Charitable organizations were negatively impacted by the restrictions amid the pandemic. As with other sectors, a non-profit’s fundraising activities and overall operations were affected because of the lockdowns and social distancing rules.
Compounding the problem is the overall unfavourable economic situation–forcing people to hold on to every penny in their pockets and making charity a non-priority. Ironically, though, the pandemic was a turning point for benevolence. Billionaire-philanthropists and known Hollywood stars flexed their wallets and shared millions to charity organizations when the world was grappling with the impact of the novel coronavirus.
Despite the restrictions on public gatherings and face-to-face meetings, technology has ways of allowing charities to get through the challenges. As a result, over $8 billion was raised to fund various responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Below are some examples of how technology has been helping nonprofits and charity organizations:
- Offering Faster and Easier Ways to Donate
Raising funds is the bread and butter of nonprofits and charity organizations. It’s where their operational budget is sourced. Without adequate funding, they won’t be able to hand out donations to the sector they wish to help.
Amid the pandemic, charities were able to tide through with the use of technology in the following ways:
- Donations via fundraising platforms: Conveniently, most of these platforms are downloadable for free, like givebutter.com, which charities and individuals can use to raise donations for their specific cause.
- Donations via websites: Charity organizations need an online presence for various reasons, such as to create public awareness and reach out to potential donors. Another way that nonprofit organizations use their site is to make the donation process easier.
Before anything else, though, your website should provide visitors with a good user experience to encourage them to add to your coffers. Thus, cut the loading time and make your site mobile-friendly.
Additionally, choose an intuitive design and make use of powerful and persuasive messages. Don’t forget to update your site with useful content to rank higher in search engines. Also, upload high-quality photos and videos to explain your work better.
Most importantly, place the “Donate Now” buttons strategically and conspicuously. If you need to ask donors to fill out a donation form, focus on important details and get rid of unnecessary data. You may lose a potential donor just by asking too many details since it’ll make the donation process longer than necessary.
- Donations via text: There are about 7 billion mobile users worldwide, and you can reach out to them by sending mass short messaging service (SMS) or send them links where they can donate. This is a fairly cheap way to replace or complement direct mail fundraising strategies. Unlike direct mail strategies, you almost don’t have to spend anything to reach out to a high number of potential advocacy supporters.
- Donations via applications: More established nonprofits have created apps to collect donations and also to reach out to donors.
These convenient ways to donate are effective in ensuring that you can sustain your operations and provide for those in need, regardless of the situation.
Makes Online Fundraising Possible
Charity balls, fun runs, auctions, and yard sales for-a-cause were a few of the main channels in which nonprofits used to raise money. While these activities are still very much alive, the pandemic has imposed restrictions against public gatherings and non-essential in-person meetings, so the shift to online fundraising has become stronger these past few months.
For online fundraising to be successful, a charity organization has to have a wide network of potential donors and supporters. If not, then they need to build their connections to make it work.
With peer-to-peer fundraising and crowdfunding, you can tap into a wide range of potential donors not only from your own network but including those of your donors’ friends of friends and other extended connections.
- Crowdfunding: In crowdfunding websites, a nonprofit can create a page and write down advocacy, campaign details, and goals, including the targeted donation amount to be raised. There are a number of crowdfunding sites on the internet, so make sure you choose the best site that works for you. Also, when choosing, consider essential factors such as site fees, payment methods and fees, charges, penalties, and customer support, among other issues.
- P2P fundraising: Your connections or supporters take centerstage in peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising. They raise funds on your behalf by running their own campaign on your behalf, tapping their own social networks. This is especially useful for nonprofits to reach their targets faster.
P2P fundraising also allows charity organizations to widen their reach, attract fresh supporters, and establish deeper connections with their existing donors and online supporters.
Social media fundraising: Social media platforms are also effective fundraising tools. Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge of 2014? The campaign meant to create awareness for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) raised at least $100 million within 30 days after it went viral.
Don’t worry if you’re not sure that you can come up with a viral campaign, an engaging and compelling story about your cause will do.
Replaces Donor Engagement Sans In-Person Meeting
Donor engagement is likewise very important in a nonprofit. You’d want to create an avid supporter out of your first-time donors to ensure sustainability.
While nothing beats personal interactions in establishing long-term connections, current technologies may have offered the next best thing.
Video conferences, chats, and SMS can increase the levels of donor engagement even during these difficult times. With these tools, it’s much cheaper to manage touch base with supporters and donors as compared to the traditional in-person interactions.
Facilitates Better Campaigns
Being a small-time or start-up charity, you’re likely facing a great challenge in creating your network, which will later become your potential donor base. Hence, creating an effective campaign to attract potential donors should be one of your main priorities.
Fortunately, various technologies have allowed individuals, companies, and organizations to compete with the users’ attention. But the good thing about the digital arena is that you can stand a fighting chance against bigger and more established nonprofits, especially if you know how to get noticed.
Compelling videos, optimizing websites for search engine optimization (SEO), and mobile viewing are only a few ways to come up with better campaigns. Also, you don’t need to pay thousands to come up with an engaging campaign. There are free and downloadable apps where you can edit your media.
If you’re capable of spending more, consider buying a touch-screen, interactive display so your presentation stands out from the others. In the highly competitive world of charities and nonprofits, delivering impactful presentations can attract new supporters and secure additional funding from bigger organizations.
Promotes Transparency
Transparency is an essential component of nonprofits and charities, too. Without this, an organization may not be able to retain and expand its donor base. Aside from impacting a nonprofit’s donor base, transparency is invaluable in an organization’s move to create or strengthen its reputation.
Currently, there are software tools that can help nonprofits to make their income and expenses recording more efficient. More than accounting and financial software, your organization needs project management and customer relationship management (CRM) software solutions and data sharing apps.
Final Thoughts
Charities and nonprofit organizations have undoubtedly been hit by the pandemic, but there’s room for opportunity. By harnessing technology for fundraising, processing donations, and other operational activities, charities can move forward and give back to the community.
