The Fundraising 411 for Any Nonprofit" width="100%" />The Fundraising 411 for Any Nonprofit" width="100%" />
Donations are a BIG DEAL to your nonprofit: they’re a primary revenue stream, support your base costs, and give you the resources you need to keep growing. However, many people get nervous when it comes to the big question: how to ask for donations? You might not be a fundraiser by training. Maybe your nonprofit relies on volunteers, or it’s only one of a zillion daily tasks you have to do (Meeting with your board? Putting together programming? Running that next member retention campaign?). But asking for donations for your nonprofit shouldn’t be daunting. There are people out there that want to help. You just need to know where to find them, and how they want to be asked.
The first step to asking for donations is knowing your audience: are we talking about an individual, a business, or a foundation? Each of these supporters have different needs and interests, and benefit from unique approaches.
Individuals donate because they want to feel like they’re making a difference for the causes close to their heart. Get to know their personal wants and desires!
Not only can businesses give you big financial support, a good relationship can also turn them into future partners with your organization. Along with a boost in revenue, this setup also gives you greater community visibility!
Businesses typically donate through:
Donating to your nonprofit is a way for businesses to grow their corporate social initiatives. Whether you’re connecting with a large corporation or learning how to ask for donations from small businesses, know that these relationships are mutually beneficial.
But remember: make sure the business’ mission aligns with yours. Some donations aren’t worth compromising your organization’s stance, and some corporations might be looking to give only to compensate for less-than-optimal business practices.
By nonprofits, for nonprofits! These entities are literally designed to help nonprofits continue running, so be sure to tap into them as a resource. Foundations typically donate through:
Foundations want to work with nonprofits who have a similar mission to them, so be sure to stress what you have in common when asking for donations. Just be aware that some of their grants come with conditions of how the funding is meant to be used!
When you’re learning how to ask for donations, wording is your best friend. Balancing warmth and professionalism will get your donors invested in your mission, and also help them trust that you can follow through.
Here are some key points to include:
Your pitch should highlight the interests and values you have in common with your prospective donors. Whether you’re talking to an individual, business, or foundation, be sure to give them all the information they need to get invested.
Now for the fun part: how to actually make the ask!
Whether it’s reaching out directly to donors, exploring virtual fundraising options, or setting up a campaign to receive pledges, there are many avenues to choose from. At the end of the day, the road you take depends on the size and needs of your organization.
Here are some examples of how to ask for donations for nonprofit fundraising:
Emails are one of the most cost-effective ways you can bring in donors.
With some solid copy and a well-coordinated campaign, you can boost donations with relatively low effort! Compared to social media posts, which rely on paid ads and fickle algorithms, emails show up directly into peoples’ inboxes. This is a guaranteed way to reach a large audience without losing your personal touch. Just remember, it takes more than a single email to get results.
Break your campaign into four parts for your subscribers:
Put some time into making sure your emails are appealing to YOUR donors specifically! Email campaigns will look different for every organization. Look into their engagement data, and it’ll be much easier to keep your emails out of the trash.
And remember to make your emails mobile-friendly! Your donors should be able to give whenever the urge strikes, even if they’re just checking their inbox on the train.
Sending direct mail might be the old-school way of reaching donors, but it’s a tried and true method.
A personable, attention-grabbing piece of mail is great for sending specific donation requests, or anything that requires detailed instructions. It also lets you get in touch with older donors in a way that they trust and are comfortable with, which is important—the Greatest Generation represents 26% of gifts given, and they mostly prefer direct mail campaigns.
Some examples of direct mail campaigns you could send include:
If you’re scratching your head about how to ask for donations on facebook, twitter, instagram, or even tiktok, it’s important to first establish a strong online presence. This means posting regularly and engaging your followers with a friendly and organic brand voice!
Once you get into the rhythm, social media can spread the word FAST and offer mass communication to dedicated followers and new people alike. Even better, most platforms allow you to easily track your reach.
Here are some examples of how to ask for donations on social media:
Setting up personal meetings with prospective donors can help you build strong relationships from the start.
Connecting in person sets up a memorable experience, and gives people the opportunity to ask any questions they might have about your organization. Most importantly, it shows that you care about them enough to invest some extra time into establishing a relationship.
Here are four steps to follow for an in person meeting:
In person meetings are best for:
Gathering donations over the phone is an especially useful way to connect with individual donors! It doesn’t use a lot of time or resources, and is an opportunity to connect personally. This is especially valuable for smaller organizations.
Carrying out phone donations requires three steps:
When you need to fundraise with urgency, nothing gets the job done quite like a pledge campaign!
These campaigns are often made as a response to a major crisis or emergency, and empower people to take action. Their high-speed nature brings in a massive amount of support very quickly, and from a wide range of people.
Pledge campaigns are also designed to both reach trusted supporters and new potential donors, which gives them amazing reach. A strong marketing campaign and trustworthy pledge software are essential! Some examples of pledge campaigns include:
Custom apparel and swag brings your nonprofit’s brand into peoples’ homes! Having an object (or experience!) to connect with makes your donors feel more connected to your mission. And if it’s a fashionable bit of clothing, it could even be a conversation starter that brings in new donors.
Product fundraising is especially convenient when it comes to online fundraising. A well-made shop on your website can serve as another revenue stream, as well as help you build up your contact list. Explore swag options like:
Make sure your swag is something that people actually want! A cool brand initiative will help you make the sales you need. You could even consider pairing with a popular artist to reach a wider audience!
So where does the ask come in? Getting your swag set up at events, allowing donors to add it on when they register for programming, or simply having a store all give you opportunities to ask for donations. The swag is the conversation starter, and the donations are the goal!
Now that you have some strategies for asking for donations, there might be some logistical questions on your mind! Here’s a brief Q&A featuring the most commonly asked questions around soliciting donations:
Your organization doesn’t need 501(c)(3) to ask for donations, but it’s a good idea to have. Having this status qualifies donations as tax-deductible—which is ideal for your donors! Ultimately, you can start collecting donations whenever you’re ready, but waiting until you have your 501(c)(3) will help you in the long run.
Note that if you do collect donations as a 501(c)(3) organization, it’s important to give donors donation receipts. This is what will actually allow them to claim their donations on their taxes.
There really is no single best way to ask for donations. The strategies that work best will depend on the size and needs of your individual organization. But one thing is true across the board: you definitely want to take a multichannel approach!
Using multiple channels will bring in donations from many different places. This reduces the stress of depending entirely on any one strategy. For example, if your direct mail didn’t elicit the response you hoped for, your phone banking and social media presence could make up for it.
Be sure to collect data about what is and isn’t bringing in donations. This will help you track donor patterns, and give you an idea of where you can improve!
Yes, you should absolutely create a donation website! With a website, anyone anywhere can donate to you through multiple currencies. It will also make your life much easier if you can directly link to your donation website in your CTAs. Keep things simple for your donors.
If you’re feeling daunted by the idea of working out how to ask for donations online, look into getting a donation website builder. The right software will take the tedious work off your hands so you can get those donations in faster and more efficiently!
If you are using the right software, it is safe to ask for donations online. Be sure to use forms that are Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant. This will keep your donors’ payment information safe and encrypted.
Now that you know some best practices for asking for donations, let’s go over logistics!
Donor software makes the donation process user-friendly for both your donors and your organization. Having the right tools in place will allow you to collect donations, track giving habits, and keep your donors happy.
An online donation form on your donation website is a huge timesaver, and makes the donation process simple!
An attractive, easy-to-use form can:
The right software shouldn’t just complete transactions—it should also gather and manage information about your donors.
When people donate to your organization, your donor management system should keep track of their:
On top of this, your software should make donor lists, automate communications, and issue tax receipts.
Hosting events is a great way to boost donations, but it takes a whole lot of planning. If you combine the right event software with donor management software, the most important (and often most tedious!) work can get done in one go.
While you bring in the donations, your event software can do things like:
You’re going to want to boost your donation website across multiple channels in order to give it the attention it deserves. Using something like Google Analytics will let you know how each of the channels are performing.
This information will highlight your successes and show you where you still have room to grow!
Wild Apricot has online donation forms, a donor membership system, AND event software all in one place! If you’re ready to start receiving donations, sign up for our 60-day free trial.
Asking for donations is all about finding the strategies that work best for your organization. Think about the resources, time, and budget you’re working with—and about your objective! Once you feel confident in your goals, choose the options that you believe will best reach your unique pool of donors.
Keep in mind that this is a learning process! Every attempt at securing donations is an opportunity to learn and improve for next time. Just be sure to stop and celebrate your successes along the way.
Want to save yourself some time and resources as you work out your strategy? Check out our ultimate guide to asking for donations online!
