Donation tracking software helps nonprofits manage crowdfunding contributions. Crowd funding, an approach to raising capital for new initiatives, campaigns or causes, involves soliciting for contributions from many stakeholders, according to CrowdSourcing.org. NPOs may turn to this approach to receive donor, philanthropic and sponsorship dollars.
Crowd funding is an effective way to raise money
For nonprofits, crowd funding is becoming a mainstream approach to soliciting donations. In fact, these campaigns raised $2.7 billion in 2012 that funded over 1 million initiatives. Massolution, an industry research organization, anticipated an 81-percent rise in global crowd funding in 2013, to $5.1 billion. As NPOs attract more donors, they can easily input the donor’s contact information into donor software.
Nonprofits have a 45-percent success rate with crowd funding endeavors, according to Euro Money. Additionally, what is liberating about crowd funding is it reduces the burden of government support. Just by turning to crowd funding platforms, nonprofits can raise a significant amount of money in a short period of time. Beth Kanter, a nonprofit expert, said she helped launch the crowd funding campaign with the American Red Cross and SXSW. That campaign raised $120,000 in just 10 days.
Tell a story
Storytelling is one of the most successful methods of engaging constituents. Keith Quesenberry, a Johns Hopkins researcher, conducted a two-year analysis that found people prefer storytelling with an inciting moment, rising action, climax, falling action and a conclusion more than a typical advertisement.
“People are attracted to stories,” said Quesenberry, “because we’re social creatures and we relate to other people.”
Stories are not quantifiable. Instead, they convey a message that pulls at an individual’s heartstrings. CauseVox, an online platform that assists anyone raising funds for social good, admitted that people don’t want to hear about an organization or the programs provided, but the social impact made possible through contributions.
CauseVox suggested adding details and an emotional element to the story, defining the message and audience, and determining what story is needed to achieve a non profit’s goals. Additionally, people enjoy stories that involve overcoming adversity, solving a problem and creating a connection.
The Fundraising Authority recommended getting the story out by relying on supporters. Some constituents may use email and social media to spread the word, and loyal donors may convince friends and families to contribute.
Nonprofit software supports crowd funding endeavors
A successful crowd funding campaign requires a website that accepts money from the fundraising page using the website’s own credit card processor, The Fundraising Authority reported. These platforms work best for a specific campaign, not one for unrestricted support. While there are an array of fundraising platforms, such as Fundraise.com, Fundly, Kickstarter and indiegogo, many donation software systems can create a crowdfunding platform with integrative processing and communications capabilities. A donor management software program provides a nonprofit with all it needs to launch an effective crowd funding campaign.