A Small Change- Fundraising Blog

Have you ever thought about online fundraising for your organization? It sounds like a great idea but who knows how to navigate the emerging world of online fundraising? Those are a few questions that motivated a series that you will see this week. I interviewed a number of online fundraising experts and they have some great words of advice for all of us. Each day this week these experts will tackle a different question about online giving so make sure to tune in. If you find what they have to say insightful make sure to check out their website or leave a comment at the bottom of the post.

Some areas these experts will be addressing are online fundraising strategies, creating an online plan, what is the future of the industry, and who are some organizations that can help you along this path. Let me introduce you to our experts and start with a short easy question.

Should a non-profit have an online fundraising plan?

PaySimple:
Non-profits that have electronic payment processing overcome many fundraising obstacles including lack of or overworked volunteers, limited payment methods, limited reach, and overall limited funds. Online payment functionality not only enables your fundraiser to reach past the local neighborhood, but helps to automate processes. Customers can enter their own information and that transaction feeds into a back-end system automatically. Volunteers no longer have to spend countless hours sorting paper checks and making trips to the bank.
-Eric Remer, CEO for PaySimple www.paysimple.com

Firstgiving:
Yes. Every organization, regardless of size should have an online fundraising plan. It doesn’t take much money or expertise to get started.
-Mark Sutton CEO of Firstgiving www.firstgiving.com

Donor Perfect Fundraising Software:
It depends. Of course, all non profit organizations should think about their online fundraising strategy, but not all should participate in one, UNLESS, they do have a plan and resources to complete that plan.
-Jon Biedermann, Vice President of DonorPerfect Fundraising Software www.donorperfect.com

GiveStream:
Definitely, the Internet is a major channel and non-profits should use it to communicate directly to their supporters. The benefit is an increase of all indexes including funding, branding and general efficiency.
-Michael Ben-Nes, Director of Marketing from GiveStream.com www.givestream.com

Click and Pledge:
Of course. All communications and development efforts must begin with the web.
-Jim Barney VP, Marketing & Sales of Click and Pledge www.ClickandPledge.com

EchoDonations:
Yes, most definitely. Many young people have become engrossed in the “latest, greatest” technology, which is always being upgraded and improved. The world is becoming more and more digitalized. If non-profits can find a way to make it easier for their donors to donate more easily and in a more simple manner, they would find many more loyal donors coming to their doorstep, or more literally, their website.
-Michelle Matthews, Social Media & Marketing Strategist from EchoDonations www.EchoDonations.org

Please leave a comment with your feedback or advice below. Make sure to check out the posts each day this week we will be answering a different question. I hope that we can have a great dialog this week about online fundraising. Thanks for reading!
Check out other questions this week:

• Different Online Fundraising Strategies: Interview, Part 2
• Creating an Online Fundraising Plan: Interview, Part 3
• A Look Into the Online Future: Interview, Part 4
• A Menu of Fundraising Experts: Interview, Part 5