How to Get Donations Online: 20 Strategies You Have to Try

Charitable fundraising can vary from simple to complex. Setting up a donation page on an online fundraising platform is simple and can be completed in a few minutes. But arranging a gala dinner in a fancy restaurant to collect donations is highly complex and takes several days to plan and schedule.  

Why do complex tasks when we can have them done easily? Here, we share some 20 practical strategies to collect donations online. We’ll also see how online fundraising platforms such as GivingXcelerator can help you in your online donation collecting process.  

1. Email campaigns

Emails campaign is a powerful tool when utilized in a properly planned way. Don’t send emails to potential donors asking for donations straightaway. Instead, first, educate them about your charity and the philanthropy you are associated with. Send regular emails to educate them and inspire them instead of sending a singular email requesting a donation.

2. Text to donate

Another powerful and cost-effective way to ask for a donation is through text-to-donate messages. There are no minimum requirements for it and charities of all sizes and missions can participate in it. Here, the donor receives a link to the mobile giving page and they complete the process by entering the information and the payment amount.

3. Facebook

The importance of social media channels cannot be overlooked and they have proven to be beneficial in online donation strategies. Facebook has over one billion users and you can use its features such as Facebook Live and Facebook advertising tools to show your donation request on people’s feeds. It works best for peer-to-peer fundraising where individuals share the donation link on their social profiles. Also, Facebook allows inserting the Donate button on your charity’s profile.  

4. LinkedIn

Even though LinkedIn is a platform for professional networking, people have not hesitated to garner support for charity causes. You can leverage the power of LinkedIn Sales Navigator to identify the prospects and use Inmail and Introductions feature to introduce potential donors to the cause. If you have the budget, try sponsored content to expand your audience.

5. Twitter

The hashtag feature of Twitter can be used along with influencer promotions to gain traction for the cause. You’re already aware of the Ice Bucket Challenge that raised awareness for the ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) disease. The ALS Association was able to raise $115 million and more than $200 million were donated for research from around the world.

6. TikTok

Similar to Twitter, start a hashtag challenge and invite potential donors to participate in it. Create short videos about your charity and updates. Use trending music to go with the flow and encourage Gen Z to understand and contribute to the cause.

7. Instagram

Enable charitable giving from your followers by setting up Charitable Giving Tools on Instagram. After this process, you can add the Donate button on Instagram or make shareable Donate stickers for your charity. And don’t forget to save the Instagram Stories to your highlights.

8. Blog

Write blogs on your website as well as other websites as a guest blogger. It gives you the power to share your stories across the world through your words. Connect with the reader on an emotional level and tell them about the cause and how any small contribution can have a significant impact. The benefit of blogs is that you can embed videos and images in them to increase the impact.

9. Press Releases

Another good way to reach the masses is through press releases on popular news outlet websites. You can write about your campaign or event and request people to participate in it or donate to the cause.

10. Website donation page

If you already have a website for your charity, it’s easy to set up a donation page for any cause and share this link with potential donors. You can list multiple causes so that people donate to the cause of their choice.

11. Crowdfunding

Choose a good online fundraising platform like GoXcelerator to set up your donation page. It’s easy and you can raise money by sharing the page link on your social media. The costs are low and you have increased exposure to a new audience. With crowdfunding, your goal is to reach maximum people so that you can raise sufficient money through these collective small donations from unknown donors.

12. Peer-to-peer fundraising

Another concept of online fundraising, this peer-to-peer fundraising is also possible by setting up a page on an online fundraising platform. You enable your supporters to create and manage their own individual pages all linked to the main donation page. The benefit is that you can track donations coming from these individual channels and encourage them to achieve the fundraising goal.

13. Charity Merchandise

If you have a website for your charity, you can set up a page to sell merchandise such as mugs, t-shirts, sleek backpacks, and other stuff. You can also get beautiful handicrafts done from the local poor community and sell them online with the profits going to the artisans as well as your cause.

14. Recurring donations

Include an opt-in for recurring donations on your donation page. This is to encourage frequent givers to turn into recurring donors. Make a multi-level donation tier for donors to select an amount based on their capability. This type of donation provides your charity with a reliable cash flow and makes budgeting easier for you.

15. Virtual events

Just like physical events, you can hold virtual events replete with guests of honor and other dignitaries talking to a live online audience. Collect an entry or a participation fee and share the donation page link with the attendees.

16. Collaboration 

Have you ever observed how e-commerce retailers, food-delivery partners, or event registration forms request users to donate a small amount to an associated charity during checkout or payment? You can do something similar by collaborating with popular e-commerce retailers, online food delivery partners, or online event managers. Since they deal in bulk volumes per day, you raise a substantial amount each day.

17. Sponsored ads

Advertise on social media platforms and on Google and its associated partners about your cause and charity. With PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Ads, you pay only for the clicks and as per your budget. Create short impactful videos and you can use this as sponsored ads on YouTube or other places where your target audience is.  

18. Popup forms

Pop-up forms on your website urging viewers to donate to a cause sometimes has a positive effect. Keep pop-up forms that get triggered for any pre-determined events of the viewer, say after one minute on any page or when the user attempts to leave the site. You can also collect the email addresses of website viewers through the exit-intent popups and use this data to grow your donor base.

19. Donation matching

Extensive databases are available online that list the names of corporate houses that participate in the donation matching process making it easy for employees to look for them at the time of an online donation. Online fundraising platforms and Charities can easily collect double the donation from employees who work for such organizations.

20. Pledge donations

In this type, the donors pledge donations amounts on behalf of the supporters if they accomplish a task. The most common pledge donations are completing marathons. Many online fundraising platforms allow charities and their supporters to set up pledge donation pages so that more donors can pledge the donation amount. The pledged amount is donated to the charity after the challenge is completed.

Wrapping Up

Remember, your effort does not stop the moment a donor hits the Donate button. Nurture a strong relationship with your donors by sending them Thank You notes and updating them on the cause. Donor retention is as important as acquiring new ones. A well-planned online donation campaign will get you good support. And with online fundraising platforms like GivingXcelerator, this task has become easier and quicker. If you need any assistance in setting up an online donation page, we can help.