Crowdfunding is now a well-established method of raising money. By setting up a crowdfunding page on your chosen platform, you can fundraise by promoting your cause and allowing people to donate what they like.
It’s an excellent way to raise money for a specific campaign or purpose, but it can also be used for more general fundraising. Not only can nonprofits and charities launch their own fundraisers, but they can also register their organization on the platform and encourage supporters to hold their own fundraisers.
Are you ready to start using crowdfunding platforms for your nonprofit? Take a look at some of these top examples of crowdfunding platforms for nonprofits and learn how they could work for your organization.
GoFundMe
GoFundMe is one of the most popular fundraising platforms for nonprofits. Using the platform, your supporters can launch fundraisers to raise money for you, and the proceeds will be sent straight to you. You might already be on their list of charities if you have registered with the PayPal Giving Fund or you are listed on the GuideStar nonprofit database. If you’re not on the list, you first need a valid PayPal business account. Your financial administrator can then confirm your charity status, and your nonprofit will be enrolled with GoFundMe.
When supporters want to raise funds for you, they can choose your charity, launch a fundraiser as an individual or a team, and share with family and friends. All of their funds will automatically be sent to you. Of course, nonprofits can also launch their own fundraisers to raise money from supporters. There’s no platform fee, but donations carry a 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee (or equivalent amount in the local currency).
FundRazr
FundRazr is a platform that can be used to raise charities and nonprofits by people who fall within one of two categories. The platform can be used by anyone who is an Authorized Officer of the organization, such as an owner, treasurer, board member, etc. Authorized Officers must create an “Organization” campaign, not a personal campaign, and provide the organization’s tax number, as well as registered nonprofit information.
The second category is volunteers and supporters. This allows people to set up a “Personal” fundraising campaign, but they must provide a Letter of Subordination authorizing them to raise money for the organization. They must accept donations through the payment email address for the organization listed in this letter. The two pricing options for organizations have either a 5% platform fee (Standard) or a flexible platform fee (Pro), which you can cover yourself or you can have partly or fully covered by your supporters. The Standard processing fee is 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, while the Pro fees can be added to the full or partial recovery plan.
Mightycause
Mightycause offers a range of fundraising tools designed for nonprofits. You can claim your nonprofit on the site, then manage page admins, donors, organizers, and reports. It allows you to create a custom page that represents your brand, shows how much has been raised for your nonprofit, and tells people how many donors you have. You can keep your page updated with posts, comments, and messaging using their supporters CRM. Supporters can donate straight to you, or they can start their own fundraiser.
Sign up with Google, Facebook, or an email address to get started. You can choose from a free starter plan, giving your unlimited fundraising campaigns, P2P and event fundraising, and embed donation tools on your website. The advanced plan costs $99 per month and also includes a CRM dashboard with email marketing, an embeddable donation form, and data integration, among other features. The average payment processing fee on the platform is 1.2% + $0.29, with a guarantee it will be no more than 2.2% + $0.29.
Fundly
Fundly is a great choice for nonprofit fundraising if you’re looking for an option that puts visual marketing first. There’s a video and photo gallery front and center for every page, allowing you to add content from a range of sources. It includes the option to make updates and comment to keep supporters updated. Plus, the Fundly app means you can manage your campaigns from anywhere. Creating and sharing your campaign is free for all, but the higher than average donation fees make up for this. Fundly collects a 4.9% platform fee, plus a 2.9% + $0.30 credit card processing fee for each donation.
Supporters can easily click to donate and select from different giving levels. They can also share on social media with the click of a button. You can also use Fundly to sell T-shirts and other merchandise.
Chuffed
With Chuffed, you can raise money for your nonprofit without any platform fees. Anyone is eligible to raise money on the platform, regardless of the legal structure of their organization. The one thing that they ask is that any political fundraisers align with their own beliefs, including causes such as addressing climate change and supporting refugees. You can use your fundraising page to add videos and images and choose perks and impact levels to reward donors. Campaigns can be time-limited or infinite length, and donors can give once or every month.
The payment processing fees for donations are the standard 2.9% + $0.30. The platform allows you to message supporters, view donor data, see real-time analytics, and integrate with third-party tools. The site’s Online Academy will teach you all that you need to know for a successful fundraising campaign. They also have in-person training sessions around the world, in countries such as the US, Australia, and Switzerland.
CauseVox
CauseVox emphasizes three main stages of digital fundraising: attract, nurture, and convert. You can customize your fundraising campaign to match your brand and avoid any distractions. Both one-time and recurring donations are available, and no account or log-in is required for donors. Giving tiers allow you to tie donation amounts to impact perks. You can also add peer-to-peer pages to your campaign to increase donations. Cloning your crowdfunding campaigns is simple too. You can create unlimited campaigns and enjoy integrations, smart notifications, and social media and email integration.
The basic option is free, with Standard level membership starting at $139 per month and Plus at $245 per month. Their processing fee is 2.2% + $0.30 per donation via Stripe or PayPal. Donors also have the option of covering your fees to help you meet the costs of your fundraising. A 14-day trial is available to allow you to try out the features, plus you can schedule a demo if you want to learn more.
Traditional Crowdfunding Alternative
In addition to the crowdfunding platforms above, you can also consider a “nontraditional” platform that work slightly differently. This platform provide benefits such as no fees and not having to register your charity.
Spreadshop
Spreadshop is designed for selling merchandise and is powered by Spreadshirt. It’s not designed specifically for nonprofits, but it’s a good choice if you want an alternative way of raising money. It’s free to start your online store, and you get all of the tools that you need. You can upload your images, choose your products, and even integrate the shop on your website. Spreadshop takes care of it all for you, from storing the inventory to printing your merch and sending it out when you receive orders. They ship worldwide, which means you can promote your merch to supporters worldwide too.
The website offers you marketing and insight tools, such as connecting with social media accounts, insider tips and tricks, promotions, and tools such as CMS plugins. You can choose from more than 200 customizable products with various price ranges and no limits on how many products you put in your store. There are multiple payment options, and the site is mobile-friendly too.
Get started with crowdfunding using these top platforms, several of which have excellent tools for nonprofit organizations. Collect donations from your supporters or sell merchandise to raise money and awareness of your nonprofit at the same time.
