How to Raise Money for Charity: Fundraising Tips to Attract More Support for Charities

Charity fundraising, or the process of securing donations for your organization or cause, drives many important projects and campaigns.

While most people think of charities as well-known organizations like Doctors Without Borders or the American Red Cross, charities can include many vital social justice projects like your local homeless shelter or food bank. Charity campaigns can also provide aid in response to crisis events like Hurricane Milton and Helene in Florida. All these projects and campaigns require money to fund relief efforts, making knowing how to raise funds a critical part of running an effective charity.

That said, knowing the best way to raise money for your specific community organization can be a challenge. Certain donation strategies resonate better with specific supporters and it's important to use charitable fundraising strategies that fit your organization's brand and capabilities. Plus, with all the digital fundraising tools and new methods to raise money for charitable causes, you now have more options to reach supporters, sponsors, and donors where they are.

In this guide, we'll look into selecting fundraising methods that fit your cause. We'll also cover the essentials of developing a fundraising plan, including marketing your gala, engaging donors (online and offline), selecting the most effective digital tools, and measuring the success of your fundraiser to make improvements. In addition, you'll see how a user-friendly fundraising platform like PayBee can provide essential fundraising support whether you host an in-person, virtual, or hybrid fundraiser.            

Understanding Your Cause

Understanding and knowing how to communicate your charity's main mission is essential to garnering support from your community. 

If you haven't yet established a mission statement, or a statement establishing your charity's goals and how they benefit your target population, now is the time to do so. Clear mission statements:

• Communicate the purpose of your charity or nonprofit: Is your organization here to provide disaster relief? Provide shelter or build housing for the disadvantaged? Offer educational opportunities? This needs to be clearly stated upfront.
• Highlight the needs of the population you serve: What community does your charity focus on? Why do they need your help? Including key facts and statistics about your target population shows why your charity is necessary.
• Establish your goals: What measurable impact is your charity making on your target population? Are you lowering suicide rates? Getting more students enrolled in college? Cutting the price of housing? Showcasing your performance indicators lets audiences know what goals they're helping you achieve.

Once you've written your mission statement, you have a prime piece of marketing material to use for clarifying your fundraising goals and defining charity purposes.

Integrate this mission statement in all your fundraising communication. This includes your donation pages, emails, brochures, and social media posts. Understand, you don't have to keep restating your mission statement word for word in everything -- but paraphrasing all the important points helps ingrain your cause in the minds of your supporters.

You can also use the mission statement as a template to help share more personalized stories about your charity or nonprofit. For instance, if you've established in your statement that your charity exists to provide disaster relief, publish a charity story about a family or individual who benefited from your efforts. Let people know about the disaster, how this community member struggled to rebuild, the type of aid your organization provided, and how their lives improved as a direct result of your programs. Sharing stories like this with your donors and supporters helps put a face on your mission statement and shows how you're using their donations effectively.

Take time to tailor your mission statement to different supporters, such as foundations, corporations, or individual donors. Foundations may be more interested in seeing statistics related to your community impact. Corporations may want to see how your values align with their brand. Individuals might respond better to a short story about your impact, accompanied with effective photos and/or video. All of this stems from the same mission statement, but resonates on a more meaningful level if you take the needs and interests of your audience into account. 

Beyond all this, your mission statement should determine how you raise revenue. Make sure all your activities, campaigns, and appeals align with the core values expressed by your mission statement. Share your mission statement with your staff and volunteers so they know who their efforts are benefiting. Remember: you're not raising money just to break records. You need to raise money to accomplish your nonprofit or charity's goals.

Choosing Fundraising Methods

Fundraising events may conjure images of fancy black-tie parties and wealthy donors, but the truth is modern fundraising techniques can take place anywhere and receive support from a wide variety of donors.

Depending on your resources and donor pool, certain event strategies may work better for you than others. Let's take a look at some popular methods and the pros and cons of each.

Virtual Events

The pandemic made the online campaign more relevant and practical. Nonprofits now have an array of digital tools, like those supplied by the PayBee platform, to host their events on. Through live streaming, real-time chats, and virtual meetings, attendees can interact with each other from anywhere with an Internet connection.

Advantages of the virtual gala center around convenience. Donors don't have to travel long distances, pay expensive hotel fees, or spend money on gas. This leaves them more available income to donate to your cause. Meeting virtually also lets donors network with people from different states and countries, which can be a huge draw for people interested in making new connections.

Additionally, event guests can make virtual appearances from their homes, helping you secure a hard-to-book celebrity or influencer who can participate for a lower fee.

Virtual galas are typically less expensive to host. You won't have to rent a large event venue or hire a large staff since your audience will be attending online. You can also attract a larger audience from across the country, provided you market your gala properly. The higher potential revenue combined with greater savings help you raise (and keep) more money, which will go into funding your programs.

On the other hand, virtual events have their own special expenses. While you probably won't need a wait staff, you will need tech support to make sure your online activities run smoothly. Emcees and auctioneers need to know how to engage with a virtual audience to keep everyone donating and bidding on auction items. Entertainers and celebrity guests need a support staff if you're going to tape or live stream their performance.

On top of all that, many audiences now experience "virtual fatigue" with online galas. What was once a necessary part of fundraising during the pandemic is now seen as more time spent on a computer when what audiences really want to do is interact with people in reality. This can make other campaign options more popular.   

Face-to-Face Galas

The traditional face-to-face gathering has now made a triumphant comeback, with more donors appreciating the opportunity to meet in person with fellow supporters.

One great thing about the modern traditional fundraiser is that you can still use digital tools in strategic ways. Many event venues, for instance, offer QR codes on walls, maps, table placards, and other places, letting audiences easily access your donation page and making a quick and easy contribution through their mobile devices. QR codes can also be used to provide directions or assist in check-in/out procedures, improving the guest experience.

Of course, there's still no substitute for the energy you can generate at an in-person event. Auctioneers tend to have an easier time getting supporters excited and bidding at an in-person auction where they can interact directly with audiences and show the actual items. Charity concerts and dances get people on their feet and feeling enthused about your cause. And while a virtual gala can show pictures and videos of the people your nonprofit is helping, an in-person gala can bring those people on stage as guests, providing an even bigger impact on your audience.

That said, in-person galas can be more expensive than a virtual fundraiser. You'll need to hire more staff and keep large groups of volunteers organized before, during, and after the gala to assist in setting up, managing, and clean up. And while digital tools can help direct guests, your staff still needs to interact directly with your attendees and keep things on schedule.   

Hybrid Campaigns

Known as a blend of virtual and in-person galas, hybrid campaigns offer their own unique set of advantages and disadvantages.

On one hand, hybrid galas provide the best of both worlds. You can rent a smaller event venue to accommodate guests who prefer to meet face-to-face while still attracting larger groups of donors virtually. This provides multiple sources of revenue for your nonprofit and offers new ways to engage donors (for instance, your auctions can create bidding wars between online and in-person bidders).

On the other hand, coordinating two separate audiences so they can interact smoothly is challenging. There's a tendency to view hybrid campaigns as two different events when you should be organizing them as a single gala with two audiences, each with their own needs. And while you can reduce costs in some places (like when you rent a smaller meeting area), you'll have to manage other costs (like a tech support staff to help with your virtual audience).

In situations like this, it's best to hire a coordinator or two coordinators who can work together to manage your two different groups. Done correctly, a hybrid campaign can greatly expand your reach and add many new supporters to your network.

Direct Mail

Here's a classic way to raise more money for your cause. Direct mail campaigns send physical requests for donations to potential supporters in the form of letters, postcards, brochures, and other materials. This gives your organization a chance to share your mission in more detail while reaching out to new donors.

One nice thing about this method is that physical mail is seen as more trustworthy than online donation requests. You can forge more personal connections with recipients who may keep your letters and cards as a reminder to attend your events or give to your cause.

This is particularly true if you use your customer relationship management (CRM) software to tailor your requests to individual donor needs and interests. Mention past interactions the donors has had with your group and highlight how your cause's mission aligns with the donor's stated values.

One drawback of direct mail is that it's more expensive to produce so many physical items to send. Getting donation requests ready is also time consuming and it can take longer to receive responses from your potential supporters. Certain groups are also now more comfortable with digital requests for donations, so you'll want to carefully research your supporter network to see if direct mail is a viable option for you.  

Peer to Peer Fundraisers

Moving to a more high-tech approach, peer-to-peer fundraising takes advantage of the fact that many of your volunteers and staff members have their own online social network. This method provides your supporters with the ability to create their own websites and fundraising pages advertising your cause and/or event. They can then share this page with their personal and professional networks, request funds, and then collect money for your organization.

When managing peer-to-peer fundraising, organization is key. You're going to potentially have a lot of websites promoting your brand, and while that's great for media attention, it can be challenging to direct all that attention back to your main fundraising page (and let you collect all the donations).

Thus, using an online platform like PayBee is useful. Not only will this platform help multiple people create donation pages easily, it'll make sure all donations are directed to your account, making collection and tracking simpler.

Auctions

A tried-and-true method for many charity campaigns, auctions can raise enormous amounts of money for your programs. While you've already seen them mentioned as potential activities for virtual, face-to-face, and hybrid events, there are many other forms auctions can take.

Silent auctions, for instance, are becoming very popular as both a fundraising method and marketing strategy. These auctions showcase their items online and allow people to bid on them from their laptops or mobile devices. Certain silent auctions provide a "Buy It Now" option where donors can purchase an item for a set price or a way to automate bids so they can continue bidding even when they're away from their devices.

Since silent auctions can be held days or even weeks before your actual gala, they offer a great way to raise revenue while promoting your upcoming event. Creating an enticing online auction page complete with photos and item descriptions can be time-consuming and challenging, however, so be sure to use a platform like PayBee that can bulk upload your items and customize your websites.   

Selling Products

Here's a tactic that can be incorporated into virtually any event. Nonprofits can sell branded products at fundraisers to raise revenue for their programs.

These products can take any form and may include:

• Calendars
• T-shirts
• Books (including used books and books published by a charity -- like cookbooks)
• Hats
• Coupons
• Scratch cards
• Raffle tickets
• Stuffed animals
• Coffee beans
• Cookies
• Discount cards
• Candles

The great thing about this method is that you can build brand awareness by highlighting your nonprofit or charity on the products you sell. Create an eye-catching logo, provide a tagline that sums up your cause, and provide your website address so people can learn more about your group and your cause. 

Limit your branded products to non-perishable items or food items with a long shelf life. Focus on products people buy regularly (like cookies, clothes, or calendars), as this increases the chances of them selling at your event. You also don't want to sell items at a very low or high price point since this prevents you from making a good profit on your items (unless you know you can sell a large volume of the items).

Applying for Grants

For many charities, grant money funds a large portion of their activities. Where methods like crowdfunding or online donations tend to collect relatively small contributions, a grant from a large benefactor can cover a large number of your expenses.

That said, researching and applying for grants can be time consuming and competitive. You'll need to source a lot of information from your records during the application process, so organization is key. And once you receive a grant, you'll need to comply with any regulations if you want to keep or renew your funding.

When going after grants, invest in grant management software that can not only streamline the grant application process but also find funders whose mission, location, and values match your organization's. This can help increase your success rate. Grant management systems also help you with compliance management once you receive a grant and can help assemble reports to show your stakeholders their funds are being used responsibly and in accordance with their wishes.

Creating a Fundraising Plan

Your nonprofit needs a comprehensive strategy to host an effective campaign. Make sure to build a workable timeline, set targets, and budget for expenses.

Creating a timeline

What resources will you need for your upcoming event? Who will you need to contact? What staff and volunteer members will be responsible for each task?

All these questions need to be answered when you're building a timeline for your campaign. Start by setting a goal for what you want your event to accomplish (including your financial goal(s)) and the start and end dates of your campaign. 

Create lists of all the tasks you need completed to meet your goals and the people you have available to help you accomplish these tasks. Delegate responsibilities to members and provide them with deadlines to stay on track. 

Your tasks should also involve contacting donors from your support network. Make another list of these donors and create a team to contact supporters and donors during your planning stage. Be clear on what you want done (are you asking them to attend your event? Sponsor it? Promote it? Make early financial contributions?)

Take advantage of project management tools that can come with fundraising software. Not only can a fundraising platform help you construct a more comprehensive timeline, it can also provide communication tools to help coordinate your activities.  

Be flexible with your timeline. Surprises and delays will happen, so review your timeline periodically, adjust deadlines, and keep your staff aware of any changes. 

Setting targets

Beyond the start and end date of your campaign, it's vital that you set targets for the completion of important tasks like securing an event venue, contacting major donors, contracting entertainers, and building your marketing campaign.

Make your goals SMART goals (specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time bound). Communicate these goals to the teams responsible for completing them and provide clear deadlines for each goal.

Above all, stay in contact with your staff and volunteers. It's helpful to establish a point person who's your go-to for each task so you can check on the progress more easily.  

Budgeting for expenses

How much money do you have to work with to host your campaign? What other non-monetary resources do you have access to?

Create a list of your income sources, resources, and expenses to establish a budget before you assign tasks to your team. Know in advance how much you're willing (and able) to spend on expensive purchases like an event venue. If you have access to resources that don't require you to spend money (like a supporter who's willing to donate a large volume of high-end items for your auction), take this into account as well.

Securing sponsors is another way to expand your budget. Again, this can provide you with additional financial or non-monetary resources. For instance, a sponsor might be able to donate meals, drinks, or other gift services to your event, helping you reduce your food and entertainment costs. 

Marketing Your Fundraiser

No matter how well you plan your fundraiser, if you don't market it correctly, you won't attract enough supporters to provide you with your needed donations.

A good marketing campaign requires both traditional and digital marketing strategies.

Traditional marketing includes reaching out to your local community to spread the word about your event through word of mouth. Your sponsors can advertise your gala via flyers, post cards, and other physical media. If possible, connect with TV and radio personalities to advertise your event on local news programs. Print ads and direct mail can also be effective if used strategically (just make sure the cost of producing them fits within your budget).

Digital marketing strategies offer ways to reach a vast online audience. Construct an email campaign to inform your newsletter subscribers of your upcoming event. Don't just stop with one email -- send new emails every week or so leading up to the event and provide incentives (such as discount opportunities, raffle entries, or auction item advertisements) to encourage attendance.

Promote your event on social media. This can include Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, YouTube, or any other channels your target audience frequents.

Tailor your message to the social media channel. For example, Instagram posts need eye catching photos of your event and activities while YouTube needs a short, engaging video with a clear call to action. Be sure to include links to your website, donation page, or ticket page to make it easy for people to attend!

Partner with social media influencers with large followings and ask them to promote your event. Make sure each influencer's brand matches your own values. Not only will this help you secure support, the followers will be more likely to want to contribute to your cause.

Your campaign page will be the touchstone attendees and potential attendees encounter, so make sure it provides all necessary information. Provide the date and time of your event along with a list of your activities. Briefly describe your cause and explain why you're raising funds, what they'll be used for, and your fundraising goals. If possible, include a short story from someone your group helped so people can see the impact of your cause. 

Engaging Donors

Building strong relationships with your supporters is something nonprofits should be doing year-round even when you're not planning a gala. Making your supporters feel appreciated and seen keeps them engaged with your nonprofit -- and provides them with incentive to share your cause with others. And letting them know the impact of their donations keeps donors in a giving mood for when you do ask for their support.

Wondering what donor engagement strategies to use? Here are some effective ways to get started:

Use personalized communication

When contacting your support network, don't just send everyone a form email inviting them to your next gala. Instead, personalize your communication to show you know who each donor is -- and how they've contributed to your organization in the past. 

Thank them for attending your last gala. Acknowledge how much they've donated in the past and indicate what their money has been used for (funding programs, sponsoring at-risk youth, building new community centers etc.). Remind them of how your organization shares the same values as their business.

Donor management systems and CRMs can be invaluable here. Your donor management system should include information on each donor's past activities with your organization (including events attended and donations made). You can also store information about each individual donor's interests, values, and connections with your organization (perhaps one of their relatives serves on the board or one of your programs benefited a family member).

Develop communication techniques that help you insert these personalized touches. If you're using an email template, include spaces where your staff can insert personal information sourced from your database. If you decide to call your donors directly, provide your volunteers with access to the CRM information so they can show they're aware of the donors' past activities. 

Show appreciation on a regular basis

Donors tend to be most giving when they feel seen and appreciated. You can make them feel this by providing regular signs of appreciation.

Don't just limit your correspondence to requests for more money. Send thank you emails (or better yet, handwritten notes) stating how grateful you are for their support. Provide photos and stories of the impact their donations have made in their community, so they can see the real-world effect of their efforts. 

Many nonprofits enjoy hosting a donor appreciation event just to show how much they value their supporters. Raising money shouldn't be the aim here -- instead host a luncheon or dinner at a nice venue where your donors, sponsors, and supporters can socialize and share stories of their time with your organization. If possible, hand out certificates of appreciation along with physical prizes (gift certificates, discount coupons from sponsors etc.)

Another way you can show appreciation is to name items associated with your organization after major donors. For example, you can name your building (or individual rooms) after key donors. When holding an auction, you can offer a prime parking space and name it for the winner. Even your donor appreciation day can be named after a specific donor or group of donors.  

Be transparent with your use of funds

Knowing how your organization delegates funds for use in programs and projects is an important part of building trust with your community. Being transparent with your use of funds is necessary to maintain many grants. Thus, you not only want to keep track of your fund use but also provide supporters with easy access to this information.

One simple way to do this is to just post your financial report on your website. Provide charts and graphs indicating how much money you raised and what programs received the funds. You can also include case studies and impact stories of the effect your programs have on your community, backed with statistics (i.e. how many students your organization helped get into college, how much food you delivered to the hungry in the last year etc.).

Ultimately, sharing how you use your funding is an effective way of building donor relationships. People want to know if what they give makes a difference, and by showing what their gifts are really accomplishing, you encourage them to give more and support your mission.  

Leveraging Technology

Modern fundraising platforms have made some huge advances in recent years. You can now not only streamline your fundraising efforts but reach out to bigger audiences. Here are just some of the more effective ways you can use digital tools:

Crowdfunding encourages gift giving

Earlier, we discussed how peer to peer fundraising can tap into the peer networks of your volunteers to access another source of revenue for your organization. Crowdfunding uses a similar technique to reach out to a more general online audience and encourage them to give to a specific project or program.

The cool thing about this method is that crowdfunding asks for only relatively small donations from its audience. Thus, people are more willing to give -- especially if you can communicate the worthiness of your cause and create a sense of urgency.

When setting up your crowdfunding campaign, be very clear on what you're raising money for. Are you trying to provide emergency support for disaster relief? Raise enough funds to build a house for at-risk youth? Display your financial goal prominently on your crowdfunding website and provide a deadline to raise the funds. Unlike peer to peer fundraising which relies on multiple websites, crowdfunding collects donations through a single campaign page, so your site needs to draw in a lot of interest.

Host your campaign on a platform that can help you reach large audiences. Be sure to take into account any fees you'll need to pay. And plan a social media marketing campaign to reach out to your own social support network.

One highly effective way to encourage giving at your crowdfunding campaign is to tie in matching gifts. These are contributions usually made by corporate sponsors who agree to match the donations given to your campaign if they reach a certain level. This provides you with the opportunity to create multiple financial tiers that encourage donors to contribute more and help reach each individual goal.  

Social media challenges use activities to raise revenue

Social media can be a great way to promote galas and fundraising events. But did you know they can be used to directly raise revenue for your group too? 

You may have already seen popular challenges like the "Ice Bucket Challenge" or a dance challenge on Instagram or TikTok where participants record themselves performing a fun challenge and request donations to a worthy cause. Some social media challenges tie the donation amount to a specific milestone that people tune in to watch.

For example, a marathon runner might collect donations after running a certain distance (and broadcasting their progress over social media). There are also video game players (aka "geek philanthropists") who raise money for nonprofits by playing popular games for several days or breaking records with their game play. Again, supporters can view their progress on social media and make donations.   

Text-to-Give campaigns make giving convenient

Technology makes it easier for people to give to your cause -- and one of the most convenient ways people donate these days is via their mobile devices. Fundraising platforms make this easy for nonprofits by letting them select a keyword (like "GIVE") and a phone number to text donation requests to supporters.

Supporters can then donate by texting the keyword or by clicking on a link included in the text that takes them to the nonprofit's donation page. Since the whole process usually takes seconds, these are some of the most powerful digital tools for charities and can raise tremendous amounts of money on their own.  

Measuring Success (It's Not Just About How Much Money You Raise)

So far, we've focused primarily on money making strategies for fundraising campaigns. However, fundraisers can accomplish far more than just raising revenue for nonprofits. Many nonprofits use their galas to also:

• Build brand awareness for their mission
• Attract new donors and build their support network
• Creating a sense of community among their benefactors
• Establish partnerships with local businesses

If you're among many of the nonprofits seeking to raise awareness of your cause and establish yourself as a vital force within your community, some or all of these objectives should be part of your fundraiser's goals. As such, you need to measure the success of these efforts to assess the overall success of your gala.

In order to objectively assess the success of each of your goals, you need to establish some key performance indicators (KPIs). These are quantifiable indicators that show you have made progress toward your goal.

For instance, if you want to measure how well you increased brand awareness of your mission, one key performance indicator might be how many times your attendees visited your website or donation page and viewed your mission statement. You can also measure how many times visitors interacted with this online content by liking, commenting, or clicking to another page on the same site. And you definitely want to track how many times visitors donated to your campaign after seeing your mission statement.

If you want to measure how well you expanded your support network, you'll want to calculate how many people attended your event for the first time. How many were not in your established network? How many actually donated to your campaign? What was the average size of the donations?

Look into how different groups learned about your nonprofit and gala. How many attended after finding one of your social media ads? How many were invited by a staff member? Did they read about your gala in a news article? Learning which of your marketing efforts attracted the most attendees -- and which efforts attracted attendees who donated the most -- is invaluable information that can influence how you market your galas in the future.

When examining how well you built partnerships with local businesses in the community, take a look at the companies and corporations that sponsored your gala. How many sponsors were you able to secure? What methods did you use to convince them to support you -- and which ones tended to persuade people the best? 

How much financial support did you receive from your sponsors? This can be calculated by adding up all the monetary funds each business gave to your gala. If you managed to secure a sponsor who offered a matching gift, calculate how much this helped increase the total amount of donations you received.

Some sponsors also provide support in non-monetary ways -- for instance by supplying an event venue for free or by donating products or services that can be used as auction items. In these cases, you'll want to estimate how much these services or items would have cost you if they hadn't been provided by your partners. Taking all these metrics into account helps reveal just how much support you received from your community partners -- and what type of support you need to request for future events.    

Analyzing all these metrics requires a lot of time and legwork. You can (and should) streamline the process by using data analytics tools that automate the process. For example, PayBee's platform automatically records your site and donation activity, providing excellent data. After your event, the platform helps you analyze the data and build visualizations to clearly show where you succeeded and where you need to improve.

In addition to metrics, you should listen to what your attendees had to say about your gala. Providing feedback surveys to guests through thank you emails can provide more personal assessments for evaluating charity campaigns. Let your guests tell you which activities they found most enjoyable, what parts of your campaign were easiest to navigate, and what areas they feel you could include. Once again, the right fundraising platform can help you not only build these surveys but also submit them to attendees and organize the results. 

Conclusion and Future Outlook

Learning how to raise donations for your charity organization requires much more than just choosing from a list of popular fundraising activities. It takes a deep understanding of your mission and your support network. From there, you can decide what fundraising events and activities will engage your target donors the most and generate the most support.

Nurturing your relationships with major donors is also important. Take advantage of digital fundraising tools like CRM software and donor management platforms that can help you track donor activity and establish personalized communication with your supporters. Invest time in showing your appreciation for your donors, volunteers, sponsors, and other supporters using everything from simple thank you phone calls and emails to full-fledged donor appreciation luncheons an dinners. The more you take the time to recognize your support network and inform them of the impact they're having on your community, the more you can count on their donations to fund your programs.

Of course, it's also necessary to connect with new donors and supporters. Digital technology can help you with this as well. Peer to peer fundraisers and crowdfunding campaigns provide opportunities to reach out to new supporters and expand brand awareness of your mission. Nurture these new connections and invite newcomers to participate in your charity, attend your fundraisers, and tell others about your mission.

As you start gaining more proficiency in raising revenue for charitable activities, keep learning of new opportunities, not only in fundraising but also in donor engagement. Don't limit yourself to a single donor pool or set of fundraising activities. Rather, discover if you can go after new funding options such as grants. Regularly assess the success of your events and galas by checking your key performance indicators and see how they can be improved. Spend time analyzing your most lucrative and popular activities and brainstorm over how they can be expanded or enhanced to engage with larger audience and generate more revenue. By constantly staying on the cutting edge, you'll be able to secure reliable sources of funding to further your cause.

One way to stay on the cusp of current and future fundraising strategies is to invest in a user-friendly online fundraising platform. Not only will this help you streamline your current fundraising tactics, you'll also gain a support network specifically geared toward providing you with the technical and logistical aid to improve your future campaigns.

PayBee provides nonprofits and charities with these resources. Our online platform is easy to use for both gala attendees and your event staff. We offer a knowledgeable tech support team to help adapt our technology to your needs and circumnavigate any potential issues.

What's more, our partner network gives you access to an array of experienced auctioneers, event planners, production teams, and more. When you're ready to expand your efforts and look into new fundraising strategies, our tech and support teams are ready to provide you with the tools and knowledge you seek.

But don't just take our word for it. Sign up for a free demo of our online platform and see how digital tools can help your charity engage with donors. You'll see how a digitally-enhanced gala looks for an audience's point of view. Participate in a mock auction and see how user friendly our tools are. Ask technical questions to our tech support team and learn how your current tactics can be improved with online tools. Raising funds for your programs requires you to stay on the cutting edge, so sign up for a free demo and learn how to enhance your efforts today!      

Frequently Asked Questions

Let's take a closer look at the most frequently asked questions about raising money for charity.

What digital tools can help me raise money for my charity?

Digital tools can help streamline a wide range of tasks related to your fundraiser. For example, an online platform like PayBee lets you build and customize donation pages that inform donors of your mission and provide easy ways of contributing financially online. You can share this donation page through QR codes, texts, and email links that keep your gala and mission in front of your audience.

More and more people are donating directly through their mobile devices. Digital tools can help make your website mobile-friendly and easy to navigate. You can also offer silent auctions completely through a digital platform or provide text-to-give options to potential donors.

Peer to peer fundraisers and crowdfunding campaigns let you reach out to large online audiences and your supporters' personal networks. Digital tools not only help you build these campaigns, they also manage them so the funds get directed to your organization.

Establishing regular sources of revenue requires building good relationships with your donors. Donor management platforms and nonprofit CRMs provide information on your supporters that lets you personalize your communication and recognize your donors' contributions. This makes donor relationships easier to maintain, resulting in more funds for your charity. 

What are some innovative fundraising trends I should be aware of?

AI tools are affecting almost every aspect of modern life, including fundraising. You can use AI to analyze donor data and create more personalized communication with your supporters. AI also helps you identify major donors as well as businesses and corporations whose values match yours. This helps you know which prospects are most likely to support you and provide significant funding.

Other fundraising trends include the importance of engaging with donors through social media. Not only is social media useful for promoting your galas and building brand awareness, you can also launch successful fundraising campaigns directly on popular channels like Instagram or TikTok. These can be social media challenges or contests where users visit your website to donate.

Flexible and cashless giving can encourage supporters to donate more frequently. Offer recurring giving options that let people offer small, regular donations, giving you a reliable source of funding. Letting people donate through Apple Pay, PayPal, and other popular payment channels offers a convenience that encourages giving.

While data analysis is something that's always been important for effective fundraising, digital tools now help automate this process. Use platforms that collect data on donations and attendee activities. Run this data through algorithms that spot patterns in the activity. This can inform you of the most effective fundraising activities your organization should hold for your target donors.

What key performance indicators should I use to measure the success of my nonprofit gala?

Beyond just looking at how much money your nonprofit gala raised, check for patterns in donor activity and the donations. These include:

• Your donor retention rate: How many attendees from your last galas donated at this event?
• Average donation: How large is the average donation for this gala? How does this compare to past events?
• Number of new donors: How many new supporters did your gala attract? How much did they donate? Where did they learn about your event?
• Fundraising ROI: How much money did you raise compared to the costs involved in hosting your fundraiser?
• Donor acquisition cost: How much did it cost to attract each donor based on advertising fees, event fees, donor record costs etc.
• Donor lifetime value: How much is each donor likely to contribute to your organization during their entire time with your charity based on their past contributions and behavior?

What are the benefits of using a crowdfunding platform to source donations?

Unlike a peer to peer fundraising campaign that limits its reach to the support networks of your volunteers and staff, a crowdfunding platform lets you reach out to a much wider pool of potential donors. By sourcing donations from the general online population, you gain access to not just more donations but also new supporters who could become future advocates for your cause.

Effective crowdfunding campaigns for nonprofits and charities offer attractive mission statements that communities can rally behind, creating excellent opportunities for increasing brand recognition and building your network. Since the donations being requested are relatively small, visitors to your page may feel more at liberty to contribute, allowing you to reach your fundraising goals faster.

As an form of online fundraising, crowdfunding campaigns are generally more cost-effective than other revenue-raising strategies. You don't have to worry about renting event venues or hiring a large staff. Even better, you can turn your crowdfunding campaign into a marketing strategy for other fundraising events like galas, letting you reach your marketing and fundraising goals simultaneously. 

How can I ensure transparency and accountability in my fundraising efforts?

Transparency and accountability in fundraising hinge on clear and effective communication with your donors, sponsors, and other partners. Begin by establishing clear policies regarding conflicts of interest and expense management. This should be done in the early days while forming your nonprofit or charity and can be part of your bylaws.These bylaws (and all other related policies regarding transparency and accountability) should be shared with your funding agencies so they know where their money is going and what you're using it for.

When holding galas or any other activities where donations and funds are being collected, keep careful records of how much money you're taking in and how it's being managed. An online platform that automatically records such activities can be helpful in collecting the data and later organizing it into reports. You also want to keep careful records of where any funds you receive from grants or other large financial gifts are being allocated. This information should be stated clearly in your financial reports and should be made available during audits or any other meetings regarding finances. Publish the information on your website so any interested parties can learn about your revenue sources and expenses.

Stay in close contact with your donors and provide regular updates on how their donations are being used and what impact they're making in the community. Include receipts for their own financial records and any other paperwork that they might need for tax write-offs. Don't limit yourself to financial reports either -- share impact stories, provide photographs of populations that benefited from your work (and their donations), and include testimonials in emails, newsletters, and other communication materials.

Make sure your staff is aware of your policies, including all transparency and conflict of interest policies. Review your ethical practices on a regular basis and monitor spending to ensure your funds are being used properly. By creating a climate of honesty and accountability both inside and outside your organization, you build trust within your staff and your support network.