5 Tools Every Fundraiser Needs to Know About
Fundraising is an essential task to support the work that nonprofits accomplish, but being in the business of fundraising can be exhausting.
Fortunately, making fundraising easier is possible.
We now have access to many tools that can help make the process simple, smooth, and streamlined.
Thanks to ever-evolving technology, there are various apps, software programs, and other tactics to aid in everything from creating social media posts to tracking your donations, to handling the guest list for your fundraising event.
Close to burnout, or just plain need help? We've got you covered. Follow along as we take you through some of the best fundraising tips to aid in your efforts.
Our list will give you a nice overview of what tools are out there to make your life easier, and improve your overall fundraising experience.
1. Social Media Management Software
Social media offers a key opportunity to advertise for your fundraiser and help boost event attendance and participation.
If you want to promote your fundraiser like a pro, there are several different types of software out there that can assist you. These will make it so you can post both consistently and strategically, and will overall help ensure that easy fundraising follows.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is one example of a social media management software that can be really useful when used appropriately.
This program allows you to schedule posts to go out in advance on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. It’s a feature that allows you to develop a really strong social media marketing strategy that doesn’t miss any beats.
Not only can you lay out every post across channels before they go up, but Hootsuite will even make suggestions for the best time of day to schedule your post to maximize interactions, so you can engage donors and potential supporters.
The analytics of Hootsuite is part of what really makes this software stand out.
Not only are you able to plan your posts, but you can learn a lot about the way your audience interacts with your content, which can help you make adjustments to your strategy on an as-needed basis.
Canva
Another great software to help with your social media efforts is Canva.
This is a design tool that can help you create interesting visuals for your posts. There are hundreds of thousands of templates and millions of assets that include videos, audio, and photos.
You can use these as a jumping-off point for your graphics, but you’re also able to start from scratch and build something totally fresh.
Canva is also really great because it is designed to support a collaborative process. You’ll be able to create together with your team and get the benefits of many perspectives and approaches.
This software is very user-friendly, so much so that people who don’t have any graphic design experience can even create great graphics for their organization. Similarly to Hootsuite, you can also schedule posts for your social media pages.
An added perk is that a Canva Pro subscription is free for eligible nonprofits.
Airtable
You may also want to look into Airtable, which is a platform that helps you build a calendar for your social media posts, among many other features.
Airtable has a lot in common with Hootsuite, but it has a more mobile-oriented and teamwork-focused design. Plus it facilitates analysis of your campaign by allowing you to import and organize data from third-party platforms like Google Ads.
It also has a lower price point, and a free version, which can be useful depending on your budget.
We love this platform because it can keep you organized and help you plan all of your social media posts in detail.
2. Matching Programs
Matching programs are amazing tools that can be used to multiply your fundraising profits.
Many companies will participate in these programs by offering a donation that is equal to the contribution that a staff member makes to an eligible cause.
Matching programs are a great example of easy fundraising since they allow for donations to be doubled right away just by connecting individuals’ philanthropic efforts with the corporate giving of others.
Not only are matching programs a great tool to dramatically increase funding, but they are also a part of an evergreen strategy - a strategy that successfully keeps producing results over time. This is because matching programs are typically available year-round, and not just seasonally.
Companies appreciate the chance to give with matching programs because it is an easy way to give to charities and nonprofits that their employees support. When companies commit to supporting what their employees are about, it builds a level of trust and commitment between the two.
If you don’t know how to arrange a matching program with a given business, don’t worry. There are numerous programs out there that can help you connect with corporations interested in giving.
The biggest problem with matching programs is that they are underutilized.
There are millions of dollars in potential funding that never reach valuable nonprofits like yours, simply because many staff members are not aware that their workplace benefits include a matching program, or they simply don’t take advantage of the opportunity.
As a nonprofit organization that is built on fundraising efforts, it’s a great idea to educate businesses on matching programs. This tool could prove life-changing for your organization!
3. Prospect Research
There are so many options out there that can help you determine who to reach so that you can maximize and optimize the potential of your fundraiser.
DonorSearch is one great example of a software program that can help you discover potential donors. By harnessing the power of AI, this program can help magnify your donations and allow for easy fundraising.
DonorSearch works to connect charities and nonprofits with people who both care about their causes and are capable of giving.
This program features a major database that is full of people that have a history of philanthropy. Because it gathers information on individuals who have given in the past, the program increases the likelihood that a prospect will give since there is already a proven history of charity.
It can even use technology to help estimate and predict the level of generosity that a potential donor is likely to be able to offer.
DonorSearch also allows for your roster of fundraising prospects to be grown substantially.
Consultants are always a potential option as well, but using a program like DonorSearch is not only going to be more cost-effective, it also tends to be more accurate and efficient. This is because artificial intelligence is working behind the scenes to analyze data and help identify your prospects.
4. Nonprofit Event Management Software
Events can easily be the most stressful component of fundraisers.
There are so many different things going on, and all of it will be competing for your attention. The good news is that there are some phenomenal software tools that are designed to help lighten the burden of planning and hosting an event.
If you want the experience of easy fundraising, you’ll definitely need to look into these types of programs.
Attendance
FundEasy offers many great resources in this domain, from software that helps with the managing of events, to webinars that help you with planning and give you virtual fundraising tips.
Attendance is a program in the former category. It was created by event planners to help others in their industry and it can really help simplify the way you handle the guest list for both your in-person and virtual events.
It offers many features that will streamline the entire process, starting with registration. You can customize the form that guests fill out to register for the event so that any important information - such as special requests or dietary concerns - is captured immediately.
Attendance also allows planners to easily make and edit table charts, as well as to manage the guest list. It even allows for more nuanced features, like permitting table hosts to handle the guest list of their own table.
Plus, there’s an app that facilitates the check-in process, so everything is able to be handled virtually and smoothly.
Peer-to-Peer
For the funding component of fundraising events, FundEasy offers two great programs.
The first is Peer-to-Peer, which helps you use your existing donor base to fundraise on your behalf and collect further contributions from the people in their network. Already a great strategy for fundraising events, Peer-to-Peer makes the process more secure and streamlined.
There’s no need for door-to-door canvassing with this software as it allows for new donations to be deposited digitally right away. This also means you don’t need to handle cash or wait until the day of the event to collect your funds. Not only is this more convenient, but it’s also safer because it reduces the potential of theft or mishandling during the hectic haze of an event.
If your event has a history of offline donations, they can also be recorded in our Peer-to-Peer fundraising software. There are two steps to recording offline donations in Peer-to-Peer: recording the offline transaction and recording the payment. Read more about that process here.
Furthermore, Peer-to-Peer by FundEasy allows you to collect more information on your new donors, which can be useful for analysis down the road.
Crowdfunding
Peer-to-Peer is a great platform because it allows your existing donors to appeal to the people they know and bring new contributions and supporters into the fold. However, if you’re looking for a great way to handle direct contributions, Crowdfunding is the answer.
This event software for nonprofits allows organizations to fundraise without putting all of their efforts into the minutia of raising money. Crowdfunding simplifies your focus on the big picture and the cause at hand.
This program allows you to be guided through the entire fundraising process with ease. There are templates available to make your campaign page, but you can also customize it if you want more specific branding and control.
Donors are handled efficiently, with automated receipts and thank you’s that you are able to script. From there, it’s all about tracking the progress, which the fund-meter and countdown clock assist with.
5. Project Management Software
Project management software is a useful tool for every fundraiser.
FundEasy’s programs offer comprehensive tools to manage the details of your fundraisers, but on their own do not manage the interworkings of project execution leading up to them.
For instance, you can handle emailing through Attendance. If your event details change last minute, you can send emails to the full contact list to notify your attendees of any changes regarding the event.
What happens when the deadline for a task has been missed, but no one can claim responsibility for it? Finger-pointing and overcompensation for missed deadlines can lead to a loss of trust between team members and a stressful fundraising process.
We care about you and the needs of your nonprofits, which is why we offer integrations with over 5,000+ outside programs, including many project management software companies.
“Finger-pointing and overcompensation for missed deadlines can lead to a loss of trust between team members and a stressful fundraising process.”
Not utilizing a project management system to keep everyone accountable for their own tasks can be a recipe for late notices, inaccurate details, and overall lower event attendance.
By connecting your software to Zapier you’ll be able to integrate project management software such as Monday, Google Tasks, Microsoft Teams, Slack and 5,000+ more.
Our passion is creating software that makes fundraising simple, so nonprofits everywhere can thrive. Partnering our intuitive software with Zapier’s available project management integrations is a recipe for a well-executed fundraiser!
In closing
Fundraising year after year can become monotonous. It’s easy to become burnt out and overwhelmed with the process.
These five types of tools are the key to ensuring that your fundraiser is a roaring success. Plus, they make it possible for it to be an easy fundraising experience.
While we know you are able to bring in the necessary funds for your organization, we also know it can be increasingly challenging without these tools. At FundEasy, our programs are designed to work in tandem with the technology, software, and other tools listed above so that running your fundraiser will be a breeze!
If you'd like to learn more about our Peer-to-Peer, Attendance, or Crowdfunding products, please reach out! We'd love to chat.
Also, if you haven't joined already, we have an exclusive Facebook Group just for our customers! If you are a current FundEasy Customer and would like to join, go here to learn more and request to be added!
Crystal Hoag
This article was inspired by our customers and written to encourage your fundraising efforts. Although we work with nonprofits and events daily, our team members are not Event Consultants. We encourage you to consult with your event consultant, executive team, and/or affiliate organization before making any major changes to your events.
