid donation forms.

Here is an example of what your online donation form could look like:

Optimized online donation forms are key to success in digital fundraising.

As you can see, the Water Project does a lot of great things with their donation form:

  • First, the donation form has preset giving buttons, making it easy for the donor to choose a gift amount.
  • Secondly, donors have the option to set recurring gifts.
  • Last, the option to share contributions on Facebook and Twitter is predominantly displayed.

All these features not only help boost your awareness and funds, but they also make the giving process convenient for your donors.

Of course, if your organization wants all of these features (and more!), you’ll have to choose an excellent fundraising software provider.

Look for a vendor that has a responsive technical support team and an easy-to-use interface; you shouldn’t have to be an expert in CSS and HTML to create a professional-looking form. With a simple donation form builder, your organization should be able to drag and drop the elements you want to use and customize them to fit your needs.

If you’re using a fully customizable platform, you’ll be able to create a form that is unique to your organization or recruit a technology consultant who can design a form catered to your needs.

When creating your online donation forms, be considerate of your donors’ time and keep your donations quick and simple.

Main Takeaway: Creating a convenient and beautifully designed donation page starts with finding the right software. Find a provider that offers the features that will make donating quick and easy.

Online Fundraising Idea #7: Online Giving Days

The most common online giving day is #GivingTuesday, a national day of charitable giving started a few years ago by the 92nd Street Y in New York.

While your nonprofit might already participate in #GivingTuesday, that doesn’t mean that you can’t organize your own online giving day for your supporters!

Just so we’re clear, an online giving day is a 24-hour period where a nonprofit tries to raise as much money as possible from its supporters.

An online giving day has to have a lot of digital promotion and advertising to make it effective. Reach out to your supporters:

  • With emails.
  • Over social media.
  • Via text message.
  • On your website.
  • With videos.

These digital outreach methods should contain information about your giving day such as the time, ways to donate, what the funds will go toward, and how supporters can get more involved.

Here’s an example of an animal nonprofit that promotes #GivingTuesday on Twitter:

Of course, Twitter has character limitations, so this tweet had to be short and sweet. Your other digital promotions for your giving day can go a bit more in-depth and include more specific information about your online fundraiser.

Whatever route you take, make sure that you explain what the funds are going toward and provide supporters with a link to your online donation page.

Main Takeaway: An online giving day can be an energetic and fast-paced way to raise money for your cause. Electrify your donor base with lots of digital promotions and encourage them to give as much as they can in just 24 hours!

Bonus: Take a look at these #GivingTuesday promotional resources.

Online Fundraising Idea 7: Text-to-Give Campaign

Text-to-give came on the scene as a digital fundraising method in 2010 when millions of dollars were donated to the American Red Cross to support victims of the Haiti earthquake.

Since then, text-to-give (or text-to-tithe for churches) has become a mainstream way to raise money for any organization or cause!

Today, text-to-give tends to work like this:

  1. A donor will text a keyword to a specific number that has been assigned to a nonprofit.
  2. The donor will receive a link as a text message.
  3. The link takes the donors to a mobile-responsive donation page where they can make a contribution.

It’s that easy!

When choosing a text-to-give tool, look for a provider that is PCI-compliant, which means the company follows strict rules to ensure a high level of security.

Ease of use and integration are also vital characteristics to look for in a text-to-give tool. You want the giving process to be quick and simple for donors as well as have a way to export data to your CRM.

Many nonprofits, schools, and churches use text-to-give technology as an online fundraising avenue throughout the year, but it’s also a popular donation method during fundraising events. One of your speakers can make a live appeal and ask people to give with their cellphones (all of your attendees will likely have their phones in their pockets or purses!).

Main Takeaway: Text-to-give is quickly becoming one of the most popular online fundraising ideas. Don’t get left behind by this fundraising trend!

Bonus: Check out the ultimate guide to text-to-give.

Online Fundraising Idea #9: Online Auctions

Online auctions are essentially digital silent auctions that are more cost-effective and are open to all your supporters, increasing fundraising potential even more.

For your digital venue, you can opt to use auction software or an online marketplace like eBay to host your online auction. 

Just like with any charity auction, you’ll need to procure items and experiences that excite your guests and encourage them to place bids.

Look for unique items that your guests won’t be able to find anywhere else. Look at the following suggestions to help you get started:

    • Sports memorabilia.
    • Backstage passes to a concert.
    • Tickets to an exclusive museum exhibit.
    • And so much more!

Generate excitement before your event by creating an auction catalog with images and a description of each item (or experience) and teach registered guests how to place bids to prepare them for the big day. Plus, with dedicated auction software (like OneCause) you can track the progress of your online auctions in real time:

Online charity auctions make it easy to engage your donors and raise funds.

Main Takeaway: Online auctions make it possible for supporters from all over the world to participate and are cost-effective so that you can raise the most money from your event.

Online Fundraising Idea #10: Viral Fundraising Campaign

You’ve likely heard of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, but you may not know just how successful that particular viral fundraising campaign was.

In just a month and a half, the ALS Association was able to raise $115 million (and tons of awareness!) for ALS research by asking people to pour cold water on their heads.

Another example of a viral fundraising campaign is “Movember.” For this viral campaign, men grow out their facial hair during the month of November and make donations in support of men’s health.

These are just two of the many viral fundraising campaigns that nonprofits have started. Why not start your own?

Keep these tips in mind before trying to launch a viral fundraising campaign. And remember, it might take a few months or even more than a year for your campaign to go truly viral.

  1. Don’t ask for too much. You aren’t going to receive a ton of donations if you ask for $500 every time. Instead, ask people for small contributions like $5, $10, or $20. Once a campaign goes viral, all of those little donations will add up!
  2. Create a memorable hashtag. Hashtags help group your social media posts and make your nonprofit’s message easier to find on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Create a memorable and punchy hashtag. Use it in all of your social media posts and encourage your supporters to use it, as well!
  3. Get to the point. A viral campaign has to be focused and targeted. It’s not the time to explain every single detail of your nonprofit’s mission. Instead, boil down your vision to a few key points and use them interchangeably throughout the duration of your campaign.
  4. Make use of all of your digital channels. Post on Facebook. Tweet out a promotional message. Snap a picture and post it to Instagram. Start a Pinterest board. Send out emails. Use every digital communications channel at your disposal!

Main Takeaway: It might take time to get a viral fundraising campaign off the ground, but if you can do it, your nonprofit’s mission and vision will be made known to supporters across the country and even around the world!

Online Fundraising Idea #11: Online Cashback Websites

Online cashback sites can be used by nonprofits as well as individuals who are looking to raise a little extra money while doing something that nearly everyone loves: shopping online!

Let’s break down how most online cashback websites work:

  1. Someone in your nonprofit needs to buy office supplies or something else online.
  2. The staff member begins their search for office supplies at an online cashback site.
  3. Once the items have been purchased, a percentage of the total amount is deposited into a cashback account.
  4. Your nonprofit can withdraw the cashback amount at regular intervals (typically monthly or quarterly).

Common cashback sites include:

 

While cashback sites aren’t going to help your nonprofit break any fundraising records, they are an easy way to raise more money from online shopping. Signing up for most of these cashback sites is easy, and everyone in your nonprofit can participate!

Main Takeaway: Online cashback sites can supplement your existing fundraising efforts. If your staff does a lot of online shopping, sites like Ebates and Amazon can be an easy way to raise extra funds!

Online Fundraising Idea #12: Donation for a Vote

The donation for a vote online fundraising idea gets your supporters engaged in a silly challenge in return for their contributions.

Here’s how this fundraiser works:

  1. Create a list of silly challenges that your staff or volunteers are willing to complete.
  2. Create a poll, asking your supporters to vote (with a donation) for the challenge they’d like to see your team complete.
  3. At the end of the poll, record your team completing whatever challenge received the most votes and post it on social media.

The challenges you pick should be interesting and if possible, related to your cause in some way.

In the video, thank your supporters for their contributions, and mention how the funds will be used to further your cause.

Supporters will get a kick out of seeing you do a silly task, and you’ll raise more money for your cause!

Not only will donors like seeing a hilarious video, but they’ll also appreciate that you want their opinion and input. Plus, supporters will encourage their peers to vote so they can see their favorite challenge win. 

Main Takeaway: Donation for a vote is a fun (and potentially viral) way to raise money for your cause. Makes sure to choose your challenges and continue to encourage your supporters to vote.

We hope that these online fundraising ideas have inspired you to go out and try some different fundraising techniques.

For more ideas and tips, check out these helpful resources:

  • 80+ Fundraising Ideas. Couldn’t find what you were looking for with our online fundraising ideas? Check out our full list of ideas. You’re sure to find the perfect fundraiser for your cause!
  • Church Fundraising Ideas. If you’re looking for ways to raise money for churches and other faith-based organizations, we’ve got a list of ideas that will help you reach your goals.
  • School Fundraising Ideas. Schools need to find family-friendly ways to raise money and engage their students. Check out this list of top ideas from Fundly to get started!
  • Top Online Donation Tools. If you want to start fundraising online, you’ll need software to accept donations. Use this list of top tools to find online donation software for your organization!