A Small Change- Fundraising Blog

Welcome back to an online interview with experts in the online fundraising industry. I hope you found yesterdays post on creating an online fundraising plan helpful. Please make sure to post additional questions, comments and feedback at the bottom of the post. Today’s question:

What does the future of online giving look like?

PaySimple:
According to www.electronicpayments.org, charitable or non-profit businesses utilizing electronic payments have a 98 percent fulfillment rate, which is 50 percent higher than organizations using mail-based processes. Online giving is now more affordable and “acceptable” for non-profits than ever before. Many electronic payment providers offer discounts to non-profits. The growth of electronic payments provides an avenue for non-profits to gain donors and grow revenue.
-Eric Remer, CEO for PaySimple www.paysimple.com

Firstgiving:
Online giving won’t just happen on your site, it will be distributed. Your supporters will fundraise for you by creating fundraising pages or widgets and engaging their friends to support your cause. This results from the participative nature of the internet and can be a bit scary for non-profits as it will mean relinquishing some ‘control’ (or the illusion of control!). The trade-off will be that your supporters will accomplish incredible things for you. Here’s an example of a blogger who decided to raise funds for an organization she cares about and selected: www.firstgiving.com/menuforhope4
-Mark Sutton CEO of Firstgiving www.firstgiving.com

Donor Perfect Fundraising Software:
Online giving, while growing at a faster pace (30% or more), still represents only about 5-6% of all fundraising. The bulk of the giving public, who are older and therefore have more disposable income, as well as the very wealthy, will continue to give ‘off-line’. However, this very same segment is the fastest growing segment of Internet users and as newer, younger donors replace them, online fundraising will continue to grow at a relative fast pace but will never replace more traditional types of fundraising for many, many years.
-Jon Biedermann, Vice President of DonorPerfect Fundraising Software www.donorperfect.com

GiveStream:
I wish I knew, I do hope that increase of collaboration with supporters, governments & companies will raise the efficiency of non-profits and by that the world will become a better place. I think the Internet is a great tool to achieve exactly that.
-Michael Ben-Nes, Director of Marketing from GiveStream.com www.givestream.com

Click and Pledge:
Huge growth. The web is the center of the universe….it’s the first and last place people go to gain knowledge or act. It must be used to operate efficiently, effectively and keep costs low. In any instance, when technology is applied….new pricing models, costs, etc. emerge.
-Jim Barney VP, Marketing & Sales of Click and Pledge www.ClickandPledge.com

EchoDonations:
In my opinion, online giving will soon be the way nearly all donations are made. It makes sense, in our digitalized world, that giving should be made as easy as possible. For instance, why deal with paperwork when online records can be kept in a huge database, worrying no one but a machine?
-Michelle Matthews, Social Media & Marketing Strategist from EchoDonations www.EchoDonations.org

Do you have any predictions of your own? What do you think online fundraising will look like in the future? Leave a comment and let me know. Check out other questions this week:

• Introduction to Online Fundraising: Interview Part 1
• Different Online Fundraising Strategies: Interview, Part 2
• Creating an Online Fundraising Plan: Interview, Part 3
• A Menu of Fundraising Experts: Interview, Part 5