5 Nonprofit Donation Software Ideas

Much of running a nonprofit means soliciting donations. After all, without the financial support that comes from gifts to your organization, it’s more difficult to achieve your mission. Using nonprofit donation software can help make the process much easier.

When it comes to improving your donation process, regardless of the type of nonprofit, you may run into some obstacles. That’s why it’s important to take technology into account. With certain technological solutions, you can boost donations for all types of campaigns. These solutions include:

  1. Auction Software
  2. Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Platforms
  3. Donation Pick-up and Drop-off Software
  4. Integrations
  5. Add-Ons

The right technology brings in more revenue for your organization so you can focus on what matters most: your mission. Let’s take a closer look at how these five nonprofit donation software solutions can help.

1. Auction Software

If your organization is hosting an auction, you might consider incorporating fundraising tech into your event. Auction software can streamline your event in many ways. It can eliminate the need for paper bids at a silent auction, making the giving experience easy. It can also streamline checkout for you and your donors.

Your auction software should include mobile bidding, allowing your guests to bid directly from their phones. Advantages of using mobile bidding and auction software include:

  • Easy bidding. Guests don’t have to get up from their seats during a silent auction to check whether they have been outbid. Now outbid and maximum bid notifications on their phone will do the work for them.
  • More bids. Even if they’re unable to attend the physical event, guests can still place bids during your auction from afar. Boost your revenue by widening your scope to guests from all over.
  • Simplified registration and checkout. Capture all the guest information you need, process credit cards, email receipts, and more, eliminating long lines in the process.
  • Item procurement tracking. Track the status of items you’re procuring, automate your packaging process, and generate solicitation letters. Another way to get involved with your community is to partner with a business that donates items you can auction off, too! This is great marketing for the business as well.

If you use a system that streamlines your charity auction event, you’ll provide a positive experience for your guests. This will then translate into additional donations and engagement. When your guests have a good experience interacting with your organization, this will also cultivate their loyalty to your cause. Be sure to stay on top of your auction planning process and consider auction software if you haven’t already!

2. Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Platforms

You may already know peer-to-peer fundraising from social media. Using a peer-to-peer platform can maximize your social fundraising.

During peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, organizations call on their supporters to fundraise on their behalf. The nonprofit sets up its participants for fundraising success and helps to:

  • Select a peer-to-peer fundraising platform and set a campaign goal.
  • Set up their main campaign page using the platform.
  • Train their participants on best practices to set up their own individual campaign pages.
  • Launch the campaign and track progress, providing additional support as necessary.

Peer-to-peer fundraising can boost donations for your nonprofit because you can tap into a whole new group of supporters. When your participants promote your cause, placing a familiar face next to an otherwise unfamiliar campaign, friends and family will be more inspired to give. 

You can also promote top donors on your campaign page and on social media, encouraging even more people to give. This is a great gamification technique that inspires more people to give their support through friendly competition. After all, everyone loves being recognized!

Widen your donor circle and expand your reach by incorporating peer-to-peer fundraising into your next campaign! If you’re looking to explore this idea even further, take a look at the OneCause guide to peer-to-peer fundraising.

Habitat for Humanity donations

How to Optimize for Mobile Donations

  • Mobile-responsive donation forms. Make sure your online donation form is mobile-responsive. This means your website’s donation form will adjust to the size of the screen it’s being viewed on. Then when donors view your form on the phone, they won’t have to rotate their screen or zoom. Poor user experience can lead to the user abandoning the page altogether. Don’t let this happen to you!
  • Text-to-give options. Text-to-give is another great way to provide your donors with an easy and convenient giving experience. With text-to-give, donors will text the pre-selected keyword to your nonprofit’s shortcode (a shortened phone number). They’ll click the link they receive via text and go to a mobile-friendly online donation form to complete their donation. Explore the OneCause guide to text-to-give for more on this!

Both of these options give your donors the ability to make a gift to your nonprofit right from their fingertips. Most of us are never more than an arm’s reach from our phones. That means supporters will most likely be viewing your website and your donation information on their phones, too. Meet them where they are and make their giving experience as easy as possible!

If you’re looking for a particular text-to-give solution that would work best for your nonprofit, check out this list.

3. Donation Pick-up and Drop-off Software

Simplifying the donor experience is a surefire way to boost material donations, especially for nonprofit retailers. Allowing donors to book online to have their donations picked up can be a huge help.

Donors will appreciate the convenience of being able to book their donation pickup appointment, and it saves you time and expense too. Putting the booking into the hands of the donor means your office staff spends less time arranging the booking. It goes directly onto your calendar so your trucks can make the pickup happen.

habitat for humanity donations

When you offer online booking you’ll get more donations and save money on administration duties like generating donation receipts. It even works when donors drop off their donations. With a digital form, they can enter their donor information and quickly select donated items from a list,  and you’ll save time issuing a receipt.

4. Integrations

Software solutions meant for specific types of fundraisers (auctions, peer-to-peer campaigns, etc.) are great boosters of success. But there’s one tech idea that you might overlook. That idea is: integrations.

Integrations between software solutions mean that the solutions communicate with one another. For example, let’s look at integration between your online donation form and constituent relationship manager (CRM). The donation data from the form will automatically flow into your donor database to expand on donor profiles.

Find an online giving platform that will allow for integrations like these. If you use solutions like Salesforce to manage data, invest in a platform that offers integrations with those solutions.

Other benefits of integrating with your CRM include streamlining your communication methods. This means:

  • Immediate responses. As donations are made through your form, you can automatically send personalized emails based on the donor data collected in your CRM.
     
  • Stronger relationships. Personalizing your communication with donors will keep them engaged and willing to support you again in the future. You’ll have their information handy so you can invite them to events or write more detailed, personalized thank-you letters for their gifts.

Integrations between your donation software and CRM will help you track email outreach and other data metrics. This lets you personalize your interactions with your supporters and raise more as a result. The more personal the conversation is, the more genuine and supportive your relationships will be.

5. Add-Ons

The last tech idea to consider revolves around the “extras” that come with giving to your organization. Sometimes donors like to receive something in exchange for their donation. Other times, they want to know how else they can get involved.

Add bonus elements to your donation page, event registration page, and other online platforms to further engage your donors. For example, you can try:

  • T-shirt fundraisers. Try throwing branded t-shirts into your fundraising process. Allow donors to also order a t-shirt when they donate. This boosts your cause’s visibility when people walk around wearing your merchandise!
     
  • Add-on donations. When you create a registration form, add an optional donation field where your registrants can choose to add on a donation to their registration. This is great for events like walkathons or 5K races for a cause.
  • Opportunities to volunteer. Add a call-to-action on your donation form and other pages for supporters to volunteer with your organization. This is a great way to draw their attention to more ways to get involved.

The “extras” can make all the difference! Give your supporters an opportunity to further their involvement with your nonprofit through branded merchandise, extra donations, and other avenues. This will make them feel closer to your cause and part of your mission. And they are! Be sure to give them the opportunity to get involved in the ways they want to.

Raise More with Nonprofit Donation Software

By incorporating these tech solutions into your fundraising strategy, you’ll set your nonprofit up to raise more than you might have otherwise. It’s important to do the necessary research and ensure you’re making the most of the resources available to you. It may very well be worth the investment if you can bring in the revenue you need. Good luck!

Kelly Velasquez-Hague brings over 20 years of fundraising, nonprofit management, and sales/marketing experience to her role as the Director of Content Marketing for OneCause.

As a member of the OneCause sales and marketing team, Kelly manages all of the company’s content strategy and execution. She is passionate about empowering great missions and loves that her current role allows her to continue to help nonprofits reach new donors and raise more funds for their cause.

Want to learn more about nonprofit donation software can help you manage and grow your nonprofit retail location? Book a free, private demo of Vonigo.