Fundraising Strategy – Roundup App

What is Grassroots Fundraising?

Jeni Putalavage-Ross — Wed, 25 May 2022 13:52:00 +0000

What is grassroots fundraising?

Grassroots fundraising is a fundraising method used by nonprofits, political candidates, and other types of organizations to raise funds. It’s a fundraising method that involves gathering lots of one-time donations from individual contributors, supporters, or donors, rather than large corporate donors.

While this type of fundraising is most commonly used by political candidates, many organizations in the nonprofit sector practice grassroots fundraising. Often the terms grassroots fundraising and peer-to-peer fundraising are used interchangeably, despite them having some key differences.

What's included in this guide

Grassroots fundraising defined
Why grassroots fundraising is important
How to start a fundraiser
Potential issues
How RoundUp App helps grassroots fundraising

What is the purpose of grassroots fundraising?

In general, the purpose of grassroots fundraising is to raise funds from many individuals rather than a few big-name donors. There are lots of reasons an organization or political candidate might seek out grassroots fundraising.

In the political sphere, politicians use grassroots fundraising to indicate strong popular support for their policies and ideas. By raising money from lots of individuals in their communities, they can claim stronger ties to the communities they represent. Grassroots fundraising also allows political candidates to be less reliant on the individual political opinions of the few big-name donors that finance their campaigns.

In the nonprofit world, nonprofits might use a grassroots approach to fundraising to better serve the communities they represent. A popular wave in fundraising is community-centric fundraising, which places the community at the center of all of a nonprofit’s efforts, rather than the big donors that support them.

How do you start a grassroots fundraiser?

Grassroots fundraisers often look the same as any other type of fundraiser a nonprofit might host. The key difference is who the fundraising event targets, not how it’s put on.

When starting a grassroots fundraiser, a nonprofit will usually place special emphasis on obtaining as many one-time donations from individuals. They might create email campaigns targeting volunteers or recent supporters, social media posts asking for monthly donations, or host community events.

We suggest that rather than focusing on one-time donations, nonprofits should instead focus on recurring RoundUp donations to support their fundraising push. These types of donations are embedded directly in the daily lives of donors, making your donors more connected to the causes you support.

What are potential issues with grassroots fundraising?

While grassroots fundraising can be a great source of reliable income, it can have some potential negative effects. When nonprofits receive large one-time donations from wealthy donors or corporations, they can allocate funds immediately. Additionally, nonprofit organizations can immediately know what funds they have coming in and what additional funds they need to raise to continue operations.

However, recurring donations like RoundUp donations or monthly donations can be a difficult source of income to track. Because donors can cancel their donation at any time, it’s possible that the number of funds a nonprofit has access to month-to-month could drastically increase if donors lose interest.

That’s why it’s important for nonprofits to invest in recurring donors that have higher retention rates. Donors who give through apps like RoundUp App using the RoundUp method of donating have an 80%+ retention rate.

Events and fundraisers

Another key way that corporations and nonprofits work together is through in-person or branded online events and fundraisers. These types of campaigns might run long-term and usually involve a series of strategic events and fundraisers throughout a year where corporations partner with nonprofit organizations to bring awareness to causes. In this type of cause-related marketing nonprofits and companies work together to align their business goals and plan events and fundraisers that mutually benefit each other.

Build engaging grass-roots campaigns with RoundUp App

Apps and tools that help nonprofits raise funds through grassroots fundraising

There are plenty of apps and tools out there designed to help your nonprofit raise funds effortlessly. Apps like RoundUp App and Ribbon build tools specifically for nonprofits to improve their fundraising efforts.

Access to RoundUp donations

RoundUp App is the nation’s number one RoundUp donation app. With our platform, donors are able to give regularly to nonprofits by rounding up their purchases and donating the extra. This type of grassroots fundraising keeps donors active and engaged in the day-to-day success of the nonprofits they support.

To use RoundUp App donors simply sign up for our app via our Web, iOS, or Android apps, link their credit/debit cards and bank account, and select the nonprofit they want to donate to. After that, we’ll automatically round up every purchase they make and donate the extra change from each purchase every month to the nonprofit donors selected.

Donors who give through the RoundUp method of donating are more engaged and generally give for longer amounts of time than donors who don’t.

CASE STUDY

How Lane of Roses does a lot with a little

Tools to increase donor acquisition

Grassroots fundraisers rely on donor acquisition. Nonprofits who struggle to acquire donors often will lack the funding necessary to run successful grassroots fundraisers. Features like those found in RoundUp App or Ribbon make it easier for nonprofits to find and convert new donors.

Both offer customizable and embeddable donation forms nonprofits can add to their website to immediately acquire donations and donors. Our downloadable donor app also allows potential donors to search for nonprofits by category, location, and name. This searchability allows your nonprofit to be seen by more donors.

Additionally, nonprofits that use RoundUp App get access to our complete marketing library. In our marketing library, we offer ready-to-use templates for social media, email marketing, text marketing, and more.

Differences between grassroots and peer-to-peer fundraising

While some nonprofits might use the terms grassroots fundraising and peer-to-peer fundraising interchangeably, there are some key distinctions between the two terms.

Think of grassroots fundraising as an overall fundraising structure for a nonprofit. Peer-to-peer fundraising is one way those funds are raised for a nonprofit.

When nonprofits use peer-to-peer fundraising strategies they ask their donors to raise funds for them. In this method of fundraising, donors hold mini-campaigns or donation drives for the nonprofits they support. By talking and sharing these campaigns with their friends, social media networks, and local community donors raise funds for nonprofits.

Funds obtained from peer-to-peer fundraising strategies can be considered as coming from the grassroots too. However not all funds obtained through peer-to-peer fundraising are “grassroots” donations. For example, peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns could result in dozens of one-time, large donations. Those types of funds might be raised from peers but don’t really fit all criteria for grassroots fundraising.

Putting it all together

Ultimately, grassroots fundraising is a strategy that focuses on achieving regular, small-to-medium donations from everyday donors. When a nonprofit uses this model of fundraising they’re placing an emphasis on their local community’s support, rather than the large-dollar donations from a handful of wealthy donors.

The post What is Grassroots Fundraising? appeared first on Roundup App.

Cryptocurrency donations for nonprofits

Jeni Putalavage-Ross — Wed, 18 May 2022 15:38:00 +0000

Does your nonprofit currently take advantage of cryptocurrency donations? If not, you might be missing out on a valuable source of additional income and a rapidly growing market.

What's included this guide

What is cryptocurrency
Why nonprofits should accept cryptocurrency
Potential problems with cryptocurrency
How to accept cryptocurrency donations
Learning more about cryptocurrency

What is cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is a type of digital currency that’s been on the rise in the last few years. In general, cryptocurrencies are backed by blockchain technology that keeps them decentralized and secure. Most cryptocurrencies are not issued or backed by a centralized government system.

You’ve likely heard a lot about cryptocurrency, especially in the last two years. However, people across the world have been using and investing in forms of cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin for nearly a decade. In general, cryptocurrencies are rarely used for day-to-day retail transactions, instead they’ve been used as investment opportunities.

Since cryptocurrencies aren’t backed by a central bank or government force, exchanges are mostly handled through third-party services or individually from one user to the next. The value of cryptocurrency is also constantly in flux, meaning that there is no one true value for a single cryptocurrency’s “coin.”

Why nonprofits should accept cryptocurrency donations

Nonprofits should consider accepting cryptocurrency donations because it’s a continually growing source of currency throughout the world. In fact, some reports estimate that “the value of all bitcoins in the world was over $1.03 trillion” in 2021!

Many people throughout the country have access to some form of cryptocurrency with limited places to use it. Additionally, allowing cryptocurrency donations helps your nonprofit keep up-to-date on giving trends while tapping into an additional source of funds.

Potential problems with cryptocurrency donations

As your nonprofit is deciding whether or not to invest in process to accept cryptocurrency donations, it’s important to also know the potential problems with this donation model.

Cryptocurrencies are volatile

One key problem with accepting crypto donations is that the value of cryptocurrencies are constantly changing. Since cryptocurrencies aren’t backed by a central government or bank, the values of each currency change rapidly. Additionally, since new forms of cryptocurrency can be made by anyone, these coins might be valuable one day and worthless the next. Your nonprofit might have to spend extra time and energy tracking the various values of each currency you receive.

In recent news, popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have lost nearly 37% of their value. Other cryptocurrencies have also suffered similar losses in value. This type of drastic change in the values of “stable” cryptocurrencies has led many to worry about a potential “crash” in cryptocurrency values.

Environmental impact of cryptocurrencies

Some nonprofits, particularly nonprofits dedicated to environmental causes, might be uncomfortable with the amount of energy cryptocurrency uses. One report calculated the energy costs per transaction of popular cryptocurrencies and found startling results. Currencies like Bitcoin used 1173 kWh per transaction while others like Ethereum used 87.29 kWh per transaction. In everyday terms they found that these transactions “would equate to roughly 6 weeks of electricity.” If your nonprofit is concerned about environmental output, you might steer clear of cryptocurrencies or invest in sustainable cryptocurrencies.

Raise funds faster with RoundUp App

How to accept cryptocurrency donations

There are many ways nonprofits can accept cryptocurrency donations. However, when planning out how your nonprofit wants to accept cryptocurrency donations, keep in mind that there are unique tax filing requirements for cryptocurrencies you own.

Nonprofits can accept crypto donations by using donor advised funds (DAF) to accept crypto donations and convert them into cash payments. This allows nonprofits to take advantage of crypto donations without the burden of taking actual possession over each crypto coin donated.

Additionally, nonprofits can take direct possession of crypto coins they receive through third-party platforms. This requires a nonprofit to set up their own crypto wallet. Nonprofits can then convert coins received directly into cash donations or save them as future investments.

Popular platforms like Coinbase can be used to facilitate cryptocurrency donations. However, there are additional requirements for nonprofits when accepting crypto donations. Nonprofits should create their own tax receipts, collect donor information manually, and keep track of all donations made for accounting or tax purposes.

Learning more about cryptocurrency

If your nonprofit is interested in accepting crypto donations from donors, you should first learn more about cryptocurrency. Sites like Investopedia can help your nonprofit understand the background of cryptocurrencies and decide if they’re the right fit for your organization.

Ultimately, cryptocurrencies are a growing financial trend that your nonprofit can take advantage of with a little extra legwork and research.

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Donor Acquisition: what it is and why it’s important to your nonprofit.

Jeni Putalavage-Ross — Fri, 13 May 2022 15:59:00 +0000

What is donor acquisition?

Donor acquisition is the method, workflow, or process by which nonprofits bring in new or potential donors to their organization. It’s often a process that involves a dual partnership between marketing and networking.

What's included this guide

Donor acquisition defined
Why acquisition is important
The difference between donor acquisition and retention
Tools to help donor acquisition
Strategies for donor acquisition
Putting it all together

Why donor acquisition is important

Nonprofits rely on the donations they receive to keep their organization fully funded and functioning. Most organizations have sustaining donors that provide funding throughout the year. However, studies suggest that donors, on average, give for around 18 – 24 months before canceling or discontinuing their donation.

This means that for nonprofits to stay viable, they must always seek new donors to contribute. That’s where donor acquisition comes into play. A strong donor acquisition strategy allows nonprofits to add new donors and maintain their existing funding structures as donors leave.

What’s the difference between donor acquisition and donor retention?

Donor retention is how nonprofits or other organizations keep donors engaged and giving while donor acquisition is how they acquire new donors.

Both of these strategies are needed for a nonprofit to be successful. Organizations with great donor retention strategies might need less investment in donor acquisition. Conversely, organizations with great donor acquisition strategies might spend less time retaining donors.

Generally speaking, donor retention involves engaging, updating, and reporting on the successes of your organization. When trying to retain a donor, organizations should focus on highlighting the current affect an individual’s donation has on the nonprofit. For example, nonprofits might send out quarterly or annual reports highlighting how donations were used and major accomplishments of the year.

When acquiring donors, nonprofits generally focus on the mission and story of the organization. Rather than citing specific donation amounts, they might highlight why their organization relies on donations, who they’re able to help, or how their organization works overall.

Tools to help donor acquisition

Platforms like RoundUp App and Ribbon make it easier for nonprofits to acquire new donors. Both platforms give donors unique features for acquiring and converting donors like a marketing library, campaigns, invite features, and donation embed forms.

Tools making donor acquisition easier.

The number one way to improve donor acquisition is to make it as easy as possible for donors to give to your organization. Both RoundUp App and Ribbon provide customizable donation forms that you can embed on your website. With these forms, donors can immediately make donations to your organization, start a new RoundUp donation, or signup for monthly giving.

We want to help you to stretch your donor acquisition campaigns further, so we provide social-media templates your organization can use to explain how RoundUp donations work or invite others to join. Additionally, we provide custom invite features allowing you to invite current donors or lists of potential donors directly to your account.

Create compelling cause-related marketing campaigns with RoundUp at Checkout

Strategies for donor acquisition

Social media strategies for donor acquisition

Social media is a great source of new donors. Social media platforms are open and widely used, so they are one of your best sources to find new donors! Here are a few social media strategies you can try to increase your donor acquisition:

Running Paid Ads

If you have a marketing budget, you can pay to run ads about your nonprofit on social media sites. This type of paid promotion can help you find donors who currently don’t follow your account.

Participating in conversations

Social media platforms work best when your organization actively engages in conversations happening throughout the country. Use trending topics or hashtags to weigh in on popular topics or conversations. You can also ask your audience questions or engage with experts in your field!

Promotions for popular giving days or holidays

A great way to build content for social media is to craft posts celebrating giving days throughout the year or holidays.

Share the story of your organization.

Use social media to explain how your organization helps the community or supports your cause. Share pictures from events, people helped, or explain how donations helped you make a difference in the world. This is the perfect spot to brag about your successes!

Email marketing strategies for donor acquisition

Email marketing is a key strategy nonprofits use to acquire new donors. To build a strong email marketing strategy, you’ll need a few things: an email marketing platform, a way for potential donors to signup, and engaging content.

If you haven’t already picked one, we recommend finding an email marketing platform that works for you. These types of programs make it easier for organizations to track donors, create eye-catching email campaigns, and schedule email messages. We’ve written before about the email marketing platforms we like too.

Once you’ve chosen an email marketing platform, the next step is signing up potential donors. You’ll want to include a signup form on your website. A good place to start is in your website’s footer, or in a custom section. You can also get signups in person by asking for email addresses at your volunteer nights or other events.

After you’ve cultivated a list, you’ll want to start crafting email campaigns. Keep in mind that a good rule of thumb for email marketing is the 80/20 rule.

This rule states that 80% of your email campaigns should be informational and engaging while 20% of them should be directly promotional. This helps ensure that the donors you do acquire don’t immediately opt-out of your marketing.

Consider writing content that explains what your organization does, wraps up monthly or quarterly success stories, and generally inspires your audience to join you. It’s okay to directly ask for donations too, you just don’t want to make every single email you send to be a call for donations!

Networking strategies for donor acquisition

One crucial way organizations raise money and acquire new donations is through networking events. These events might be hosted by your organization or you might be attending someone else’s event. The important thing to do is to find your community and become an active part of it.

Your organization might want to put on their own networking event for your community. This could be a physical fundraising drive, a community gathering, an in-person raffle, or simply a night for others connected to your organization to get together and share stories.

Another great way to raise money through networking is by attending events related to your cause. You might join a conference, a professional meet-up, or sponsor another event happening in your area.

By increasing your networking events you’ll be able to find new donors from the communities you participate in.

Putting it all together

Having a strong donor acquisition strategy will ensure that your nonprofit is successful. The best way to improve your chances of success is to remove friction from your donation process and make it as easy as possible for donors to give to your organization. Partner with apps like RoundUp App to make donating easier and integrate giving into the daily lives of all of your donors.Having a strong donor acquisition strategy will ensure that your nonprofit is successful. The best way to improve your chances of success is to remove friction from your donation process and make it as easy as possible for donors to give to your organization. Partner with apps like RoundUp App or Ribbon to make donating easier and integrate giving into the daily lives of all of your donors.

The post Donor Acquisition: what it is and why it’s important to your nonprofit. appeared first on Roundup App.

Fundraising tools for your nonprofit

Jeni Putalavage-Ross — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 19:39:00 +0000

Fundraising tools come in all shapes and sizes. For your nonprofit to be successful you’ll need to use a wide range of tools all designed to help you raise and manage funds effectively.

Nonprofits rely on the funds they raise to ensure the overall success of their organization and the causes they support. When looking for fundraising tools you’ll want to consider a few types of tools:

Tools that make it easy to receive funds
Tools that make it easy to manage donors and donations
Tools that make marketing easier

What's included this article

Fundraising tools that make receiving donations easy
Fundraising tools that make managing donors and donations easier
Tools for creating engaging marketing campaigns

Fundraising tools that make receiving donations easy

Embeddable donation forms

The most critical fundraising tool your organization is going to need is a high-quality and customizable donation form! Donation forms are the main way you’ll be receiving donations to your nonprofit so you have to go with the best.

When searching for the right donation form you need one that fits all of these criteria:

It’s embeddable across the web
It’s customizable for your brand
It’s easy to use for all types of donors
It allows multiple ways of giving

Our embeddable donation forms meet all of these criteria. We know that nonprofits might have small budgets or limited expertise with online donation forms. That’s why we made ours easy to embed on various websites. By copying the code and pasting it into an embed section, you can instantly gain access to donations.

Customization is a big feature that nonprofits need. You’ll want your donors to instantly recognize who they’re giving to. So look for donation forms that allow the changing of colors, logos, and cover photos.

You’ll also want something that accepts multiple methods of donating and is easy to use for all types of donors. This means finding a form that tech-savvy people can use just as easily as those with limited experience with online giving.

Mobile-first platform for your donors

Mobile giving is a growing trend. In 2021 more than 25% of donations were made using a mobile device. When looking for fundraising tools that help your nonprofit succeed, you’ll want to focus on platforms and tools that take a mobile-first approach to giving.

Apps like RoundUp App offer all nonprofits a mobile-first donor platform available for Google and Apple devices. The donor app lets donors make new RoundUp, monthly, and one-time donations while also giving them control over their donations.

When considering tools for your fundraising efforts, make sure to test them on your mobile device. Ensure that mobile donors can access campaign pages, signup forms, donation forms, or all other tools on mobile devices.

Ecommerce and merchant connections

Nonprofits understand how valuable it is to partner with local merchants or eCommerce stores. Giving donors a way to give back as they spend normally is a huge win. While in-person connections are a great source of extra income, eCommerce connections can have a huge impact on your donation streams.

RoundUp App integrates with popular Ecommerce platforms WooCommerce, BigCommmerce, and offers its own API for additional connections. Our platform makes it super easy for online stores to find your organization and add it to their checkout process. When an online store adds your organization to their checkout process they’ll give donors the ability to RoundUp their purchase and donate it directly to your organization

MARKETING RESOURCES

Improve your fundraising with templates for social media. email, texting, and more.

Fundraising tools that make managing donors and donations easier

Platforms for Donor research

To better understand your audience you’ll want to invest in platforms that can help you learn more about your donors. Donor platforms like DonorSearch or Candid can provide you with detailed breakdowns of where donors give and how much they give to various organizations.

Another great source of information on donors or donation trends is the publicly available data from The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Election Commission. This type of public information can be useful for gleaning more data about certain businesses or providing strong historical data on giving trends by companies or donors.

Tools for tracking donor data

When planning any new fundraising effort your organization is going to need solid tools for tracking donor data. By tracking donor data you’ll be able to better understand the needs of your donors as well as the successes of your organization.

With Ribbon and RoundUp App we give all organizations a comprehensive way to track donors and donations. When looking for tools to track donor data, be mindful of how much data they allow you to collect on your donors. Also consider whether or not that can be integrated effectively into other platforms you’re already using.

Consider tools, like Ribbon and RoundUp App, that give you access to date-based reporting on donations as well as tools that make accessing and updating donor information super easy.

CRM platforms for nonprofits

A customer relationship manager, also known as a CRM, is a vital tool for nonprofits. While not directly tied to asking for or receiving funds from your donors, CRMs help your organization better manage your contacts and keep track of all the information you send out.

There are plenty of CRMs to choose from, each with their own features, pros, and cons. In general, look for a platform that lets you track donor data and donors. You’ll also want one that integrates with marketing platforms you already use.

Tools for creating engaging marketing campaigns

Every good fundraising push is going to require some marketing. That’s why you’ll want to invest in tools that help you easily create new and engaging marketing campaigns.

Social media marketing tools

One of the tools we recommend is Canva. Canva makes it super easy for anyone to create new social media posts or other marketing assets. We offer dozens of pre-made social media templates you can instantly edit with your Canva account.

You’ll also likely want to invest in a social media scheduling tool that makes it easy to share posts across channels. Platforms like Sprout Social, Sprinklr and Hootsuite help you schedule and manage social media messages across channels. Using one of these platforms will make it even easier for you to create engaging marketing campaigns.

Email marketing tools

Email marketing continues to be one of the highest-performing marketing channels across industries. When looking for new fundraising tools for your nonprofit, focus on finding an email marketing platform that’s reliable and easy to use.

Here’s a list of popular email marketing platforms:

Mailchimp – A popular choice for organizations of all sizes. Mailchimp also offer a 15% discount to nonprofits and charities they verify
Campaign monitor – Offers a 15% discount to nonprofits, with access to all tools to create email templates.
Hubspot – Hubspot as a great email editor and integrates with lots of other common pieces of software.
Litmus – An all-in-one email marketing platform that’s used by plenty of organizations.
Klaviyo – An email and SMS marketing platform used by nonprofits.
Drip – Lacks a drag and drop template builder but does have custom HTML plain text templates available.
Get Response – gives nonprofits a 50% off option with access to hundreds of templates.
Active Campaign – A platform with options for personalized and automated email marketing.
Constant Contact – Designed for small businesses and packed as an all-in-one digital marketing platform.

If you already have a reliable email marketing platform, check out other email marketing resources like ReallyGoodEmails and BeePro which give you email inspiration and a robust email builder respectively

The post Fundraising tools for your nonprofit appeared first on Roundup App.

Micro donations: what they are and how they help your nonprofit

Jeni Putalavage-Ross — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 13:35:00 +0000

What are micro-donations?

According to experts, micro-donations are any small donation, generally in amounts between $0.25 and $10.

When many nonprofits and donors think about donations, they don’t think about small, consistent donations. Instead they imagine big checks for one-time payments, or large monthly donations.

However, that’s not the reality for the majority of nonprofits. What type of donations do the majority of nonprofits receive? Usually small monthly or one-time gifts! Donors are also more likely to give smaller dollar amounts as gifts, rather than big lump sums.

A growing trend in the world of donating takes this a step further: micro-donations. Donors are increasingly working giving into their daily life by using the concept of micro-donations to fund the nonprofits and charities they support.

These donations are simple to start but have a big impact on a cause or a nonprofit’s overall success. As a bonus, when donors use the RoundUp or micro-donation approach to charitable giving, they often find they’re able to contribute more per–month to their favorite nonprofit or charity!

What is Microphilanthropy?

Microphilanthropy is a growing trend in the world of fundraising and donating where donors give small amounts regularly to nonprofits. These donations are called micro-donations!

Donors who practice microphilanthropy are often more engaged with a nonprofit’s mission and values. They’re also more likely to keep giving, long after more traditional donors have stopped giving.

What's included this guide

Micro-donations defined
Why should nonprofits care about micro-donations
How nonprofits can partner with merchants
Wrapping it all up

Why should nonprofits care about micro donations?

The short answer is: micro donations are another easy way to diversify your funding structure. The longer answer is that micro donations are on the rise, especially among audience types that historically are less likely to donate to a nonprofit or charity.

There are four main reasons we think you should invest in micro donations:

Micro Donations are a passive source of monthly donations for nonprofits
They go hand in hand with mobile and social giving
Micro donations target younger generations
It’s an easier ask

Micro donations as a passive source of monthly donations

Nonprofits already know how dependent they are on recurring donations to keep them operational and help them accomplish their goals. Many nonprofits allow their donors to give in many different ways already, but the best type of donations are those that occur monthly, with minimal action from nonprofits (changing this later it sounds clunk).

When a donor signs up for apps like RoundUp App and starts a new round up donation the rounding up and donating process happens automatically. Donors simply live their life as normal and, each month, the combined sum of their RoundUp donations and donate it directly to their nonprofit. The RoundUp method of donating increase donor retention rates to around 18 months while also increasing the overall contributions donors make to their nonprofit of choice.

Micro donations work with mobile and social giving

Did you know that nearly 20% of all giving is done through a mobile device? Or that people are more likely to donate when they know someone else close to them is also donating? Micro donations align with both of these facts! Since micro donations are often done automatically through apps like RoundUp App, they capitalize on the growing trend for mobile giving by connecting donors effortlessly where they’re most likely to give: from their phone!

Micro donations also capitalize on social giving by encouraging donors to think of donating less as a monthly goal and more as a daily action for good. In apps that use micro-donation or the roundup approach to donating, donors can track each individual micro donation they make and highlight that to their friends, family, and coworkers! They’re also able to share with their social media followers that they just made new one-time or monthly gifts!

They target younger generations

Everyone and their mother is trying to reach the future leaders: Gen Z (as of 2020, they comprise 26% of the U.S. population!). But Gen Z isn’t pulling out their checkbooks to donate. In fact, they probably don’t even have checkbooks! If nonprofits want to be accessible to a younger generation they’ll have to partner with technology and software, like RoundUp App, that takes a mobile-first approach to donating.

Additionally, micro donations target Gen Z at the life stage they’re currently at: new to the workforce and less likely to have the structure and stability needed to make big one-time gifts. Micro donations like those made through RoundUp App work with the flexible budgets of Gen Z. Donors are able to set maximums on the amount of money they’d like to donate a month, track their spending daily, and pause and restart donations at any time.

Giving Gen Z these types of mobile-first and flexible options to donate meets them where they’re at. It also shows this younger audience that your nonprofit respects both their time and their budget.

They’re are an easier ask

Let’s be honest: asking for a small donation is always easier than asking for a big donation. Micro donations work wonderfully because they adjust to the budget of the donor. Micro donations usually happen based on daily transactions, rather than fixed monthly amounts.

This means their micro donation is uniquely tailored to their lifestyle and their budget! For donors that spend a lot during the month, their monthly donation will look bigger. For donors that spend less per month, their donation will be smaller. Rather than asking donors to fit a set amount of money into their budgets each month, micro donations adjust automatically with the donor.

In addition, spending $50 a month might seem shocking. But spending $1.50 a day for a month? That’s absolutely doable for most donors!

How nonprofits can partner with merchants to create micro-donations

Nonprofits know how valuable it is to partner with local businesses or online merchants. These types of partnerships can provide strong and reliable fundraising streams that benefit both parties.

One way that nonprofits can leverage this type of partnership is through micro-donations, usually in the form of rounding up purchases at checkout. Nonprofits can partner with local stores to ask customers to round up their purchase at checkout or donate an additional amount at checkout.

Nonprofits can also use plugins like RoundUp at Checkout to partner with online merchants or e-commerce stores. With RoundUp at Checkout, merchants can select nonprofits to donate to and ask each of their customers to donate additional dollars as they complete their online checkout.

These types of donations are meant to be small, one-time donations. However, partnering with online or physical stores gives nonprofits access to a wider range of potential donors than they might normally see.

Wrapping it all up

The micro donation trend is on the rise and will only continue to grow in the coming years. The best way to capitalize on this trend is to partner with micro donation apps like RoundUp App. By offering your potential and current donors a flexible way to donate, you’ll get higher retention rates, an easy-to-use mobile platform and of course, an effortless way to donate to your nonprofit!

Utilizing micro donations will maintain or boost your donor retention rates. We can help you boost your nonprofit’s visibility and make it easy to fundraise. Remember: micro donations might be small change, but small change can make a big impact.

The post Micro donations: what they are and how they help your nonprofit appeared first on Roundup App.

How to Evaluate a Nonprofit

Jeni Putalavage-Ross — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 18:00:00 +0000

Evaluating a nonprofit can be a monumental task. According to data from the National Center for Charitable Statistics, there are more than 1.5 million nonprofits registered in the United States. These range from organizations dedicated to protecting the environment to organizations dedicated to disease research. With so many nonprofits in the country, knowing

With so many types of nonprofits out there, knowing all of these details when you evaluate a nonprofit can feel impossible.

We know how important it is for donors to find nonprofits they want to support. After all, the first step in donating to a nonprofit is finding the nonprofit with a cause you support. You don’t have to do the hard work of evaluating a nonprofit alone though. We’ve compiled a list of helpful resources, websites, tips, and strategies you can use to make finding the right nonprofits easier for you.

What's included this guide

Online tools to help you evaluate a nonprofit
How to evaluate a nonprofit’s mission and goals
How to evaluate a nonprofit’s size and scope
Evaluating a nonprofit’s accomplishments
Putting it all together

Online tools to help you evaluate a nonprofit

Your first stop when it comes to evaluating a nonprofit is simply parsing the data. There are plenty of online tools available that give you details on nonprofits. Our website breaks down nonprofits into 26 distinct categories, ranging from animals to mutual assistance.

Other sites give a more global view of nonprofits. You can find a comprehensive list of all currently registered nonprofits from the IRS. Sites like Charity Navigator provide lists of nonprofits along with recommendations.

If you’re looking for more specific information on a nonprofit, turn to sites light GuideStar or Charity Watch. These types of sites compile and summarize publicly available data on nonprofits for potential donors.

Understanding the difference between a 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4)

One important caveat to keep in mind when you evaluate a nonprofit is whether they’re a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4). We’ve written about this in detail before, but to keep it short and sweet: 501(c)(3)s have limitations on the type of direct political action they can take versus 501(c)(4)s. We solely work with nonprofits classified as 501(c)(3)s. These organizations can’t directly endorse candidates or participate in other forms of direct political action. Instead, they focus more on education, advocacy, and direct community support.

501(c)(3)s

Can raise awareness of a cause.

Can endorse legal measures and propositions relevant to them.

Donations are tax deductible

Can’t favor one candidate with information.

Can’t officially endorse a candiate for office.

501(c)(4)s

Can raise awareness of a cause.

Can endorse legal measures and propositions relevant to them.

Donations aren’t tax deductible

Can favor one candidate by providing research, etc.

Can officially endorse a candidate for office.

How to evaluate a nonprofit’s missions and goals

Once you’ve found a nonprofit supporting a cause you believe in, the next step is to evaluate their mission. Start by asking yourself what’s most valuable to you. With millions of nonprofits operating in the US, you’re sure to find one that matches your values.

Determining what ideal goals you have for your donations first helps you narrow down your choices. A simple exercise that can help move the needle is by jotting down your values. Once you’ve defined what you believe in, compare and contrast that with an organization’s mission statement and stated goals.

Here are some other great resources for finding new nonprofits:

Evaluating a nonprofit’s size and scope

Next, when you evaluate a nonprofit, think about attributes like size and scope of work. Some donors love contributing to big organizations with tons of staff members and big goals. Other donors love supporting smaller organizations that contribute more directly to the causes they support. There’s no wrong answer to which type of organization you should support, it’s all about identifying your values and finding an organization that connects.

You should weigh the pros and cons of a nonprofit’s size. Big organizations might have more staffing and more funds to spend on their cause. Keep in mind, a big staff and national presence might increase the amount of money being spent on business-related expenses like salaries and office space.

While smaller organizations might have fewer staff members and bring in fewer donations, they might also spend more in local communities or commit more funds directly to their causes.

We work with both, small and large, nonprofits. Whether you’re looking for a dedicated two-person team or someone with offices in every major city, you’ll find them.

Evaluating a nonprofit’s accomplishments means more than how much money they raise.

When someone donates to a nonprofit or charitable organization, they hope it succeeds. However, the measure of success looks different to everyone. It’s also not always directly tied to money raised.

When you evaluate a nonprofit, instead of focusing solely on money raised, broaden your search and ask deeper questions like:

How many people would the ideal nonprofit help a year?
How much work should a nonprofit do in a year?
How do you measure the quality of work nonprofits do?
Does this nonprofit have growing goals or are they fine staying their current size?

For example, if you’re interested in helping out a local theater group you might be less interested in growth. Instead, you might want to know more about how their funds are spent.

On the flip side, if you’re interested in fighting climate change, you might want a fast-growing organization. You might also want an organization that spends more money on advocacy.

Once you know what you’re looking for, take a look at what info they have publicly available. You can directly request key tax documents on nonprofits straight from the IRS.

If you’re not looking for financial information, almost all nonprofits share success stories on their social media channels or website. You can use these as valuable resources as you’re evaluating a nonprofit’s success. Seeing first-hand what a nonprofit is doing with their money and who they’re helping might inspire you to start giving or to stop giving and switch to a different nonprofit.

Putting it all together and making your first donation

Now that you’ve done your research, you can start donating to your nonprofit! Most people choose to give monthly gifts to their nonprofit, but there are lots of ways to give back. You can try RoundUp donations, making one-time gifts each year, donating physical goods, or in some cases even writing a nonprofit into your will. It’s up to you how you donate, but whatever you do, your nonprofit is sure to love it!

The post How to Evaluate a Nonprofit appeared first on Roundup App.

QR Codes + Nonprofits 101

Jeni Putalavage-Ross — Tue, 23 Nov 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Although QR codes have been around for awhile, their usage has boomed within the last few years. If you’ve visited a restaurant lately, you’ve probably sat there waiting for someone to bring out one of those germy menus everyone touches, only to realize there’s a tiny QR code on the table with the words “order here” stuck to the table. You open your camera, point, scan, and viola! An entire menu and order sequence right on your phone!

QR (or Quick Response) codes have played an important role in Covid-19 safety protocols because they’re contactless and pretty easy to use. But, have you thought about how these tiny, pixelated squares can help your nonprofit organization raise awareness for your fundraising efforts?

What are QR Codes?

Short for Quick Response Codes, QR codes are a type of barcode that can be scanned by your smartphone to display an array of information. Often used as a means to transfer information from a printed format to a digital medium, swiftly.

There are two types of QR codes: static, and dynamic. A static QR code, as the name suggests, has a fixed destination. Once a URL is embedded into the pixelated image, it will always direct traffic to the same place. A dynamic QR Code is flexible and can change the destination of where traffic is being sent.

You can embed a QR Code with just about anything and likewise, you can use them almost anywhere. But keep in mind that QR codes work best when you want to quickly relay information from one source to your phone. Some creative examples using QR Codes are adding them to large presentations, business cards, and often used as stickers placed all around the world. And while you may see QR codes on social media and websites, we do not recommend this considering your audience may already be viewing these codes on their mobile device.

While we could go further into detail about the history and make up of QR Codes (or let you read more here) we want to get to the “How to’s” and “Best Practices” for QR codes in the nonprofit sector.

How To Create A QR Code

There are plenty of free and paid websites where you can create QR codes. One simple, easy to use, and super effective tool is Canva’s QR Code creation tool. You may already be using Canva as a way to create promotional material, but if you’re not, we highly recommend it.

Using Canva to Create QR Codes

Open up a design or create a new one.
Once your design is created look for the “… More” on the side dashboard and look for the “QR code” App.
Insert the URL where you want to direct your audience and click “Generate Code”. Keep in mind, this is a static QR code, so once you create the code and distribute it – you won’t be able to edit the destination later.
Now you can download your image or add it to your design and people will be able to scan it and be directed to wherever it is that you send them.

If you want to explore other options, here’s a helpful list of QR Code creating tools!

So how does RoundUp App fit in?

At RoundUp App, we’re all about making things effortless. Nonprofits that sign up with RoundUp App to let donors “round up” their spare change and donate it to their organization with every transaction get a custom registration page.

The custom registration page directs potential donors to your organization’s donation page through RoundUp App. This simple and mobile friendly page let’s donors sign up to donate one time, monthly, or use “round ups”. Sharing your custom registration page alone can increase conversion rates by up to 33% and is the perfect URL to embed into a QR Code.

Create a QR Code for your organization’s custom registration page and use it any time potential donors may be near with their phones and ready to donate. For example, print posters with a QR Code for display at your next event, include one on your next mailer or brochure.

Best Practices for using QR Codes

Accessible The most efficient way to use a QR code is to use it when it makes relaying information more convenient, like going from a print media to a digital one.
Arrangement When placing the QR codes, make sure there is plenty of space surrounding the QR code and make sure the size of it is large enough to be scannable.
Aim – Make sure the destination of your QR code is mobile friendly.
Make Apparent – Make sure the audience knows the purpose of your QR code and where it will take them when they scan.
Assessment– Once you have created your QR code, test it out and see if it meets all the above criteria. If it does, go ahead and share it!

Whether you decide to promote your custom registration page or something else, QR Codes are a helpful and convenient tool to push your nonprofit fundraising efforts in a creative manner. If you want to start using a quick and simple custom registration page, sign up with RoundUp App here and start doing some effortless good!

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A Sweepstakes Where Everyone Wins!

Jeni Putalavage-Ross — Thu, 21 Oct 2021 18:59:27 +0000

Have you ever entered a sweepstakes and typing in your information is about the only thing you remember doing? You enter to win but then forget about the whole thing altogether and think “did someone actually win this thing? Was it even worth signing up for?” Well, this summer RoundUp App held two sweepstakes and everyone who participated was a winner (and no, we’re not talking about participation awards)!

Why a sweepstakes?

RoundUp App’s mission is to make it effortless for nonprofits to gain an extra source of monthly donations all the while making charitable giving simple for donors. Which is exactly why the sweepstakes were held! The sweepstakes encouraged people all around the country to donate “rounded up” change to their favorite nonprofits using the RoundUp App. Everyone who signed up and started donating was entered to win; making donating a seamless, feel-good experience for donors!

As if making global change with small change wasn’t enticing enough, the #EffortlesslyGood Sweepstakes also offered one lucky winner a $1,000 donation to the nonprofit of their choice, while the #CreateChange Sweepstakes offered a new Yeti Tundra Haul Hard Cooler (valued at $399.99) to a second winner. (We’re an Austin company, we LOVE Yeti!)

How could it get any better?

As mentioned, we’re in the business of making things easy! So knowing we wanted to help nonprofits gain donors, we made it a snap to promote the sweepstakes! Nonprofits who partner with RoundUp App always have access to our handy dandy Marketing Library! The Marketing Library was stocked with a curated selection of templates that were ready-to-use so nonprofits could encourage their audiences to donate through RoundUp App! Not to mention the more donors a nonprofit gained, the more chances they had to win the $1,000 donation!

Everyone won, but who really won?

Okay, okay! Many nonprofits saw donor and donation growth, that’s a win! Donors felt good about supporting and helping a cause that could change the world, THAT’S A WIN! But okay, the official winner of the $1,000 donation was…….. drumroll, please …….. *ahem*…..

KINGS SPCA! A no-kill animal shelter located in Lemoore, CA.

“We want to give a big thank you to [the donor] for choosing our shelter for this generous donation!” says the Operations Manager for Kings SPCA, “ We are so blessed to have an amazing support system that is helping us make a difference. The Kings SPCA seeks to provide a safe haven for abused, abandoned, medically ill/injured, and surrendered animals. This donation will help us keep helping the fur-babies in need. Thank you!”

The Kings SPCA was the winner of the $1,000 RoundUp App donation, but all other participating nonprofits also gained reliable monthly donations, so they too can continue to work towards their missions.

But wait there’s more! While we always want to help all nonprofits, we also wanted to give a little something – like a cool new Yeti cooler (pun intended), to a donor! We really can’t do anything without donors! So, the winner of the Yeti cooler is …

Joshua M. from North Carolina who is excited to take his new cooler on future beach trips!

To Be Continued…

We really enjoy helping nonprofits gain new donors and we equally love giving back to our donors, so if you missed out on our Summer Sweepstakes- don’t worry! There will be plenty more with that came from, in fact we are currently running our Fall 2021 Sweepstakes!

Thank you again to everyone who participated and created global change with spare change, the ultimate prize!

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3 Stakeholder Groups & 10 Ways to Engage Them

Jeni Putalavage-Ross — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 14:00:56 +0000

Launching a new fundraising campaign can be exciting and bring a revived energy to your annual routines. RoundUp App adds to this excitement by providing our nonprofit partners with a new way to diversify their revenue stream with spare change donations.

This is not your mama’s fundraising platform. Where traditional fundraising focuses on fundraising galas and major gift donors, RoundUp App brings in monthly recurring donations using a bite-size fundraising ask that engages donors.

DID YOU KNOW: According to Engage for Good, 3 out of 4 Americans have been asked to “round up” their purchase for a good cause? RoundUp App takes that same principle and lets you round up every transaction for a good cause!

Engage for Good

We’ll start by looking at these key stakeholder groups:

1. Board Members

2. Employees

3. Volunteers

Your stakeholders are your organization’s biggest cheerleaders! Grab those pom poms and ask your stakeholders to “advertise” for you. In order to not cannibalize your other fundraising efforts, you can give your network the tools they need to get new donors.

RoundUp App empowers stakeholders with this simple question to ask others, “Would you give your spare change to help us achieve our mission?” Asking a supporter if they would give their spare change can be more comfortable than asking if they would become a monthly recurring donor. This ‘easier ask’ empowers your evangelizers and makes for an easier ‘yes’ from new supporters.

Ways to Engage Board Members and Employees

1. Ask each Board Member and employee to sign up to be a RoundUp App donor. Every bit of spare change adds up for your nonprofit! Plus, when your Board Members are familiar with the app, they will be more comfortable talking to others about it.

2. Equip Board Members with a short script, email template and information about RoundUp App.

Many people, even seasoned fundraisers, can get anxious when asking for donations. But your stakeholders don’t need to stress about asking for donations. This article by Joe Garecht Fundraising reminds board members that they’re raising money for an important mission that they believe in.

“Our non-profit does great work. Our non-profit changes lives. There’s no reason to be shy about asking for money to do our work.”

– Joe Garecht Fundraising

3. Share your social media promotion plan and schedule. Be clear about when the program will launch to help focus everyone’s efforts.

4. Encourage staff members to comment, like and share when your social media posts go live. This helps to build momentum and engages all of your supporters with just a few clicks and taps.

5. Ask your stakeholders to share your posts with their personal networks. They can also ask their social media followers to “share” your fundraising posts for some free advertising!

6. Ask each board member to share your RoundUp App program by reaching out to 5-10 contacts.

DID YOU KNOW: We make this easy with in-app sharing tools and resources in the Support section of the marketing library!

7. Acknowledge or reward any board member or employee who successfully shares and gains new donors. An easy 10-day contest with the reward of a simple gift card or internal shout-out goes a long way to make each contributor feel appreciated.

Ways to Engage Volunteers

Remember: Volunteers and donors are not mutually exclusive groups. Rather, they are most likely to be one and the same! One study by Americorps found that volunteers who donate to charity donate at twice the rate as non-volunteers, so you don’t want to miss out by overlooking this vital group.

1. Develop a process for asking volunteers to give (most people don’t give because they weren’t asked!).

2. Make each volunteer experience memorable, organized, and valuable.

3. Incentivize volunteers to share or recruit new donors or volunteers by rewarding them with a ‘star volunteer’ prize – such as a tote bag or water bottle with your nonprofit’s logo.

That’s it!

Gaining support from your board members, employees and volunteers can make an immediate impact on your organization. We have heard time and time again from our nonprofit partners that personal ‘asks’ are always effective when building your initial donor base.

Once your stakeholders are excited and participating in your RoundUp App program, it’s off to the races. And don’t forget to visit our marketing library to access campaign launch guides, resources for growing your donor base, and over 40 social media and email templates.

Not using RoundUp App yet? It’s easy to get started!

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Why Choose RoundUp App for Your Fundraising Efforts? (Part 2)

Jeni Putalavage-Ross — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 17:30:08 +0000

It’s no secret that online giving is on the rise and here to stay. According to M+R’s latest Benchmarks Report, total online revenue for nonprofits grew by 32% on 2020.

As online giving increases in popularity each year, there are a lot of options out there for a nonprofit looking to diversify their revenue streams. So, why choose RoundUp App?

The Ease of Use for Nonprofits

We strive to make our platform as easy as possible to use. Nonprofits who register with us receive guides and tips for getting started, as well as full access to a marketing library plus regular updates from our team of experts. The marketing library includes downloadable images and text that is pre-populated with each nonprofit’s name and mission statement for use across all social media platforms, plus email and SMS.

Marketing Library Example

Our engineering team is also constantly releasing product updates that make it easier for nonprofits to set up their accounts and offer more analytics and reporting features in the admin dashboard.

The Ease of Use for Donors

The RoundUp App team cares deeply about the donor experience. That’s one of the reasons why our platform has an 80% donor retention rate.

We allow donors to have complete control over their charitable giving – from setting monthly minimum & maximum donation amounts to having the ability to pause and un-pause their donations. This control gives users the confidence they need to feel secure.

The home screen of the app even displays a running tally of a user’s RoundUps, so their donation amount at the end of the month is never a surprise. Plus, their donation history is right there in the app, so it’s easy for users to see how much they’ve donated each year.

Variety of Donation Options

While RoundUp App’s main selling point is “spare change” donations, people can also use the platform to give in other ways. By setting a monthly maximum donation, users can become monthly donors without even using the RoundUp feature. This setting is perfect for people who want to donate a set amount each month.

Additionally, there is a one-time donation option, which is particularly useful if your nonprofit is having an event or celebrating a milestone and your supporters want to give an extra gift. Nonprofits can even create Campaigns in the admin portal, allowing donors to give to a particular project or initiative.

No matter what your organization’s fundraising goals are, RoundUp App is a no-brainer solution to augment your online giving program. Its ease of use for both nonprofits and donors, plus the variety of donation options make it an effortless and nimble donation platform.

Read “Why Choose RoundUp App for Your Fundraising Efforts” part 1.

Register your organization with RoundUp App.

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