Maximizing Donations for Nonprofits

Maximizing Donations for Nonprofits

People are eager to donate to your nonprofit, even if they don’t know it yet since you have started it just recently. Because when someone believes in your cause, it makes them feel good to support what you do -- which is a big reason why in 2016, US nonprofits collected a staggering $390 billion in donations (according to Giving USA). That’s a lot of dough! To put the number into perspective, that averages out to be about $1,200 per every citizen.

But the question remains: How does your organization get a piece of the giving pie? How does your nonprofit stand out in a world full of other charities that need help at the same time? At Jotform, we wanted to provide a resource to help nonprofits and schools navigate the awkward, tedious, and stressful world of giving. The following guide will help your nonprofit identify donors, optimize your site for maximum donations, use helpful technology, and much more.

A nonprofit’s website can be the very first introduction to an organization for a potential client or donor — especially because “word of mouth” often occurs digitally through an e-mail, text, or link from a social media platform. Everyone...

Fundraising events are often a key component of a nonprofit’s fundraising plan. The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) conducted a survey in 2014 about fundraising events, and nearly all the respondents said in a typical year they...

In 2016, for the first time, more users accessed the internet using mobile devices (web browser-enabled smartphones and tablets) than they did from desktop or laptop computers.[1] In the U.S., most time spent consuming digital media is now done...

Nonprofit organizations need to be organized in several ways to maximize donations. Fortunately, plenty of tools exist to help nonprofits do this — including software that can help you keep track of your donors, find out information about new...

In recent years, online giving has grown by around 7 percent annually.[1] At first glance, that figure might not seem that high — but compare it with overall charitable giving, which has only grown 1 to 3 percent per year,[2] and it starts to...

When you consider the relationship between a nonprofit and its donors, you might typically think of the donors giving to the nonprofit — but the nonprofit gives back to the donors as well. You need to give back to your donors to keep them...

Donors have plenty of options when it comes to giving money to a nonprofit. According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS),[1] more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations are registered in the U.S. as of 2016. When choosing a...

Marketers frequently talk about branding, but what is it exactly? According to Seth Godin (an author, business executive, and speaker who’s in the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame), a brand is “the set of expectations, memories, stories and...

Nonprofits need to pay attention to existing donors (with plenty of thanks and communication), but they must also constantly cultivate new donors. Just as businesses have costs associated with acquiring new customers, nonprofit organizations incur...

Nonprofits have long known about the value of reaching their constituents through multiple channels, including direct mail, events, face-to-face interactions, phone calls, and emails. Now, social media is an important platform to add to this mix....

All nonprofits rely on a mix of sources for their income, and funding can come from individuals, foundations, corporations, or local and federal governments. Some nonprofits charge a fee for certain kinds of services, and some sell goods or...

What makes people want to give charitable contributions? Motivations include altruism, a sense of fairness, societal pressure, the desire for recognition, wanting to leave a legacy, wanting to impress others, religious or spiritual beliefs, and...