While the boon of crowdfunding has become a valuable financial leveling tool for entrepreneurs and startups, it’s been noticeably valuable for nonprofits, as well. As many of popular business crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and indiegogo, also allow individuals to solicit donations for charities, there’s an entirely nonprofit-focused suite of players in the social finance marketplace.
Sites like CauseVox and Fundraise.com were built exclusively to help non-profits raise money to support their causes.Fundamentally equal, crowd-funding platforms allow nonprofits to set up an online fundraising campaign through a dedicated fundraising page. Social media marketing, newsletters, blogs, press, and word-of-mouth all channel donors to this single, simplified location. Nonprofits then accept direct contributions via credit card and sometimes other payment methods.
A Fast Company Labs article declared “nonprofit crowdfunding is changing fundraising for good.” This, because whereas traditional business crowdfunding is focused on tangible products and services, the nonprofit is more interested in an ongoing, sustaining relationship. “Here, you’re really hoping it’s not just a one-time donation,” Ben Lamson, one of WeDid.It’s cofounders explains. “Your goal is bringing down and acquiring new donors to continue to give throughout their lifetime. It’s about continual donations.
The nonprofits who are integrating new platforms and technologies are tapping into the more than $5 billion crowdfunding activity in the last year. Evolved nonprofit digital and social media marketing is quickly becoming an essential practice, as MarketingProfs reports. “As a nonprofit, you have to change your approach to online fundraising just to keep up,” Rob Wu, a founder at CauseVox, asserts.
As such, tomorrow, May 6, is expected to be the largest, one-day, charitable, online crowdfunding event to date. The 24-hour national giving day aims to motivate people to donate to their favorite causes. The online fundraising and omni-channel nonprofit experts at Kimbia assembled this infographic to illustrate the magnitude of growth in online fundraising.
