Last year, America’s 20 largest peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns raised $1.1 billion! The nonprofits and schools that engage in peer-to-peer fundraising owe part of their success to the cutting-edge technology powering their campaigns.
In this guide, we’ll explore the process of locating the perfect peer-to-peer fundraising software, so your organization can grow its network, develop deeper donor relationships, and increase fundraising revenue. Here’s what we’ll cover:
Now, let’s explore how to choose the best peer-to-peer fundraising platform for your nonprofit.
Key Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software Features
When it comes to buying software, it’s essential to enter the process with a solid understanding of your organization’s needs and priorities. Keep these top considerations in mind as you explore various providers and locate the right peer-to-peer fundraising platform for your team.
Integrations
By choosing a peer-to-peer solution that integrates with the rest of your fundraising software, you can keep donor data moving smoothly between your various tools. While you can always hire developers to create middle-ware solutions or manually move data yourself, built-in integrations get your new technology up and running fast.
For example, your organization likely has a donor management or CRM system to track supporter information and engagement history. Opting for peer-to-peer fundraising software that integrates with your donor database can streamline data collection, reduce errors, and simplify your team’s efforts.
Accessibility & Ease of Use
Peer-to-peer fundraising increases your organization’s reach and allows you to connect with new donors. To make the most of this opportunity, your nonprofit needs accessible fundraising tools that all supporters can use.
Not only do accessible platforms increase funding for nonprofits, but they also ensure positive experiences for all donors and supporters.
Here are a few areas to consider in your search:
- Web accessibility standards. Ensure everyone who lands on your giving pages can use them, including those with disabilities. Seek out peer-to-peer fundraising software that meets accessibility standards, such as sufficient color contrasts and custom image alt text.
- Mobile optimization. You want the giving process to be quick and easy, regardless of whether donors complete the transaction using a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. Be sure to communicate this need to your peer-to-peer fundraising software provider, especially since a quarter of donors give from mobile devices.
Matching Gift Functionality
Multiply peer-to-peer donations with corporate matching gifts. Many peer-to-peer fundraising platforms have built-in solutions to simplify the process and amplify individual and corporate giving. With the right matching gift tools working smoothly alongside your peer-to-peer fundraising software, your organization can tap into the power of corporate gift matching.
For example, Double the Donation’s leading donation-matching platform. Nonprofits and higher education institutions can tap into our database of over 24,000 matching gift companies to raise more money, engage donors, and locate valuable matching opportunities.
Our platform also seamlessly integrates with many of the industry’s top peer-to-peer fundraising tools like Classy and Funraise. That way, you can simplify corporate gift matching with no coding required!
When buying peer-to-peer fundraising software, keep matching gift functionality in mind! After all, 84% of donors are more likely to donate if a match is offered.
Payment Processing Capabilities
Optimizing the peer-to-peer giving experience involves diversifying accepted payment types. This ensures donors have multiple options for giving and increases the likelihood that they’ll complete the transaction.
Make sure your peer-to-peer software can process the following types of payments:
- Traditional forms of payment like debit cards, credit cards, and ACH bank transfers
- Innovative payment methods, like digital wallets (e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay), financial services like Venmo and PayPal, and even cryptocurrency
Your peer-to-peer fundraising software should offer plenty of payment options, so keep an eye out for these capabilities!
Support Availability
Technology support consists of two categories: initial onboarding and ongoing support. Each can play a significant role in your organization’s success with a platform. After all, there’s no point in purchasing software for your nonprofit if you don’t have the resources to set it up and keep it running.
Each company has its own tech support offerings, so locate a provider with the right assistance levels for your team. For example, if your nonprofit has its own built-out tech department that can set up and maintain software usage on its own, you might choose a provider that offers minimal external support at a lower cost. On the other hand, an organization without dedicated technology experts may opt for additional assistance at a higher price point to ensure they have the necessary support.
And don’t forget to consider the ROI of your support offerings either! Selecting a provider with high levels of support can help your organization maintain high fundraising success. In this case, opting for hands-on tech support can ultimately result in elevated revenue, making the cost well worth the investment.
Popular Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software Platforms
With plenty of great peer-to-peer solutions on the market, we’ll briefly cover a few of our favorites. Each of these solutions integrates with our industry-leading matching gift software, so you can drive higher donations with matching gifts. You can explore our full partner directory to find the solution that’s right for you!
Blackbaud
Blackbaud provides cloud software, services, expertise, and data intelligence that empowers nonprofits to drive impact for social good. Among Blackbaud’s offerings include peer-to-peer solutions for individual fundraisers and enterprise-size organizations alike.
Tap into features such as:
- Peer-to-peer event management for non-registration fee-based events, community projects, and virtual and hybrid events
- Gamification tools such as virtual fitness tracking and leaderboards
- Individual fundraising pages enhanced with personal goal-setting, in-memory capabilities, and birthday fundraising functionalities
Classy
Classy offers world-class online fundraising software to create a positive social impact. Peer-to-peer functionality is just one part of this provider’s suite of tools. With Classy, your donor acquisition can soar, as four out of every five peer-to-peer donors who give through Classy are new supporters.
Here’s a rundown of their peer-to-peer fundraising software features:
- Multiple accepted payment types, including credit cards, digital wallets, Venmo, PayPal, ACH bank transfer, and cryptocurrency
- Branded fundraising pages and receipts so you can strengthen brand awareness and increase donor trust
- An enjoyable fundraising experience that enables fundraisers to post photos, videos, and blog-style updates as well as leverage built-in social and text sharing
CrowdChange
Designed for charities, campuses, and Greek life, CrowdChange is a web-based, mobile-friendly fundraising software solution. Their award-winning technology makes it easy to set up events and empower supporters to fundraise on behalf of your organization.
They offer users features like:
- Peer-to-peer event setup and management, including QR code ticketing
- A branded mobile app to manage your fundraisers, empower team captains, and enable peer-to-peer health challenges for events like 5Ks via integrations with Apple Health, Fitbit, and more
- Unlimited technical support at no charge to keep everything running smoothly
DonorDrive
For 25+ years, DonorDrive has helped organizations like Children’s Miracle Network and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention raise more than $2 billion. Their innovative peer-to-peer fundraising software enables nonprofits to hand the megaphone over to their biggest advocates and amplify their personal stories. Here are some of this peer-to-peer fundraising software’s features:
- Team fundraising to enable supporters to team up and raise money for your cause
- Activity tracking via Strava, Apple Health, Fitbit, and Google Fit to enable health-related peer-to-peer fundraising challenges
- Easy sharing via pre-written emails, contact management, and social sharing
Engaging Networks
Trusted by The Humane Society, The Nature Conservancy, and other big-name organizations, Engaging Networks serves more than 400 nonprofits in more than 50 countries. They offer powerful peer-to-peer capabilities alongside marketing, membership management, and eCommerce tools. Elevate your impact with peer-to-peer fundraising features like:
- Personal and team fundraising pages hosted on a branded campaign website
- Goal setting and progress thermometers for both campaign and individual pages
- The ability to collect donations in any currency
Funraise
Funraise strives to make fundraising a piece of cake. Thanks to its comprehensive features, nonprofits using Funraise, on average, grow online giving by 73% annually! Tap into the incredible social power of your most dedicated supporters with these peer-to-peer fundraising software features:
- Customizable automated emails for hitting campaign milestones
- A fundraising website with custom colors, images, and content for telling your nonprofit’s story
- Fundraising commitments that enable you to set non-negotiable fundraising goals for peer-to-peer fundraisers
Givebutter
Established in 2016, Givebutter is a fundraising technology company that powers online donations, campaigns, and ticketed events for more than 15,000 charities around the world. Tap into your supporters’ networks by adding peer-to-peer fundraising to any Givebutter fundraising page or event. Doing so will enable these features:
- Gamification tools like a goal bar, countdown, leaderboards, and interactive supporter feed to drive urgency
- Personalized pages where fundraisers can tell their story, upload images, and use Canva graphics to make it their own
- Marketing tools like built-in social media sharing tools, automated email and text reminders, and trackable links
GiveCampus
Designed for educational institutions, GiveCampus is a popular digital fundraising and volunteer management solution. With the platform, Rhode Island College exceeded its donor goal by 55% and its dollar goal by more than double during its annual giving day. Know that Double the Donation is the only corporate matching gifts tool that integrates with the platform!
Reach, engage, and mobilize your community with these social fundraising features:
- Pre-filled giving forms that reflect donor interests, giving history, and preferred payment methods
- Real-time progress reports to inform supporters of campaign totals
- World-class support with an average response time of 11 minutes or less
GivenGain
Founded in 2001, GivenGain puts fundraising in your supporters’ hands. As a nonprofit itself, GivenGain is driven by purpose rather than profit. Through this peer-to-peer fundraising platform, your passionate fundraisers can champion your cause and drive action.
Use GivenGain’s tools to access:
- Event-based fundraising so supporters can collect donations linked to their participation in marathons, bike races, and more
- Recurring gifts to inspire ongoing support
- Multi-currency support to ensure organizations can receive funds from a global donor base
GiveSignUp
GiveSignUp is free peer-to-peer fundraising software that provides tools for event planning, fundraising, and managing volunteers. The platform only charges processing fees and is well-suited for organizations that host races, walks, and other event-based fundraising activities. Some of GiveSignUp’s primary features include:
- Team and donor recruitment tools like auto-join fundraising team URLs, social sharing, and a fundraiser email hub
- An event day app with options to check in by fundraising team and show fundraising totals
- Free marketing tools like a custom website builder and automated referral rewards to encourage sharing
GiveWP
If your nonprofit uses WordPress, this may be the peer-to-peer fundraising software for you! GiveWP is an open-source WordPress plugin that simplifies fundraising. Trusted by 100,000+ fundraisers worldwide, GiveWP can transform your supporters into enthusiastic advocates. Leverage the peer-to-peer fundraising add-on for GiveWP to involve your community in peer-to-peer and team fundraising. Then, use features such as:
- A custom donor experience with fund designation options, tribute capabilities, and a marketing newsletter opt-in option on peer-to-peer donation forms
- Donation forms that can be hosted directly on your own website, no coding knowledge needed
- The ability to showcase sponsors on your main campaign page or peer-to-peer pages
haku
Create powerful peer-to-peer fundraising events with haku, an all-in-one partnership and technology ecosystem. haku is a comprehensive event management platform that nonprofits can use to organize participatory fundraising events like races and bike rides. In fact, they even helped the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society raise $1 million in just one month with a virtual fitness challenge.
The platform offers a suite of peer-to-peer fundraising tools, such as:
- One-step registration and fundraising account creation, enabling your supporters to start fundraising immediately
- Mobile-optimized public fundraising pages that can be personalized with images, videos, and custom messages and then easily shared
- Integrations with popular platforms like Salesforce and Double the Donation, making it easy to gather and share data in real-time
Neon Fundraise
Neon provides purpose-driven technology to further your mission. As part of Neon’s technology ecosystem, Neon Fundraise is a modern social fundraising platform that is fresh, powerful, and easy to use. Take your fundraising to new heights and drive registrations for your peer-to-peer events with features like:
- Individual and multiple event registration and management tools, including ticket sales, registration forms, and participant tracking
- Endurance challenges with activity tracking (like miles run or walked) via manual input or fitness app integration
- One-click donations to create a frictionless experience for returning donors
OneCause
OneCause delivers nonprofits comprehensive fundraising solutions for auctions, text-to-give, events, and online fundraising. Among its many helpful tools, you can find peer-to-peer fundraising software. Whether you want to host a run/walk/ride event, host a giving day, or enable tribute fundraisers, OneCause has you covered.
Activate supporters with powerful social fundraising features, such as:
- Motivation and rewards such as leaderboards, milestone badges, and head-to-head competitions
- Social media integration to help supporters recruit and fundraise via social channels
- Configurable event registration that enables different registration types, custom discount codes, and custom form questions
Qgiv
Qgiv offers nonprofits a variety of tools to power everything from peer-to-peer fundraising and text fundraising to auctions. Its comprehensive platform enables nonprofits to give donors a modern and personalized giving experience while keeping costs low. Enable your peer-to-peer fundraisers (or P2Peeps, as Qgiv calls them) to participate in 5Ks, bowl-a-thons, cycling events, or any other peer-to-peer fundraiser with these features:
- Easy event and fundraising page setup with drag-and-drop tools to get supporters fundraising faster
- Team fundraising where captains can recruit members and people can cheer each other on
- Gamification like custom fundraising badges, leaderboards, an activity tracker, and a thermometer to create friendly competition
raisin
Make meaningful connections and grow your network with raisin. This peer-to-peer fundraising software is perfect for individual, team, and corporate fundraisers. Whether you’re launching a national walk or DIY fundraising campaign, inspire supporters to join your nonprofit, fundraise, and build awareness for your cause.
Use raisin’s peer-to-peer module to leverage these features:
- Multi-location events so your campaign can unite multiple events for greater fundraising power
- Mobile-first fundraising so supporters can fundraise across any device
- Email, social, and follow-up tools to engage their networks and drive donations
Examples of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software In Action
Each peer-to-peer fundraising platform has a unique donation flow that impacts how donors and fundraisers interact with your organization’s efforts. To make the most of your upcoming initiatives with optimal technology, consider these three sample social fundraising pages.
As we walk through each example, be sure to note what the organization does well and which pieces you can emulate!
The George Washington University
*Uses GiveCampus and Double the Donation
The George Washington University is a private research university located in Washington, D.C. This institution participates in a range of fundraising initiatives to support scholarship opportunities, student life, athletics, and more.
To power its peer-to-peer giving experience, the university uses innovative social fundraising technology from GiveCampus:
1. An individual navigates to a peer-to-peer campaign landing page.
The George Washington University hosts a wide range of peer-to-peer fundraising opportunities, and each one is provided with a campaign landing page from which to give, track progress toward objectives and deadlines, share the fundraising site, and more. Also, it features a brief video outlining the campaign efforts and goals.
2. The individual selects a donation amount on the giving form.
Once the donor navigates to the donation form from the campaign landing page, they are encouraged to choose their donation amount, determine recurring gift status, select a designation, and even add an additional gift.
3. The individual provides employment information and submits their gift.
On this final page of the GWU peer-to-peer giving process, donors are encouraged to enter their employer name to determine their matching gift eligibility using Double the Donation’s embedded search tool. From there, they are prompted to review their gift selection and finalize their contribution using their preferred payment method.
4. The individual is thanked and provided with matching gift information on the confirmation page.
Once a donor has submitted their donation via the peer-to-peer giving form, they are automatically redirected to visit a dedicated confirmation page. On this page, GWU thanks its donors for supporting the campaign and provides detailed matching gift information.
Breast Cancer Research Foundation
*Uses Classy and Double the Donation
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) is one of the largest nonprofit organizations dedicated to breast cancer research. It has discovered some of the most innovative advancements toward the prevention and curing of breast cancer.
Since its inception in 1993, BCRF has raised over $500 million for breast cancer research, funding nearly 300 researchers across 15 different countries, much of it through social fundraising efforts.
Here’s a brief overview of this organization’s peer-to-peer giving process using dedicated peer-to-peer fundraising software:
1. An individual chooses their donation amount on the P2P giving form.
Once an individual lands on a BCRF peer-to-peer donation form, they are met with a brief description of the organization, its mission, and how individual donors can help. From there, they are encouraged to select their gift amount from a number of suggested donation sizes (or enter a custom amount in the fill-in-the-blank box) and determine whether their contribution will be a one-time or recurring gift.
2. The individual assigns their gift to a particular fundraiser or team.
Next, the individual can credit their donation to a specific person or team participating in the campaign by typing a name in the auto-complete search box. Once they’ve selected a fundraiser, that individual or group’s progress is displayed using a real-time goal thermometer.
3. The individual provides current employment information.
At this stage in the giving process, the donor is prompted to “see if [their] employer will match [their] donation.” BCRF has embedded a matching gift search tool within their peer-to-peer giving form, which instructs individuals to enter their employing company in the search box below. The individual is also informed that they may receive follow-up emails from Double the Donation with detailed instructions regarding how to submit their match request.
4. The individual reviews and submits their donation.
From there, each donor is encouraged to review their donation information and select a payment method to complete their gift. BCRF currently accepts donations through PayPal, Venmo, credit card, and bank transfers!
5. The individual receives an email follow-up prompting them to submit their matching gift.
Mere minutes after clicking submit on their peer-to-peer donation, Breast Cancer Research Foundation donors receive a customized email follow-up providing matching gift information and communicating gratitude to strengthen that donor relationship. Since the donor previously provided employment data within the giving form, the email content is company-specific, providing targeted details on matching gift eligibility and actionable next steps for submission.
Soles4Souls
*Uses Fundraise Up and Double the Donation
Soles4Souls is a Tennessee-based nonprofit organization dedicated to collecting and redistributing shoes, clothing, and other apparel. By partnering with individual supporters, retailers, and community organizations, Soles4Souls gathers new and gently used shoes and provides them to people who need them worldwide.
While Soles4Souls greatly benefits from in-kind product donations, they also participate in additional fundraising activities such as peer-to-peer giving campaigns. Let’s take a look at the basic process using this organization’s peer-to-peer fundraising software:
1. An individual selects a donation amount on the P2P giving form.
Soles4Souls’ peer-to-peer giving process begins with selecting a donation amount. The individual donor is prompted to select a recommended gift amount or enter their preferred number. Then they’ll either opt to give once or make it a monthly donation. Donors can also dedicate their donation or provide an additional comment alongside their gift.
Meanwhile, in the left panel, the donor is met with compelling imagery and a brief overview of the organization’s mission.
2. The individual provides current employment information.
In the next step of this multi-page peer-to-peer giving experience, Soles4Souls’ donors are encouraged to double their donation’s impact with a matching gift. To drive this process forward, the individual is asked to provide the name of their current employer. From there, the peer-to-peer fundraising software searches Double the Donation’s extensive database of corporate matching gift information to provide eligibility details.
3. The individual reviews and submits their donation.
Finally, donors reach the payment screen, where they can choose from multiple payment options, including credit card, PayPal, Google Pay, Venmo, and bank transfer. Individuals are also given the option to cover their transaction costs, ensuring 100% of the contribution goes to Soles4Souls.
4. The individual receives an email follow-up prompting them to submit their matching gift.
Once an individual finalizes their Soles4Souls donation using the organization’s peer-to-peer fundraising software, a personalized email is automatically sent to their inbox. These follow-up messages contain additional matching gift resources, including direct links to donors’ matching gift submission portals, as well as an easy way to communicate status updates with Soles4Souls’ team.
Smart Tips for Choosing Your Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software
Here are some final tips to evaluate your top peer-to-peer fundraising software picks and purchase the best technology for your cause:
Consider scalability.
Look to the future in terms of whether the software can grow alongside your organization. If your team is currently on the smaller side, it might be tempting to opt for a free or low-cost solution with limited functionality. However, you don’t want to be back at square one in the buying process a few years from now if the platform stops meeting your needs.
Consider integrations in your overall tech stack.
Before making any software buying decisions, consider your overall technology ecosystem. Ask questions like:
- Does the peer-to-peer platform offer a built-in payment processor, or does it integrate with one that you’re open to using?
- Does your fundraising platform have a native integration with your existing CRM, enabling peer-to-peer giving data to flow seamlessly into your donor database?
- Does the system integrate with your matching gift fundraising tools to identify and follow up with potential matches?
Consider these questions before making your investment. Otherwise, you may end up with limited functionality and have a difficult time expanding your tech system without easy, ready-built integration options.
Rate your highest and lowest priorities.
Unfortunately, you might not find a peer-to-peer fundraising tool that meets all of your organization’s desired criteria. Perhaps you’ll be drawn to Feature A from Provider B, though Provider C offers innovative Feature D. Meanwhile, Provider E has a significantly reduced price point.
Simplify your choice by determining your organization’s highest and lowest priorities. For example, you might prioritize things this way: functionality → accessibility → integrations → cost. Meanwhile, another organization might prioritize it this way: cost → accessibility → functionality → integrations.
Get personalized demos to see the tools in action.
Take the software for a test drive with a demo. A software demo allows your team to see the fundraising tools in action and ask questions before making a buying decision. We recommend narrowing your choices to two or three solutions and getting personalized demos of each one.
Keep your fundraisers and end donors in mind.
In a typical fundraiser, your giving platform tends to be used by your team and donors contributing through the platform. Peer-to-peer technology, however, must account for your organization’s internal team, the end donors contributing, and the new “middle-man” in the situation: your volunteer fundraisers.
As you go through the buying process, keep each of these players in mind. Consider the experience from each possible perspective by asking questions like:
- Is it easy to set up a fundraising page and share it with family and friends?
- Can you easily update the online hub with personal stories, images, and progress toward goals?
- How simple is it to make a donation to a specific campaign page?
Considering these questions beforehand can equip your team to make the best peer-to-peer fundraising software decisions, spot potential roadblocks, and troubleshoot concerns.
Resources to Kickstart Your Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Platform Search
Double the Donation works closely with over 100 of the sector’s top fundraising technology providers. When looking for a best-in-class peer-to-peer fundraising software platform, we recommend getting started with our integration partners.
Navigate to our integrations page to explore the solutions we work with, filter by industry and functionality, and determine whether one is right for your needs.
Want to learn more about nonprofit fundraising technology and how you can provide your team with the right tools? Check out these additional Double the Donation resources:
Best Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software: How to Pick Yours
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerLast year, America’s 20 largest peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns raised $1.1 billion! The nonprofits and schools that engage in peer-to-peer fundraising owe part of their success to the cutting-edge technology powering their campaigns.
In this guide, we’ll explore the process of locating the perfect peer-to-peer fundraising software, so your organization can grow its network, develop deeper donor relationships, and increase fundraising revenue. Here’s what we’ll cover:
Now, let’s explore how to choose the best peer-to-peer fundraising platform for your nonprofit.
Key Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software Features
When it comes to buying software, it’s essential to enter the process with a solid understanding of your organization’s needs and priorities. Keep these top considerations in mind as you explore various providers and locate the right peer-to-peer fundraising platform for your team.
Integrations
By choosing a peer-to-peer solution that integrates with the rest of your fundraising software, you can keep donor data moving smoothly between your various tools. While you can always hire developers to create middle-ware solutions or manually move data yourself, built-in integrations get your new technology up and running fast.
For example, your organization likely has a donor management or CRM system to track supporter information and engagement history. Opting for peer-to-peer fundraising software that integrates with your donor database can streamline data collection, reduce errors, and simplify your team’s efforts.
Accessibility & Ease of Use
Peer-to-peer fundraising increases your organization’s reach and allows you to connect with new donors. To make the most of this opportunity, your nonprofit needs accessible fundraising tools that all supporters can use.
Not only do accessible platforms increase funding for nonprofits, but they also ensure positive experiences for all donors and supporters.
Here are a few areas to consider in your search:
Matching Gift Functionality
Multiply peer-to-peer donations with corporate matching gifts. Many peer-to-peer fundraising platforms have built-in solutions to simplify the process and amplify individual and corporate giving. With the right matching gift tools working smoothly alongside your peer-to-peer fundraising software, your organization can tap into the power of corporate gift matching.
For example, Double the Donation’s leading donation-matching platform. Nonprofits and higher education institutions can tap into our database of over 24,000 matching gift companies to raise more money, engage donors, and locate valuable matching opportunities.
When buying peer-to-peer fundraising software, keep matching gift functionality in mind! After all, 84% of donors are more likely to donate if a match is offered.
Payment Processing Capabilities
Optimizing the peer-to-peer giving experience involves diversifying accepted payment types. This ensures donors have multiple options for giving and increases the likelihood that they’ll complete the transaction.
Make sure your peer-to-peer software can process the following types of payments:
Your peer-to-peer fundraising software should offer plenty of payment options, so keep an eye out for these capabilities!
Support Availability
Technology support consists of two categories: initial onboarding and ongoing support. Each can play a significant role in your organization’s success with a platform. After all, there’s no point in purchasing software for your nonprofit if you don’t have the resources to set it up and keep it running.
Each company has its own tech support offerings, so locate a provider with the right assistance levels for your team. For example, if your nonprofit has its own built-out tech department that can set up and maintain software usage on its own, you might choose a provider that offers minimal external support at a lower cost. On the other hand, an organization without dedicated technology experts may opt for additional assistance at a higher price point to ensure they have the necessary support.
And don’t forget to consider the ROI of your support offerings either! Selecting a provider with high levels of support can help your organization maintain high fundraising success. In this case, opting for hands-on tech support can ultimately result in elevated revenue, making the cost well worth the investment.
Popular Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software Platforms
With plenty of great peer-to-peer solutions on the market, we’ll briefly cover a few of our favorites. Each of these solutions integrates with our industry-leading matching gift software, so you can drive higher donations with matching gifts. You can explore our full partner directory to find the solution that’s right for you!
Blackbaud
Blackbaud provides cloud software, services, expertise, and data intelligence that empowers nonprofits to drive impact for social good. Among Blackbaud’s offerings include peer-to-peer solutions for individual fundraisers and enterprise-size organizations alike.
Tap into features such as:
Classy
Classy offers world-class online fundraising software to create a positive social impact. Peer-to-peer functionality is just one part of this provider’s suite of tools. With Classy, your donor acquisition can soar, as four out of every five peer-to-peer donors who give through Classy are new supporters.
Here’s a rundown of their peer-to-peer fundraising software features:
CrowdChange
Designed for charities, campuses, and Greek life, CrowdChange is a web-based, mobile-friendly fundraising software solution. Their award-winning technology makes it easy to set up events and empower supporters to fundraise on behalf of your organization.
They offer users features like:
DonorDrive
For 25+ years, DonorDrive has helped organizations like Children’s Miracle Network and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention raise more than $2 billion. Their innovative peer-to-peer fundraising software enables nonprofits to hand the megaphone over to their biggest advocates and amplify their personal stories. Here are some of this peer-to-peer fundraising software’s features:
Engaging Networks
Trusted by The Humane Society, The Nature Conservancy, and other big-name organizations, Engaging Networks serves more than 400 nonprofits in more than 50 countries. They offer powerful peer-to-peer capabilities alongside marketing, membership management, and eCommerce tools. Elevate your impact with peer-to-peer fundraising features like:
Funraise
Funraise strives to make fundraising a piece of cake. Thanks to its comprehensive features, nonprofits using Funraise, on average, grow online giving by 73% annually! Tap into the incredible social power of your most dedicated supporters with these peer-to-peer fundraising software features:
Givebutter
Established in 2016, Givebutter is a fundraising technology company that powers online donations, campaigns, and ticketed events for more than 15,000 charities around the world. Tap into your supporters’ networks by adding peer-to-peer fundraising to any Givebutter fundraising page or event. Doing so will enable these features:
GiveCampus
Designed for educational institutions, GiveCampus is a popular digital fundraising and volunteer management solution. With the platform, Rhode Island College exceeded its donor goal by 55% and its dollar goal by more than double during its annual giving day. Know that Double the Donation is the only corporate matching gifts tool that integrates with the platform!
Reach, engage, and mobilize your community with these social fundraising features:
GivenGain
Founded in 2001, GivenGain puts fundraising in your supporters’ hands. As a nonprofit itself, GivenGain is driven by purpose rather than profit. Through this peer-to-peer fundraising platform, your passionate fundraisers can champion your cause and drive action.
Use GivenGain’s tools to access:
GiveSignUp
GiveSignUp is free peer-to-peer fundraising software that provides tools for event planning, fundraising, and managing volunteers. The platform only charges processing fees and is well-suited for organizations that host races, walks, and other event-based fundraising activities. Some of GiveSignUp’s primary features include:
GiveWP
If your nonprofit uses WordPress, this may be the peer-to-peer fundraising software for you! GiveWP is an open-source WordPress plugin that simplifies fundraising. Trusted by 100,000+ fundraisers worldwide, GiveWP can transform your supporters into enthusiastic advocates. Leverage the peer-to-peer fundraising add-on for GiveWP to involve your community in peer-to-peer and team fundraising. Then, use features such as:
haku
Create powerful peer-to-peer fundraising events with haku, an all-in-one partnership and technology ecosystem. haku is a comprehensive event management platform that nonprofits can use to organize participatory fundraising events like races and bike rides. In fact, they even helped the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society raise $1 million in just one month with a virtual fitness challenge.
The platform offers a suite of peer-to-peer fundraising tools, such as:
Neon Fundraise
Neon provides purpose-driven technology to further your mission. As part of Neon’s technology ecosystem, Neon Fundraise is a modern social fundraising platform that is fresh, powerful, and easy to use. Take your fundraising to new heights and drive registrations for your peer-to-peer events with features like:
OneCause
OneCause delivers nonprofits comprehensive fundraising solutions for auctions, text-to-give, events, and online fundraising. Among its many helpful tools, you can find peer-to-peer fundraising software. Whether you want to host a run/walk/ride event, host a giving day, or enable tribute fundraisers, OneCause has you covered.
Activate supporters with powerful social fundraising features, such as:
Qgiv
Qgiv offers nonprofits a variety of tools to power everything from peer-to-peer fundraising and text fundraising to auctions. Its comprehensive platform enables nonprofits to give donors a modern and personalized giving experience while keeping costs low. Enable your peer-to-peer fundraisers (or P2Peeps, as Qgiv calls them) to participate in 5Ks, bowl-a-thons, cycling events, or any other peer-to-peer fundraiser with these features:
raisin
Make meaningful connections and grow your network with raisin. This peer-to-peer fundraising software is perfect for individual, team, and corporate fundraisers. Whether you’re launching a national walk or DIY fundraising campaign, inspire supporters to join your nonprofit, fundraise, and build awareness for your cause.
Use raisin’s peer-to-peer module to leverage these features:
Examples of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software In Action
Each peer-to-peer fundraising platform has a unique donation flow that impacts how donors and fundraisers interact with your organization’s efforts. To make the most of your upcoming initiatives with optimal technology, consider these three sample social fundraising pages.
As we walk through each example, be sure to note what the organization does well and which pieces you can emulate!
The George Washington University
*Uses GiveCampus and Double the Donation
The George Washington University is a private research university located in Washington, D.C. This institution participates in a range of fundraising initiatives to support scholarship opportunities, student life, athletics, and more.
To power its peer-to-peer giving experience, the university uses innovative social fundraising technology from GiveCampus:
1. An individual navigates to a peer-to-peer campaign landing page.
The George Washington University hosts a wide range of peer-to-peer fundraising opportunities, and each one is provided with a campaign landing page from which to give, track progress toward objectives and deadlines, share the fundraising site, and more. Also, it features a brief video outlining the campaign efforts and goals.
2. The individual selects a donation amount on the giving form.
Once the donor navigates to the donation form from the campaign landing page, they are encouraged to choose their donation amount, determine recurring gift status, select a designation, and even add an additional gift.
3. The individual provides employment information and submits their gift.
On this final page of the GWU peer-to-peer giving process, donors are encouraged to enter their employer name to determine their matching gift eligibility using Double the Donation’s embedded search tool. From there, they are prompted to review their gift selection and finalize their contribution using their preferred payment method.
4. The individual is thanked and provided with matching gift information on the confirmation page.
Once a donor has submitted their donation via the peer-to-peer giving form, they are automatically redirected to visit a dedicated confirmation page. On this page, GWU thanks its donors for supporting the campaign and provides detailed matching gift information.
Breast Cancer Research Foundation
*Uses Classy and Double the Donation
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) is one of the largest nonprofit organizations dedicated to breast cancer research. It has discovered some of the most innovative advancements toward the prevention and curing of breast cancer.
Since its inception in 1993, BCRF has raised over $500 million for breast cancer research, funding nearly 300 researchers across 15 different countries, much of it through social fundraising efforts.
Here’s a brief overview of this organization’s peer-to-peer giving process using dedicated peer-to-peer fundraising software:
1. An individual chooses their donation amount on the P2P giving form.
Once an individual lands on a BCRF peer-to-peer donation form, they are met with a brief description of the organization, its mission, and how individual donors can help. From there, they are encouraged to select their gift amount from a number of suggested donation sizes (or enter a custom amount in the fill-in-the-blank box) and determine whether their contribution will be a one-time or recurring gift.
2. The individual assigns their gift to a particular fundraiser or team.
Next, the individual can credit their donation to a specific person or team participating in the campaign by typing a name in the auto-complete search box. Once they’ve selected a fundraiser, that individual or group’s progress is displayed using a real-time goal thermometer.
3. The individual provides current employment information.
At this stage in the giving process, the donor is prompted to “see if [their] employer will match [their] donation.” BCRF has embedded a matching gift search tool within their peer-to-peer giving form, which instructs individuals to enter their employing company in the search box below. The individual is also informed that they may receive follow-up emails from Double the Donation with detailed instructions regarding how to submit their match request.
4. The individual reviews and submits their donation.
From there, each donor is encouraged to review their donation information and select a payment method to complete their gift. BCRF currently accepts donations through PayPal, Venmo, credit card, and bank transfers!
5. The individual receives an email follow-up prompting them to submit their matching gift.
Mere minutes after clicking submit on their peer-to-peer donation, Breast Cancer Research Foundation donors receive a customized email follow-up providing matching gift information and communicating gratitude to strengthen that donor relationship. Since the donor previously provided employment data within the giving form, the email content is company-specific, providing targeted details on matching gift eligibility and actionable next steps for submission.
Soles4Souls
*Uses Fundraise Up and Double the Donation
Soles4Souls is a Tennessee-based nonprofit organization dedicated to collecting and redistributing shoes, clothing, and other apparel. By partnering with individual supporters, retailers, and community organizations, Soles4Souls gathers new and gently used shoes and provides them to people who need them worldwide.
While Soles4Souls greatly benefits from in-kind product donations, they also participate in additional fundraising activities such as peer-to-peer giving campaigns. Let’s take a look at the basic process using this organization’s peer-to-peer fundraising software:
1. An individual selects a donation amount on the P2P giving form.
Soles4Souls’ peer-to-peer giving process begins with selecting a donation amount. The individual donor is prompted to select a recommended gift amount or enter their preferred number. Then they’ll either opt to give once or make it a monthly donation. Donors can also dedicate their donation or provide an additional comment alongside their gift.
Meanwhile, in the left panel, the donor is met with compelling imagery and a brief overview of the organization’s mission.
2. The individual provides current employment information.
In the next step of this multi-page peer-to-peer giving experience, Soles4Souls’ donors are encouraged to double their donation’s impact with a matching gift. To drive this process forward, the individual is asked to provide the name of their current employer. From there, the peer-to-peer fundraising software searches Double the Donation’s extensive database of corporate matching gift information to provide eligibility details.
3. The individual reviews and submits their donation.
Finally, donors reach the payment screen, where they can choose from multiple payment options, including credit card, PayPal, Google Pay, Venmo, and bank transfer. Individuals are also given the option to cover their transaction costs, ensuring 100% of the contribution goes to Soles4Souls.
4. The individual receives an email follow-up prompting them to submit their matching gift.
Once an individual finalizes their Soles4Souls donation using the organization’s peer-to-peer fundraising software, a personalized email is automatically sent to their inbox. These follow-up messages contain additional matching gift resources, including direct links to donors’ matching gift submission portals, as well as an easy way to communicate status updates with Soles4Souls’ team.
Smart Tips for Choosing Your Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software
Here are some final tips to evaluate your top peer-to-peer fundraising software picks and purchase the best technology for your cause:
Consider scalability.
Look to the future in terms of whether the software can grow alongside your organization. If your team is currently on the smaller side, it might be tempting to opt for a free or low-cost solution with limited functionality. However, you don’t want to be back at square one in the buying process a few years from now if the platform stops meeting your needs.
Consider integrations in your overall tech stack.
Before making any software buying decisions, consider your overall technology ecosystem. Ask questions like:
Consider these questions before making your investment. Otherwise, you may end up with limited functionality and have a difficult time expanding your tech system without easy, ready-built integration options.
Rate your highest and lowest priorities.
Unfortunately, you might not find a peer-to-peer fundraising tool that meets all of your organization’s desired criteria. Perhaps you’ll be drawn to Feature A from Provider B, though Provider C offers innovative Feature D. Meanwhile, Provider E has a significantly reduced price point.
Simplify your choice by determining your organization’s highest and lowest priorities. For example, you might prioritize things this way: functionality → accessibility → integrations → cost. Meanwhile, another organization might prioritize it this way: cost → accessibility → functionality → integrations.
Get personalized demos to see the tools in action.
Take the software for a test drive with a demo. A software demo allows your team to see the fundraising tools in action and ask questions before making a buying decision. We recommend narrowing your choices to two or three solutions and getting personalized demos of each one.
Keep your fundraisers and end donors in mind.
In a typical fundraiser, your giving platform tends to be used by your team and donors contributing through the platform. Peer-to-peer technology, however, must account for your organization’s internal team, the end donors contributing, and the new “middle-man” in the situation: your volunteer fundraisers.
As you go through the buying process, keep each of these players in mind. Consider the experience from each possible perspective by asking questions like:
Considering these questions beforehand can equip your team to make the best peer-to-peer fundraising software decisions, spot potential roadblocks, and troubleshoot concerns.
Resources to Kickstart Your Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Platform Search
Double the Donation works closely with over 100 of the sector’s top fundraising technology providers. When looking for a best-in-class peer-to-peer fundraising software platform, we recommend getting started with our integration partners.
Navigate to our integrations page to explore the solutions we work with, filter by industry and functionality, and determine whether one is right for your needs.
Want to learn more about nonprofit fundraising technology and how you can provide your team with the right tools? Check out these additional Double the Donation resources:
Direct Marketing Fundraising: Talking to Donors One-on-One
/in Marketing Strategies /by Adam WeingerFrom connecting with new donors to encouraging current supporters to upgrade, marketing is a core part of fundraising. With tools like social media, TV ads, and search engine ads, you can reach thousands of supporters at the same time. However, it’s hard to build individual relationships when talking to hundreds of donors at once.
Direct marketing fundraising allows nonprofits to connect with specific donors and build individualized relationships without overspending or wasting resources on dead ends. So, how does it work?
In this guide, we’ll break down the essentials of direct marketing fundraising, including:
If you’re ready to cultivate relationships with all of your donors, let’s get started with a breakdown of what direct marketing fundraising is and how it differs from indirect marketing fundraising.
What is Direct Marketing Fundraising?
Direct marketing fundraising is marketing and fundraising appeals addressed and sent to an individual. For example, if you receive an email addressed to you promoting a challenge gift opportunity related to a campaign you recently gave to, that would be direct marketing fundraising.
In contrast, indirect marketing fundraising consists of marketing and fundraising appeals addressed to a broad audience. Usually, this audience is the general public, even if a nonprofit has a specific target audience. For example, a social media post promoting a family-friendly event may be aimed at families in the nonprofit’s local area with young children. However, anyone can stumble upon and interact with this post, making it a form of indirect marketing.
Benefits of Direct Marketing Fundraising
By definition, direct marketing has a smaller audience than indirect marketing, but what it lacks in quantity, it more than makes up for in quality. Here’s an overview of a few benefits you can experience from a direct marketing fundraising strategy:
Ultimately, nonprofits should pursue a mix of indirect and direct fundraising strategies. This helps maintain a healthy fundraising cycle wherein new prospective donors regularly learn about your nonprofit, while current supporters receive continual engagement that motivates them to upgrade their support.
Types of Direct Marketing Fundraising
Now that we’ve addressed what direct marketing fundraising is, how can your nonprofit go about it? Here are a few communication channels your nonprofit can leverage for direct marketing:
You’ve likely seen advice to pay attention to supporters’ communication preferences , and direct marketing is where it matters most. If a supporter says they only want to be contacted via email, be sure that you use email when reaching out to them. Direct marketing is where you show off that you have paid attention to each supporter’s individual donor journey, and the way you contact them should also reflect that.
Direct Marketing Fundraising Strategies
Just like with any marketing approach, your strategy determines whether it will resonate with donors. Here are a few top strategies for how to make your direct fundraising appeals more effective and use the information you gather about supporters to improve your marketing efforts overall.
Collect Donor Data
Donor data allows you to create individualized messages for your direct marketing efforts. For each donor, build a donor profile that contains all of the data you’ve gathered about them throughout their engagement with your organization.
The data you collect will be relevant to your nonprofit’s goals. For example, nonprofits pursuing matching gift opportunities need to collect the following data:
Donor data can be collected in a number of ways, such as directly asking donors through surveys and in various registration and sign-up forms. If you’re missing data or worry your donor database is out of date, you can also purchase research tools, like a wealth screening or corporate giving database.
Personalize Communication
Direct marketing is so effective because it allows for personalized communication. After all, do you feel more connected to a nonprofit when you receive an email addressed to “Valued donors” and thanks you for “all of your support,” or one that addresses you by name and references your specific contributions?
You can improve your donation appeals with two personalization strategies:
These personalization strategies help ensure the content you send to donors is relevant to their interests, increasing the chances they will engage with it. Plus, by addressing donors as individuals, they will feel their specific contributions matter, making them more inclined to continue supporting you.
Use Automatic Triggers
Writing individual emails to each donor whenever they interact with your nonprofit is not practical. Fortunately, you don’t have to when your email and fundraising platforms allow you to set up automatic triggers.
When donors take specific actions you would like to contact them about, set up an email trigger to send an automatic message or create a flag in their profile for your team to reach out to them. Here are a few common actions you may set up communication triggers for:
Communication tools like email platforms and fundraising software can enable many of these triggers for you, meaning all you need to do is write the basic messages that get sent.
For matching gifts, you might even go the extra mile when it comes to automation with auto-submission. Matching gift auto-submission simplifies the matching gift process by submitting donors’ matching gift applications for them. Here’s a breakdown of how this cutting-edge technology works:
Create Donor Personas
Talking with donors one-on-one sounds great, but even with automation tools and donor profiles, is it possible to build individualized relationships with hundreds of donors? With donor personas, you can!
Donor personas are representations of hypothetical donors. Rather than composing a donation request to your entire donor base, donor personas allow you to market to one individual who represents specific segments of your donor base.
Here’s an overview of the content you should include in your donor personas:
Use this information to create message templates for each donor segment. Then, fill in specific information, such as names, donation amounts, and engagement history, to create a strong appeal for each specific donor.
While few supporters will perfectly align with your donor personas, carefully constructed personas should cover the basics and allow you to create marketing appeals that hit on some of their interests. Plus, the more data you collect on your current donors, the more accurate your donor personas will be, and the more you can use them to define your target audience when reaching out to new prospective supporters.
Use an Omnichannel Approach
Direct marketing allows you to level up your donor communications with an omnichannel approach.
You may have heard of multi-channel marketing before, which is when you spread the same message across multiple communication channels to increase the chances supporters see and act on it. Omnichannel marketing also involves marketing across multiple channels, except each message builds on the one that came before it.
Here’s an example of how you might use omnichannel marketing to promote matching gifts:
Each step in this process builds on the one that came before it and responds to the individual donor’s actions. This type of highly personalized donor cultivation is highly effective at driving specific actions and is only possible with direct fundraising.
More Resources for Nonprofit Marketers
Direct marketing allows you to connect with individual supporters to develop relationships, increase engagement, and earn donations. Collect donor data to reach out with personalized content that encourages people to continue being passionate supporters.
Marketing is an extensive topic, and direct marketing is just one aspect. To develop a comprehensive marketing strategy for your nonprofit, explore these resources:
Sourcing & Utilizing Employment Data for Higher Ed Fundraising
/in Learning Center, Marketing Strategies, About Double the Donation /by Adam WeingerColleges and universities often rely on generous donors to fund their academic programming, extracurricular activities, research and development, and more. In the realm of educational fundraising, understanding your supporters—and their professional journeys—can significantly enhance engagement and boost giving across the board. One of the best ways to do so involves making the most of employment data for higher ed fundraising.
That said, we urge you to consider the following questions:
Do you have comprehensive and up-to-date employment information for your donors, alumni, and other supporters?
And do you understand the vitality of these insights for your school’s overall fundraising?
By effectively sourcing and utilizing employment data, colleges and universities can create more personalized and compelling fundraising campaigns—not to mention, target invaluable workplace giving opportunities.
In this guide, we’ll explore the importance of employment data, recommended methods for sourcing the information, and strategies for leveraging the insights in your fundraising.
If you’re looking for a way to bring your institution’s fundraising and engagement to new heights, comprehensive donor employment information is the tool you need.
Ready to get started? Let’s begin.
Why Does Employment Data Matter in Higher Ed Fundraising?
The more you know about your donors, the better you can engage them in your fundraising. Employment data in particular plays a crucial role in maximizing support for higher education. By providing insights into the professional networks and financial capacities of alumni and other supporters, you can significantly enhance targeted fundraising strategies, identify lucrative company giving opportunities, and more.
In essence, employment data equips higher education institutions like yours with the information needed to establish and grow stronger relationships with supporters—individual and corporate alike. However, it’s important to take a proactive approach to continuously source new data rather than relying on stale or outdated insights. To uncover the most lucrative opportunities available to your team, you’ll want to ensure employment data accuracy as you gather the information.
6 Ways for Colleges and Universities to Uncover Employment Data
Do you lack complete or updated employment data for your donors? No worries! There are a number of ways for colleges and universities to gain access to this information.
To get the most complete picture of your school’s supporters, we recommend enlisting multiple of the following methods.
1) Donation form fields
Incorporating employment-related fields into donation forms allows colleges to directly collect information about a donor’s employer at the point of donation.
While a simple, optional form field encouraging users to supply their company name will suffice, we recommend embedding an employer search tool in your giving page instead. This way, users are prompted to enter their company name in an embedded form widget connected to a comprehensive database with information on thousands of companies’ giving programs.
Fun fact: 73% of donors will use a matching gift search field on a donation form when presented with the opportunity.
2) Confirmation screens
Confirmation screen search tools can also be used to collect employment data after an individual hits “submit” on their gift. This approach ensures each donor is met with multiple opportunities to provide the information, making the process a seamless and efficient one.
3) Data appends
Even after implementing the above methods to uncover employment information, a number of contacts in your database are likely to have some gaps. For this, a third-party data enhancement service might be the exact answer you’re looking for to help clean up your historical data.
All your team has to do is select an employer appends provider, supply the company with the information you do have on your donors, and they’ll fill in as much of the data as possible using a combination of public and privately held data sources.
4) Email domain screening
Donors giving online are generally prompted to supply an email address so your institution can keep in touch. When an individual provides their corporate or work email address, it can offer powerful clues about their employers.
For example, you can determine that a gift made using an email ending in “@company.com” likely comes from an employee within the company.
5) Donor outreach
If, at this point, you’re still missing employer data, we recommend going straight to the source. Engaging donors directly through automated outreach is an easy, low-lift way to uncover additional employment insights—especially using Double the Donation’s prewritten email cadences.
Soon after a donor gives, simply follow up and encourage them to share the name of their employer and look into any available giving programs they may offer.
6) Online research
While more time-consuming, utilizing online resources such as LinkedIn, other networking platforms, or company websites is another way to gather employment information about donors.
Top tip: Due to the manual approach it requires, we recommend retaining online research for your highest-value donors and prospects.
How to Use Donor Employment Info to Boost Higher Ed Fundraising
Once you’ve built out your donor profiles with accurate and up-to-date employment information, you have what you need to initiate a data-driven fundraising plan. Check out the following tips to maximize your potential and empower your college or university with a stronger, more well-informed strategy.
Data-Driven Tip #1: Personalize communications.
Personalized engagements strengthen donor relations by facilitating a more meaningful connection. Customizing fundraising outreach with details specific to each recipient is a great way to make your communications stand out in supporters’ minds.
This can be as simple as addressing an individual by name in your greeting. However, it can also involve more advanced fields, such as referring to a donor’s employing company in relevant messaging.
Data-Driven Tip #2: Estimate wealth data and capacity to give.
Donors’ employment data can also provide powerful insights into an individual’s potential wealth level—and, therefore, their approximate capacity to give. Not to mention, if you also know the individual’s job title or status, this provides additional details to inform your fundraising strategy. This information allows institutions to identify major gift prospects, craft tailored appeals, and encourage larger gift amounts.
Data-Driven Tip #3: Identify and pursue matching gift opportunities.
Matching gifts are a leading form of corporate giving. Yet despite their potential, more than $4 to $7 billion worth of matching gift funds go unclaimed each year. Your school likely qualifies for a significant amount of match revenue, and if you want to maximize these programs’ potential, knowing where your donors work is a must.
Donor employment data helps fundraising institutions identify employers that offer matching gift programs. This allows them to promote these opportunities effectively, encouraging donors to double or even triple their contributions.
Data-Driven Tip #4: Encourage corporate volunteerism.
Tons of companies offer generous volunteer incentives—such as Dollars for Doers or paid volunteer time off—as a way to encourage their staff to give back of their time. Understanding donors’ corporate affiliations can enable schools like yours to uncover such opportunities and ensure supporters are well-informed.
By offering specialized volunteer opportunities that align with a company’s culture and values, your college or university can encourage volunteers to contribute their time and expertise through their company-sponsored program.
Data-Driven Tip #5: Facilitate prospective sponsor conversations.
Beyond existing employee-led giving programs, donor employment data can also help identify opportunities for new, broader corporate partnerships. How? The best partnerships are built around shared audiences—so knowing where supporters work can be instrumental.
You can even encourage donors or alumni to facilitate a warm introduction between your team and their employer to break the ice!
Top Employers with Workplace Giving Programs for Higher Education
Once you know which companies your donors work for, you can use the information to uncover the most valuable workplace giving opportunities in your network. But, in order to do so, you’ll need to be familiar with the companies that offer these programs.
We recommend investing in a corporate giving database (like Double the Donation) to gain access to thousands of companies’ program materials. In the meantime, we’ve compiled a list of ten employers with standout matching gift, volunteer grant, and VTO programs your team should know.
COMPANY NAME
MATCHING GIFTS?
VOLUNTEER GRANTS?
VOLUNTEER TIME OFF?
Allstate Insurance
YES ✔️
Donation threshold: $10 – $1,000
Match ratio: 1:1
$500 per 8 hours of service
YES ✔️
Skills-based volunteer days
Cisco Systems
Donation threshold: $1 – $25,000
Match ratio: .25:1
$10 per hour of service
80 hours per year
Ernst & Young
Donation threshold: $100 – $1,000
Match ratio: 1:1
Quarterly days of service
Aramark
Donation threshold: $50 – $2,000
Match ratio: 1:1
Annual day of service
Intuit Inc.
Donation threshold: $15 – $5,000
Match ratio: 1:1
$250 grants
32 hours per year
Deloitte
Donation threshold: $50 – $32,500
Match ratio: 1:1
8 hours per year
GM Financial
$10 per hour of service
32 hours per year
Capital Group
Donation threshold: $25 – $5,000
Match ratio: 2:1
$100 per 10 hours of service
Warner Media
Donation threshold: $10 – $1,000
Match ratio: 1:1
$10 per hour of service
40 hours per year
Apple
Donation threshold: $1 – $10,000
Match ratio: 1:1
$25 per hour of service
Wrapping Up & Additional Data-Driven Fundraising Resources
Employment data is a strategic tool for powering higher education fundraising—from personalized engagement efforts to tailored workplace giving initiatives. When sourced and leveraged effectively, this information can shed light on groundbreaking opportunities, guiding your efforts as you enlist support from existing donors and their employers alike.
Interested in learning more about workplace giving opportunities for your college or university? Check out our recommended further reading below:
Funraisin Chooses Double the Donation for Advanced Matching Gifts Automation
/in About Double the Donation /by Adam WeingerDouble the Donation and Funraisin are proud to announce a new partnership that answers the call for advanced integrated matching technology. With the new integration between Double the Donation and Funraisin’s innovative giving experiences, guiding eligible donors to completing their match is easier than ever.
The integration allows donors to discover their match eligibility while they’re in the process of giving. Instead of entering plain text in a field for nonprofits to manage manually and chase after later, donors can find their company name from the Double the Donation database with Double the Donation’s autocomplete search field.
“We’re excited to see how Funraisin and Double the Donation users will grow their matching gift revenue with a direct integration,” said Adam Weinger, President at Double the Donation. “Powerful fundraising tools plus advanced matching gift software always equals success for our nonprofit clients.”
The Funraisin and Double the Donation integration is now accessible for mutual client use. Follow our integration guide for information on how to get connected.
Ready to get started with Double the Donation to add matching gifts to the donation experience? Request a demo with us and make sure to share that you’re a Funraisin user! Want additional resources to help you take your matching gifts strategy to the next level? Enroll today in our Matching Gift Academy for in-depth content about growing your matching gift revenue.
About Funraisin: Funraisin powers innovative fundraising for thousands of charities worldwide and is known for its highly flexible web platform, empowering customers to deliver personalized fundraising experiences at scale across P2P, DIY, Giving Days, Appeals, Shop sales, Raffles, and more. Organizations can create beautiful web pages and fundraiser dashboards that reward and recognize fundraising achievements. Built-in behavioral messaging drives conversion rates, which ties back to deep integrations with CRM and marketing automation tools you already use, supported with free 24-hour weekday access to Funraisin’s in-house team of passionate fundraising software experts.
About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The Double the Donation platform provides nonprofits and educational institutions with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. Double the Donation integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions, and even partners with select CSR platforms to further streamline matching gifts for donors. Through Double the Donation, the matching gift process has never been simpler.
Corporate and Foundation Relations: A Guide for Universities
/in Fundraising Ideas, Learning Center /by Adam WeingerFrom scholarships to research grants, universities need funding. Much university funding comes from individual donors, but corporations and foundations also play a key role in supporting higher education institutions.
Juggling relationships and grant proposals with multiple corporations and foundations for various university needs can quickly get complicated though. Not to mention, sourcing those funding opportunities can easily be a full-time job for multiple people!
This is where Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR) offices come in. In this guide, we’ll break down what CFR is, why universities need CFR offices, and how to set their CFR office up for success.
What are corporate and foundation relations?
Many corporations and foundations offer grants that are applicable to universities. As such, universities seek out and maintain relationships with these organizations to secure funding opportunities, such as:
While some of these funding opportunities are awarded on a merit basis—whether on the part of an individual student, the university, or a specific department—having a positive relationship with the grantmaking organization will almost always improve the odds of receiving support.
What do Corporate and Foundation Relations Offices do?
CFR offices help keep their universities funded by finding corporations and foundations and building relationships with them. By doing so, they help students and their university as a whole by:
Students and faculty can focus on research, career development, and university life while CFR offices put in the work to keep these activities funded. Corporate and foundation relationship networks don’t crop up overnight, and CFR offices keep these lines of communication open to benefit their universities and partners alike.
What tools and resources do Corporate and Foundation Relations Offices need?
With a complex web of connections to track, CFR offices employ various resources and specialized software solutions to stay organized, identify opportunities, and keep lines of communication open. Here are a few top tools and resources your university’s CFR office needs.
1. Cooperation with Other University Offices
CFR offices don’t act alone. To minimize confusion and create a cohesive experience for external partners and internal university members, CFR offices work with your university’s fundraising team, campus administrators, and faculty.
For example, a foundation may be interested in providing grant funding for research related to climate change. The CFR office would then need to reach out to various academic departments at your university to find programs and specific researchers whose work aligns with the foundation’s interests.
Or, the university’s fundraising team may secure a sponsorship with a business and then turn over communication to the CFR team that can facilitate funding for specific projects.
To encourage cooperation among university offices, ensure the heads of your university’s various offices understand what corporate and foundation relationships are and what your CFR office does. Additionally, improve your CFR office’s website to make it clear what the office’s purpose is, what opportunities they have available, and how various interested parties can get in touch with them. Here’s an example of Cornell University’s foundation partnerships page that checks all of these boxes:
2. A Reliable Network of Connections
CFR offices are valuable due to their extensive networks of corporate and foundation connections. These networks are built on mutually beneficial arrangements and trust agreements that can take years to cultivate. As such, your CFR office’s personnel are one of your university’s most important resources.
Some team members may bring in networks and relationships they’ve developed themselves, whereas others new to CFR work may still have extensive knowledge of grantmaking and corporate philanthropy.
Support your CFR office by finding new ways for them to connect and build stronger relationships with prospects. This might involve hosting events, having flexibility in what types of projects you’ll support, and investing in necessary prospect research tools.
3. Corporate and Foundation Research Tools
Many prospective corporate and foundation partners can be sourced through your CFR office’s network. However, to assess these prospects and discover new prospects, CFR offices can benefit from corporate and foundation research tools.
Specifically, two research tools you should consider investing in for your CFR office include:
Additionally, consider how other fundraising tools can help facilitate relationships with corporations and foundations. For example, your CFR office may help negotiate a matching gift challenge with a business wherein the business agrees to match all donations made within a certain period of time. To track this fundraiser and promote corporate matching gifts to your school’s donors even after the challenge, you may consider matching gift and workplace fundraising software.
More Resources for Universities
Corporations and foundations have the power to open doors for your university’s community. To connect with these partners, your CFR office needs support to pursue long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with funders. And your university can provide that help with the right tools, resources, and knowledge.
To expand your knowledge of the university fundraising space even further, explore these resources:
Top 10 Nonprofit Technology Consulting Firms: Reviewed!
/in Lists and Rankings, Learning Center /by Adam WeingerFor nonprofits of all sizes, technology plays a vital role in achieving their missions. As your organization grows, you’ll need advanced software solutions to manage donor information, enhance your marketing strategies, and track fundraising data. But that’s just the beginning!
To fully harness the power of your nonprofit technology, you need guidance from experts who know how to navigate technical complexities and develop customized solutions. The answer? A nonprofit technology consultant!
A skilled consultant can help you implement your software, streamline your overall operations, and even brainstorm technology-driven marketing solutions. In this post, we’ll introduce you to top nonprofit technology consultants who excel in various areas of expertise:
After exploring our favorite firms, you’ll be well-equipped to decide on a trusted technology partner who can elevate your nonprofit’s impact through innovative technical solutions.
Nexus Marketing — Top Consultant for Organic Marketing Strategies
Consulting Firm Overview
Nexus Marketing is renowned for its expertise in organic marketing strategies, helping nonprofits grow their audiences through intensive SEO strategies focused on earning conversions.
Ideal for nonprofits that sell products, programming, or services, Nexus Marketing can transform your web presence into an inbound lead generation engine. When you partner with Nexus, they’ll help you grow your SEO and digital marketing efforts and reach your target audience via search engine traffic, dynamic video content, and promotional opportunities with leaders in the mission-driven space.
Nonprofit Technology Services
Nexus Marketing offers these valuable digital marketing services:
Nonprofit Technology Portfolio
With more than 10 years of experience in ROI-driven SEO for mission-driven organizations, Nexus Marketing has a deep understanding of how to lay the groundwork for long-term growth while also earning their clients immediate wins. They can accelerate your digital presence and SEO growth through their incredible partnership network of 500+ leaders in the mission-driven space.
For instance, they helped the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance (NLA) grow awareness of its Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) credential and Leaderosity programs. Through the partnership, NLA now has keyword-optimized blog posts and product pages, has published partner posts across authoritative websites, and is featured on referral pages. Thanks to these various opportunities, they’ve achieved incredible organic growth and driven more sales for their training programs.
Getting Attention — Best Nonprofit Technology Consultant for Google Ad Grants
Consulting Firm Overview
Getting Attention is your ultimate nonprofit consultant for all things related to the Google Ad Grants program. They excel in helping nonprofits apply for and manage the grant, ensuring their nonprofit clients maximize their online presence through search engine advertising.
Getting Attenion acts as an extension of your team, ensuring they fully understand your brand and its goals. Then, they’ll create compelling Google Ads that make the most of your allotted $10,000 each month to drive traffic to your most important web pages. Plus, you can relax knowing they’re certified by Google and know what they’re doing.
Nonprofit Technology Services
Getting Attention offers these unparalleled Google Ad Grant services:
Nonprofit Technology Portfolio
Getting Attention has worked with nonprofit organizations to achieve a variety of goals. For instance, they helped Erika’s Lighthouse increase awareness of its mission, achieving an impressive 300 clicks in just one month. The ads also have an incredible 15.8% click-through rate, which is higher than the average Google Ad CTR of 3.17%.
Getting Attention has also worked with Glacier National Park Conservancy to drive purchases from its online store to support Glacier National Park. By targeting keywords like “Glacier National Park Tours” and “Glacier National Park Campgrounds,” their Google Ads drove an impressive 2,570 clicks in just one month. You can read more about some of Getting Attention’s other clients in their nonprofit advertising examples guide.
DNL OmniMedia — Top Consultant for Nonprofit Technology Implementation
Consulting Firm Overview
A trusted Blackbaud partner and Salesforce solution provider, DNL OmniMedia understands nonprofit software—but more importantly, they understand nonprofits.
Their full-service consulting firm will assess your technology infrastructure and provide personalized recommendations that align with your mission. Through custom web development, software configurations, and data analysis, Team DNL will ensure that your nonprofit thrives in an increasingly digital age.
Nonprofit Technology Services
DNL OmniMedia offers nonprofit-exclusive services including:
In addition to these services, DNL offers products that help nonprofits expand their Blackbaud Luminate system, including peer-to-peer fundraising and advocacy add-ons.
Nonprofit Technology Portfolio
Team DNL has worked with organizations across the mission-driven sector and has solved a variety of technology-related challenges.
From designing a one-of-a-kind nonprofit website for the Interlochen Center for the Arts to creating custom Blackbaud TeamRaiser donation forms for the North Shore Animal League, the DNL team has extended their expertise to a number of clients.
Donorly — Top Choice for Fundraising Strategy Development
Consulting Firm Overview
Ever look at your fundraising goals and wonder if you can achieve them? The nonprofit technology consultants at Donorly know that you can if you just have the right information and assets by your side!
Under the direction of president Sandra Davis, the Donorly team channels their creativity and passion into creating elegant donor research solutions specifically for your nonprofit. With their comprehensive donor information, your nonprofit can reach higher than you thought possible.
Nonprofit Technology Services
When it comes to donor research, the Donorly team provides your nonprofit with the foundations for:
Donorly promises a customized approach, based on their unique engagement model.
Nonprofit Technology Portfolio
Many of Donorly’s clients come from the arts and culture or humanities space, though the team has worked with nonprofits across the sector. Their client lists includes the Seattle Children’s Museum, Playwrights Horizons, Martha & Mary Lutheran Services, and the Studio Theatre.
Morweb — Best Technology Consultant For Nonprofit Web Design
Consulting Firm Overview
For nonprofits looking to get started building a beautiful website, Morweb will be the perfect partner. Pairing their unmatched CMS with expert support services, your web design strategy will be more effective than ever.
When you leverage Morweb’s consulting services, they’ll walk you step-by-step through the website creation and implementation process.
After your website is live, you can still call on them for additional consulting if you ever want to update your style, change your strategy, or otherwise improve the functionality of your site.
Nonprofit Technology Services
Morweb offers the following nonprofit web design services:
Even better, Morweb has scalable products to meet the needs of all kinds of nonprofits. This way, you can pay for what you need now and have the option of upgrading down the line.
Nonprofit Technology Portfolio
Morweb has experience enhancing the web design strategy of a diverse range of nonprofits, from small, regional organizations to international ones.
Their portfolio of clients includes nonprofits like 4th Street BRZ in Canada, Habitat for Humanity of St. Joseph County, Society of University Surgeons, and the Driving School Association of the Americas.
Whole Whale — Top Consultant for Web Data and Technology
Consulting Firm Overview
Whole Whale is a digital agency dedicated to helping nonprofits enhance their strategic use of technology. They’ll help your organization learn valuable skills and implement best practices so that you don’t need to rely on a consultant or third-party administrator.
To achieve that goal, Whole Whale provides one-on-one consulting services for clients with like-minded missions. On top of their long-term projects, this firm also offers online training courses through Whole Whale University in areas such as social media, Google AdWords, and more.
Nonprofit Technology Services
Whole Whale takes a holistic approach to digital strategy, with key services that include:
Each Whole Whale project is customized based on nonprofit needs, so you won’t have to worry about getting a canned approach.
Nonprofit Technology Portfolio
Notably, Whole Whale worked with the Malala Fund to improve the nonprofit’s use of Google Analytics for tracking user actions on their site. Following their engagement, the Malala Fund was able to successfully implement Google Analytics on their own, without any ongoing support from a consultant.
Heller Consulting — Best Nonprofit Technology Consultant for CRM Management
Consulting Firm Overview
Since 1996, Heller Consulting has worked exclusively with nonprofits to develop effective strategies in data management, communications, fundraising, and other vital areas.
In particular, the Heller consultants are passionate about working with nonprofits to get more from their CRM systems. With their services, your organization can outline a clear vision for your constituent relationship management, implement and customize your technology, and learn best practices for your software.
Nonprofit Technology Services
Heller Consulting works primarily with nonprofits and higher education institutes, offering a variety of technology services such as:
In addition, Heller Consulting maintains an active blog on their website to help organizations continue gaining and sharing knowledge about nonprofit technology.
Nonprofit Technology Portfolio
Heller Consulting has worked with nonprofit clients in multiple sectors, including advocacy, healthcare, higher education, and social services. Some of their past engagements include the ASPCA, Make a Wish National Foundation, and the Lincoln Park Zoo.
You can check out their website for more information on recent projects and case studies detailing their work with specific software solutions, such as the Salesforce Community Cloud.
Idealist Consulting — Top Consultant for Salesforce Implementation
Consulting Firm Overview
With about 60% of their clients being nonprofits, Idealist Consulting specializes in Salesforce and marketing automation consulting. They can help you build out a custom Salesforce experience that works for your organization, with strategic app integrations and personalized configurations.
Idealist Consulting works with organizations to get more from the Salesforce system and raise funds and awareness for their cause. Their four-step consulting process always concludes with increased impact made possible through strategic technology implementation.
Nonprofit Technology Services
Idealist Consulting offers services that build on your existing technology and online presence through:
On top of all of that, Idealist can also work with you to build out a custom Salesforce app of your own!
Nonprofit Technology Portfolio
Among their other nonprofit and for-profit clients, Idealist Consulting worked with The Banfield Foundation, an animal welfare organization, to move their data to the Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack for improved fundraising and donor data management.
By learning how to track small donations more effectively in Salesforce, The Banfield Foundation increased their online donations by over 300%! Idealist Consulting also developed custom fields within their CRM and helped them generate unique reports showing donor trends and demographics.
Apparo — Best Nonprofit Technology Consultant For Corporate Partnerships
Consulting Firm Overview
Apparo seeks to “empower nonprofits through technology that enhances their missions.” They provide volunteer nonprofit technology consulting to organizations of all sizes and skill levels in the Charlotte, North Carolina, community.
All of Apparo’s consulting services are individualized and unique to the organization. They’ll get to know your organization so they can most aptly pinpoint challenges and areas for improvement before working to push your mission forward.
Nonprofit Technology Services
Apparo’s consulting team offers a wide variety of free nonprofit services, including:
As a nonprofit themselves, Apparo is dedicated to helping philanthropic organizations within their community. Their volunteer consultants can help organizations with almost anything, from selecting the right software to learning the most up-to-date best practices in the nonprofit tech community.
Nonprofit Technology Portfolio
Apparo’s many success stories include the Carolina Raptor Center, a nonprofit working to rehabilitate and release injured birds. Prior to working with Apparo, the Center relied on paper tracking and Excel spreadsheets for all of their volunteer information, costing them time and data.
With Apparo, the Center was able implement more strategic software that reduced paperwork and increased their supporter engagement possibilities across the board.
ScienceSoft — Top Choice for Custom Software Development
Consulting Firm Overview
ScienceSoft is an international provider of IT consulting and software development services with 30 years of experience in heterogeneous IT environments. ScienceSoft is headquatered in Texas, US, and has offices in the EU and Eastern Europe. Today, the company houses a team of 550 experts, including more than 20 business analysts with an understanding of nonprofits’ specific needs and expertise in multiple technology stacks and platform-based solutions.
Nonprofit Technology Services
ScienceSoft offers an array of IT consulting services to help you achieve your organization’s mission:
Software consulting.
QA consulting, compliance and security testing.
Salesforce.org Nonprofit Cloud Consulting.
Other platform-specific consulting – SharePoint, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Magento.
Nonprofit Technology Portfolio
ScienceSoft has worked with multiple types of NPOs, including educational institutions, government entities and public service providers, supporting the nonprofits’ mission to expand their outreach with available tech capabilities. The examples of such cooperation range from solutions that make an NPO visible on the internet, improve member retention and engagement to multifaceted applications for an NPO’s external interactions with the focus on integrity and confidentiality.
Selecting the right nonprofit technology consultant can be a game-changer for your organization. A motivated and knowledgeable partner can streamline software implementation, customization, and usage, allowing you to harness the full potential of your nonprofit’s technology.
To further enhance your nonprofit software experience, explore these valuable resources:
Justify Your Trip to the Matching Gift Summit [Template for Higher Ed]
/in About Double the Donation /by ColleenFundraising conferences can offer transformative experiences for higher education advancement professionals, supplying opportunities for networking, skill development, and exclusive insights into industry trends. However, securing approval and funding for such trips often requires a well-crafted justification. And, if you’re interested in attending Double the Donation’s upcoming Fall 2024 Matching Gift Summit (hint: you should!), we’ve provided a handy template to help convince your boss of the value your trip would supply.
First things first…What is the Matching Gift Summit?
Matching gifts can be an incredible yet often untapped source of fundraising support for nonprofits, universities, and other fundraising organizations. In matching gift programs, corporations match donations that their employees make to charitable organizations. According to recent matching gift statistics, $2-3 billion is donated annually through matching gift programs, but an estimated $4-$7 billion is left unclaimed.
Double the Donation’s goal is to assist organizations in securing the matching gift revenue available to them. This includes resources provided in our Matching Gift Summit, matching gift automation platform, and more.
Specifically, the Summit is dedicated to sharing matching gift best practices, resources, success stories, and more to help higher education institutions manage this fundraising channel more effectively. Attendees will learn about forming strong business partnerships and earning valuable corporate sponsorships to support their projects, events, programs, and more.
And why should I represent my school at the event?
If that’s not enough of a reason, attending Double the Donation’s Fall 2024 Matching Gift Summit is hands down the best way for your team to gain insights into emerging industry trends, identify and adapt to shared challenges in workplace giving, source insights from fundraising peers, and more.
The summit will offer uniquely insightful discussions focusing on enhancing corporate giving strategies, providing advanced techniques to optimize your programs and engage corporate partners more effectively. Plus, networking events provide opportunities to build meaningful connections with nonprofit leaders, CSR professionals, and industry experts alike.
Now, email your boss! Free template to justify your trip
Subject: Matching Gift Summit – Great opportunity for our team
Next steps: Secure your spot today!
Check out the official event landing page!
Justify Your Trip to the Matching Gift Summit [Free Template]
/in About Double the Donation /by ColleenNonprofit conferences can offer transformative experiences for fundraising professionals, establishing opportunities for networking, skill development, and exclusive insights into industry trends. However, securing approval and funding for such trips often requires a well-crafted justification. And, if you’re interested in attending Double the Donation’s upcoming May 2025 Matching Gift Summit (hint: you should!), we’ve provided a handy template to help convince your boss of the value your trip would supply.
First things first…What is the Matching Gift Summit?
Matching gifts can be an incredible yet often untapped source of fundraising support for nonprofits, universities, and other fundraising organizations. In matching gift programs, corporations match donations that their employees make to charitable organizations. According to recent matching gift statistics, $2-3 billion is donated annually through matching gift programs, but an estimated $4-$7 billion is left unclaimed.
Double the Donation’s goal is to assist organizations in securing the matching gift revenue available to them. This includes resources provided in our Matching Gift Summit, matching gift automation platform, and more.
Specifically, the Summit is dedicated to sharing matching gift best practices, resources, success stories, and more to help 501(c)(3) nonprofits manage this fundraising channel more effectively. Attendees will learn about forming strong business partnerships and earning valuable corporate sponsorships to support their projects, events, programs, and more.
And why should I represent my organization at the event?
If that’s not enough of a reason, attending Double the Donation’s May 2025 Matching Gift Summit is hands down the best way for your team to gain insights into emerging industry trends, identify and adapt to shared challenges in workplace giving, source insights from fundraising peers, and more.
The summit will offer uniquely insightful discussions focusing on enhancing corporate giving strategies, providing advanced techniques to optimize your programs and engage corporate partners more effectively. Plus, networking events provide opportunities to build meaningful connections with nonprofit leaders, CSR professionals, and industry experts alike.
Now, email your boss! Free template to justify your trip
Subject: Matching Gift Summit – Great opportunity for our team
Next steps: Secure your spot today!
Check out the official event landing page!
Donation Levels: Creating Donation Tiers That Drive Revenue
/in Fundraising Ideas, Donor communications /by Adam WeingerDonation levels are one of the most important factors in determining gift amounts as they guide your supporters into giving an amount that’s right for them and your nonprofit. When used strategically, they frame your nonprofit’s impact and encourage donors to increase their support.
To help your nonprofit better use donation levels, this guide will explore:
Let’s clarify exactly what we mean by donation levels before jumping into tips for how to create the best donation page possible.
What are Donation Levels?
Donation levels, also known as donation tiers, are suggested giving amounts that appear on donation pages. For example, a nonprofit might have donation levels of $20, $50, $100, and so on.
These amounts help guide supporters in how much to give when donating by providing examples of what is considered a low donation amount, a medium amount, and a high amount. Donation levels are especially helpful for first-time donors who may be unsure how much an average donation should be.
While donation levels can contain the gift amounts and nothing else, many nonprofits seek to increase donations by characterizing their donation levels with names, impact examples, and other descriptors.
What’s the Difference Between Donation Levels and Donation Types?
While the names are similar, “donation levels” and “donation types” are different concepts. Donation levels are suggested giving amounts on a donation form, while donation types are different kinds of gifts.
For example, donation types include major gifts, recurring gifts, in-kind donations, and corporate support. There is some overlap in that the donation types of low, moderate, and major donors may correspond to donation levels.
For example, recurring donors may give $50 monthly or $200 monthly. A donor who contributes $50 and one who donates $200 are both recurring donors but at different donation levels. However, whether this is the case depends on your nonprofit and average gift amount.
5 Strategies for Creating Effective Donation Levels
Donation levels are easy to add to your donation form, but to use them to their fullest potential, follow these strategies.
1. Calculate average donation amounts.
Donation levels are not set at random. These amounts are strategically calculated based on average gift sizes, supporters’ giving capacity, and fundraising goals.
Your first step to setting your donation levels should be calculating your nonprofit’s average donation amount. When calculating this amount, it may be appropriate to exclude some donations, like gifts from major donors. While these contributions are certainly important, it’s unlikely a supporter using donation levels to gauge their gift amount will make a major donation right off the bat.
Additionally, consider dividing your donors into two groups: one-time and recurring donors. Most donation pages that use donation levels divide suggested giving amounts along these guidelines, creating two sets of donation levels donors can consider. In general, the amounts for recurring donations will be much lower than one-time gifts but add up over time.
Once your donation data is properly curated, calculate your donation levels by dividing the total amount of donations in a year by the number of donors. With this information, you now have to decide how your average donation should impact your donation levels. A few options include setting the average donation amount as:
Assess your nonprofit’s donor acquisition and lifetime donor value rates to determine which of these options best fits your unique situation. Then, create subsequent donation levels that follow a logical progression. For instance, if your average donation amount is $25 and you want to set it as a low-tier amount, you might make the following levels $50, $75, and $100.
2. Link donation amounts to specific outcomes.
When a donor is choosing which donation level to give at, they may ask what the tangible difference between each option is. After all, why should a donor give $75 over $15?
Your donation levels can answer this question by briefly describing the types of outcomes that will result from each donation amount. For instance, here are some hypothetical outcomes from the example nonprofit Cat Rescue Club:
These outcomes not only encourage supporters to move to higher donation levels but also increase their emotional investment in your nonprofit. After all, if they know they are providing essential support, donors are likely to stick around to see how their contributions helped, leading to increased retention.
3. Consider donor psychology.
Donation levels are ultimately a tool to guide donors’ giving behavior. While many supporters approach nonprofits’ donation pages with a clear idea of how much they want to give, many are also receptive to the cues and suggestions your donation levels provide.
When crafting your donation levels, try reading up on the basics of giving psychology. A few key insights to consider include:
Think of your donation levels as a general parameter of how much is acceptable to give. Donors who fall outside of that range are more likely to conform to the range (if they planned to give a higher amount than the highest donation level) or not give altogether (if they planned to give less than the lowest amount).
4. Name your donation tiers.
To help your donors develop a connection with your nonprofit, consider naming your donation levels. This can help donors to not only think of themselves as supporters of your nonprofit but as part of an exclusive group.
These names can reflect the hierarchical structure of your donation tiers. For example, you might name your levels bronze, silver, and gold. Or, instead, choose names that reflect your nonprofit’s cause. For instance, the Cat Rescue Club might name their donation levels Calico, Tuxedo, Tabby, and so on.
Nonprofits often employ this strategy during crowdfunding campaigns. These campaigns tie donation levels to specific rewards donors receive in exchange for their support. Naming these tiers not only helps donors form an identity related to your campaign but also makes organizing and distributing rewards easier since each category has a specific name rather than just a number.
You can also apply this reward strategy to your normal donation page, especially if your nonprofit has a membership program. For example, check out these tiers from Sarasota Orchestra:
Names like “musician circle” and “maestro circle” not only reflect the benefits these tiers provide but also make higher-tier donors feel like a core part of the orchestra.
5. Always provide a custom giving option.
In addition to your tailored donation levels, always add the option for supporters to write in and give any donation amount they want. While many supporters will default to using suggested giving amounts if they are provided, others will approach your donation form with a clear idea of exactly how much they want to give and they should be able to do so.
This also allows donors to give outside your donation range (on either the high or low end).
5 More Donation Page Tips
Donation levels are a key element of your nonprofit’s donation page, but they’re not the only element!
To ensure your donation tiers are as effective as possible at driving valuable gifts and acquiring donors, here are a few more donation page tips.
1. Promote matching gifts.
Envision a world where you double all of your donation levels and supporters can contribute those increased amounts with no issue. With matching gifts, this world is possible for at least some of your donors.
Matching gifts are a type of corporate giving program wherein businesses match employee donations to nonprofits, usually at a 1:1 rate. However, many supporters are unaware of these programs, let alone how to participate in them.
Use your donation page to market matching gifts by:
These gifts come from donors’ employers, meaning you can earn twice your regular donation levels at no extra expense to your supporters. Be sure to emphasize this and the potential impact these additional gifts can have when promoting matching gifts to supporters.
2. Encourage recurring giving.
Donation levels apply to both one-time and recurring gifts. All of the strategies we’ve discussed so far apply to both categories, but let’s dive deeper into tips for encouraging recurring giving now:
To calculate your recurring donation levels, use the same strategies as discussed earlier, only this time, focus on just your current recurring donors. Additionally, of the strategies discussed, consider adding donation tiers below your average recurring gift amount. Recurring donors are likely to stick around long-term and you can persuade them to increase their donation amount over time once they commit to making their first gifts.
3. Keep your donation page short.
When trying to include all of these tips in your donation page, it’s easy for your page to bloat in size. However, lengthy donation forms are likely to turn off potential donors, especially the new and on-the-fence donors we discussed earlier.
When designing your new donation page, consider how to keep each element concise and easy to understand at a glance. For example, if you want to go with a button approach to donation levels, you might try a page layout like this:
Or, if you want all information to be visible for easier comparison, an approach like this maintains a minimalist design:
4. Brand donation page to your nonprofit.
Your donation page is arguably the most important page on your website. Ensure supporters who land on it—especially those who navigate there from an external source like social media—know without a doubt that it belongs to your organization.
You can accomplish this by maintaining consistent branding across your website and ensuring your donation page specifically has a few key visual brand elements. These include:
From the mobile version of your donation page, consider how you can ensure brand elements are present but unobtrusive. For example, you might remove key brand visuals, such as a photograph of beneficiaries, but keep your logo. This minimizes scrolling for mobile users without sacrificing branding consistency.
5. Continue adjusting your donation levels.
Your audience, donors’ giving behaviors, and economic circumstances change, and so should your donation tiers. To determine your donation levels’ effectiveness, keep an eye on key metrics, such as:
Analytics tools can help you track these metrics and specific donors’ behaviors over time. After implementing new donation levels, take note of new trends in donor engagement. Additionally, consider experimenting with different donation level amounts by creating unique donation levels for various campaigns. For example, you might set lower donation levels for a crowdfunding campaign to encourage new donor participation.
More Donation Level Tools and Tips
Your donation page is an essential tool for earning the funds that keep your nonprofit going. With donation levels, you can encourage more donors to give and increase donation amounts. To get started, calculate your average giving amounts and make strategic decisions about your donation goals.
For more information on how to attract and retain donors, explore these resources:
Tracking Volunteer Time Off: A How-To Guide [& Template]
/in About Double the Donation, Learning Center /by Adam WeingerIn today’s competitive landscape, nonprofits are constantly looking for new ways to attract and retain dedicated volunteers. Fortunately, one way to incentivize and enhance engagement in volunteer activities involves rallying volunteers to participate in their employers’ Volunteer Time Off programs. In order to do so effectively, your organization will first need to establish a system for tracking volunteer time off.
That’s where this guide comes in!
VTO offers volunteers flexibility from professional commitments by freeing up their time to support their favorite causes. By leveraging these programs in your engagement efforts, your organization can create a supportive environment that values and encourages volunteers’ time.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Read on to gain the tools and knowledge needed to seamlessly track VTO for your organization and its supporters. Discover practical tips designed to streamline the experience, ensuring your dedicated volunteers feel valued and empowered to continue their support.
What is Volunteer Time Off Tracking?
Businesses with generous employee volunteer incentives, such as paid VTO hours, often require an established process for staff to request and track their volunteer time off. While it can vary from one company to the next, the process of tracking volunteer time generally involves two key components:
Depending on the company a volunteer works for, the specific steps they’ll take and the tools they’ll use to track their time can differ. This may range from a Google Form or paper sign-in sheet to a complete Human Resources Information System (HRIS) or corporate Volunteer Management Software (VMS).
Here’s what a few employers’ policies say about tracking volunteer time off:
— ASU Enterprise Technology
— Baylor College of Medicine
— City of Akron
— Dartmouth
Benefits of Tracking Volunteer Time Off For Nonprofits
Tracking volunteer hours for corporate Volunteer Time Off programs offers numerous advantages for organizations. This is especially true as they aim to ramp up the impact of their volunteer programs by effectively utilizing VTO.
Here are some key benefits:
Streamlining the VTO Request Process — When volunteer hours are tracked effectively and efficiently, it simplifies the process for volunteers to receive their paid-out time. The more positive their workplace giving experience is, the more inclined they’ll be to participate in other giving programs down the line!
Verifying Volunteers’ VTO Requests — Some companies will want your organization to confirm the accuracy of their employees’ volunteer hour requests. Effective time-tracking practices make it easy for your team to do so with verifiable documentation, thereby establishing a sense of transparency while reducing the administrative lift required.
Ensuring Accurate Reimbursement — Proper hour-tracking ensures that volunteers are reimbursed accurately for their time. When financial roadblocks are removed, your volunteers will be more likely to support your efforts again and again.
Identifying Volunteer Grant Opportunities — There’s often an overlap between companies offering VTO and companies offering volunteer grants (or Dollars for Doers). That means some of your volunteers’ companies might even be willing to contribute grant funding to your organization, depending on the number of hours their employees spend with your cause. With effective time-tracking practices in place for your volunteer base, you can uncover opportunities to further engage your supporters and receive additional revenue through the programs.
Volunteer Time Off Metrics Your Nonprofit Should Track
As you begin implementing your plan for tracking volunteer time off, it’s important to understand which metrics your organization should be focusing on. We recommend selecting a few KPIs (or key performance indicators) that can help your team narrow its efforts and measure its successes.
These could include…
Types of Tools For Tracking Volunteer Time Off
Nonprofits have a few different options for tracking Volunteer Time Off, each with its own unique set of pros and cons. While the best kind of tool for your organization will depend on your team’s wants and needs, here’s a breakdown of the most common types:
Overall, choosing the right platform for tracking Volunteer Time Off depends on your nonprofit’s size, budget, and specific needs. Assess your organization’s resources and requirements to select the most suitable and effective solution for managing VTO and enhancing volunteer engagement.
Either way, it’s crucial that you ensure your team (and its volunteers) are equipped with the best tools to provide the best user experience. The easier it is for volunteer time to be tracked, the higher participation rates you can expect to see through the programs!
Bonus! Free Template For Tracking Volunteer Time Off
Ready to get started? Below is a template your team can use to document volunteers’ time as they engage with your organization.
We recommend exploring dedicated software to streamline and simplify the time-tracking process. However, the following log will provide a foundation for accurate record-keeping, growing engagement, and increased transparency in collaborations.
💡 Get a free downloadable version of the VTO hour-tracking template here!
Wrapping Up & Next Steps
Whether you’re looking to identify existing volunteers or expand your network with new prospects, an efficient tracking mechanism is crucial. This makes it easy for individuals to participate in their employers’ programming, thus incentivizing ongoing involvement. Plus, it can also drastically reduce the overhead required of your team to manage the initiatives. In doing so, you foster a culture of community and support.
A well-structured VTO program can be a powerful tool for attracting new volunteers, retaining existing ones, and advancing your mission. Embrace the opportunity to support your devoted volunteers, and watch as your nonprofit continues to thrive.
Interested in learning more about tracking volunteer time off and other ways to maximize your corporate and individual engagement? Check out these recommended resources: