Despite such intense digital saturation, nonprofits’ websites influence donors’ perceptions of an organization. So, today, you’ll get inspiration for effective ways to present your website in the format donors prefer, turning more visitors into loyal donors for your cause.

Classy’s Why America Gives report found that donating through a simple donation page on an organization’s website is how 57% of donors prefer to build relationships. You have an opportunity to deliver on that sentiment with a donation form that’s embeddable anywhere on your website or campaigns, ensuring first-time and returning supporters are greeted with a stand-out experience every time they engage with your organization.  

If you’re curious about what embedded donation forms are, what they look like on a nonprofit’s website, and how real organizations use them creatively to see results, you came to the right place. Below, you’ll see visual examples of four unique ways nonprofits took their donation experience to the next level with embedded giving. Plus, get the complete breakdown of how you can follow their lead.

How Embedded Giving Reflects Modern Online Shopping 

The best online donation experience reflects strong nonprofit branding, requires minimal steps, and flows smoothly. For-profit and nonprofit organizations recognize that if something is even the slightest bit difficult, people won’t do it. 

That’s why adding a condensed, yet intuitive donation form that you can embed into your existing website is so impactful. You may be looking at the difference between a potential donor who feels motivated to give in the moment because of the ease of the process, and someone closing the tab to return later (if they remember).

Embedded donation forms help you put your best foot forward and present the easiest way to donate without leaving the page. Taking away the need to bounce around through several tabs and pages resulted in higher conversion rates for many Classy customers that adopted embedded giving in the last year. Those same customers have seen up to a 28% increase in revenue per site visitor. 

Here are a few examples of embedded giving success stories:

• 43% conversion rate for embedded donation forms at Feed My Starving Children
• $269 average donation size on embedded donation forms at Kesem
• 37% YoY increase in new recurring donations on Giving Tuesday 2022 alone with an embedded donation form at V Foundation

Embedded Giving Examples to Inspire You

1. Feed More’s Donation Button Pop-Up

Feed More made it easy for anyone visiting their homepage to donate with an embedded form. The form pops up as a smaller window that overlays the page the visitor was previously on when they clicked “Donate” in the main navigation. 

Donors can choose between a one-time or monthly donation, then select their donation amount from the suggested options or enter a custom gift size. The entire process can be completed in less than a minute without ever leaving the page. 

Once complete, donors have the ability to close the pop-up and return to the website to continue engaging. 

The Benefit: 

Feed More eliminates all barriers to giving, regardless of the type of device a donor uses. Their team understands the value of presenting multiple payment methods, recurring gift frequencies, and employee giving opportunities through company match incentives. 

Conversion matters, but Feed More also focuses on retention from the moment someone interacts with their embedded form. They capture contact information to continue sharing their story and build meaningful relationships that bring each individual back to give again. The solid first impression they create makes it easier to continue conversations about future campaigns and community-building.

2. Shriners Hospitals for Children’s Blog Post Appeal

Shriners Hospitals for Children turned things up by adding an embedded donation form to its highly-trafficked blog. Blog visitors can donate in minutes from any post on any device. 

This strategy includes finding the right placement for the embedded donation form to avoid distracting from the blog content, but remain visible to readers as they scroll. With so many people finding blog posts through social media or other mobile-first channels, it’s important that the form is displayed in a size and flow that feels natural on any screen. It includes payment options like Google Pay, Venmo, and PayPal, where many people store login information on their phones, to make the checkout process even easier. 

The Benefit: 

The nature of how blog posts are shared brings more visibility and a sense of togetherness to readers. When coupled with a direct giving option, the potential is limitless. This became evident when one of Shriners Hospitals for Children’s blog posts with an embedded donation form raised $90,000 for their cause. 

Shriners Hospitals for Children also thought about how embedded donation forms could fuel greater levels of recurring giving. They launched a thoughtful recurring giving appeal that invited one-time donors to upgrade their gifts to monthly subscriptions within a single embedded experience. 

Plus,  embedded donation forms are compatible with Google Tag Manager and Classy’s Google Analytics 4 integration, which means Shriners Hospitals for Children can easily track visitor engagement and learn how to grow their strategy for the future with more clarity.

3. Brooklyn Public Library’s In-line Campaign Donation Form

Brooklyn Public Library brought the embedded donation experience into a campaign overview page with an in-line donation form. Visitors can act the moment inspiration strikes as they read about the Booked Unbanned campaign and how it supports the rights of teens nationwide to read what they like, discover themselves, and form their own opinions. 

Immediately following an overview of the campaign’s goals and the reasons behind them, people are invited to make a donation without leaving the page. Each donor then sees a donation confirmation window, summarizing their gift and offering an opportunity to share their charitable contribution with friends and family on social media or other engagement platforms.

The Benefit: 

People who come to the Booked Unbanned campaign page are greeted with a seamless opportunity to make an impact. Brooklyn Public Library also includes suggested donation amounts to remove an element of decision-making for donors and simplify the process even further. This helps supporters see how particular gift sizes match the program’s needs. They even include frequently asked questions within the embedded form to keep people informed and confident about their decision to contribute.

4. Karam’s Embedded Form over a Video 

Karam added a powerful video onto its homepage, demonstrating the organization’s work with young Syrian refugees. Layered on top, donors see an embedded donation form with one-time and monthly gift options.  Visitors are immediately greeted with the simplest way to contribute a monetary donation while simultaneously seeing how the organization’s work is changing lives.

The Benefit: 

In seconds, Karam created an emotional appeal and showcased the simplest way for anyone to get involved. Their team put time and effort into creating a unique brand, and embedded forms help maintain that look and feel. With control of things like colors and logos, Karam created a cohesive visual experience for donors. 

The placement of this embedded donation form invites people into Karam’s story. The humanistic feel of seeing who your gift supports plays a powerful role in building lifetime loyalty. 

While the primary intent of the donation form is to capture gifts, it also gives people a choice to opt into updates from Karam. Together, these simple elements form a connection with donors at any interest level. They meet eager donors with a quick giving experience and offer those who want more information with an entire website to explore, knowing exactly where to go when they’re ready to donate.

Increase Generosity with Embedded Giving

At Classy, we’re committed to innovation that helps you do what you do best. Our embedded donation forms provide a foundation to build on with creativity, visuals, and storytelling in a way that donors respond to in a big way. It’s all part of our focus on offering the best donor experiences so organizations like yours can raise more.

If you’re ready to make an impactful change to your website without the time-consuming and complex development process, our team is ready to help. For existing Classy customers, sign up for an embedded giving workshop to create your form with hands-on coaching. Classy experts are standing by to offer step-by-step support. 

For organizations curious about how Classy’s fundraising platform can help you reach your goals, we encourage you to request a demo of our product suite.

As employees, stakeholders, and customers become more vocal about their desire to see CSR in action, corporations and nonprofits must seek each other out and connect on shared visions and values to outline unique corporate giving opportunities that help everyone win.

We’ll help you understand what CSR programs are and how you can use this growth opportunity to establish meaningful partnerships with top corporations nationwide.

A Quick Overview of Corporate Social Responsibility 

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) isn’t required, but it is a growing expectation for for-profit businesses to create value beyond the bottom line. Instead, CSR intends to introduce achievable and long-term outcomes to nonprofit and for-profit organizations that make the world a better place. 

Companies may create special CSR projects, start a movement, connect to an existing cause and organization, or choose to empower employees to take action on any cause that matters most to them.

Examples of Corporate Social Responsibility

There are several types of CSR that business leaders can prioritize. Areas of focus center on the industry, stakeholders, and market where an organization can gain a competitive advantage with customers. The following key areas are where many businesses develop CSR strategies:

• Environmental responsibility: The belief is that organizations should opt for the most environmentally friendly behavior possible, from sustainability and reducing potentially harmful practices (like pollution or carbon footprint) to regulating emissions and energy consumption. This can also mean offsetting negative environmental impact by funding research, donating to environmental nonprofits, and getting involved with environmental actions, such as planting trees or cleaning local parks.
• Ethical responsibility: The expectations of business practices are fair and ethical in treating stakeholders, leaders, investors, employees, supply chains, and customers. Ethical behavior may also mean creating standards for products, ingredients, materials, or components and sourcing according to fair-trade regulations.
• Philanthropic responsibility:  The sentiment businesses take to play an active role in making the world a better place through donations, volunteerism, and long-term partnerships with nonprofits that align on missions. Organizations can donate a portion of earnings, match employee-giving amounts, get involved in campaigns, and sponsor fundraising events.

The Growth of Corporate Social Responsibility in the United States

Increasingly, it’s becoming crucial for businesses to establish and showcase CSR efforts to various stakeholders to gain their trust and respect. Modern consumers are far more conscious of topics such as climate change, health care disparities, and social inequalities, which translates into higher expectations of the businesses they work for and shop from to echo that education and understanding. 

We see the same patterns of topics reflected when we looked at the top current events that drove donors to give in 2022: international human rights crises, climate change, reproductive rights and women’s health, and disability rights. These expectations continue to fuel more extensive, creative, and permanent CSR initiatives. This gets at the heart of social impact: informing business strategies that gain loyalty from the new generations of customers and employees that determine success. 

A recent study found that 76% of companies report on CSR to reduce brand reputation risk, and 83% of employees would consider leaving their jobs if the company displayed irresponsible CSR practices.¹

Why Corporate Social Responsibility Is Good for Nonprofits

One of the easiest ways for companies to maintain a strong CSR program is to build relationships with trusted nonprofits. These charitable organizations already have fundraising initiatives, events, campaigns, and donation processes that support greater communities in need. 

Corporate leaders want to make the right decision before signing a formal partnership agreement, just like nonprofits need to be cautious about potential partners for the sake of reputation. To help expedite the process and get your organization on the radar, consider proactively pitching a corporate partnership to add value to your team and theirs once you’ve identified them as a strong match.

Corporate partnerships serve as a long-term solution for CSR growth and an expansion strategy for your nonprofit’s mission. Everyone wins when you present a mutually beneficial relationship to a for-profit business you feel good about partnering with on shared goals. 

Let’s explore how you can impress a room of executives with a well-thought-out pitch.

How to Pitch Partnerships to Businesses

1. Find the Right Organizations

Start by narrowing down a handful of organizations to pitch your nonprofit to, knowing you may want to work with a few. While revenue and brand names feel like the most important determinants of your decision, look beyond the surface and into the heart of an organization to find the best fit. You can also choose organizations that employ and serve demographics that match your ideal donor base, knowing the exposure and awareness opportunities that lie ahead.

Then, explore social media channels, websites, and press coverage to learn about an organization’s personality. One example of company research that can help you understand how to frame your pitch is looking for a dedicated environmental, social, and governance (ESG) page like this one from Starbucks. When you know what matters to a business, you can find common ground for building a relationship.

Pitching a socially responsible company with a long-term commitment means looking at how well the organization will grow with your nonprofit and honoring the aspects that make you unique. If you pitch multiple organizations, personalize your message to showcase the thoughtfulness that went into selecting them for a meaningful first impression.

2. Present Multiple Options

The best way to engage corporate partners is to be ready with various ways to get involved in your organization. Here are a few options to include in your pitch based on your priorities, the campaigns that lead to the best results for your organization, and the CSR program they currently have: 

• Direct giving: Present a customized crowdfunding campaign that helps a business tell your story and celebrates donors’ positive impact in real-time, with co-branding that elevates them and their reputation.
• Gift matching: Show leaders how simple it is to establish employee gift matching and its benefit for employee engagement to retain those who want to feel their organization’s support. When you have an accessible way to establish donation matching and easily track performance across the organizations you pitch, you can present a competitive edge.
• Event sponsorship: Create tailored sponsorship packages to attract businesses with the reputation benefits of attaching their brand to your larger efforts or hosting a unique event created just for them. It could be helpful to include a branding mock-up across your event materials to emphasize how simple this option can be for them to incorporate.
• Peer-to-peer fundraising:  Show off a way to involve the whole team. This is another great way to mock up a co-branded peer-to-peer fundraising campaign to show businesses how simple it is to share across staff. You can make it fun by setting a company-wide goal and having teams or groups compete to raise the most, tapping into their friends and family for the greatest support.

When your partnership opportunities align with CSR strategies the organization has expressed interest in, leaders can start to envision the value of a partnership more clearly. 

3. Create a Repeatable Strategy

Businesses are all about long-term thinking, which means showcasing the longevity of a nonprofit partnership is essential. One way to do this is to emphasize how easy it is to spin up new campaigns unique to the business and its branding.

Campaign templates for crowdfunding and peer-to-peer campaigns are a great asset for the organization to establish an annual fundraising effort. It’s also an excellent tool to help run seasonal campaigns, such as a spring event. Businesses will appreciate that you help them showcase a more consistent philanthropic influence without additional effort. 

You can also edit permissions within a campaign template on Classy and lock elements you don’t want to change. That helps you offer autonomy to the marketing, public relations, or human resources teams that may lead your partnership efforts on the business side. Pair that with the reporting and metrics available on each campaign, and you have a solid formula for a long-term partnership built to scale with CSR program demands.

4. Encourage Employee Engagement

As you solidify your pitch, reiterate the value of employee engagement with opportunities to get people involved. Remember, modern younger employees want to do more than donate passively to a good cause. They want to be intimately involved in the cause and understand how their contribution influences the bigger picture. 

This is a beautiful place to highlight volunteerism, employee fundraising, and donation matching as key components of the organization’s talent attraction and retention strategies. Help businesses envision how to display your partnership on career sites, in job descriptions, and within employee onboarding materials. 

Not only does this appeal to an important topic for many businesses, as employee turnover remains a risk, but it also solidifies the partnership and loyalty of an entirely new donor base for your organization that can stay with you even if they move jobs in the future.

Present Your Strongest Corporate Partnership Pitch

Your corporate partnership pitch can meet the moment of heightened CSR efforts. With a repeatable, mutually beneficial process for driving direct donations, storytelling, and employee engagement, your nonprofit is in a prime position to land trusted corporate partners. 

Classy’s comprehensive fundraising platform makes corporate partnerships easier by: 

• Customizing co-branded crowdfunding campaigns that tell your story and celebrate donor impact to encourage giving
• Tailoring sponsorship packages for organizations to include their branding on your event page, virtual venue, and event swag or auction items
• Empowering employees to fundraise on your behalf with peer-to-peer fundraising and corporate gift matching to make their gifts go further

We help you remove the barriers and elevate your cause with an audience of supporters ready to form fruitful, long-term relationships. 

Learn more about the thousands of nonprofits that choose Classy to power corporate partnerships and the tools available to bring your vision to life.

Copy Editor: Ayanna Julien

Article Source

1. “Essential Corporate Social Responsibility Statistics in 2023,” ZipDo, accessed September 5, 2023, https://zipdo.co/statistics/corporate-social-responsibility/.

Partnerships with over 60 food banks, including Feeding America, help us continue learning about top priorities, roadblocks, and new ideas. This informs us on how to shape our technology to support these nonprofits’ ambitious goals best. 

Most recently, Classy joined RKD Group, Capital Area Food Bank, and Food Bank for New York City for a timely conversation with over 40 organizations. Our representatives, ranging from vice presidents of fundraising initiatives and executive directors to senior vice presidents of marketing, discussed what defines successful donor engagement, connections, and stewardship in the modern social landscape. We used the time to explore ways modern organizations evolve to meet growing demands. Below, you’ll hear the most significant takeaways from hunger-relief nonprofits to bring back to your organization. 

The Top Takeaways From Our Food Bank Roundtable

1. There’s Potential Ahead in Acquiring Next-Gen Donors

Alongside the common priority of finding new ways to reach supporters who could make a long-lasting impact on food banks, the newest generation of donors was a hot topic. The impending great wealth transfer will affect Gen Z and Millennial donors in the next two decades, making now the most opportune time to build strong relationships.¹

Younger generations must decide which nonprofits resonate most deeply with their passions. That includes choosing whether they’ll seek new causes or remain loyal to those they know. These are also the individuals with more digital acuity across various channels than other generations. From the wide array of social media platforms that now include the latest Threads app to online media outlets they engage with daily, online engagement is ubiquitous in their lives. 

Our roundtable of attendees discussed the delicate balance between being on the right channels and standing out on those channels to make a meaningful first impression. It’s critical to craft appealing copy that speaks to the tangible impact of each donation to capture a person’s attention and inspire action. Tapping into the personal side of video content and tailoring messages to local communities can do a lot to attract the right people to your food bank.

Converting Curiosity Into a Donation

With multiple touchpoints at a food bank’s disposal to create a memorable first impression, it’s vital to understand how each plays a key role in the greater donor experience. 

The introduction should detail who a food bank serves and help potential donors begin to envision the value they can make with a single gift. From there, the donation page is where organizations guide decisions around how much someone can give to make the biggest impact in that moment. Aspects like suggested gift amounts and impact blocks that tie outcomes to monetary value offer this clarity.

Once food banks establish the initial connection with younger donors, elements like a mobile-friendly design, modern payment options, and a simple flow on the donation site tie a nice bow on the overall first impression. When you attract donors from modern channels like social apps, the donation process should feel consistent to the experience they received on the previous channel for the best chance at seeing a gift come to completion.

2. The Power of Thoughtful Engagement Fuels Loyalty

On the topic of helping donors see the value of their gift, our roundtable talked about how to continue that sentiment as part of a donor retention strategy. To ensure every engagement point is memorable, it’s critical to reiterate the impact of someone’s investment in your organization as a reminder of their value to your mission. 

Shining a Spotlight on Increased Need 

As hunger-stricken populations expand, there’s an even greater need for ongoing support. We heard a few ways organizations directly aligned aspects like food, number of families, and total individuals fed with specific dollar amounts to create more detailed repeat donation appeals. When people see an opportunity to help five families eat dinner next week, instead of prompting a vague dollar amount, it’s more likely their bond strengthens and their giving patterns become more reliable.

We loved hearing from David Jones, the Vice President for Fundraising Operations from Food Bank for New York City, about some ways his nonprofit calls on supporters for increased generosity after their initial gift. One that stood out was adding real-life examples of rising food costs in direct mail solicitations to emphasize community needs across the five boroughs. Retention appeals can also help you showcase the beneficiaries whose lives change with every donation decision and offer an easy way for donors to stretch their support through a monthly donation that fuels ongoing demand.

3. Unprecedented Financial Times Call for Courageous Asks

Over the past few years, the growth in support for food banks led to conversations about maintaining increased generosity in uncertain economic times. Inflation continues to impact the price of food, heightening the demand for food banks and associated programs. It also means gift amounts received one year ago cannot produce as much supply or impact this year. 

The room agreed that it’s more important than ever to be confident and courageous in asking for more from donors who can contribute to match the growing need. It’s also an opportune time to test new things and share new ideas at your food bank that respond to the current state of the economy. 

You’re not alone if asking people to increase their generosity feels a bit nerve-racking when you don’t know exactly how the economy impacts each donor. Our food bank participants talked about the ease they felt when pairing those appeals with a strong reason why donations matter at that time.

Be Willing to Test

Part of growing a relationship with donors is establishing nonprofit transparency about where the organization is and what it needs to make the most significant impact. Food banks can start with something as simple yet effective as offering donors the option to cover transaction fees. For example, Mary Beth Healy, the Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer from Capital Area Food Bank shared that her organization increased the fees that donors can cover to 13%, the percent increase in the food bank’s food budget. Being willing to test small elements with your donors can unlock new avenues to raise more that you might never have thought of while requiring far less effort than an entirely reimagined fundraising strategy.

Specificity Matters

Appealing to donors to give more means being highly specific about the gift amount that will make an impact. It’s worth adding an array of dollar amounts that are higher than usual on donation pages or specific campaigns to see what can come from it. Many food bank leaders shared the benefit they saw from increasing their individual fundraising page goals on peer-to-peer campaigns and saw their average donation total rise significantly. 

As we head into Giving Tuesday 2023 and the year-end giving season, it’s a good time to strip away any preconceived limits to your fundraising goals to fuel your essential programs. One way food banks actively practice those more courageous appeals is by bringing fund drives back for monetary gifts through a donation page, crowdfunding, or other dedicated campaign. While put on halt during the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations are reintegrating virtual fundraising into strategies to invite increased giving online. Fund drives also allow organizations to be more agile to achieve larger goals.

4. Trust and Transparency Are Everything

Millennials and particularly Gen Z are more inclined to give to organizations they trust. Still, we talked about how that trust is declining. To combat this, it’s critical to share the correct information with donors to bring clarity about how money translates to impact.

The group agreed that transparency and competence are the key drivers of trust. Every email, text, and phone reply is a chance to show a donor that your organization cares, understands them and their giving history, and provides them with the answers to any curiosities they may have to establish that trust.

Stand Apart By Knowing What Matters to Donors

People come across 10,000 ads on average daily. Those ads include nonprofits’ fundraising appeals. Part of standing out in a sea of other messages is establishing a unique bond with individuals. That doesn’t necessarily mean trying to be their best friend but rather showing up as an investor in your mutual goal of hunger relief. It also may involve communicating when you’re wrong or practicing transparency when you need urgent support. Breaking out of the highlight reel and sharing the vulnerability of being an organization in this specific cause sector means a lot to people.

Moving Food Banks Forward through Modern Fundraising

Food banks take on incredibly impactful work that changes many lives. As fundraising evolves in response to a shifting economy, generational giving patterns, and more ways to give than ever before, Classy will be here to support you. 

Our mission to mobilize and empower the world for good starts with each of your missions to advance change through food access. By learning firsthand about what will make a difference for modern food banks, we can continue innovating our fundraising platform to help you deliver a seamless giving experience that leads to greater lifetime value.

Copy Editor: Ayanna Julien

Article Source

1. “The Great Wealth Transfer From Baby Boomers to Millennials Will Impact the Job Market and Economy,” Forbes, accessed August 30, 2023, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2023/08/09/the-great-wealth-transfer-from-baby-boomers-to-millennials-will-impact-the-job-market-and-economy.

The momentum behind the Giving Tuesday movement continues to build as nonprofits around the globe bring in more donations year after year.

In 2022, millions worldwide donated a staggering $3.1 billion—a 15% year-over-year increase—despite economic uncertainty.¹ On the Classy giving platform alone, donors helped achieve:

• $44,168,979 raised
• 277,353 donations made
• 4,163 new recurring donations processed

This year we’re back again to help you crush your fundraising goals with the proper preparation, direction, and creativity. Get ready to engage your supporters, inspire your community to take action, and maximize the impact of Giving Tuesday with these six fundraising ideas.

6 New and Creative Giving Tuesday Fundraising Ideas

Classy’s Why America Gives report found that 71% of donors are most likely to hear about new causes and issues to support through word of mouth from friends or family. That’s why these new ideas will center around the theme of community-building to organically engage, retain, and excite donors well into the new year.

1. Build Community Through Social Media

Many of today’s donors are leaning on their inner circles to learn about new causes to give to. This presents an opportunity for social nonprofit fundraising.

Nonprofits can communicate powerful messages about their Giving Tuesday goals through a social media campaign. Take this simple approach to make a more significant impact on a day when donors are eager to get involved.

If you don’t know where to start, we’ve got you covered with fresh ideas for your Giving Tuesday social media posts.

Creative Social Media Ideas to Consider for Giving Tuesday

Build exclusivity: Treat all Giving Tuesday donors as “members” of this year’s Giving Tuesday fundraising initiative. Incentivize anyone who donates with special apparel, perks, or fundraising event access. Incentives keep donors excited while simultaneously fueling organic social sharing. You can think of this in the same way a unique coffee cup on one person’s Instagram story can lead to four other people heading to the coffee shop where they got it.

Make it easy to share: Offer supporters templates for nonprofit Instagram stories, Facebook captions, and TikTok videos to share on their social channels. Include some key talking points to help elevate donors’ captions about why donations are critical to the success of this campaign. Reshare content in real-time for maximum effect on Giving Tuesday by providing a unique hashtag to donors.

Track and reward sharing: Another great opportunity to inspire generosity among potential donors is to offer incentives to people who refer their friends and family to donate, just like many popular brands do today to grow their networks. Provide your supporters with unique links that you can track to keep tabs on the success of this referral system. With Classy, you can make use of marketing source codes to create custom links for individuals. In these links, you can create source code values like:

Source 1 = Instagram; Source 2 = Giving-Tuesday-Community-Outreach

Send your supporters their custom links, then remind them to include it in every outreach attempt. Make it easy by equipping them with digital assets to promote your social media campaign to their own personal networks.

2. Ignite the Power of a Peer-to-Peer Campaign

Your Giving Tuesday campaign is a platform to share your story in a compelling way and build connections that extend beyond that single instance. One of our favorite Giving Tuesday campaign ideas goes beyond social sharing. Go one step further and take donors to a campaign page that allows them to put their unique spin on your fundraising efforts to bring in more donors.

As shown in Classy’s State of Modern Philanthropy 2021 report, the average peer-to-peer fundraising campaign raises $22,026 and pulls in about 18 donors per individual or team fundraising page within the campaign.

When someone fundraises on your nonprofit’s behalf, their family and friends are more likely to donate on Giving Tuesday, even if they have no former knowledge of your nonprofit organization. Launching a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign is a prime opportunity for your nonprofit to boost fundraising totals this year and beyond.

Creative peer-to-peer Giving Tuesday fundraising ideas

Make it DIY: Build a peer-to-peer campaign that features your overall fundraising goal and offers donors the freedom to fundraise throughout the giving season in a way that resonates with them. DIY fundraising lets donors get creative with ideas of their own. Maybe someone would prefer to set up a fundraising page to replace holiday gifts or would like to highlight their loved one’s story on a dedicated page.

Lean into workplace employee giving: Consider a peer-to-peer campaign that starts at a company level and extends out to new networks as teams compete to raise the most. Giving Tuesday can be a great opportunity to help employees meet community impact goals and satisfy their personal goals to give back alongside coworkers. Each team member has the potential to connect your cause to new donors, making a considerable impact heading into the year-end giving season.

3. Celebrate Milestones in Memorable Ways

As you hit different campaign milestones on Giving Tuesday, get your community involved in celebrating. Take the opportunity to engage supporters online all day with the personal touches they appreciate, especially if your fundraising effort has been virtual this year.

Creative Milestone Celebrations for Giving Tuesday

Share stories: For notable fundraising milestones, ask various team members to record videos telling their personal stories about what your cause means to them. You can update your Giving Tuesday landing page with videos alongside a real-time fundraising thermometer to showcase progress. This powerful testimonial will incentivize supporters to come back regularly throughout the day or share a preview on social media to entice new traffic to your donation site.

Leverage partnerships: You might also consider leveraging corporate partnerships or sponsorships with local businesses or celebrities. For example, a local member of your community could award a gift certificate to the largest donation at that point when you reach 25 percent of your fundraising goal, and then again at 50 and 75 percent. This can help generate excitement throughout the day and get people to donate larger amounts hoping that their generosity will earn them a nice incentive.

Create a challenge: Imagine getting a different team or nonprofit board member to temporarily dye their hair a color representing your cause each time you raise $1,000. You could livestream this on social media as an incentive to continue donating all day. You can also extend this challenge to your audience through a peer-to-peer campaign and have them submit videos as they complete challenges of their own. This can be a great follow-up that you share with your entire community once Giving Tuesday is over.

4. Livestream Your Campaign

Livestreaming was highly popular before the COVID-19 pandemic and has now become an even more powerful tool for nonprofits who want to connect with their audiences worldwide. The video streaming market is projected to hit $184.3 billion by 2027, so get ahead by locking down your strategy.²

The tactic of livestream fundraising has been used to broadcast live fundraiser galas and endurance events. As a result of the popular demand, many livestreaming platforms have added features that allow viewers to donate directly to nonprofits while watching live content.

Your nonprofit can incorporate a livestream component to your Giving Tuesday campaign that elevates your brand, attracts new demographics, and drives higher online fundraising revenue. Anything you do to encourage viewer participation can go a long way when driving donations. It’s also a solid strategy for building genuine relationships with your viewers.

Creative Livestream Ideas for Giving Tuesday

Broadcast your campaign: Plan to host a full-day or partial-day broadcast on Giving Tuesday that’s filled with live entertainment, fundraising milestone celebrations, and messages from your staff or board members. Ask donors questions that they can answer in real-time, give shoutouts to donors as they complete donations, and talk with them like you would your friends. You can use a virtual fundraising event campaign tied to a designated donation page to track your attendees’ behavior and target year-end appeals from the excitement your event introduces.

Pre-record a Giving Tuesday Livestream: If a live broadcast is overwhelming or too time-consuming, you can still use livestream functionality on Giving Tuesday. Pre-record an entire day’s worth of content and livestream it later to make it feel like it’s happening in real time. You can also do a mixture of pre-recorded videos with actual livestream broadcasts to help ease the workload.

Classy allows your nonprofit to embed YouTube and Twitch livestream broadcasts directly into your campaign page.

5. Unveil a Matching Gift

Giving Tuesday is a great time to unveil a matching gift period to your supporters to drive donations, especially if you’re noticing a mid-campaign lull. It’s essential that you start hunting for this matching gift partner early in your planning phases since it can take a while to solidify the agreement’s details.

Once you have it set in stone, let the public know leading up to Giving Tuesday or as a delightful day of surprise. Either way, make sure you clearly communicate the details, like how much your partner is matching and how long the matching period will last. Sharing these details early on will only help maximize revenue from employee matching gift programs.

Be sure to spread the news far and wide across your social media channels and in your email messages to ensure maximum audience participation. Further, you can have your partner ask their staff to participate in the match to drive even more donations.

Creative Gift Match Ideas for Giving Tuesday

Promote your match in advance: Capture the interest of donors who are on the fence about donating on Giving Tuesday by making it clear that their gifts will go further. Share the tangible impact their donation will make on your cause. As you prepare to launch a Giving Tuesday matching gift campaign, be sure to communicate early on through emails, on social media through countdown stories, or in any other creative ways that make sense for your donor base.

Create a time-bound match: Plan to release a surprise match for a specific time frame on Giving Tuesday where you’ve historically seen donations drop. Suppose you can add an early bird match in the morning or announce a new match in the evening. In that case, you may be able to revive your donor base and generate fresh excitement.

6. Leverage Giving Tuesday Year-Round

Seasoned fundraisers know that Giving Tuesday campaigns don’t end in December. Campaign follow-up is the most critical element to setting up long-term success for your nonprofit organization.

Don’t forget to launch a formal follow-up campaign in the weeks following Giving Tuesday. This additional touchpoint lets you interact on a more meaningful level with each donor and allows them to learn more about what’s ahead for the coming year.

Creative Ideas to Retain Giving Tuesday Donors

Promote recurring giving: The value over time of each recurring donation leads to sustainable revenue you can count on and offers a way to reach new donors through creative incentives and regular outreach. Consider tailoring your Giving Tuesday goals around recurring membership instead of one-time gifts, or pair this call to action with your social media referral approach to get existing donors to tap into their networks. Provide them with branded messaging so that each interaction within their network is impactful and motivates more recurring donors to sign up on Giving Tuesday.

Share a preview of your largest annual events: What if you greeted each Giving Tuesday donor with an exclusive early access invitation to your annual events? Build your event registration pages in advance to capture attendees months early, and ensure you have a touchpoint to steward them with. If you can’t set up your registration before, create an interest form to grab their information and tease out details about your event in the months leading up to it.

Make It a Giving Tuesday to Remember

As you consider these creative fundraising ideas or any others that come to mind, remember that Giving Tuesday is so much more than just one day. It’s an opportunity for your nonprofit to capitalize on the fervor of one of the social sector’s biggest fundraising opportunities of the year. Capture new audiences, delight returning donors, and steward your supporters for future efforts to come.

Be sure to visit our Giving Tuesday Resource Center below for free downloadable resources, creative campaign examples, and so much more.

Sources:

1. “Millions Worldwide Celebrate GivingTuesday 2022 with Acts of Generosity & Giving,” GivingTuesday, November 30, 2022, https://www.givingtuesday.org/blog/millions-worldwide-celebrate-givingtuesday-2022-with-acts-of-generosity-giving/.
2. “Video Streaming Market Size Worth $416.84 Billion By 2030,” Grand View Research, 2023, www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-video-streaming-market.

A/B testing is a reliable strategy for nonprofits but requires time and resources to do it right. We’re here to lay out exactly what goes into the A/B testing process to help your team prepare and budget accordingly. 

The Impact of A/B Testing Your Donation Experience

A common practice to inform the user experience, A/B testing identifies areas for improvement. At Classy, we run these tests often to inform our product innovation and help our nonprofit community optimize donation experiences.

When might a nonprofit complete an A/B test?

Nonprofit organizations may conduct an A/B test to:

• Identify optimization opportunities on donation websites or forms (like colors, buttons, fonts, branding, form fields, etc.).
• Evaluate the conversion rate of embedded versus standard donation forms. 
• Understand donors’ demographics and behaviors better.
• Increase specific campaign goals (like recurring giving revenue).
• Reduce friction in the checkout process (like removing particular contact information requirements).
• Evaluate campaign copy and creative elements to discover which resonates with donors the most.

Other Testing Methods

Sometimes, an A/B test isn’t the best fit, especially when you want to control variables like seasonality. A great example of this is one of the tests we ran at Classy on our embedded donation forms. 

An embedded donation form is a streamlined experience typically deployed as a primary website donation option. Visitors can access the form through a “Donate” call to action (CTA) in the nonprofit’s site header or the primary CTA in the body of the nonprofit’s site. 

Recently, we tested this use case to determine how traffic from more than 500 organizations’ websites fluctuates over nine months when using an embedded form compared to a standard donation form. We examined more than 500,000 unique sessions and compared the conversion performance to a standard donation from the same period in the prior year. 

Here’s a peek at the findings:

• The median conversion lift was three points with embedded donation experiences, which increased to 4.3 points on mobile.
• The revenue per visitor was 29% higher on embedded donation experiences. 

Our industry-wide and organization-specific research helps nonprofits make informed decisions about donation experiences. Then, when it’s appropriate to A/B test, we do plenty of that as well to offer insights into what resonates with donors in the space today. 

7 Things to Know Before You A/B Test Your Campaign

A/B testing can feel like a daunting process with several nuances. That’s why we outlined a few steps to guide your decisions and map out the best path forward.

1. Get Clarity Around Numbers to Set Yourself Up for Success

A clearly defined goal and hypothesis for the test you want to perform is where you want to start. There are several different metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) that an A/B test can support. 

Determine your main priority, whether increasing conversion rate, total revenue, revenue per visitor, or any other specific metric that will increase revenue for your nonprofit organization. At Classy, we monitor all these KPIs and more. We often focus on increasing the revenue that each visitor brings into a donation form, which is a holistic metric that considers the conversion rate and donation size. 

Once you have clarity around your goals and the measurement of success, identify your statistical significance level of comfortability to base your decisions. 

Just remember that testing can have challenges, and you may need to test a few times to ensure you can rely on the results. Our team recommends achieving 95% statistical significance before taking the next steps to ensure the results are as accurate and representative as possible.

2. Test Specific Variables First

The variables you test matter, and you want to focus on avoiding testing too many variables simultaneously. For example, if you test the design of a donation experience, adding new fonts and spacing can distort your results and make it harder to know what genuinely drives the increase or decrease in performance.

The only thing that should change between the experiences you test is the test variable. That means keeping things like the logo, title, copy, font, and spacing the same if you want to see the impact of only changing the design. On that note, you want to prevent other A/B tests from running on your website that could interfere with your test results.

3. Consider the Sample Size

The sample size of your audience needs to be large enough to reach statistical significance to achieve reliable results. After all, a test of 15 people doesn’t represent a potential donor base of thousands. A more extensive group representing various thought patterns and scenarios will decrease the probability of randomness and increase your chances of accuracy. 

Additionally, the more sessions a site receives, the faster the A/B test can achieve statistically significant results and reliable insights. That means aiming for as much representation as possible from your testing audience in any scenario. It may take some time, but the bigger, the better.

A general rule is: for a highly reliable test, you need a minimum of 30,000 visitors and 3,000 conversions per variant. If you follow this guideline, you’ll generally achieve enough traffic and conversions to derive statistically significant results at a high level of confidence.¹

4. Produce More Accurate Results With Real-World Conditions

A/B tests should recreate your nonprofit website’s typical traffic patterns and conditions. Think about how much traffic your nonprofit website typically gets over a week and use that number to determine how long you’ll need to run a test to reach statistical significance. 

A minimum of two weeks is a general baseline to account for natural fluctuations. If you don’t see increased traffic daily, the test may need more time to ensure you capture everything accurately. 

5. Invest in a Trusted Testing Program

Several programs can assist with A/B testing. The most popular tool, Google Optimize, is free but will sunset on September 30, 2023. In its place, nonprofits can consider a paid subscription to another tool like Optimizely or Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF. 

These tools offer comprehensive functionality to assist you in launching, monitoring, and analyzing your test. However, it’s imperative to note that a number of resources, rigorous monitoring, and in-depth analyses are typically necessary to harness the potential of A/B testing tools fully. 

Classy makes it easy to duplicate a current donation website and make small tweaks without any back-end coding work. You can then A/B test each campaign URL against the other in your testing platform. We recommend doing a 50/50 split of traffic.

6. Test for Long-Term Data Trends to Capture the Full Picture

Your A/B test can provide insights into a specific change at a particular time. That means you may have to run a series of tests to see trends over time as you begin to think about the bigger picture of your data.

Classy’s product roadmap and path of innovation center on insights from several donation experiences throughout various seasons. We conduct our A/B testing this way for nonprofits to get the full picture and confidently use our findings to inform decision-making.

7. Consider How Each Test Will Impact Your Bottom Line

By now, you understand how much goes into a single A/B test. Naturally, you want to see a return on your cost and time investment, so consider the impact these experiments could have on your bottom line. 

Investing in a fundraising platform that conducts behind-the-scenes testing to ensure it offers the best tools and campaign experiences in the industry could save your staff (and finance team) from extra work or hardship. At Classy, we know these insights are valuable, so we take care of them for you.

When we tested embedded donation forms against standard donation forms on Classy, we saw nonprofits convert donors at a rate of 2x the industry standard. This is one example of the insights that drive our platform and inform the recommendations and coaching advice Classy customers can benefit from as they shape their fundraising strategies. 

When we saw the impact of embedded donation forms through our testing, the conversion results inspired many nonprofits to sign up to experience the impact. 

For example:

• Many Hopes saw a 56% improvement in donations year over year. 
• V Foundation increased conversion by 13 points.
• Feeding San Diego saw a 44% conversion rate.

Find a Fundraising Platform You Can Trust

An A/B test is a valuable tool for your nonprofit to make confident decisions. However, it’s also a costly and time-consuming process that can cause extra work or hardship when doing it alone. That’s where Classy comes in. 

At Classy, we’re committed to testing our products before and after they’re available to customers to ensure each product meets the demands of the sector in the most efficient and effective ways. Additionally, we aim to provide every nonprofit using Classy with the confidence to know every product in our fundraising suite undergoes rigorous testing to the fullest extent, then modified around the results to satisfy donor and nonprofit expectations.

We look forward to continuing to experiment with A/B testing across our platform as we gain more insight into what today’s donors resonate with and what drives them to take action in support of incredible missions like yours.

Copy Editor: Ayanna Julien

Article Source

1. “How to Correctly Calculate Sample Size in A/B Testing,” Guess the Test, last modified December 2021, https://guessthetest.com/calculating-sample-size-in-a-b-testing-everything-you-need-to-know.

TikTok is where information travels fast and effectively. So it’s OK to feel slight intimidation and content creation fatigue from the video-heavy social platform adding more capabilities for text and image posts. We’re here to help you turn that hesitation into confidence in a steady presence proven to engage donors worldwide.

Let’s hit the play button on TikTok for nonprofits, the 2023 edition.

High-Touch Engagement for Modern Fundraising

A rich community of active supporters who donate, participate, and share to support your mission—that’s the ultimate goal. The evolving digital landscape adds new layers of complexity, with more social platforms that shape donor expectations for engagement that didn’t exist decades ago. Modern engagement is about connecting with donors on the channels they spend their time with frequent touchpoints that feel personal.

Authenticity Shines on TikTok

How a nonprofit uses technology and creates a social media presence is crucial to its strategic operations and fundraising potential. Email and paid marketing channels will always have a place, but social media is where that authentic and real-time engagement can thrive. Because TikTok is primarily about less-curated content, you can show up as you are, stay true to your values as an organization, and be accessible to more people.

Our latest report, The State of Modern Philanthropy, explored the state of social media fundraising and, more importantly, the opportunities forward-thinking nonprofits can take advantage of to build relationships.

Let’s take a look at the impact TikTok has:

• 8.8% of TikTokers convert, but many nonprofits aren’t taking advantage of the traffic TikTok captures on a daily basis
• 45% of TikTokers feel more connected to brands that teach them something new or offer information about themselves 
• Millennial TikTokers are 2.3x more likely to create a post and tag a brand than other platform users 
• 76% of TikTokers agree brands that post or reply to comments on TikTok feel like part of the community

Our report showed a low percentage of total traffic to Classy campaigns from TikTok, showcasing the opportunity gap for nonprofits. That tells us nonprofits are slow adopters of the platform due to potential unfamiliarity with TikTok’s best practices or a lack of resources to dedicate to building their TikTok presence. We know when organizations connect with donors through authentic storytelling, they can activate support in widespread, meaningful ways. TikTok’s storytelling capabilities can help you reach your activation goals more efficiently, from driving people to a donation site to establishing long-term relationships with each interaction.

TikTok and Generation Z

If you’ve considered how to engage Gen Z, TikTok is the social platform to focus on. Gen Z’s diversity and values around charity and community involvement show up as giving potential, and we only expect that to increase. 

Here’s a glimpse at the trends in Gen Z social giving behaviors from The Nonprofit’s Guide to Engaging Gen Z:

• 79% of Gen Z donors find out about new causes through social media
• 18% of Gen Z donors check out an organization’s social platforms before they donate
• 14% of Gen Z donors prefer to receive updates from charitable organizations on social media

While older generations are still adjusting to the idea of social media communities, Gen Z grew up with this as the norm. Similarly to how they may watch someone they admire complete their morning routine to get product recommendations, they observe who their friends and networks are supporting through donations and volunteer time to make their donation decisions. Once they’ve been activated, they’re the most likely demographic to share their experience in a 30-second video and potentially inspire their extended circles to do the same. 

Outside of Gen Z, you’re sure to reach millions of millennials, Gen X, and even baby boomers on TikTok as well. Over time, as the adoption of the social media platform increases, people will increasingly rely on TikTok as a learning and engagement platform. In fact, TikTok is becoming the search engine for younger generations.² Understanding how your organization can benefit from the search and discoverability potential of the platform, now is the time to take action. 

Turn Common TikTok Hesitations Into Confidence

TikTok may feel foreign if you’re not a regular user, especially when you encounter a TikTok video in the making or catch a headline about a new trend influencing people in a big way. What’s crucial to remember is that there’s so much good TikTok can offer because of its ability to spread information to the masses quickly. This makes it great for sharing the incredible work you do to better the lives of anyone who engages with your organization.

Let’s explore the common hesitations around TikTok to help you feel good about going all in without giving up the values that matter to your nonprofit.

1. TikTok Is Different From Other Social Platforms

TikTok entered the scene and shook up the world. It has a different approach to calculating its algorithm and elevating content than other platforms we know and love. TikTok videos also have fewer barriers and competition, giving them a higher chance of being seen. 

We see everyday people go viral on TikTok, so what makes your organization any different? While crossing the million-views mark on your next video may be a lofty goal to start with, your nonprofit can gain incredible exposure from moments of engagement on the platform if you put the time into defining a strategy. Plus, followers matter far less on TikTok, so it’s less about building a massive following and more about trusting the algorithm will feed your content to people interacting with similar content. 

Get in front of passionate individuals who may be ready to take action. This is not to say stop engaging on other social media platforms but don’t let TikTok’s unique nature scare you from testing the waters.

2. Video-First Content Feels Challenging to Create

We get it: videos take more work. The good news is that you don’t have to reinvent your process to get your nonprofit on TikTok. One dedicated day of filming content to use within the many helpful video editing apps can result in a month’s worth of posts. Plus, user-generated content performs extremely well online, so tapping on your community is another workaround.  

Each video you share on TikTok may reach entirely different audiences or show up in someone’s feed at different times. Your TikTok followers will care far less about you wearing the same outfit or sitting in the same room in your videos than the message you share. When you take the pressure off the quality visuals to tap into the relevance of your mission to your donor base, you’ll find organic moments to create or re-share content without ample budgetary requirements. And if video isn’t your thing, check out TikTok’s new text posts to help round out your posting plans.

3. There Are a Lot of Trends to Keep Up With

TikTok trends pop up constantly, so instead of trying to get involved with every single one, focus on your unique voice and how you can leverage that to stand out on the platform. Your nonprofit mission will remain constant as trends come and go. And with more and more people turning to TikTok to speak openly about challenges they face, from mental health to financial strains, this makes it a place where storytelling emerges. 

It’s also easier to engage with new trends when they’re relevant to your work or stories. Ultimately, you know the “why” behind your organization’s founding, the reason your programs exist, the experiences that draw in new supporters, and the stories of beneficiaries. That type of conversation will always have its place on TikTok, so don’t feel you need to squeeze yourself into a particular box to engage donors.

4. It’s New to the Fundraising World

TikTok is newer, but nonprofits see excellent results when embracing the platform for fundraising. And while it’s rare to see a TikTok account with multiple viral posts, it only takes one to pick up the momentum that brings thousands to millions of individuals to your page. Remember, the goal of your TikTok presence is to build relationships, whether through many followers and likes or visibility on your profile that leads people to donate. 

Here are a few nonprofits that showcase the potential of TikTok for fundraising:

NAMI | 51.3K followers | 1281.K likes

Kansas City Pet Project |  1.3M followers | 28M likes

Broadway Cares | 48.9K followers | 1.9M likes

Go From Passive to Viral

As you can see, there’s a big difference between having a TikTok account for your nonprofit and seizing the opportunity to make TikTok an engagement engine. Sometimes, all it takes is the confidence to see hesitations as opportunities to make your presence known. And as more nonprofits enter the TikTok scene, it’s likely people will look to TikTok as the primary platform to connect with organizations they want to support. 

Get ready to showcase your creativity and meet the donors waiting to hear about what you’re doing to make the world a better place.

Copy Editor: Ayanna Julien

Article Sources

1. “The Incredible Rise of TikTok – [TikTok Growth Visualization],” Influencer Marketing Hub, last accessed July 27, 2023, https://influencermarketinghub.com/tiktok-growth/.

2. “For Gen Z, TikTok Is the New Search Engine,” The New York Times, last modified September 17, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/16/technology/gen-z-tiktok-search-engine.html.

Dedicated giving and social awareness months provide curious potential donors and advocate more opportunities to connect with nonprofit organizations that need them. Black Philanthropy Month is the time to get curious about Black philanthropists’ impact and initiatives, from the historical civil rights movements to modern-day challenges.

Let’s start with the history of Black Philanthropy Month. Then, we’ll get into some nonprofit organizations celebrating Black philanthropy.

What Is Black Philanthropy Month?

Black Philanthropy Month (BPM) is a global annual celebration of African-descent giving in all forms. It recognizes philanthropic leaders’ contributions to transforming lives across the Black community. 

Today, the program has become a multinational summit run by The Women Invested to Save Earth Fund every August. The 2023 theme for Black Philanthropy Month is “Love in action.”

The History of Black Philanthropy Month

Dr. Jacqueline Bouvier Copeland of the Pan-African Women’s Philanthropy Network, now known as Reunity, launched BPM in 2011. She did so with the help of 30 diverse female changemakers worldwide. The United Nations recognizes the month as part of its 2011 declaration of the International Year for People of African Descent.¹

Dr. Copeland is an award-winning innovator who is passionate about healing people, society, and the planet. Recognized by The Congressional Record for her memorable civic contributions, she’s a natural fit to lead the WISE Fund. 

BPM helps bring the stories, education, inspiration, and good work of African American descent people to the spotlight for other communities to experience and support. 

The Significance for Black Communities

Millions of people come together in new ways to amplify their involvement in Black-led philanthropies annually. Support for these organizations brings awareness to Black-led nonprofits’ progress and unresolved challenges. 

That’s why heightened visibility and increased funding are critical to these nonprofits’ sustainability. The opportunities surrounding BPM open the door for people to participate in education around these causes and establish strong charitable relationships that extend far beyond August. 

10 Nonprofits to Celebrate This Black Philanthropy Month

1. The Lighthouse | Black Girl Projects

The Lighthouse | Black Girl Projects is here to be a steady force that Black girls and young women in the southeastern United States can count on. The nonprofit introduces focused programming that creates spaces of solidarity and safety. The organization was recently featured on “Good Morning America” for its holistic approach to leadership development.

The wide array of learning opportunities welcomes freedom into the lives of Black girls. The Black Girl Research Institute is one example of how the organization supports fieldwork, training, and workshops for continued education around maternal and child health, food access, and mental health access.

Support The Lighthouse | Black Girl Projects During Black Philanthropy Month

The organization offers supporters a few options to get involved. You can become a Black Girl Champion with any donation or a Black Girl Champion 365 by increasing that impact with a recurring donation. The monthly donation option comes with email updates and a behind-the-scenes look at the impact you’re making on the lives of Black girls.

Connect With The Lighthouse | Black Girl Projects on Social Media

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram

2. Black Veterans for Social Justice

Black Veterans for Social Justice is a community-based organization that services veterans, their families, and community members. The Brooklyn-based organization began in 1979, specializing in housing, shelters, mental health, and job placement for Black veterans. 

Support Black Veterans for Social Justice During Black Philanthropy Month

The organization hosts events like its annual fundraiser gala that rely on the support of its community members. Donating is accessible on any device with a quick donation form. 

Donors can make a one-time gift or spread their generosity throughout the year with a weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual recurring donation. It all adds up to a big impact when active and inactive military personnel can gather and feel the support in a new way.

Connect With Black Veterans for Social Justice on Social Media

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• YouTube
• TikTok 

3. Black Women’s Health Imperative

Black Women’s Health Imperative is the first and only national nonprofit solely dedicated to achieving health equity for Black women and girls. Byllye Y. Avery founded the organization in 1983, and today, it’s nationally recognized for its lifesaving impact in policy, education, research, knowledge, and leadership development focused on the health and wellness of Black women.

Programs include a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-approved initiative for healthy lifestyle changes, a first-of-its-kind platform focused on workplace equity, and a coalition dedicated to addressing challenges faced by historically underrepresented rare disease patients.

Support Black Women’s Health Imperative During Black Philanthropy Month

The organization is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and you can join this milestone occasion. There are many ways to get involved, and all of them support the goal that all Black women enjoy optimal health in a society that promotes health equity and social and reproductive justice. That includes donating, creating a fundraiser to share through Facebook, signing up for their newsletter, and registering to vote.

Connect With Black Women’s Health Imperative on Social Media

• Facebook
• Twitter: @blkwomenshealth
• Instagram: @blkwomenshealth
• YouTube

4. Black Leaders Detroit 

Black Leaders Detroit has distributed $2,012,000 to Black-led businesses and organizations through its powerful mission to be the equitable solution for the area. Its vision is to fuel a model and thriving city of fully empowered, responsive leaders and entrepreneurs reflective of its demographics.

The goal is clear: one million members contribute one dollar a week to fund the projects. Black Leaders Detroit values its community members’ shared power, Black excellence, transparency, and heroism. It has also supported over 350 Black-led businesses and organizations.

Support Black Leaders Detroit During Black Philanthropy Month

The organization is building a community that provides financial support for diverse social and community impact projects originating and led by people of African descent who live or have a business in the Detroit area. Donations are accepted online, and the organization hosts creative fundraising events, like fashion shows for locals.

Connect With Black Leaders Detroit on Social Media

• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube

5. Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium

Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium is where Black women unite in a shared passion for philanthropy, activism, and support for critical civil movements. The organization originated in response to the lack of philanthropic investments given to Black women in the South. It has awarded $2.2 million to 71 organizations and special projects across 12 southern states to date.

Support Southern Black Girls During Black Philanthropy Month

The organization invites supporters to apply for the role of a youth ambassador to help share the truth about the lives of Black girls through a year-long leadership development program, in addition to donating throughout August and beyond. Free virtual learning sessions are also available through the SAGE Circle.  

Connect With Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium on Social Media

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube

6. Black Californians United for Early Care & Education

Black Californians United for Early Care & Education brings together advocates, policy influencers, civil rights organizations, researchers, university faculty, nonprofit leaders, early educators, caregivers, providers, families, and community-based organizations. BlackECE members have served over 490,000 of California’s Black children through policies that bring equity within their communities. 

The organization saw a gap in early care and education for Black children, families, and childcare workers in California and created its goals around closing it. They work within the early education system to deconstruct racial hierarchies and reverse the deficit-based narratives around expulsion rates, low literacy, and wealth gap associated with Black children in schools. 

Support BlackECE During Black Philanthropy Month

BlackECE has beautiful resources anyone can access to learn more about early care and education within California’s Black communities. There, you can immerse yourself in the policies BlackECE strives to influence to shape how Black children will experience their early years and the difference awareness can make. If you feel particularly passionate about any topics you learn about, you can participate in a fundraiser and spread the word about the organization’s work.

Connect With BlackECE on Social Media

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter

7. YWCA USA

YWCA USA is one of the nation’s oldest and largest women’s organizations. It’s been at the forefront of critical social movements for 165 years with the mission to eliminate racism, empower Black women, stand up for social justice, help families, and strengthen communities. 

The organization has served over two million people, from voting rights, civil rights, and affordable housing to pay and funding equity, violence prevention, and health care reform. YWCA USA balances a rich history of Black philanthropy with a pulse on which programs answer the call to today’s most considerable challenges.

Support YWCA USA During Black Philanthropy Month

The organization makes it easy to give in an amount that works best for you, including an option to spread the impact throughout the year with a recurring donation. It even provides Venmo and PayPal donations for supporters to show their love wherever they may be, on any device they have available. 

Ready to get involved? This August, you can support YWCA USA or find one of 196 local associations throughout the United States with online donations, Amazon Smile donations, planned giving, and vehicle donations.

Connect With YWCA USA on Social Media

• Facebook
• Twitter 
• Instagram

8. NAACP California Hawaii State Conference

NAACP California Hawaii State Conference has a rich history as the country’s oldest civil rights organization fighting for equal rights, justice, and freedom. The NAACP organization began in New York City in 1909 with a group of Black and white citizens committed to making change around them.

Today, NAACP California Hawaii State Conference stands behind a new generation of leaders within the civil rights space. The nonprofit remains at the forefront of the movement for the well-being of the Black community. A strong nonprofit with a rock-solid foundation, it continues influencing critical issues facing Black communities.

Support NAACP California Hawaii State Conference During Black Philanthropy Month

The organization invites new community members who want to help the California and Hawaii communities thrive across education, economics, health and well-being, and racial justice. Anyone can become a member of the NAACP to join a network of activists standing up to injustice, systemic racism, and the call for equality.

That also opens the door to attending events like the 114th annual NAACP National Convention in Boston to commence BPM with innovative changemakers, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, scholars, entertainers, influencers, and creatives supporting the community. 

If you’re not ready to join but want to support the organization’s continued efforts, you can donate online, become a member of its monthly giving program, sponsor a community, sign up for updates, and so much more. 

Connect With NAACP California Hawaii State Conference on Social Media

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram

9. Race Forward

Race Forward centers around sustainable change toward racial justice at all levels of society through policies, institutions, and culture. It works within communities to counter structural racism through events, training, toolkits, and data reports. 

The organization is a great place to learn about the social landscape and how to take meaningful action, starting with BPM and continuing throughout the year.

Support Race Forward During Black Philanthropy Month

The organization has something for you whether you want to learn more about a new narrative on equality or play a direct role in its programs and initiatives. 

You can find reports and toolkits to learn from on its website or make a one-time or recurring donation through its donation site. Race Forward makes it easy to give with the payment methods you prefer and flexibility to access its donation form on any device.

Connect With Race Forward on Social Media

• Facebook
• YouTube
• Twitter
• Instagram

10. The Players Alliance

The Players Alliance is a passionate community on a mission to address baseball’s systemic barriers to racial equity and inclusion. The organization works alongside current and retired professional baseball and softball players to create new pathways and opportunities for Black talent on and off the field. 

It’s because of the organization’s members’ dedication, personal time and energy commitments, and overall passion for this cause that baseball is becoming a stronger and more successful game.

​​

Support The Players Alliance During Black Philanthropy Month

The organization takes a 360-degree approach to its mission by offering an event series nationwide. There’s never a shortage of ways to get to know this incredible group or help keep the programs. Supporters can make a monetary donation that helps eliminate entry barriers for kids by providing the tools they need to play the game.

During MLB All-Star Week in Seattle, the organization honored Black playmakers in the game who made a significant impact both on and off the field at The Players Alliance’s Game Changers Celebration. Guests made donations to level the playing field in honor of the awardees and they’re also offering all online donors the same opportunity to give in their honor throughout the month of August.

Each donation helps deliver life-changing access to technology and opportunities to assist professional players for exposure to successful Black athletes in the sport. One time and recurring donations are accepted through their donation page, along with those in memory or in honor of someone. 

Connect With The Players Alliance on Social Media

• Facebook
• YouTube
• Twitter
• Instagram

Build Community Around Black Philanthropy Month

With so much good work in mind, we hope you feel inspired to get involved to feel great for you and maybe even your extended community. Remember to embrace your interests and learning mindset as you get to know the people and teams on the ground making a difference through so many incredible outlets. 

Here are a few ideas for celebrating Black philanthropy:

• Take some time to learn about new organizations supporting BPM.
• Build new organizations and individuals you admire into your social feeds.
• Share Black-led nonprofit funding opportunities with your network.
• Start a fundraiser to introduce to family, friends, and coworkers.
• Identify events in your local community to meet like-minded philanthropists. 
• Sign up for updates from these nonprofits to learn about more exciting celebrations. 

Article Source:

1. “International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024),” UNESCO, accessed July 24, 2023, https://www.unesco.org/en/decades/people-african-descent.

If you’re new to participating in Giving Tuesday or want to learn more about what to expect this year, we’ve got you covered. Below, we’ll give all the details that make this day of giving like no other. Plus, you’ll learn the value of preparing early and examples from organizations that saw big results. 

Let’s get started.

When Is Giving Tuesday 2023?

Giving Tuesday 2023 falls on Tuesday, November 28. It’s the charitable endcap to Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. 

The History of Giving Tuesday

Giving Tuesday, founded in 2012 by New York’s 92nd Street Y in partnership with the United Nations Foundation, is a day to encourage people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.¹

What’s Special About Giving Tuesday?

Centered around the community, Giving Tuesday is one day a year when individuals, organizations, nonprofits, small businesses, and families can come together to show radical generosity. 

Giving Tuesday 2022 results showcased the potential nonprofits can see this year:

• Donors around the U.S. (243,254) contributed $44,168,979 in Giving Tuesday donations through the Classy platform
• Recurring donors on Classy gave 37% more recurring dollars in 2022 compared to Giving Tuesday 2021
• Donors across the world raised a total of $3.1 million dollars on Giving Tuesday 2022²

Why do nonprofits participate in the global day of giving? 

On Giving Tuesday 2023, nonprofit organizations will have a stage to place highest-priority initiatives in front of people ready to help. Classy’s State of Modern Philanthropy 2022 report found that nonprofit organizations acquire 10X more donors on Giving Tuesday and see double the conversion rate compared to an average day of the year. 

Donors also tend to remain loyal to the organizations they donate to on Giving Tuesday. Classy’s Why America Gives report found that 69% of all U.S. donors were likely to donate again to the same charitable organizations they gave to on Giving Tuesday 2022 before the year ended, and 79% would give to those same organizations in the new year. 

Seeing more interest in young people to create change is promising as well. Why America Gives found millennials and Gen X donors were most likely to be familiar with Giving Tuesday. Even in its 11th year, it meets and caters to all generations of today’s donors.

What Type of Giving Tuesday Campaign Is Best?

The beauty of some of today’s top online fundraising platforms, like Classy, is that organizations can choose from many fundraising campaign types and add unique touches, intentional messaging, and targeted storytelling elements that bring your nonprofit brand to life. Although seemingly small, these demonstrations of personalization are extremely powerful in proving to your target audience that you know and understand them. 

Consider which campaign type feels most aligned with your prospective Giving Tuesday 2023 donors:

• A peer-to-peer competition or community effort puts the power in the hands of your donors and gets your campaign in front of new audiences
• A crowdfunding campaign puts your story front and center to call on audiences ready to take action quickly
• A creative hybrid event introduces your team and existing donor base to a whole new group of people who can learn and give from anywhere
• A simple online donation page is most effective at capturing interest from donors inspired and ready to take action
• A recurring giving campaign invites donors to strengthen their relationships with your organization through automatic donations at the frequency they prefer

What Are Some Examples of Giving Tuesday Campaigns?

Regarding campaign diversification, it’s always helpful to see some campaign examples that produced great results. We’re always looking for campaigns to inspire you on the blog, but here are two from Giving Tuesday 2022 to kick-start your planning.

A Compelling Story With Personalized Appeal

Oklahoma Christian University started planning for Giving Tuesday 2022 about three months ahead of the giving day to ensure its team accounted for everything. The nonprofit got creative with a multichannel promotion approach to reach the right people on the right channels and inspire them to give. That led to donations that exceeded the team’s goal by 330%, at an average donation size of $1,354.

Creating Connections With an Easy Donation Experience

Atlanta Habitat launched a customized crowdfunding campaign for Giving Tuesday 2022 to connect new and existing donors with its meaningful mission. The team built an engagement strategy that spanned email, social media, and direct outreach to invite donors into a giving process that felt quick and easy. That led to an average donation size of $670 to help them exceed the campaign goal.

When Should You Promote Giving Tuesday 2023?

Many successful organizations start strategizing Giving Tuesday 2023 promotion plans during the summer and introduce campaigns in the fall. The reason for this is that the planning before giving season results in an intentional campaign that feels cohesive and stands out among donors who may see a lot more promotion at year-end. 

What is the best way to promote Giving Tuesday 2023?

Our State of Modern Philanthropy 2023 found personalization and connection are more critical than ever to nonprofits’ donor acquisition, conversion, and retention strategies, specifically surrounding Giving Tuesday.

The best way to promote your campaign will depend on your nonprofit’s unique goals and audience. Below are some wonderful Giving Tuesday ideas to spread the word based on what we’ve seen work well in recent years.

Corporate Partnerships

Corporate partnerships are a great way to get more eyes on your nonprofit, especially on Giving Tuesday. Many organizations prompt employees to give back and support them through volunteer incentives and Giving Tuesday donation-matching campaigns as the year closes. The power of corporate sponsorships for your campaign or collaboration with employee bases can help you see more results from your efforts and build loyalty that will follow you into 2024. 

Social Media

The introduction of Threads mid-year shows us that even when we think we have social media covered, there’s more to learn. It also means there are more ways to get in front of followers with your campaign link, donation form, or Giving Tuesday website and engage new audiences around your cause. 

While your posts will feel more relevant by fall, it’s never too early to create a Giving Tuesday social media strategy and branding toolkit to build your active community around the hashtag #givingtuesday.

Intentional Emails

Email isn’t the first place people may look to learn about organizations, but a personalized one can stand out and get your message across in an effective way. Using email marketing tools helps you segment messages to the right email list and automate communications around your campaigns with templates. That can help you create a personal touch without wasting time during the busy season.

Get the Most Out of Giving Tuesday 2023 to Make a Difference

We hope you feel optimistic about what this year could mean for your nonprofit organization. Giving Tuesday 2023 is a way to build a following and strengthen the community you have to create a big impact on your mission. As your wheels start turning, remember that the momentum doesn’t need to begin and end in November. 

The giving season extends throughout the end of the year, and many organizations will unite Giving Tuesday and year-end campaigns to capitalize on that preestablished momentum. With so much potential to secure advocacy this year, every step you take to learn and strategize now pays off significantly for your nonprofit. 

Copy Editor: Ayanna Julien

Article Sources

1. “History of GivingTuesday,” Giving Tuesday, accessed July 11, 2023, https://www.givingtuesday.org/about/. 
2. “GivingTuesday 2022: Celebrating NFG Customer Success,” Network for Good, accessed July 18, 2023, https://www.networkforgood.com/resource/givingtuesday-2022-celebrating-success.

Today, we’re highlighting the impact of a solid corporate giving program on your ability to acquire and retain valuable nonprofit sponsorships. We’ll talk about how to become a preferred nonprofit partner by giving corporations more ways to get involved in your mission.

Get ready to maximize your relationships and see the most value from forward-thinking corporate philanthropy.

The Trajectory of Corporate Philanthropy

Strategic nonprofit partnerships offer many attractive benefits. From improving outreach efforts and advocacy to enhancing programs and services, there are many ways that an alliance can help your organization enhance its efficacy, impact, and sustainability.

The first step to strengthening a partnership is to be clear about what you want to get out of it. Below, we’ll help you identify and clarify your nonprofit organization’s goals with a few ways to be a strong nonprofit partner with for-profit businesses.

Corporations Want Deeper Connections With Nonprofits

Corporations look for opportunities to demonstrate support for causes near and dear to them and treat nonprofits as an extension of CSR and marketing functions.

It makes sense that for-profit companies are more invested in philanthropic efforts when 77% of consumers are more motivated to purchase from brands committed to improving the world.¹ That’s why an estimated 90% of companies on the S&P 500 respond to customer desires by publishing a CSR report each year.²

Take advantage of these companies’ appetite for philanthropic involvement by offering mutually beneficial opportunities. Highlight timely donation requests, volunteer opportunities, and peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns corporations can support to help you scale.

How to Think Ahead to Nurture a Strong Corporate Nonprofit Partnership

Here’s a checklist to strengthen your corporate sponsorships.

• Amplify your mission and values: Use successful partnerships to showcase your organization’s mission and core values to new audiences. Solidify your position as a dedicated nonprofit in your niche and remain consistent with the fundraising approaches and messaging that resonate with your supporters.
• Define what you want to accomplish: Look at what worked well in past partnerships and push the boundaries of possibility. Define what you want to accomplish and keep mutually beneficial goals front and center.
• Create a repeatable offering for partnerships: Employ a structure you can use across multiple partners, recognizing that each partnership will have unique goals. Some may be more interested in sustaining programs year-round, while others may be more interested in supporting crises. On the other hand, some may have products to donate, while others may want to get employees involved in fundraising and volunteer efforts.
• Demonstrate the impact of your partnerships: Put together a nonprofit annual report for donors, just as you would with corporate partners, establishing a clear view of what you jointly achieved over a year. Outline clear nonprofit metrics to evaluate your efforts and see what you can improve or change to get closer to your goals. Showcasing your collective results helps them know the value of the partnership and share that with employees and networks.

6 Ways to Strengthen Nonprofit Partnerships

1. Event Sponsorships

Bring corporate partners in to provide financial support for a larger-scale event such as a fundraiser gala or endurance event. A sponsored event is a great avenue to bring your aligned vision to life intimately and authentically.

Just remember, the key to a successful event is to make it easier for corporate partners to get involved, showcase their brand, and invite their employees and audiences that seek a more interactive giving experience.

• Make the ask: Create a sponsorship proposal letter that’s informative and persuasive. Use this sample letter for sponsorship for a head start on your outreach. After all, asking for sponsorship is all about making a good impression.
• Offer enticing branding opportunities: Feature the corporate sponsor’s logo on your event page using modern fundraising event software. You might even think about placing sponsor branding in the virtual venue through a digital booth and on-site digital display at your in-person event.
• Tap into sponsorships for auction items: Put out the request to your partners for auction ideas and items that draw attention and bids at your event. Corporations can write these expenses off as donations while you promote the auction items as gifts from specific partners and sponsors to build visibility and affinity for their brand.
• Build more community engagement with sponsors and attendees: Take advantage of virtual breakout rooms and chat functionality during the event to offer your corporate sponsors a designated booth. This way, they can get to know new supporters and grow their relationships in affiliation with your nonprofit.
• Create guest seating as part of a sponsorship package: Place your sponsors at premier tables or designated areas in addition to complimentary tickets. You can easily manage which guests sit at which tables through the Classy Live platform.

2. Employee Fundraising

Empower your corporate partner’s employees to take action with peer-to-peer fundraising. This could be a time-based initiative or something they can do year-round. Either way, you’ll gain access to new donor bases through each employee’s professional and personal network. Plus, when you engage your corporate partner’s staff, they may become loyal supporters of your organization.

• Template your corporate peer-to-peer campaigns: Use a fundraising template to ensure all campaigns are ready for your partner’s employees. Anytime you onboard a new corporate partner, create a child campaign with the same branding and content as your campaign template. Meanwhile, your nonprofit can see all corporate partnerships using the original template in one place for easy management and evaluation.
• Let your partners take the reigns: Give your corporate stakeholders a login to manage their fundraising campaigns. They can edit the messaging and content (don’t worry, you can lock down anything you don’t want them to edit) and enable their employees to build personal or team fundraising pages. Offering them more control enhances the experience and encourages corporations to get employees involved in the opportunity to make a more positive impact.
• Encourage friendly employee competition: Incorporate activity tracking into your corporate peer-to-peer campaigns for an added layer of motivation and fun. Allow employees to log into an app and track activity tied to their fundraising goals. You can set up daily, weekly, or monthly challenges for participants and encourage them to share on social media to get a virtual high five from friends and family. Discover how Classy’s integration with Boundless Fundraising can help.

3. Direct Giving

Outside of timely campaigns or events, give corporate sponsors a way to consistently support your organization and attract new audiences to your cause through a co-branded donation form or crowdfunding campaign.

Encourage corporate partners to promote your co-branded donation website to their staff, customers, investors, and community members. When optimized, donation sites bring the benefits of campaign admins, multiple payment types, recurring giving options, and templates.

• Set up a partnership crowdfunding campaign: Create a crowdfunding campaign that tells the story of how money raised impacts your cause. You can even leave placeholders for a partner to incorporate their name and branding easily. This personalized version will likely resonate more with their audience and lead to more conversions.
• Promote the campaign together:  Have your corporate partner share the link in newsletters or other far-reaching communication channels. They could choose to give the first gift and share why supporting your nonprofit means so much to them.
• Brand a timely donation page or campaign: Consider setting up a timely appeal around a holiday, a big giving day, or in response to a crisis. Make it easy for your corporate partners to get their employees and customer base to take action.

4. Corporate Matching Gifts

Donation matching provides employees with an opportunity to have their charitable donations matched by their employer on a campaign page. Empower your corporate partners’ employees to maximize their workplace giving by tapping into corporate matching gift programs.

• Enable corporate matching on your co-branded campaigns:  Double the impact with employer matches that can motivate more individuals to give to your campaign. Lean on a tool, like Classy’s integration with Double the Donation, that allows employees to search for their employer and request a donation match while making an online gift.
• Plan matching gift campaigns strategically: Strategize your donation match period to be around a peak giving season or milestone in your organization. Encourage your corporate partner to use intentional themes like crossing the finish line to achieve annual goals on New Year’s Eve.

5. Cross-Promotions

Broaden your audience to reach more potential donors with a consistent and strategic cross-promotion strategy. Ask your corporate partner about natural cross-promotion to easily reach their network.

Depending on the nature of the partnership, ask your corporate partner for a regular feature on their website, social media channels, or communications to their community. Lean on the marketing expertise of a corporation to brainstorm creative ways to elevate your co-branded initiatives outside the campaign pages themselves. Here are a few sponsorship examples to get started.

6. Launch a Joint Initiative

Outside of monetary support, enhance your programmatic impact with the tools, resources, in-kind donations, and services your business partners can offer. Expand your range of services by launching a joint initiative with strategic alliances to meet your shared goals. As you build your relationship, you’ll see more opportunities to supplement each other’s services and broaden your combined offerings.

• Set up a referral program relationship: Have each party direct constituents to the other for further support. For example, let’s say you’re a nonprofit that provides housing for underserved communities. Your programs don’t offer access to computers, but you might partner with an organization that does. Refer to their services in exchange for the promotion of your mission.
• Collect in-kind donations: Team up around in-kind donations for both organizations to expand services without hiking up budgets. For example, maybe you’re a disaster relief organization that partners with a hydration packet provider for disaster response packages.

4 Simple Reminders For Building a Successful Corporate Partnership

• Go Beyond “Checkbook Philanthropy”

The first way to set your corporate partnership up for success is to understand that corporate social responsibility is no longer as simple as signing a check. After all, any business can do that. To make the most of this relationship, you need to identify and ask for other types of support that lead to social impact.

• Compare Audiences

Research your audience of potential corporate partners to find the right prospects. Consider what exposure your nonprofit can offer to a company, and from there, you can find the best match to maximize your positive impact.

• Know Your Contacts and Decision-Makers

Knowing who to engage with for each task simplifies the process. Assign a point person within your team to communicate and nurture relationships with potential corporate partners. This ensures partner retention and a smooth engagement process.

• Mobilize Employees for Fundraising and Volunteering

Engage the entire staff of your corporate partner. Beyond financial support from key individuals, employees can be valuable allies. Recruit volunteers for events and initiatives, and encourage peer-to-peer fundraising among employees. By involving employees, you gain financial funding and new donors and advocates.

Choosing the Right Corporate Giving Software

The long-term success of your corporate giving programs and any potential corporate sponsorships you’ll secure depends on repeatable and scalable processes. While every corporate partner may be slightly different, structure your menu of offerings around opportunities that will have the most impact on your organization. Then, put your ideas into action with modern fundraising software, like Classy Live, built to support corporate philanthropy and future decision-making.

To continue your learning, dive into Classy’s Six Ways to Strengthen Your Corporate Partnerships webinar, where The Gary Sinise Foundation and Classy discussed strategies for maximizing your partnerships and tips to strengthen your relationships through a multi-pronged approach to maximize involvement from corporations and employees.

Article Sources

1.   “AFLAC CSR Survey,” Aflac, 2019, https://www.aflac.com/docs/about-aflac/csr-survey-assets/2019-aflac-csr-infographic-and-survey.pdf.

2. “15 Eye-Opening Corporate Social Responsibility Statistics,” Harvard Business Review, June 2021, https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/corporate-social-responsibility-statistics.

Classy’s annual Why America Gives report found that one of the top reasons donors reconsider making a gift is because their preferred payment method isn’t available. This is a great indicator of the benefits nonprofits can see when leaning into user-friendly fundraising efforts in the age of social media and QR codes.

Additional data from Why America Gives shows us the social proof:

• The most popular digital wallet payments among U.S. donors are PayPal and Venmo. 
• The flexibility to choose an online donation payment method (e.g., Venmo, PayPal, and credit or debit cards) is a top factor for 35% of donors to return to donate again. 

Classy customers continue to see impressive results when bringing Venmo payments into their diversified payment processing options. This helps these organizations convert more donors and increase the likelihood that donors will return to give again. 

A great example is Many Hopes, which increased donation volume by 56% and individual donors by 53% year over year by introducing Venmo and PayPal into its embedded donation form.

Today, we’ll dive deep into what Venmo for nonprofits is all about and how to use it for everything from donations to event registration with Classy Pay. 

What Is Venmo?

Venmo is a popular mobile payment service known for fast, safe, social payments between friends and family. It’s captured the interest of 83 million customers as a seamless way to send, spend, share, and manage finances using their phone numbers.¹

How does Venmo work?

Venmo’s peer-to-peer model makes splitting payments and transferring funds easy without a physical wallet. When Venmo users receive money, they can transfer it directly into their bank account.

There are also options for instant transfers with a small fee, but most payments arrive promptly to the recipient’s account before being transferred elsewhere.

Over a million merchant websites and apps accept Venmo to simplify customer payments. The growing community of merchants that offer Venmo at checkout includes Uber, Ticketmaster, Stitch Fix, and Hulu.

Many nonprofit organizations followed the lead of these savvy for-profit organizations by offering PayPal and Venmo donations as part of a more modernized fundraising strategy. We’ll show you how these organizations do it and how you can too.

Benefits of Using Venmo for Nonprofits

Enabling donors to access the Venmo payment platform on your donation forms makes the supporter journey more relevant, engaging, and intuitive. Here are the top three benefits of using Venmo for nonprofits:

1. You Support the Conversion of Page Visitors to Completed Donations

Payment methods that feel familiar to page visitors can help improve conversion rates. As mentioned earlier, this simple payment reconciliation positively impacts donor satisfaction.

How do I make a donation using Venmo?

A donor who wishes to use their Venmo account to complete their gift of any donation amount can click on the Venmo button at checkout to open the Venmo app. Then, they can log in (if not already logged in through the app), choose which account their donation will come from, and confirm the transaction. Since many people already have their Venmo usernames and password stored on their mobile devices, donors save time and avoid friction.

Meanwhile, simply having the PayPal option on your donation pages can increase conversion rates.

2. You Encourage the Acquisition of New Donors

Venmo can help organizations reach more by tapping into new donor segments that feel more comfortable transferring money through the mobile app. Offering Venmo can also help increase donors’ trust in your organization because they’re confident they’re giving through a legitimate app. 

Which donors prefer Venmo donations?

Our Why America Gives report explored the importance of payment options among different generations of donors. It revealed that younger donors especially trust newer payment options. 

Additionally, the report consistently showed that PayPal and Venmo are in demand as preferred payment methods. With digital wallets becoming the standard, we anticipate this preference will only continue to grow.

3. You Have Help Managing Your Venmo Business Account

Venmo Charity Profiles and Venmo for Business are great ways for organizations to deliver a polished profile and professional experience when collecting payments through Venmo—PayPal offers similar benefits for PayPal business accounts. While business accounts don’t require monthly fees, there are transaction fees. 

You can skip the account setup and additional fees by accepting donations through both platforms via a seamless plug-in to your donation form, which Classy Pay offers. 

How to Set Up Venmo for a Nonprofit: FAQs

How can nonprofits accept Venmo donations?

Classy Pay integrates with Venmo to give organizations more flexibility and control. This gives supporters one of the best possible donation and checkout experiences through a single platform.

Venmo is part of Classy’s integration with the PayPal Commerce Platform. Once a Classy customer activates the PayPal processor, they can enable Venmo with the click of a button in Classy Manager. 

Classy’s Venmo integration offers individuals the choice to donate through their desired payment methods across many fundraising campaign types, including:

• Website donations
• Peer-to-peer fundraising
• Fundraising events (virtual, hybrid, and in person)
• Crowdfunding campaigns

How do I get started with Venmo on Classy?

You’ve seen the success of our PayPal and Venmo pioneers. Now, it’s your turn to offer these payment methods through Classy Pay. Organizations that have already activated PayPal in Classy Pay can enable Venmo by simply checking a box in the payment processing portal.

However, if you want to get started with Classy Pay for the first time, check out our detailed overview and follow up with an exploration of the entire Classy donation platform by requesting a demo.

Take Advantage of Forward-Looking Fundraising

Fundraising that scales in the modern age of giving and well into the future requires world-class conversion and simple transactions. At Classy, we’re all about empowering nonprofits with connected fundraising experiences that help them reach larger audiences, take advantage of new engagement opportunities, and grow supporter lifetime value. 

That includes everything from the functionality within our fundraising platform, like Venmo and PayPal payment options, to the seamless integrations we offer with your customer relationship management and email marketing platforms. We’re here to help you build a comprehensive fundraising experience from start to finish with the tools that convert passionate supporters into life-long advocates for your cause.

Copy Editor: Ayanna Julien

Article Source

1. “About Us,” Venmo, last accessed July 11, 2023, https://venmo.com/about/us/.

Nonprofits can now access a dedicated email marketing tool at a discounted rate and directly sync it with existing software. This creates opportunity for a truly connected fundraising experience donors and staff members will love.

Come along as we explore it all, including:

• The difference Mailchimp makes in email marketing for nonprofits
• The Mailchimp features and trends to take advantage of
• The steps to getting started and integrating Mailchimp with other systems
• The tried-and-true cheat sheet to create successful email marketing campaigns

How Mailchimp Revolutionizes Nonprofit Email Marketing 

Intuit’s Mailchimp is an email marketing platform that simplifies the process of creating unique journeys that flex to any donor scenario. That means nonprofits can create emails, subscriber forms, landing pages, and surveys. 

Mailchimp organizations range from startups and small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, showing you a glimpse of the scalability your nonprofit can have with the email marketing tool.

Mailchimp’s email automation features streamline nonprofit communication by showing insights about donor contacts, segmenting them into specific target audiences, and sending the right messages at the right time to complete their experience with an organization. 

Do More With a Small Marketing Budget

After the initial setup, which we’ll walk through in depth below, Mailchimp keeps your engagement going through automation and workflows built to complement your process. That way, you can focus your staff members and time on other areas that boost your fundraising efforts. 

The simplicity of the email marketing system means that new employees or volunteers can easily use it, and you don’t need a whole team dedicated to making it work. It also helps with staff changes and turnover that may occur while you use the tool.

In addition, it helps you see how donors interact with your emails to get a better pulse on what gets them to act and keeps them around long term. This is a real game changer for improving donor management, as tactics to retain donors add up to more revenue that can funnel into your marketing efforts, campaigns, and overall impact.

Classy’s Why America Gives found that loyal donors (those who give a recurring donation or gave at least three consecutive donations to the same organization in the last five years) gave amounts four times that of passive donors on average.

Stay Ahead of Evolving Spam Filters

We can’t talk about email marketing without talking about spam. The last thing you want is to spend time on an email that never gets to a potential donor or loyal supporter because it got caught in a spam filter or sent to a junk mail folder by default. Mailchimp’s functionality supports personalization, clean email templates, and user opt-ins and opt-outs to help you spam-proof your email marketing. 

So if you’re curious how one platform can offer you long-lasting benefits, let’s dig into the Mailchimp features nonprofits love.

The Latest Mailchimp Features and Trends for Nonprofits

Audience Management

Information about your supporter audience can guide your email marketing campaigns for more substantial results. Mailchimp offers several audience management features to guide communication strategies that feel personalized for them from start to finish. 

Here’s an overview of each:

• Donor segmentation: Collect data on each of your supporters through custom sign-up forms, pop-ups, and other opt-in information.

• Behavioral targeting: Create segments that target specific actions and behaviors to put a particular focus on supporters most likely to convert into donors, volunteers, or fundraising event attendees. 

• Predicted demographics: Clarify characteristics, such as the most likely age and gender of your donors, to refine your engagement strategy and create donor personas for each of your fundraising campaigns or promotions.

• Tags and contacts profiles: Get a deep dive into each person in your contacts list on any device and use Mailchimp tags to identify key distinctions, such as “potential major donor,” “local,” “likely to match a donation,” and anything else that supports more relevant and meaningful conversations.

Creative Tools

So how do you send those beautiful emails that make people stop and admire your thoughtful designs and user-friendly formats? Mailchimp’s email services have your answers. 

Bringing your brand into each touchpoint with donors is easier with features like:

• Content studio: Sync, store, and edit visuals, like images and logos, that you’ll use across multiple automated emails.
• Dynamic content: Customize certain content blocks for your different donor segments within the same email automatically for each targeted send.
• Subject-line helper: Get real-time support to refine your email subject lines, as this is the first thing your audience sees and uses to decide whether or not to open your message.
• Campaign templates: Grab inspiration from over 100 email templates designed and ready for you or use one as a foundation to personalize your nonprofit brand and campaign visual identity.

Marketing Automation

Use the information you gain about your audiences and how they interact with your brand to create personalized donor workflows that help them get to your primary call to action quicker.

• Donor journeys: Design an automated engagement path with conditional logic and branching points that establish a journey for each donor group and adapt to their behaviors along the way. 
• Integrations: Connect Mailchimp with your fundraising platform, customer relationship management (CRM) platform, or helpful tools such as Zapier to continue automation further into the experience of every supporter.

Insights and Analytics

A solid nonprofit marketing strategy is all about knowing your donors and how to adapt to their changing desires and actions. Mailchimp offers insights and analytics that can help you pinpoint areas of opportunity and strength in your donor-engagement efforts.

Gain insight with features like:

• Reports: Track the performance of your communications over time to measure which are the most successful with your target donors.
• Smart recommendations: Lean on your metrics to guide your next move with each donor segment and communication. 
• A/B testing: Get creative with new approaches and establish a campaign monitor easily with insight into which led to the best results. 
• Surveys: Gather feedback from donors, event attendees, volunteers, interested supporters, and more and funnel responses directly into Mailchimp.
• Content optimizer: Grab personalized suggestions to improve your emails. 

You can also connect Mailchimp with tools and apps like Google Analytics for a deeper view into conversion tracking, social media influence, website clicks, and your overall digital marketing effectiveness.

How Can Nonprofits Set Up Mailchimp?

Follow these simple steps to get started with Mailchimp for your nonprofit organization and leverage the features you need to make a big impact on your donor base in no time.

Step 1: Establish Your Contacts Lists

• Create a list: Determine which email list makes sense, such as “all contacts” or “donors,” that you can add to a list.
• Import your contacts: Add any existing subscribers from a CSV file, Excel spreadsheet, Google Doc, Salesforce, or other platforms that house your contacts. 
• Create groups: Segment your large number of contacts by groups, such as staff members, volunteers, donors, recurring donors, nonprofit board members, corporate partners, and any other tags that will help you get organized.
• Create your first email campaign: Select your list and an ideal email template, edit the content to the message that makes sense for your communication, design your email to match your branding, and send your campaign immediately or schedule it to go out later.
• Set up reports and analytics: See how your email campaigns perform by viewing the analytics in your reports, then create email benchmarks to base future campaigns through simple graphs, tables, and maps that show you things like opens, click-through rates, bounces, and unsubscribes. 

Does Mailchimp offer a free plan or nonprofit discount?

Now that we’ve covered the value of Mailchimp’s flexibility with small marketing budgets, it’s natural to think about nonprofit pricing. Mailchimp offers a discount to verified nonprofit organizations and charities for certain features. You can request a nonprofit discount and verify the current pricing plans for your needs by visiting the Mailchimp website or contacting the billing team.

Design Engaging Email Templates in Mailchimp

As you dig into Mailchimp or think about how to get the most out of your email marketing software, having somewhere to start is always helpful. In addition to the design templates Mailchimp offers within the campaign designer, we rounded up a quick list of resources that can help you depending on your nonprofit’s goals and areas of focus.

Save this list of top resources to design engaging email templates:

• 37 Email Subject Lines for Fundraising
• 11 Tips to Increase Your Email Click-Through Rates
• 9 Nonprofit Emails That Actually Convert 
• How to Write the Perfect Fundraising Email [TEMPLATES]
• 5 Email Templates for Stronger Recurring Donation Appeals
• 6 Giving Tuesday Email Examples That Convert

The Benefits: Integrating Mailchimp With Your Nonprofit CRM

The key to unlocking fundraising success is knowing your donors well and responding to their needs. You have all the information necessary to conduct targeted appeals, but it may be in different systems, from your email platform to your fundraising software to your CRM. Integrations help you bring all that vital information together as a powerhouse of insight at your fingertips. 

Your marketing automation and reporting within Mailchimp go much further when both flow into your entire donor lifecycle. More tasks that happen seamlessly without requiring your team to monitor your systems lead to a smooth donor experience and the most strategic processes for your organization. 

Step Into Connected Fundraising 

We know how crucial it is to build relationships with every supporter you encounter and turn those relationships into donations to advance your mission. It’s all about reaching the right people with the relevant message that makes them feel your intention and purpose. 

That’s why nonprofits that use Classy’s fundraising platform to host campaigns, from events to streamlined donation pages, have the advantage of a free and easy integration into Mailchimp and other vital tools that lead to results. 

We can’t wait to continue offering thoughtful integrations and award-winning application programming interfaces, like the Mailchimp API, to create the most comprehensive view of your supporters and streamline your fundraising efforts.

Copy Editor: Ayanna Julien

Fundraising for nonprofits takes intention and requires going the extra mile to thank your supporters so that it resonates. Building donor loyalty through intentional thank you messages pays off through return donations, more recurring donors, and potential corporate sponsorship opportunities. The possibilities are endless.

Classy’s Why America Gives found that loyal donors were twice as likely to increase donations in 2022 compared to passive donors, and those donation amounts were four times the amount of passive donors on average.

The value of a meaningful engagement strategy for donor retention and loyalty is clear, but we want to help you take specific actions to build yours. Follow this comprehensive guide to get inspired and appreciate your community appropriately.

3 Key Reasons to Thank Your Donors

1. It Shows You Care About Them

The key to effective donor stewardship is ensuring each supporter finds value in their relationship with your nonprofit organization. Proving you care about each donor can help build stronger trust and connection.

So reciprocate the support they offer you by consistently checking in with them. This improves their rapport with your team and strengthens their tie to your timely goals and long-term mission.

2. It Keeps Your Mission Top of Mind

The more often you communicate with your donors, the more visible you are to them. Once you entirely focus on practicing gratitude fundraising, you’ll realize that thanking donors early often keeps you at the forefront of their minds. The consistency of your gratitude helps remind your donors that they still care about your cause.

This type of communication is also a universally positive one. Rather than just another donation appeal, your appreciation showcases the importance of every supporter’s role in fulfilling your mission.

3. It Increases the Chances Donors Will Return to Give Again

What you reward gets repeated, so reward your supporters with sincere gratitude to ensure they return.

“Nonprofits who raise a lot of money get really good at thanking and reporting,” said fundraising expert Otis Fulton in a recent conversation about the psychology of giving. “They thank people a lot. But too many organizations neglect these two steps.”

You get it—thanking donors for their charitable giving is essential. It’s a valuable way to keep them connected and engaged with your cause before, during, and after each campaign. But maybe understanding the reason for gratitude was never your issue, and you’re more curious about the practical side. Well, we’ve got you covered.

What Makes a Good Thank You?

When thanking donors, you want to ensure your thank you note reinforces the passion and emotion that drove someone to donate to you in the first place while also thanking them for their dedication. Here are some components of a quality thank you that influence donors to continue supporting you into the future.

1. Timing

One of the most essential things about saying “thank you” is timing: it should be promptly after the donor sends a gift. You can show your gratitude in an online donation receipt or create a follow-up “thank you for your donation” letter to add a personal touch shortly after their donation. 

But don’t make donors wait to hear from you. The last thing you want is to have a passionate individual write you off before your message arrives.

2. Content

When writing your letter, say something more than “thank you.” Build an experience that goes beyond a tax receipt or donation summary. This is an opportunity to position your donors as the story’s heroes.

First and foremost, celebrate what this person did and what they helped you accomplish. Highlighting the donor’s impact makes everything instantly more tangible: they can see and feel the real-world implication of supporting you.

Reference the fundraising campaign or project they donated to and, if possible, feature a specific community, place, or person they’ve helped. Perfect your donor communications with these email templates.

3. Tone

It’s not only what you say but how you say it. While your donation request letters and formal appeals may benefit from tones of sympathy or urgency, a thank you letter should have a different feel.

Thank you letters, in large part, make the donor feel good about their decision and show that their generous gift makes a difference. This is why thank you letters should have a positive, can-do tone.

While you can still note the urgency or seriousness of your cause, this message should be one of hope and action. Of course, there’s more work to do, but this letter is about their gift and how it helps.

16 Ideas for How to Thank Nonprofit Donors

1. Show Appreciation on Your Website

Your nonprofit’s website isn’t just a digital hub for communications and fundraising—it’s also an online fundraising platform for donor and volunteer appreciation.

So create a supporters page on your site. While this most commonly highlights corporate sponsors and foundations, it’s also a simple way to elevate individual donors. You can also use your donation website, blog, or nonprofit newsletter to share a few of your donors’ stories and why they give.

2. Highlight Donors on Social Media

Appreciation posts are great content to add to your seasonal social media calendar. Even if you don’t name specific donors, you can give a general thanks with some impactful statistics.

In doing so, you’ll strengthen relationships with existing donors and showcase the power of your community to anyone curious about getting involved and connecting with something greater than themselves.

3. Craft a Personalized Thank You Email

A timely, personalized thank you email to donors ensures they feel valued. Segment donors by gift size and provide a few examples of the tangible impact their generous donation will make, no matter the amount.

The American Red Cross does a great job of sending out personalized emails to those who support its cause through monetary gifts or blood donations. These emails tell a story of a real person who benefited from donors’ life-saving contributions.

4. Lean Into the Power of Video

A donor thank you video can impact your supporter base emotionally. So take advantage of its effective format to make a lasting impression.

The Ronald McDonald House’s library of YouTube videos that recognize donors’ impact exemplifies this. The YouTube videos feature several messages of thanks that emphasize the Ronald McDonald House community’s critical role in reaching its goals.

5. Pick Up the Phone or Send a Text

When you pick up the phone or send a quick text to thank a donor for their gift, it creates an opportunity to connect with that person in a more relaxed, organic way. 

Consider asking for a donor’s phone number and an opt-in to calls or texts from your organization. When done well, this small interaction can make a donor’s day and help build a lasting connection with your organization.

6. Send Donation Thank You Letters

Perhaps you send an automatic email to notify a donor that you received their gift. But what if you followed that up with an old-fashioned handwritten letter too?

Since your letter would arrive sometime after the charitable donation, stewardship letters to donors can serve as the perfect touchpoint to re-engage your supporters with a reminder of their impact.

7. Prioritize Handwritten Thank You Notes

A handwritten note from a staff member or volunteer adds a meaningful, personal touch to your donor stewardship strategy. These notes are effective because a donor can immediately see the time and effort it took for someone to write the message.

Come up with a loose structure to follow for each letter to ensure the sentiment remains consistent. Keep it relatively brief to avoid losing the donor’s interest before they reach the bottom, but don’t forget to add details that speak to that person individually. Even something as simple as adding the donor’s name can make it feel more personal.

8. Send Anniversary Cards

Along with their name and contact information, the date of a donor’s first gift is crucial to keep on hand. Sending donors an anniversary card is a fun way to celebrate their loyalty and commitment to your cause.

9. Celebrate Donors in Your Annual Report

It’s common for organizations to include a running list of donors and sponsors in nonprofit annual reports. Think about how you can bring that list to life to emphasize each donor’s critical role in fulfilling your mission.

Send donors a physical letter to thank them with a print copy of the report or a digital copy when it’s ready to let them know they’re part of something bigger. Also, consider how you can promote the report to your larger community to elevate each donor even more.

10. Send a Welcome Swag Package

A thank you package welcomes donors in style. This package could include a T-shirt, water bottle, canvas tote, tools, and resources to learn more about your organization.

11. Acknowledge Donors During Events

Your next fundraising event might be a great opportunity to call out major donors by name. Invite them to stand up and receive recognition from all attendees or speak on behalf of their experience with your organization.

But before publicly recognizing donors at your next event, ask whether they’re comfortable being honored in front of an audience. If they politely decline, have your staff thank them at the event privately. You could also send a free entry ticket as another form of appreciation.

12. Give an Office Tour

An exclusive tour of your nonprofit office is a good way to provide context around your cause. This is a chance to build face-to-face relationships with your supporters and expose them to a glimpse of what their gifts make possible.

13. Share Some Exclusive Incentives

Nonprofit donors don’t just give to get something in return. But providing some incentives doesn’t hurt. To streamline your donor management initiatives, create giving levels to thank donors with specific items or opportunities that match their gift size. This presents another good chance to share some swag with your community so they can publicly promote their support of your cause.

14. Provide Internal Giving Updates

Not everyone on your staff participates in fundraising efforts or works directly with donors. But they can all be a part of thanking supporters.

In your staff meetings, share brief updates on who gave and how you recognized them. This keeps fundraising top of mind for everyone and ensures all employees are familiar with the names and faces of your supporters.

15. Thank Your Staff Too

It’s not enough to just thank your donors. Your staff and volunteers are equally important in bringing your mission to life.

When sourcing and retaining consistent volunteers, be sure to use similarly creative techniques you employ with donors to recognize your internal team. Preventing staff turnover is critical to the sustainability of your work.

16. Make It Count

By tracking what makes a quality thank you email or note, you ensure every communication you send genuinely showcases this sentiment and has the desired effect.

But don’t just thank donors to check off the box—show your gratitude because you mean it. Make sure they feel your sincerity and hear it from you consistently.

Consider varying the format, style, or content of your thank you messaging to keep it fresh and genuine.

Get Inspired to Build Your Thank You Letter Template

Sometimes, crafting your thank you message is easier when you have somewhere to start. Below, we’ve added a brief thank you letter example you can build on using the best practices we’ve talked about today and a personal touch that will speak to your donors at any stage in their journey.

Dear Friend, 

On behalf of the entire team at the Good Vibes Animal Shelter, we want to tell you just how much your donation means to us. 

You might have seen the recent work we’ve done to work toward our goal of increasing our shelter capacity to care for 100 more animals each month by 2025. The good news is your donation just helped us get one step closer to changing the lives of those animals. 

We hope you feel our gratitude and can’t wait to share the upcoming fundraising campaigns we’ve planned to continue making progress toward our goal. Until then, catch our daily updates on social media. 

You are a part of this essential community, and we couldn’t make this positive impact on our community without you. 

Talk soon,

John 

Chief Executive Officer, Good Vibes Animal Shelter

How Will You Thank Donors?

Neglecting to thank a new or existing donor is akin to forgetting about them or being unappreciative. So remind donors that without their support, your organization couldn’t deliver on its commitment to your community. It’s a critical step in the larger stewardship journey worth the effort.

Copy Editor: Ayanna Julien

Today, we’re taking a deep dive into one of the most critical pieces of any nonprofit tech stack: customer relationship management (CRM). We’ll specifically use HubSpot for Nonprofits as our CRM software example and detail why a HubSpot integration into your online fundraising platform is critical to generating more donations.

Consider this your comprehensive guide to harnessing the power of HubSpot’s CRM and marketing platform and amplifying your impact directly. 

We’ll cover:

• Improving donor management processes
• Personalizing your nonprofit communications 
• Maximizing impact using HubSpot’s deal pipeline with Classy
• Employing donor segmentation as a key marketing strategy for nonprofits
• Analyzing nonprofit data and metrics with HubSpot and Classy

The Power of HubSpot for Nonprofits

HubSpot for Nonprofits offers organizations access to the leading CRM and marketing hub at a discounted (sometimes free) rate. 

When managing donor relationships, segmenting supporters, creating personalized campaigns, and analyzing data, HubSpot’s CRM functionality is the go-to for over 4,000 forward-thinking organizations. 

5 Reasons Why Nonprofits Gravitate Toward HubSpot

• Digital marketing becomes data driven: HubSpot’s CRM software helps you manage donor and volunteer relationships by tracking critical interactions, creating targeted communications, and leveraging A/B testing to track outreach effectiveness for future planning 

• Donor segmentation is simple and organized: HubSpot helps you gain a more organized view into every donor and volunteer with segmented lists that group your supporters into clear categories, such as loyal donors, first-time donors, inactive donors, donors in specific locations, event attendees, and many others

• You save time but don’t sacrifice quality: HubSpot helps you create messages that resonate and schedule them to automatically send to the right audience, at the right moment, for the most impactful interactions, thanks to accessible email and inbound marketing tools

• There’s always something to learn and improve on: HubSpot helps you track your data in an easy-to-use dashboard to quickly identify opportunities to improve, whether website performance, email campaigns, social media management, or any other area of interest

• The value far outweighs the cost: HubSpot helps nonprofit organizations that hold 501(c)(3) status by offering significant discounts on its tools, allowing them to operate at the scale of for-profit organizations without a huge budget barrier*

*With pricing, it’s always a good idea to check in with the HubSpot for Nonprofits website or contact the team to see what eligibility criteria might apply to your unique organization. 

Why Intentional Marketing Matters

Online giving opened up a new realm of fundraising for nonprofits beyond the scope of physical locations. It also reminded us of the sector’s constant rate of change and the value associated with intentional evolution. Today’s donors want to hear from nonprofits through the channels they prefer and use most often, such as social media, mobile web browsers, and apps. 

In today’s saturated digital landscape, you may feel like you need to be everywhere to prompt moments of inspiration to give effectively. While diversifying your nonprofit marketing strategy is key, the more critical piece of the puzzle is identifying the most effective, impactful places to dedicate your resources to achieve the largest return on investment for your nonprofit organization. 

Also, the importance of personalizing those touchpoints to make each supporter feel special cannot be understated. Marketing automation and quick email templates can help, but donors also know when they receive a robotic-templated message as a follow-up to their actions. 

So how do you present your cause in all the right places but maintain your personality and authenticity? 

That’s where connected fundraising comes in with tools like HubSpot. Get strategic about establishing and nurturing relationships with donors and confident you’re not losing the humanistic feeling that makes all the difference in your nonprofit marketing strategy.

Taking It Up a Notch With a Classy + HubSpot Integration

By now, you’re starting to see how impactful HubSpot’s data can be in fueling your supporters’ journeys from their first impression to celebrating their 10th donor anniversary. The Classy + HubSpot Integration, built by Lynton, helps you peel back a new layer of data-driven decision-making and growth.

Integrating Classy with HubSpot brings two critical systems together for change. Discover how. 

Let’s Take a Look

The biggest benefit of Classy and HubSpot platform integrations is unlocking new pathways for data to travel without requiring anything more from your team. 

Together, integrated data sets create richer insights that allow you to see the entire donor journey. So instead of simply tracking one element of their donor journeys, you receive a 360-degree view of supporters’ involvement. That means you can see marketing patterns that lead to your most successful campaign performance, areas of opportunity to promote an upcoming event, and communication prompts for a recurring gift.

Data on each interaction provides visibility into meaningful trends across your donor base and a reliable full view of individual activity despite how your community scales over time. This information leads to solid marketing campaigns and fundraising plans that reflect the needs and interests of each supporter in your network.

How to Integrate Classy and HubSpot

Organizations can integrate Classy by SyncSmart Integration to sync data into HubSpot’s contact activity and deals. 

Data fields that sync back and forth include:

• Classy Supporters to HubSpot Contacts
• Classy Transactions and Recurring Donation Plans to HubSpot Deals
• HubSpot Contacts to Classy Supporters
• HubSpot Deals to Classy Transactions
• HubSpot Deals to Classy Recurring Donation Plans

Lynton is also here to help nonprofit organizations integrate Classy and HubSpot no matter the situation or customization required. 

See It in Action: Classy and HubSpot Case Study

The Cornell Feline Health Center is a proud organization using Classy and HubSpot for Nonprofits to drive its mission forward. With the help of Media Cause, a mission-driven nonprofit marketing agency, the Cornell Feline Health Center built a strong partnership between the two solutions that fit exactly what the nonprofit wanted.

The team wanted a change and sought out a multifaceted solution that offered:

• An easy way to retain existing records of memberships 
• A superior experience for members and staff administrators
• A more efficient use of HubSpot to help track and scale the nonprofit’s programs
• An improvement in functionality to make reporting simpler

With Media Cause’s expertise and onboarding, the Cornell Feline Health Center had three core campaigns, each with an optimized donation form, to boost conversion rates and gain access to cleaner data in HubSpot. 

Now, the organization has a holistic view of each member’s interactions from before the switch and even more insight as donors engage with the integrated systems. 

Real-time communication and reporting in HubSpot gives the Cornell Feline Health Center informed outreach and clarity about the most effective marketing workflows as it continues to scale.

Get One Step Closer to Connected Fundraising

You know your story best and deserve the tools to get it out in a way that pulls in support for your greatest potential impact. A deeper understanding of your supporter relationships and intentional communications across email, SMS, content-rich landing pages, and other inbound channels help you do what you do best. Each interaction is an opportunity for donor retention and expanding your circle.

The teams at HubSpot and Classy are excited and ready to chat through any questions about the integration as you imagine how your donor journey can unfold with the support of connected data insights. 

Copy Editor: Ayanna Julien

It’s all about identifying and executing diversified nonprofit revenue streams. We’re giving you the inside scoop on everything you need to know here today.

Evaluating Your Nonprofit Revenue Streams

Diversifying your fundraising portfolio with multiple nonprofit revenue streams is crucial to your organization’s sustainability. Like a financial advisor wouldn’t recommend investing your life savings into one unstable stock, your nonprofit shouldn’t solely depend on a single source of revenue to keep it afloat. 

Additionally, diversification opens new pathways for donors to get involved. So the more options they have to support you, the more likely they are to participate and deepen their connection to your cause. 

Did you know: Supporters who participate in multiple campaign types are 4x more valuable than supporters who participate in a single campaign type?

A diversified fundraising portfolio gives you peace of mind in knowing that you can handle the things you can’t control and that you’ll be able to bounce back when the next crisis hits. It also ensures that a wider audience of supporters can participate in your mission through your various tailored experiences.

The past few years of pandemic health crises and economic fluctuations only solidified that there will be times of uncertainty. Those experiences challenged the sector to get creative about fundraising diversification strategies to mitigate the risk of loss in the future. 

Additionally, it reminded nonprofits how critical it is to offer supporters multiple avenues to engage with causes, understanding that people may not be able to contribute in the traditional ways they once did. Implementing peer-to-peer fundraising, hybrid fundraising events, and streamlined direct giving were, and still are, foundational to nonprofits’ sustainability.

If your nonprofit hasn’t already committed to diversifying its revenue streams, consider bringing this list to your board members or team to explain how crucial it is in sustaining your organization’s impact.

5 Reasons to Diversify Your Revenue Streams

1. Mitigate Risk

You can’t eliminate risk, but you can prepare to mitigate it. Diversifying your revenue streams could save your nonprofit from potential financial hardship amid an economic downturn, health crisis, or shift in political policy.

The first step to mitigating risk is analyzing your current revenue streams and determining what percentage of the pie you want to allocate to each source. A few sources all nonprofits should have, regardless of organizational size, include the following:

• Peer-to-peer fundraising platforms
• Recurring giving
• Fundraising events (which include an in-person and virtual component)

Once you pinpoint all your nonprofit revenue streams, calculate each source as a percentage to identify potential trouble spots. If that source carries most of the weight, brainstorm ways to redistribute it or add another reference to supplement your fundraising efforts. That way, you protect your income flow.

2. Improve Adaptability With New Technologies and Trends

Personalization and connection are at the heart of today’s donor interactions. People are passionate and want to engage with nonprofit organizations they care about but also expect to do that in the same way they interact with for-profit brands they love. Think about the way artificial intelligence, social media updates, and intuitive apps shape how we seek information and take action. 

Did you know: The State of Modern Philanthropy 2023 found that people spend 88% of their time on mobile using apps rather than the web?

Organizations can reach the right new donors where they already are by aligning fundraising engagement to their interests and offering multiple ways to get involved. 

New revenue streams might look like:

• Recurring giving programs that offer the simplicity of spreading out gifts over time through popular subscription models introduced
• Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns that pull in social engagement and influence
• Embedded giving experiences that allow donors to check out without ever leaving the page or pop up when a donor visits your website 
• Virtual fundraising events that unite people around the world 

Adapting quickly offers you greater bandwidth to assess your community’s current needs and provide real-time solutions. It also helps you keep a pulse on future evolutions in technology-driven experiences. There are so many tools for public charities to stay virtually connected with audiences and advance missions in entirely new ways.

3. Save Time and Resources

Not all sources of funds will align with your organization and its stakeholders, so consider the pros and cons of each fundraising initiative’s revenue stream. Depending on your nonprofit’s size, needs, and current bandwidth, the cost versus benefits of each source will vary. 

For example, applying for specific government grants may cost your organization more money in the long run. These expenses could outweigh the benefits of the grant. This is an example of how to get ahead by investing those application costs into a creative social media ad or event that might bring you directly to charitable contributions and relationships.

Regardless of the revenue stream you establish, start with smaller SMART goals and gradually increase your benchmarks. For example, your long-term objective to double the revenue of your recurring giving program can start with a promotional crowdfunding campaign to capture recurring gifts. Kick off the campaign with a few conservative goals regarding donor acquisition or the number of recurring gifts, then refine your efforts through more targeted efforts as it evolves.

4.  Expand Your Reach

A nonprofit can’t sustain its mission without visibility. Diversifying your income streams can open the door to building connections with local businesses, government agencies, and the general public. The more visible you are, the more people you can get involved in your efforts.

So consider experimenting with different campaigns, such as crowdfunding and recurring giving, to ensure you appeal to all audiences and how they prefer to take action on your organization’s behalf. Each campaign type has a specific call to action, so experiment with each to see which ones are best received.

Here are a few more best practices to think about:

• Include a virtual component in all fundraising campaigns to reach a wider audience
• Extend your campaign dates to provide more time for individual donors to contribute
• Offer multiple payment options (like credit cards, ACH payments, Apple Pay/Google Pay) on your donation form to improve the donor experience
• Attend nonprofit conferences to grow your network

5. Grow Your Partnerships

Your nonprofit can benefit tremendously from corporate giving partnerships and sponsorship opportunities. The more you increase the ways individuals get involved, the more you can attract funders who resonate with the various campaigns you offer. 

For example, you might decide to host a few virtual events to expand your nonprofit funding and open sponsorships. The sponsors for those few events can be so impressed by your cause and your team that they build employee-giving programs around it. It’s always nice to have a list of major donors and companies to help you advance your programs even further through financial contributions, matching gifts, in-kind donations, and awareness.

Diversify Your Nonprofit Revenue Streams on Classy

Revenue diversification isn’t about overhauling your entire fundraising plan but adding some new elements that benefit you in all these ways and more. As you build new campaigns into your repertoire, keep humanistic messaging at the center of your donors’ experience and engage audiences that become loyal supporters you can rely on. 

Classy offers nonprofits the technology to elevate stories and build campaigns that feel consistent and simple to passionate individuals ready to give and make a difference. Book a demo today to discover how our technology and hands-on collaboration can result in increases of 2x your revenue and 100x your impact.

Copy Editor: Ayanna Julien

As more people enjoy the convenience of tuning into regular audio-based episodes, influencers, individual hosts, and nonprofit organizations respond with fresh content and more podcasts. In May 2023, there were over 4 million total podcasts registered around the world.1

So how do you know where to begin or what’s worth listening to? We’ve got you covered. Check out 18 of our top recommendations to add to your podcast lineup.

What Are the Benefits of Nonprofit Podcasts?

Podcasts are an invaluable tool for nonprofit professionals to identify new ways to scale their impact, grow their community of supporters, and apply new fundraising growth tactics to their strategy. Incredible resources for nonprofits exist in all forms, but a podcast is arguably the most convenient—it can accompany you on walks, car rides, workouts, and household cleaning days.

Nonprofit podcasts also reflect the current state of the nonprofit sector and keep up with timely commentary as it evolves. When you subscribe to a podcast, you have consistent access to essential conversations in real time. 

The dozen we’re about to introduce will inspire social change leaders, interesting fundraising strategies, nonprofit marketing advice, success stories from organizations like yours, and so much more.

Where to Listen

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Audible
• Google Podcasts

What Are the Top Nonprofit Podcasts?

1. Nonprofit Pulse

Nonprofit Pulse is the newest of our featured nonprofit podcasts. This show came on the scene in March 2023 and has never failed to deliver on the trends, insights, and resources we love. Nonprofit leaders won’t leave empty-handed with episodes that explore ways to achieve their missions and change the world.

Hot topics include: 

• Team development in economic downturns
• Experiential learning for nonprofit leaders
• Brand-first donor cultivation strategies
• Donor-advised funds (DAFs)
• Nonprofit innovation

2. A Sustainable Mind

A Sustainable Mind took a master’s thesis project and turned it into a weekly podcast with leaders and fundraising experts who focus on sustainability and their responsibility to improve the Earth. And since sustainability is a hot topic across the social sector, especially if you’re an environmentally focused nonprofit, this podcast couldn’t be more relevant.

Host Marjorie Alexander brings together changemakers, campaigns, companies, and projects that inspire us all to do better for the planet while focusing on representing the voices of women and young people. 

Hot topics include: 

• Reforestation projects
• Development environmental education 
• Social entrepreneurship 
• Magazine publishing

3. Nonprofit Lowdown 

The Nonprofit Lowdown, hosted by Rhea Wong, promises fresh perspectives on the priorities top of mind for every nonprofit. Rhea reviews and recommends ideas, resources, tools, tricks, and tips that nonprofit professionals love. 

She’s often accompanied by expert guests ranging from the CEO of MarketSmart, Greg Warner, to thought leaders, like Joan Garry. There are currently over 240 episodes to enjoy with Rhea, with more dropping weekly. 

Hot topics include: 

• AAPI leadership
• Real estate opportunities for nonprofits
• Grant preparation
• Campaigns in uncertain times
• Happiness sustainment
• DAFs and crypto donations

4.  Nonprofit SnapCast

The Nonprofit SnapCast is all about simplifying nonprofit management. These interview-style podcast episodes focus on the challenges nonprofit leaders face, from how to develop a board to how to put out an eye-catching fundraiser. 

The show always seeks listener feedback and suggestions, which makes every new episode full of value. Plus, host Mickey Desai brings his unique perspective as an entrepreneur with a passion for the nonprofit world. 

Hot topics include: 

• Nonprofit websites
• Communication campaigns
• Inclusive nonprofit board development
• Nonprofit entrepreneurialism
• Corporate partnerships
• Nonprofit health, success, and sustainability

5. Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio 

Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio is here to deliver everything you need to know about navigating the common struggles of philanthropic organizations. Tony talks about board members and relationships, volunteer management, legal compliance, social media, finance, and so many other key topics. This podcast is especially valuable for small nonprofits working with a tight budget. 

Hot topics include: 

• Equitable project management
• Multigenerational technology teaching
• Newsletter tactics and email accessibility
• Digital self-care
• Technology governance

6. The Stanford Social Innovation Review Podcast

The Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) is famous across the social sector for its substantial print articles, digital posts, and webinars. The podcast also contributes to the sterling reputation SSIR has for providing informative content created by and for leaders across topics like human rights, impact investing, and nonprofit business models. Co-hosted by Eric Nee, editor-in-chief of SSIR, the podcast is a TED-style talk that seeks to educate and inspire listeners.

Hot topics include:

• Fostering a human-centered approach to artificial intelligence
• Debating the role of philanthropy in democracy
• Learning how to listen to beneficiaries
• Challenging your mindsets and behaviors
• Developing critical skills for nonprofits in the digital age

7. Good to Growth, Nonprofit Hub Radio

The Nonprofit Hub community gives nonprofits tools and information to operate at peak performance and serve communities to the fullest. For example, the podcast aims to help organizations increase fundraising revenue, prioritize branding, and understand the power of self-investment. 

Executive director and editor Randy Hawthorne carries this mindset into podcast episodes as he dives headfirst into content designed to help you achieve new heights.

Hot topics include:

• Leveraging the power of volunteers
• Navigating nonprofit overhead challenges
• Creating a conscious nonprofit
• Hiring tips and tricks
• Fundraising for major donations

8. The Tim Ferriss Show

The Tim Ferriss Show, often ranked as the top dog in the podcast world, welcomes high-caliber guests who may not appear relevant to an audience of nonprofit professionals at first glance. However, Ferriss is adamant about identifying, extracting, and communicating their secrets of success to his audience with the goal of providing tactics, tools, and routines to implement at any organization. 

In that light, his long-form, “raw” interviews contain countless golden nuggets for nonprofits to return to the office and increase productivity, company culture, work-life balance, and so much more.

Hot topics include:

• Exploring the science of longevity
• Unpacking the foundations of mental health
• Decision-making according to great investors
• Building habits
• Maximizing personal productivity

9. First Day Podcast

The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy podcast is short, sweet, and to the point. Each episode is about 10 minutes long but jam-packed with current news and research for nonprofit professionals to take their fundraising to the next level.

Hot topics include:

• Major gift fundraising
• Generational giving
• High net-worth donors
• Women and philanthropy
• Donor relationship personalization

10. Nonprofits Are Messy, the Podcast

The Nonprofits Are Messy podcast, created by Joan Garry and her team, serves the readers of their blog. Each 40 to 50-minute episode focuses on providing deep dives into difficult topics, personal perspectives on strategies, and best practices from high-profile individuals in the social sector.

Hot topics include:

• Learning about hybrid meeting effectiveness
• Tackling internal conflict
• Building vibrant volunteer communities
• Exploring celebrity philanthropy
• Revealing nonprofit sector trends and takeaways 

11. The Nonprofit Leadership Podcast

The Nonprofit Leadership Podcast, hosted by Dr. Rob Harter, features discussions around fundraising trends, issues, and opportunities facing today’s nonprofit professionals. The goal of this podcast is to show what it takes to be an effective nonprofit leader by sharing real-world stories and strategies from the people and organizations making a strong social impact.

Hot topics include:

• Motivating your team 
• Cultivating social change
• Improving grant writing
• Promoting mental and digital well-being
• Fundraising solutions from leading nonprofits

12. Impact Boom

Impact Boom invites top social entrepreneurs, innovators, changemakers, designers, educators, thinkers, and doers onto the show to share their stories. Every discussion focuses on creating a lasting, positive social and environmental change. If it can help you maximize your social impact, the team will make sure you hear about it.

Hot topics include:

• Accelerating peer-to-peer impact
• Providing advice for impact-led entrepreneurs
• Implementing kindness-led enterprises
• Generating transformational growth
• Creating mindfulness programs for marginalized people

13. RKD Group Thinkers

RKD Group Thinkers podcast is a great listen for nonprofit marketers to learn from the experience of though-provoking content and leaders across the industry. Each episode inspires strategic decisions and insights that help nonprofits get creative and break out of creative ruts with new potential. We highly recommend this five-star podcast.

Hot topics include:

• Building fundraising habits
• Investing in yourself
• Equity and diversity
• Leadership and role curiosity

14. Purpose and Profit 

The Purpose and Profit podcast is on a mission to bring out fresh ideas that fall at the intersection of causes and brands. They dig into the trends that are making a difference in both fundraising and marketing to teach you how to apply them at your organization. Head into each episode with an open mind to learn and your goals in mind to grab some valuable takeaways.

Hot topics include:

• Innovation
• Donor motivations
• The changing landscape of generosity
• Crypto fundraising

15. Go Beyond Fundraising

Go Beyond Fundraising is your front seat to conversations with forward-thinking fundraising professionals. As experts share their work to change the world through great causes, you’ll feel their passion light up and hopefully experience the same level of excitement about applying your takeaways at your organization. You can catch new episodes weekly to semi-monthly.

Hot topics include:

• Digital fundraising trends
• Identifying the bright spots in giving
• The humans behind the data
• Gen Z curiosity

16. The Smart Communications Podcast

The Smart Communications Podcast by Big Duck is a quick view into the way leaders view relationship building through impactful conversations. Grab ideas on how to reach your donors, partners, and more with this wealth of knowledge.

Hot topics include:

• Capital campaigns communications
• Branding best practices
• Radical honesty

17. Missions to Movements

Missions to Movements is a podcast for motivated marketers looking to amplify their online presence with the help of host Dana Snyder of Positive Equation. Look no further for the latest topics transforming the way people market their story and relate to the supporters who matter most to drive it forward.

Hot topics include:

• Being a fearless leader
• Building high quality content
• Advice for tech changes like Google Analytics

18. We Are For Good 

The We Are For Good Podcast is consistently ranked at the top of the podcast charts, recognized by ListenNotes as being in the top 1% of all podcasts internationally. The show gains over 400 episodes and 4500,000+ downloads by empowering change-makers weekly. Listeners can immerse themselves in storytelling, connection, learning moments, and inspiration that help them activate their vision.

Hot topics include:

• Fostering personal development
• Creating compelling donor journeys
• Navigating seasons of change

Get Empowered With Information to Grow Your Mission

For additional resources to fuel your learning journey, our team here at Classy is committed to breaking down the latest trends and research into actionable takeaways nonprofits can implement to amplify missions. Check out our blog, newsletters, webinars, reports, guides, and inspiring stories from fellow nonprofits by visiting our nonprofit resource center. 

We’re also proud to share our latest report, The State of Modern Philanthropy 2023, a holy grail for fundraising benchmarks and trend analysis. These findings help inform nonprofits on which campaign types and engagement tactics produce the strongest results in today’s giving landscape.

Article Source

1. “Stats,” Podcast Index, accessed May 29, 2023, https://podcastindex.org/stats. 

The Classy Awards 10-Year Anniversary

Classy is dedicated to helping nonprofits raise more by providing innovative, secure technology and trusted fundraising insights grounded in comprehensive research and data analysis. We also take time every June to elevate the accomplishments of the sector we serve. 

The Classy Awards has grown to become one of the largest social impact awards in the world, celebrating nonprofits tackling fundamental challenges, like food insecurity, human rights, disaster relief, access to quality education, and public health. This year is particularly special, marking the Classy Awards’ 10th anniversary. 

Each of this year’s 11 Classy Awards winners left a lasting impression in 2022 with nearly 1.5 million people and animals served in 34 countries.

A Look Into the Winner Selection Process

Selected by our Leadership Council, this year’s Classy Awards winners include 10 organizations honored for social innovation. Additionally, we honor one organization with the People’s Choice Award, determined by public vote. 

The 2023 Leadership Council features 26 distinguished social sector leaders and nonprofit executives. This year’s Leadership Council hosts an impressive collection of top minds, representing the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Doctors Without Borders, Shriners Hospitals for Children, GlobalGiving, and Direct Relief. 

Meet the 2023 Classy Award Winners

People’s Choice Award

The People’s Choice award, determined by public vote, highlights the innovation and impact of a nonprofit making incredible contributions to our society.

Winner: Days for Girls International

Program: Menstrual Health Teacher Training, Education, and Products in Cambodia

Days for Girls works with the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport (MoEYS) to eliminate gaps in Cambodia’s menstrual health (MH) education. The project aims to increase access to timely, culturally appropriate MH and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education among students. 

By equipping teachers with the training they need, the program helps them teach students comprehensive MH and SRH education. Days for Girls also provides washable, locally produced menstrual pad kits to meet students’ MH management needs. 

Following the success of a pilot project in 2022, the project looks forward to equipping 600 teachers with the skills and knowledge necessary to deliver MH education to 15,000 fifth and eighth grade students across several provinces by 2025. 

Social Innovation Award

Winner: 412 Food Rescue

Program: Food Rescue Hero

Food Rescue Hero is a people-powered technology platform that effectively redirects surplus food from landfills to those in need. The app alerts volunteer drivers about excess food nearby and guides them to the assigned delivery destinations. 

Since 2016, the program has empowered 49,000 volunteer drivers to redirect more than 137 million pounds of excellent food from the waste stream to those who need it. 

Food Rescue Hero, based in Pittsburgh, measurably impacts food insecurity with 15 partner organizations across North America. In support of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 2, 12, and 13, the nonprofit strives to scale food recovery in 100 cities by 2030.

Winner: Animal Rescue League of Boston

Program: Wellness Waggin’

The Wellness Waggin’ is a mobile veterinary clinic that provides low-cost wellness exams for owned pets. It operates at four sites hosted by our partner, Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD)—a human service organization that assists people living at the poverty level. 

Designed for people and animals, this program aims to serve those who may not otherwise have access to a veterinarian due to location, cost, inflexible work schedules, limited/low English proficiency, or other factors. The Animal Rescue League of Boston also provides animals with preventative care to improve their health and decrease the need for emergency visits (which could lead to surrender or euthanasia).

Winner: Big Brothers Big Sisters of America

Program: BIG Futures

Big Futures is a college and career readiness initiative to equip young people for post-secondary success through mentorship, education, and access to critical opportunities. 

This nationwide movement comprises a network of programs delivered by 122 local Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies. The goal is to empower every kid on the path to graduation with a plan for their future and mentorship opportunities with lifelong impact. 

It provides young people with life skills by engaging them in resume writing, mock interviews, career panels, college visits, workplace visits, job shadowing, and aptitude exploration. Many Big Futures participants can access scholarship and internship opportunities through innovative corporate partnerships.

Winner: Crisis Text Line

Program: Play Everywhere

Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7, high-quality, confidential mental health and crisis intervention via text, web chat, and WhatsApp in English and Spanish. Texters send a message to 741741 to connect to a volunteer crisis counselor, who receives 30 hours of comprehensive training that includes de-escalation techniques, active listening, collaborative problem-solving, and safety planning. 

The organization uses machine learning and data analytics to triage conversations by severity, not time. All conversations are overseen in real-time by clinically trained supervisors with degrees in mental health-related fields who provide additional support when necessary. Conversations end when the texter is in a safe space and feels empowered to identify and use their coping mechanisms.

Winner: Everyone for Veterans

Program: No-Cost Comprehensive Dental Care Program

Everyone for Veterans (E4V) collaborates with civilians and professionals to provide a no-cost comprehensive dental care program and other services to veterans and their families nationwide. The organization recruits dental professionals to provide pro-bono dental services in the communities where the veterans live. 

Veterans often spend a lifetime at low-cost dental clinics but never accomplish a healthy dental state. E4V’s comprehensive care model not only resolves veterans’ current dental issues but sets them up for long-term oral and overall health, breaking the cycle of perpetual urgent care.

Winner: Fistula Foundation

Program: Fistula Foundation

Fistula Foundation employs a dual approach to reach as many women as possible with healing care, as the only cure for fistula is surgery:

1. Partner directly with in-country hospitals and providers that understand how best to serve women in their communities. Along with funding fistula repair surgery, the program helps build the infrastructure needed to expand fistula care.
2. Create and operate integrated, comprehensive Fistula Foundation Treatment Networks (FFTNs) to eliminate suffering on a national level, increasing access to timely, quality fistula treatment and post-operative care. 

Each FFTN achieves this goal by deepening the collaboration between local service partners to form a network that shares responsibility for caring for women with fistula across the country.

Winner: Gravity Water

Program: Gravity Water Systems

Gravity Water systems, from Gravity Water, work in schools in rural communities lacking safe water access. The organization’s technology combines rainwater harvesting, elevated storage, and gravity-fed filtration, providing schools with a source of safe water to rely on. 

In addition to providing safe drinking water, Gravity Water’s technology allows schools to run entirely off rain, increasing the school’s climate resilience and water security. Built by local community members using local materials and skill sets, Gravity Water’s systems ensure every project enables community empowerment and is resilient over time.

Winner: Hope Foundation for Women and Children of Bangladesh

Program: Hope Field Hospital for Women

The Hope Field Hospital for Women, established in 2018 by the Hope Foundation, delivers on-site free lifesaving and essential medical care for refugee women and children—including in the surrounding communities of the Rohingya settlements in Bangladesh.

Considered a Safe Haven, the hospital saves lives daily, primarily through its 24/7 obstetric emergency services. This hospital is the only one of its kind open 24/7 to attend obstetric medical emergencies such as C-sections in the refugee camps, where about one million people live in very poor and challenging conditions.

Winner: Refugee Women’s Alliance

Program: Domestic Violence Program

The Refugee Women’s Alliance (ReWA) Domestic Violence Program caters to all immigrants and refugees. With nearly one in four foreign-born residents of King County, Washington, the culturally and linguistically-responsive services the domestic violence (DV) program offers are crucial. 

The program delivers the community with culturally competent, trained providers to support survivors and their children as they seek safety and rebuild their lives. Together, DV Program staff speak 24 languages and dialects—the most of any DV provider in the Pacific Northwest. 

Last year, ReWA’s Domestic Violence Program served 700 survivors worldwide, including Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, South America, and East Africa.

Winner: TACT

Program: Teaching the Autism Community Trades

Teaching the Autism Community Trades (TACT) offers career tracks in carpentry, welding, automotive mechanics, electrical, and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Its team also conducts workshops offering introductory lessons in various trades and formats for ages 5-18 and older. 

TACT’s programs lead to employable individuals and lasting careers that are fulfilling and suited to each person’s strengths. 

Celebrating the Impact of Our 2023 Winners

Congratulations to our 2023 Classy Award winners who join a prestigious group of nonprofits embracing new ideas and illustrating the potential to drive change in our society.

The last few decades mark incredible growth, love, and acceptance of diversity, but not without challenges to feel seen and accepted. The social sector has stepped up in a big way to support this significant progress, moving away from prejudice and injustices that face lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, questioning, and transgender people across America.

At Classy, we stand beside the LGBTQ+ nonprofit organizations making a significant impact. You’ll get to see some of the special initiatives happening this June to celebrate Pride Month and more ways to get involved year-round.

Celebrating LGBTQ+ Organizations During Pride Month

What is Pride Month?

LGBTQ+ Pride Month typically falls in June and serves as a time for celebrations, protections, and commemorations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, questioning, and transgender community.

In 1969, the Stonewall riots began as a series of gay liberation protests. The timing of Pride Month represents the anniversary of those events in a positive and future-looking light—although Pride celebrations now extend throughout the calendar to continue bringing light to the LGBTQ+ community.

What does the acronym LGBTQ+ stand for?

LGBTQ+ is an abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or questioning, plus other sexual and gender minorities. While individuals may feel aligned and connected to various adjectives based on their unique experience, gender identity, and sexual orientation, the LGBTQ+ nomenclature is an inclusive way to reference, celebrate, and honor the greater community.

How to Celebrate Pride

Pride is a wonderful time to get involved with LGBTQ+ organizations to learn more. Here’s a quick list of ways to celebrate:

• Browse social media human rights campaigns that inspire you.
• Explore your local community for opportunities to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.
• Research the history and accomplishments of the LGBTQ+ community.
• Learn about ongoing efforts led by the National LGBTQ Task Force.
• Make an impact with a donation to an LGBTQ+ organization.
• Fundraise on behalf of an LGBTQ+ organization.
• Attend events that help you learn and grow alongside LGBTQ+ people.

6 LGBTQ+ Organizations to Support This Pride Month

1. The Trevor Project

Mission: The Trevor Project’s mission is to end suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning young people.

Check out some ways to celebrate Pride with The Trevor Project:

• Contribute to supporting LGBTQ young people and showing them that they matter
• Join your local Pride march to support LGBTQ+ youth, families, and allies to find joy in advocacy and self-expression in a safe, supportive environment. The Trevor Project will be in the New York City and Los Angeles parades!
• Join Trevor’s 52-Mile Pride Ride Challenge,  a virtual fundraising challenge encouraging people to commit to logging 52 miles in any way it feels best to move, all in an effort to support Trevor’s mission to end suicide among LGBTQ young people
• Explore Trevor’s resources, such as articles, resources, and guides to learn about preventing suicide, supporting LGBTQ young people, and more

2. Radiant Health Centers

Mission: Radiant Health Centers’ mission is to provide compassionate and comprehensive health services to all underserved individuals in Orange County, with a special focus on the LGBTQ+ community and those living with and affected by HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Radiant Health Centers will host several events supporting more individuals to regain their independence through comprehensive care throughout the month of June.

A thoughtful array of fundraising and awareness campaigns include:

• An annual LGBTQA+ makers market to explore LGBTQA+ makers, artists, crafters and vendors and make purchases that benefit Radiant Health Centers
• A Pride kickoff happy hour to get ready for Pride weekend with cocktails and appetizers among friends
• The Midsummer Night’s Dream Gala happens June 3 at an outdoor venue that feels like a Shakespearean forest to raise money for improving LGBTQA+ health care equity and HIV care in the community

3. The LGBT Community Center of the Desert

Mission: The LGBT Community Center of the Desert’s mission is to provide an open and welcoming environment for all members of the LGBTQ family. Through individual lived experiences and collective power, the nonprofit hosts community events, assistance programs, and various other forms of support in its efforts to create a loving community where everyone belongs.

The LGBT Community Center of the Desert offers a space where everyone belongs and can be unconditionally themselves. The team lives their values of integrity, equity, and joy through events and resources throughout the year, extending into Pride Month for anyone who feels called to learn more and get involved.

This June, The LGBT Community Center of the Desert will offer:

• Yoga groups
• Community food bank distributions
• Book clubs 
• Support groups for parents of gender-expansive youth
• Women’s and men’s chats
• Caregivers support groups
• Music and art events for community members
• LGBTQ+ hangouts for young people

4. SAGE

Mission:SAGE is the world’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQ+ older people.

In partnership with its constituents and allies, SAGE works to achieve a high quality of life for LGBTQ+ older people, supports and advocates for their rights, fosters a greater understanding of aging in all communities, and promotes positive images of LGBTQ+ life in later years. This Pride Month, SAGE will host several community events to invite more passionate advocates to get involved.

Pride Month community events will include:

• 31st Annual Fire Island Pines Celebration on June 3, 2023. Celebrating SAGE in the Pines and honoring Joe Conforti, Colin Joyner, Ryan Espinoza & Iman Le Caire
• Sage & Friends will follow on June 10, 2023 with an open bar, passed hors d’oeuvres, and fabulous company to keep the celebrations going

5. Family Equality Council

Mission: The Family Equality Council’s mission is to ensure everyone is free to find, form, and sustain their families by advancing equality for the LGBTQ+ community.

Family Equality Council gives LGBTQ+ families the public education and support they need to become a strong voice through outreach and legislative actions. Pride Month will be an extension of the help it offers throughout the year.

This June, a virtual hub for LGBTQ+ families will feature:

• Trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming parent meetups
• A blog and newsletter for families to get new information
• Alerts to take action in Congress and legislation for equal rights

6. Gay Men’s Health Crisis

Mission: The Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) mission is to be the world’s first HIV/AIDS service organization, working to end the AIDS epidemic and uplift the lives of all affected.

GMHC is determined to end AIDS and enable more individuals to live life fully. This Pride Month, the organization will open its doors to supporters everywhere to fuel its efforts toward its mission.

Pride Month activities and events will include:

• The Latex Ball is a free event open to the community that offers HIV and sexually transmitted infection testing while enjoying a celebration of different music genres and musical artists
• Advocacy opportunities include supporting the 340B Drug Pricing Program, which allows safety-net providers, such as community health centers, to purchase deeply discounted drugs and provide essential financial support services to low-income individuals

Expanding Impact on Classy

LGBTQ+ organizations do the work that brings communities together. With Classy’s comprehensive fundraising platform, these organizations can connect with supporters who believe in and will support them for the long term.

On Classy, LGBTQ+ organizations can build supporter relationships that result in more funding and impact through:

• Fundraising events to engage supporters live and online
• Peer-to-peer fundraising to give voice to more passionate people
• Crowdfunding solutions that bring communities together
• Website donations to encourage fundraising all year
• Recurring giving options that spark a chain reaction of lasting impact

Article Sources

“50 Quotes From the LGBTQ+ Community to Help You Celebrate Pride,” Woman’s Day, accessed May 17, 2023, https://www.womansday.com/life/g32858887/lgbtq-pride-quotes/.

Below, we analyze a few different healthcare organizations that integrate Classy and Salesforce with the support of Cloud for Good. We highlight how these organizations leverage Cloud for Good’s expertise in Salesforce implementation to maximize the capabilities of the customer relationship management (CRM) software and take a unique angle on nonprofit fundraising. 

You’ll hear from each team about the specific objectives they target with Classy and Cloud for Good and, most importantly, gain insight into these platforms’ impact on fundraising results.

1. Riley Children’s Foundation

Mission: To inspire people to invest in pediatric research, care, and programs that support the physical and mental health of kids.

Riley Children’s Foundation supports children by funding pediatric research, education, and primary care. The organization functions as one of the top 10 U.S. sites for pediatric health research, with 50 health centers across Indiana. 

A medical center that provides equitable access to exceptional healthcare delivery, Riley Children’s Foundation also invests significantly in training the next generation of: 

• Pediatric clinicians 
• Nurse practitioners 
• Physicians 
• Scientists 
• Other healthcare providers 

Millions of dollars in biomedical research investments flow through Riley Children’s Foundation annually to ensure all children have the greatest chance of reaching optimal health and quality of life. That requires a focused and passionate fundraising approach that connects to donors to sustain their loyalty and leave them feeling fulfilled.  

Sharing a Giving Season to Remember for Loyal Donors

Riley Children’s Foundation took advantage of the opportunity to host a memorable fundraising campaign to kick off the year-end giving season.

On Classy’s fundraising platform, organizations see conversion rates double on average between Giving Tuesday and New Year’s Eve, and 79% of U.S. donors who give on Giving Tuesday return to give again in the new year.

Riley Children’s Foundation leveraged the Classy for Salesforce integration to create a cohesive,  multichannel approach to year-end fundraising and donor communications. With the help of Cloud for Good, their team was able to optimize reporting through Salesforce and manage the mass amounts of seasonal data better. 

Salesforce provided a unified view of data coming through the team’s Classy campaign, with dynamic reports that clarified key audiences to engage at particular milestones in the donor journey. Classy added to that information with personalized gift suggestions based on each donor’s giving history and acquisition source.

Impressive Results for Year-End Fundraising

Using Classy for Salesforce and Cloud for Good’s large-scale solutions, Riley Children’s Foundation saw: 

• 22% more donations acquired by year-end
• 19% increase in fundraising dollars

2. The CDC Foundation

Mission: To help save and improve lives by unleashing the power of collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), philanthropies, corporations, organizations, and individuals to protect the health, safety, and security of America and the world.

The CDC Foundation extends the lifesaving work of the CDC and the public health system as an independent nonprofit organization. 

It offers world-class quality of care, agility, and scientific expertise to drive lasting impact. The health information delivered by the CDC Foundation supports healthcare professionals in improving the quality of service the healthcare organization offers nationwide. The team’s fundraising is critical to the sustainability of that mission and the accuracy and integrity of their data. 

Fighting COVID-19 With Strong Tech Partners

When faced with the quickly growing COVID-19 health emergency, the CDC Foundation needed to raise funds fast. In under 24 hours, the team turned their existing Classy donation forms into a completely refreshed and up-to-date Emergency Response Fund campaign. The fundraising initiative helped the organization collect donations for immediate, flexible resources that CDC experts needed to address the public health crisis. 

With such an incredible response in donations from individuals, philanthropies, and corporations, the CDC Foundation turned to Cloud for Good to learn how to track and manage contributions better through Salesforce. Salesforce’s sophisticated reports and dashboards helped them better understand who supported its campaign and how to keep those donors involved through the height of the growing pandemic.

These improved donor management processes helped the CDC Foundation further segment communications, making each donor and corporate partner feel seen and heard. The organization also traded paper documentation and generic bulk communications for greatly improved email, phone calls, and direct mail correspondence.

Life-Changing Results From a 360-View of Fundraising

Cloud for Good and Classy were able to keep pace with this unprecedented fundraising effort, helping the CDC Foundation to see:

• $30M in donations to the Emergency Response Fund in less than three months
• $1,294,352 raised on Classy between 2020 and 2021 for the Emergency Response campaign
• 7,240 donors engaged between 2020 and 2021 for the Emergency Response campaign

Feel the Impact of Cloud for Good 

Classy’s continued partnership with Cloud for Good centers on our shared values and principles of uplifting our customers and their stakeholders. We know what it takes to activate, convert, and retain donors at every step of the supporter journey. Together with Cloud for Good, our holistic approach empowers nonprofit teams for the long term, ensuring they meet and exceed their goals. 

Organizations like the ones we’ve featured today who leverage Classy’s comprehensive fundraising platform, Salesforce’s best-in-class CRM, and Cloud for Good’s future-proof implementation services gain empowerment from centralized, actionable data that allows them to strategize beyond the borders of websites. 

Our integrated, holistic solution, coupled with Cloud for Good’s implementation expertise, keeps the supporter experience front and center, allowing you to deepen relationships and maximize supporter lifetime value with:

• Near real-time results to sync your online fundraising data with your Salesforce instance, make informed decisions, and personalize your donor touchpoints
• Lightning-ready technology with the deepest integration in the industry 
• Multicurrency support that allows you to accept donations in up to 130 variations and report on the performance using Classy Passport and Salesforce
• Nonprofit Cloud that provides you with an even simpler way to produce and measure outcomes 

Amplify Your Impact With Classy

If you hope to double your revenue with optimized fundraising campaigns, we encourage you to explore Classy’s comprehensive fundraising platform. Our technology suite gives you access to everything you need with seamless synchronization to the tools you’re familiar with, such as Salesforce.

That’s why so many nonprofit health organizations partner with us to power high-impact, successful campaigns that keep donors returning.

Request a demo of our nonprofit campaign engine today.

Hybrid events take things up a notch by helping nonprofits offer authentic and memorable digital experiences alongside physical events in a consistent way. Plus, we saw in Classy’s latest State of Modern Philanthropy 2023 report that multiple avenues for donor interaction deepen supporters’ connection to the cause and positively impact their giving patterns over time.

Today, we’re looking at three of the best hybrid event planning examples from nonprofits that crafted meaningful in-person and virtual interactions to raise more. 

Not All Experiences Are Equal

The days of gathering people on Zoom webinars and closely monitoring the “you’re on mute” or “your sound isn’t working” flukes are over. A hybrid event means so much more when your virtual component thoughtfully complements your in-person efforts. Today’s event attendees want to know that if they log in from home or another part of the country, they’ll still be just as part of the event as your live attendees. 

Our Fundraising Event Attendee Insights Report found that 91% of event attendees are more likely to take further action with a nonprofit through future events and fundraising opportunities after a positive event experience. We also discovered through our research for the State of Modern Philanthropy report that customers offering their experience through Classy’s hybrid event platform, Classy Live, saw an average of $1,258 per donor over the course of a year. 

To put it into perspective, that’s more than a donor who gives a recurring monthly donation of $100 for 12 consecutive months. That’s proof positive the true power of a great hybrid event experience is its far-reaching impact on attendees who return to show their generosity through all other fundraising campaigns you host throughout the year.

The Benefits of Hybrid Events in Your Fundraising Strategy

The hybrid model gives event planners a simple way to provide attendees with the best of both worlds. Instead of narrowing event marketing down to in person or virtual, you give your audience the option to choose based on what matters most. 

Hybrid Is a Practical Event Strategy to Deliver:

• Stronger connections with donors who have the ability to attend
• Broad participation on a global scale with lower overhead costs, a higher number of attendees, and more networking opportunities
• Ample amounts of data to track attendee interactions and donation metrics
• Personal touches through live polls, gamification, and follow-up functionality of a live and virtual event platform
• Global communities united around your cause and stories
• Natural content creation with recordings for social media and promotions

What do hybrid events look like?

You can make anything from your endurance event, performance, auction, gala, or competition into a hybrid event experience. That might mean different aspects catered to in-person or online attendees, but ultimately you’re looking to create a feeling of community and togetherness between the two audiences. 

Hosting your event through an online venue like the nonprofits we’re about to introduce gives you access to everything you need before, during, and after the event.

3 Successful Hybrid Event Examples

1. Shriners Children’s Celebration of the Century

Shriners Children’s has a long reputation of bringing supporters into its community in new and creative ways. When it came to its 100th anniversary, the nonprofit’s team knew they had to make a big impression, and well, they delivered. Not only did they put on an in-person event in November at Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX, but they also carefully orchestrated a livestreamed event and curated content for attendees to enjoy virtually. 

The organization maintained a consistent experience for all attendees through single-event software. In-person attendees quickly checked in through a mobile event app to enjoy the live auction and Dierks Bentley concert. At the same time, virtual attendees could also enjoy the concert from the comfort of their homes alongside recorded interviews with patient families and an online silent auction.

The impact: 750 virtual participants, 700 live attendees, and $1.6M raised 

Takeaways for Your Next Hybrid Event:

• Create momentum: Add natural moments of giving for attendees online and in person with a virtual silent auction. Displaying fund-a-need items or selling fixed-price items and merchandise are other ways to encourage giving and ensure attendees remember your event.
• Livestream key moments: Broadcast the on-site portions of your event or featured performances and sessions to everyone in real time. This brings experiences like the Dierks Bentley concert right to your guests despite which event format they choose.
• Clarify the impact: Highlight your “why” from the moment supporters view your event page through the in-person signage, online campaign progress bar, and live fundraising thermometer celebrating key milestones.

2. Central Caribbean Marine Institute’s Reefs Go Live

Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI) brings the ocean directly to classrooms around the world through livestream, underwater lessons in its famous Reefs Go Live hybrid event series. The creativity level is pretty high for the CCMI team, which shares new episodes and supplemental teaching resources with students and teachers for engagement in a whole new way. 

By opening up their undersea world and love for vibrant oceans and coral reefs, the CCMI team reaches wider audiences. The hybrid event model gives them the platform to bring real-time interactions with their Little Cayman Research Centre to students everywhere. And of course, recordings are available afterward to reach more with their adventures. Viewers are then encouraged to engage with a simple donation page to make an even bigger impact.

The impact: More than 107,000 viewers in 22 countries for the 2022 broadcasts

Takeaways for Your Hybrid Event:

• Share event content: Follow the lead of CCMI’s readily available resources by creating unique learning materials, launching an annual report, sending out  letters from those who have benefited from your nonprofit’s work, or providing instructions for attendees to access at any time and participate in your next event. 
• Build your agenda: Feature engaging sessions or segments like the Reefs Go Live episodes, keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and dedicated networking time for registrants to get them excited about your hybrid experience.
• Simplify the payment process: Give attendees an option to donate directly and make it as simple as possible with trusted payment options, like PayPal or Venmo, then pair it with the convenience of fast mobile checkout. 

3. King County Sexual Assault Resource Center’s BE LOUD Breakfast

King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KCSARC) took a long-standing tradition and brought it to a live and virtual audience. The organization’s annual BE LOUD Breakfast is an event that supporters look forward to attending to celebrate how they raised their voices for survivors over the past year. In 2023, KCSARC hosted its 34th annual breakfast at a venue in Seattle and online with virtual elements for anyone who couldn’t be there live.

What better way to celebrate four decades of advocacy and progress than to bring as many supporters together without location barriers? KCSARC then invited registrants to participate in peer-to-peer fundraising to raise even more awareness leading up to the main event, where they heard inspiring stories of hope and recovery from the organization’s Empowered Voices program. Virtual attendees could also stream these speeches.

The impact: Sponsorship from names like Amazon, Chase, and The Seattle Times

Takeaways for Your Hybrid Event:

• Unite supporters through online fundraising: Show attendees how easy it is to set up an individual fundraising page, and give supporters who can’t attend the ability to donate directly to your cause pre- and post-event.
• Recognize sponsorships: Give your sponsors and exhibitors a shoutout directly within your online event venue and offer them the opportunity to engage with virtual attendees through digital booths, breakout rooms, and Q&A sessions.
• Get the most out of your event content: Make it easy for attendees and livestreamers to hear from incredible speakers with high-quality livestreams available on demand through Vimeo. These captivating conversations can help your organization continue raising money even after the event concludes. 

Choosing the Right Hybrid Event Platform

All three organizations we’ve highlighted take a unique approach to hybrid events that reflect the target audience, mission, and goals. With the support of the right event technology built to engage virtual and in-person audiences in any time zone, each organization could focus on growing supporter relationships.

Classy Live takes care of everything, from an easy registration process to event management and reporting. What could your event look like with more time to focus on the guest experience?

Our donor trends report Why America Gives showed us that 60% of donors said they’re most likely to visit a nonprofit’s website to do research before making a donation or fundraising on a charitable organization’s behalf. 

You probably already have a website, but how can you be sure it moves the needle for supporters, partners, board members, and potential employees? That’s where this post comes in to help you out. 

Below we dissect five of the best nonprofit website examples and what makes them stand out.

The Simple Anatomy of a Great Nonprofit Website

Let’s start with a breakdown of what makes a nonprofit website stand apart. 

Make an Impression

User experience is everything. Picture a curious internet browser looking to learn more about climate change or a passionate supporter who clicks on your site from an Instagram story their friend shared about your new program. 

Nonprofit website visitors can come from anywhere, on any platform, browser, or device. Thinking about the many paths to arrive on your homepage helps you craft an experience that’s smooth for everyone. One extra click or confusing call to action (CTA) can be enough to send someone looking elsewhere. That’s why the details, such as button colors and font, make a big difference. 

Also, consider the website content and visuals that greet people: 

• What are the first things they see and read? 
• Is it immediately clear what you do and why they should want to be a part of it? 

Your website is where you can use the best infographics, videos, images, and design elements available.

Tell Your Story

It’s time to tell your story in the most authentic and relatable way to showcase why your mission exists and the impact it makes. 

Everything from your homepage to your “about” sections and program overviews should feel consistent to ensure easy navigation and the best user experience overall.

Even the most beautifully-written webpage can go unread if it’s too overwhelming. Think about the most critical information on each page, then lean into typography and styling that draws the eye to one heading or section at a time. 

Provide a Clear Call to Action

Now that you’ve hooked your visitors to learn more, create that feeling of connection and purpose within them. The last piece to a successful nonprofit website is to give them a clear way to take action on those feelings through giving donations, taking part in volunteer work, fundraising, attending upcoming events, or sharing your work.

Every webpage should include unique CTAs that are clear and relevant to what comes before them. It begins with the most important CTA on your homepage to capture interest quickly and direct visitors where you want them to go. 

For many nonprofit organizations, a streamlined online donation form or timely donation page is the most valuable action visitors can take. For anyone not ready to take action, include social media links and contact information to keep them in the loop.

Learn From 5 Nonprofit Website Examples

Now that you have the anatomy of a great nonprofit website in mind, these five examples show you what it looks like when it all comes together. 

1. The Sarara Foundation

The Sarara Foundation’s minimalist color scheme and calming web design bring its story to life and drive supporters to join the community.

Make an impression 

Site visitors land on a simple visual complemented by impactful language to welcome them. The language is thoughtful and descriptive while remaining concise enough to scroll through and keep people wanting to learn more. 

Tell the story

A clear “Our Story” section of the website navigation menu pulls on visitor curiosity. Within this tab, users are encouraged to watch a video that immerses them in The Sarara Foundation’s story and other educational resources. 

A beautiful mixture of text and visuals follow the initial impression to teach potential supporters about the organization’s work to preserve large tracts of biodiversity that, in turn, create prosperity and opportunity for indigenous communities. The nonprofit website design remains consistent with every other page a visitor may explore. 

Provide a clear call to action

From anywhere on the website, visitors can see a clear How to Donate button that leads them to a page where an embedded, flexible donation form is ready to use. Interested supporters can complete an impactful one-time donation based on suggested donation amounts or start a monthly giving program with the organization to strengthen their impact in a matter of clicks. 

Did you know that Classy customers who enable embedded donation forms routinely see donation conversion rates twice the industry average?

2. Just One International

Just One International presents a website example full of color and creative visuals to share its mission and attract new donors.

Make an impression 

The first thing visitors see on this organization’s website is a thoughtfully arranged display of images they can connect with and grow curious about supporting through various community-oriented programs.

Tell the story

Once users enter the page, they’re inspired to continue immersing themselves in the stories of those who benefit from Just One International’s work. The bold header and intentional white space draw the eye to keywords and programs the nonprofit organization hopes to highlight. It also highlights testimonials to bring natural language onto the page and hopefully motivate a new audience to stay on the website.

Provide a clear call to action

Just as visitors begin to see what Just One International is all about, they’re offered several ways to take action based on their intent. Supporters can dive right into becoming a sponsor, making a team donation, or choosing to follow along on social media or through its nonprofit newsletter. With so many options, there’s more opportunity for people to continue their experience with the organization at a pace that’s most comfortable for them.

3. charity: water

Charity: water’s website appeals to anyone stopping by for the first time or returning to give again, regardless of the device they use to get there. 

Make an impression 

From the first page visitors land on, there’s a powerful image, a clear explanation of the organization’s impact, and a donation form to contribute to that. The website is also mobile-friendly, so supporters can find what they need within a few scrolls.

Tell the story

Beyond the first impression, charity: water gives website visitors substantial numbers to quantify its efforts and explain the meaning behind its many projects to support clean water. Among the many clean water organizations, nonprofit organization tells its story through the beneficiaries and outcomes built around its mission and shares that in an eye-catching infographic.

Provide a clear call to action

From the first impression to the main donation site, supporters are always seconds away from being able to complete a donation. They also have many options to get involved through a monthly donation program, corporate sponsorship for special projects, cryptocurrency donations, and more. A wide array of subsequent possible actions meets any donor where they are.

4. Second Harvest Madison

Second Harvest Madison’s website is a standout example of balancing bold visuals, powerful storytelling, and a humanistic feel.

Make an impression 

Visitors can understand what Second Harvest Madison is about in seconds, followed by bold text that speaks to the nonprofit mission statement in just two strong words. Donation buttons in red attract attention quickly and draw interest.

Tell the story

The story continues with a proud display of the organization’s impact through its work as a community food bank. Confident and assertive language tells visitors they found an organization they can count on to produce a significant impact as they grow more intrigued by the opportunity to participate.

Provide a clear call to action

Thoughtful language continues to invite supporters to get involved in various ways based on their preferences. Visitors can take significant action with peer-to-peer fundraising on behalf of the organization or start with an e-card to kick-start their involvement.

5. The Greater Boston Food Bank

The Greater Boston Food Bank pairs its love of helping a community in need with branding and language to match that sentiment.

Make an impression 

A soft color choice of purple opens the door to new visitors’ experiences on this website, paired with a visual of a young beneficiary demonstrating just how important the organization’s mission is. It also has a big red button with the call to “Join Us,” making visitors feel at home.

Tell the story

Once visitors begin scrolling, they can quickly see why this food bank makes waves in the Boston area. The mission is clear, followed by design blocks designated to specific areas of impact that explain it one step further.

Provide a clear call to action

Thoughtful language continues to invite supporters to get involved in various ways based on their preferences. Visitors can take significant action with a peer-to-peer fundraiser on behalf of the organization or start with an e-card to kick-start their involvement.

5 Quick Reminders for Your Nonprofit Website 

Here are some final tips for nonprofits looking to create or reimagine websites.

1. Take advantage of website builders like WordPress that give you templates to build a dream website without coding or graphic design skills. 
2. Focus on search engine optimization (SEO) to bring new traffic to your website that already shares an interest in your work.
3. Leverage modern fundraising technology to help you set up a donation page that matches the look and feel of your website with a donor-first experience. 
4. Bring your website design, videos, animations, images, and branding to life with tools like Canva for nonprofits as you picture a fresh look to resonate with supporters.
5. Make your website the hub of your nonprofit marketing approach to build a complete experience for your donors.

Complete Your Website Experience With Classy

We hope you’re inspired to offer new supporters a memorable experience, from first impression to transaction completion. Classy’s fundraising tools complement your website and bring curious visitors to a donation experience that leaves them feeling connected to your cause. With mobile-optimized donation forms and modern embedded donation modals, you have the simplest way to convert website visitors into donors and advocates at your fingertips. 

Explore how organizations like Feeding San Diego see a 44% conversion rate from a Classy embedded donation form and how to start seeing your results with a free demo.

More funding leads to more doors opened for beneficiaries. That’s why organizations like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others dedicate philanthropic efforts to supporting nonprofits with big ideas and passionate hearts.

Grants aren’t just for nonprofits who know the right funders, either. These are a wonderful funding opportunity for any nonprofit with missions and goals that support the communities that many grant organizations care deeply for and work within. Just like engaging the modern donor, your storytelling skills and demonstration of impact go a long way in securing your next grant.

Below, we’ll showcase 10 grant opportunities to apply to this year and advice to find the best partnership.

Grant Funding for Nonprofit Technology Projects

Organizations like AWS offer grants that broaden the scope of nonprofit projects through technology. Concepts like natural language processing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are all examples of new approaches to solving challenges around the world.

As nonprofits become more innovative, grants match the funding to support the pursuit of philanthropy through cloud technologies.

How to Choose the Right Funding Source for Your Nonprofit

You’ve got a lot of options when it comes to funding your nonprofit’s mission, programs, people, and goals. When looking specifically at nonprofit grants, it’s about finding funding opportunities aligned with your organization, your need, and the eligibility requirements that mirror your work.

For example, you might see a grant targeted at California nonprofits focused on early childhood education. Dig a bit further to discover that typically grant organizations like yours receive around $4,000 yearly. That example shows how granular some grants can be and the value of doing your research.

Libby Hikind, CEO and founder of GrantWatch, shared her best advice for nonprofits choosing the right grants on the Whole Whale podcast:

10 Grants Offering Funding for Nonprofits This Year

As you explore funding possibilities for your nonprofit’s specific projects and goals, we’ve rounded up 10 grant opportunities to kick-start your search.

1. AWS IMAGINE Grant

The AWS IMAGINE Grant, which recently announced the 2023 IMAGINE Grant, will offer up to $150,000 in unrestricted cash and $100,000 in AWS credits for visionary nonprofits. Organizations excited about the potential of new technologies to pilot projects or enhance existing programs have a place to showcase community work and apply for funds that make all the difference.

2. NBCUniversal Local IMPACT Grants

The NBCUniversal Local Impact Grants will award nearly $2.5 million to nonprofits in 2023 through 11 NBC and Telemundo-owned television station markets. Organizations with total expenses under $1 million are encouraged to apply for unrestricted funds to support the diverse community across youth education and empowerment, next-generation storytellers, and community development.

3. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation offers grants to nonprofits that achieve measurable impact in the fight against poverty, disease, and inequity worldwide. Grants account for 90% of the organization’s charitable giving and currently sit as its largest vehicle for funding. U.S. 501(c)(3) organizations can apply for funding that makes a meaningful difference.

4. Ford Foundation

The Ford Foundation reimagines philanthropy by catalyzing leaders and organizations focusing on social justice and establishing global movements. To do that, the foundation offers grants to a wide range of organizations that align with this type of programming. Nonprofits with missions that address the underlying drivers of inequality are great applicants for the Ford Foundation’s funding.

5. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a wonderful place to source funding if you’ve got a bold idea or solution rooted in health equity. The organization focuses on four core impact areas: health systems, healthy communities, healthy children and families, and leadership for better health. The grant process involves staff and leading experts in fields of shared interest to support nonprofit outcomes and objectives.

6. Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies awards grants to nonprofits in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. The organization looks to fund organizations supporting five key areas: the arts, education, environment and sustainability, government innovation, and public health. Bloomberg Philanthropies supports millions of people in over 700 cities and 150 countries, investing $1.7 billion worldwide in 2022.

7. Walmart Local Community Grants

Walmart’s local community grants have an open application process to provide funding to organizations making an impact close to home. Looking at a more local-level grant program, corporations like Walmart are a great example of community-based grants and funding for nonprofits. Nonprofit organizations that operate on the local level or are an affiliate of a larger organization that operates locally and directly benefits the service area of the Walmart facility providing the funding are eligible.

8. Silicon Valley Community Foundation

The Silicon Valley Community Foundation looks to support nonprofits in many areas. Consider applying if your nonprofit makes waves in advancing financial stability, early childhood development, housing, arts and culture, environment, faith, health, and many other impact categories.

9. Rockefeller Foundation Grants

The Rockefeller Foundation commits to support efforts globally that improve lives and the planet through equity and fairness. If that sounds like your nonprofit, it might be worth exploring the organization’s hundreds of active grants or connecting with staff members who may share an interest in your programs.

10. Carnegie Corporation of New York

The Carnegie Corporation of New York, a proactive grantmaker looking for innovative projects with meaningful, transformative outcomes, identifies grant recipients by program staff. The organization awards grants through a smooth grant management system, and the process is highly collaborative to ensure the best partnership between nonprofits and the organization’s values.

Tips to Secure Grants for Nonprofit Technology Projects

Many types of grants exist outside the private foundations or corporate opportunities we’ve outlined today. Take the time to explore local government grants, small business grants, family foundations, and federal grants to find a sponsorship you feel aligns with your nonprofit. When you start your grant application process, here are a few quick tips to remember.

• Protect your purpose: In everything you write through your grant application, remember to circle back to the foundational “why” behind what your organization requests funding for and the impact it will make.
• Show your potential: Just as significant as talking about what you’ve built so far is the long-term impact of your programs on your community. Use proof of concept, such as your GuideStar ratings or impact numbers, to showcase your history of turning funds into incredible results.
• Be specific: While you’re at it, be sure to highlight how funding will change your initiatives or mission with examples, numbers, and visuals.

From health care to human services, your grant proposal is your time to shine. Whether you hire a grant-writing professional or turn to your team of nonprofit leaders to pull it all together, the outcomes can be extremely valuable for your strategic planning.

Empowering Nonprofits to Raise More

Classy partners with thousands of nonprofit organizations at all stages of the journey to help you raise more for that life-changing mission you hold close. We’re here to supply you with the latest information on fundraising, marketing best practices, and updates on what drives impact across the social sector through our annual industry reports.

Your daily decisions are some of the most influential in shaping the future of the social sector. The State of Modern Philanthropy 2023 makes those decisions simpler with over 130 fresh data points to guide you at every stage.

Confidently attract new supporters, convert them into donors, and retain their support for the long run with Classy platform data collected across 54,000 active campaigns.

Data to Navigate the Changing Giving Landscape 

Does the rate of change in online giving make your head spin? We get it. 

You may already know the key to growing a sustainable donation stream is offering authentic, memorable experiences to supporters online and offline. Even then, each time we turn around, there seems to be a new way to do it, like crafting personalized email appeals with artificial intelligence (AI) language tools. 

Based on insights from this year’s report, personalization and connection are critical to nonprofits’ donor acquisition, conversion, and retention strategies. 

The State of Modern Philanthropy 2023 has the data to help you reach the right donors in the right places at the right time to make the most significant impact possible.

Dive Into the Trends Shaping Philanthropy

This year’s report combines Classy platform data with insights from our parent company, GoFundMe, to give you the full picture of the giving landscape. Our combined giving community across these platforms sits at over 150 million donors, making Classy and GoFundMe the holders of the largest and most unique philanthropic data set in the world.

Regardless of where your focus is this year, the size of your organization, or your cause category, you’ll find relevant information that boosts your confidence about where to place your time and resources. 

Bonus: Unpacking the Strongest Results From the Leading Nonprofits

We’re also peeling back the layers on some of the highest-performing nonprofits on Classy to demonstrate what it looks like to lean into these trends strategically. 

• 44% conversion rate for Feeding San Diego (3x industry average)
• 13-point lift in conversation rate for V Foundation
• 56% increase in donation volume for Many Hopes 

Build and Empower a Passionate, Active Community 

So are you ready to build your powerful, multifaceted donor experience to retain your loyal community? 

Choose where you want to focus as you land on our interactive report website:

• Building community and engagement
• Fundraising beyond your donation website 
• Revealing patterns in donor retention

The Outcome: Keys to Lifelong Donor Relationships

At Classy, and in partnership with our GoFundMe community, we mine the latest insights across our platforms each year to inform how we build a comprehensive suite of fundraising experiences that best support nonprofits on a mission to raise more so they can do more. 

Take advantage of this year’s data and fundraising themes to identify how your organization can provide supporters with multiple ways to participate in and support your mission to grow relationships over time.

That’s the abbreviated version of the goal proximity effect, which fuels the psychology behind why fundraising thermometers lead to more donations.

While it’s already clear how effective a goal thermometer can be, have you ever wondered if you use it to its full potential?

You’re about to dive into a full breakdown that will leave you feeling more confident in setting and achieving your donor acquisition, conversion, and retention goals with the added support of a fundraising thermometer.

How Do Fundraising Thermometers Work?

The term fundraising thermometer can refer to many different things. Most commonly, nonprofits will have access to a few options through fundraising software that visualizes for donors your progress toward a goal. We’ll cover three that are highly impactful in helping you raise more.

Types of Donation Thermometers

1. Campaign Fundraising Progress Bar 

A campaign fundraising progress bar is a goal tracker that showcases how much you’ve raised toward your overall campaign benchmarks. Most commonly embedded on a campaign page, it highlights donation totals at a campaign level.

For crowdfunding campaigns, the fundraising progress bar represents the total donation volume for that campaign. On the other hand, for peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising campaigns, where individuals can create personal fundraising pages or team pages to fundraise on behalf of a nonprofit, the campaign progress bar aggregates all direct donations to the nonprofit and individual fundraisers.

2. Individual Progress Bars

An individual progress bar is specific to peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns. It provides a more granular view of a group’s movement toward their fundraising goal. The display can show teams’ and individual team members’ progress.

To show how each fundraiser’s efforts ladder up to the larger campaign, individual fundraising pages also showcase how the money that person raised helps bring the organization closer to its overarching goal. This is an excellent reminder of the sense of community that comes with peer-to-peer fundraising.

Connection and competition are big motivators to fundraise more.

In fact, the median amount raised by events that empower attendees to fundraise is over four times greater than events that do not.

3. Digital Displays of Fundraising Thermometer at Live Events

A digital display of a fundraising thermometer at your events takes this strategy to the next level with a visual that serves as the backdrop to fundraising activity at an in-person event. The fundraising thermometer widget reflects real-time donations, auction bids, text-to-donate contributions, paddle raises, merchandise purchases, and more.

Organizations often use this as a projected display that fundraising event attendees can see and be motivated by throughout the night. Some choose to have it up all night as a constant progress meter. Others get creative about including progress specific to key moments in their agenda to excite and entice potential donors.

The best part is that you don’t need a team of graphic designers to make your thermometer stand apart. You can get creative with tools like Canva or use a simple editor to add your preferred brand colors and a powerful background image. The dynamic display will have a unique URL, so all you have to do is paste the code to project it live or share it.

4 Ways to Raise More With a Fundraising Thermometer

Now that you understand the purpose and potential of this tool, we’ll show you how to make the most of your fundraising thermometer or progress bar at each stage of your campaign.

1. Create a Sense of Urgency Around Your Campaign

Immediately greet campaign page visitors with a fundraising progress bar at the top or close to where they take action (for example, a Donate Now button).

Hook prospective donors by showing them how their contributions impact the bigger goal. People like to know that they’re part of a winning team, so seeing your progress can entice donors and keep them returning to your campaign page to give again.

You can also incorporate your fundraising progress into the copy on your must-see crowdfunding campaign page, donation appeals, and social media marketing messages to take it up a notch. When you know exactly how much you have left to raise, you’re in the best spot to tie that to the impact it will make and the sense of urgency.

Fundraisers That Motivate Unlock Donor Acquisition and Volume

Fundraising progress bars are a great peer-to-peer tool to fuel giving. Communicating each fundraiser’s progress toward a goal helps spark motivation, increase donor acquisition, and boost the average gift size.

80% of donors who donate to a P2P campaign are new to the nonprofit.

2. Engage Supporters in Real Time on Event Day

As more attendees return to in-person experiences, a digital display fundraising thermometer invites your target audience to see real-time donation progress toward a critical goal or milestone. You can implement this tool during your gala fundraisers, endurance events, auctions, and other creative fundraising initiatives.

Recently, Tim Tebow came on stage at a Tim Tebow Foundation event hosted by Classy Live. He called on guests to “answer the call” while displaying a fundraising thermometer to drive urgency within a specific period.

When your goal is on display for the entirety of your event, it’s a constant reminder of what brought you all together and what you can accomplish as a result. This is crucial for all campaign types, but particularly for events, which have more potential to bring in significant gifts when attendees feel motivated.

How to Customize Your Fundraising Thermometer Image on Classy at Live Events

• Choose your view: Select a thermometer view in Classy to showcase your progress toward your overall goal or how much you’ve raised within a specific time frame. You can always switch throughout the event.
• Create your display: Add a background image, display name, and goal amount to thoughtfully tap into human emotion and get people excited to watch the thermometer go up.
• Craft a thank you message: Choose the text that appears above the donation total dollar amount, like “Thank You for Donating” or “You Made the Difference.”

As your thermometer hits specific milestones like one-quarter of your goal, offer moments of engagement with your guests. Consider a text-to-donate prompt, a donation match announcement, or another creative way to get them excited to hit the next progress point.

How to Bring a Fundraising Progress Bar to Your Virtual Event

Display progress in a virtual venue with a fundraising progress bar at the bottom of your livestream. On Classy, you can turn this on or off easily. In addition, show individual progress bars for anyone fundraising on your behalf.

For hybrid events, showcasing a digital display on a screen for those in-person and virtually is a great way to encourage engagement and boost participation from near and far.

3. Build Connections With a Clear Impact on Donations

The impact of your fundraising thermometer doesn’t end when your campaign does. Use it as a way to put numbers to the impact of your supporters’ donations. People feel motivated to give (and give again) when they understand how their donations move the needle for an organization.

Regular communication is crucial in any strong retention strategy. Celebrate supporters around the exact percentage in which you exceeded your campaign goal, for example. At the same time, if you didn’t hit your goal, you can use that to extend your campaign strategically and call on supporters to help you close the gap.

4. Use the Data to Inform Future Fundraising Strategies

Numbers are great for demonstrating donors’ impact and informing your future campaign strategies. Think about how your campaign progress summary can designate the benchmarks you want to hit for future events and campaigns.

The following data points can help you set goals for future initiatives:

• The likelihood of donors giving at the beginning or end of a campaign
• The time it took to hit the quarter, halfway, and three-quarter mark of your overall campaign goal
• The donors who gave repeat donations and the drivers influencing that
• The individual fundraising pages that brought in the most donations
• The average donation amount of individual fundraising pages
• The percentage in which you exceeded or did not hit your campaign goal

Get proactive in collecting these data points throughout your campaign, then regroup afterward to make intelligent and realistic goals for the future.

Use Fundraising Thermometers to Unlock Donations

Your online fundraising tracker signals your audience to take immediate action. Keep donor connection the top priority regardless of how you put your fundraising progress bars or thermometers to use. 

Set yourself up to reach your goal, celebrate the win, and push your organization to achieve more from your fundraising efforts with a motivated donor base.

Article Sources 

1. “Development, Data, and the Psychology of Giving,” Faunalytics, accessed April 24, 2023, https://faunalytics.org/development-data-and-the-psychology-of-giving/.

Nonprofit animal welfare organizations all over are dedicating the necessary work to supporting animals all around us. From local charities in North America to worldwide initiatives, animal charities are a special part of the sector. Today, we’re celebrating the best animal advocacy programs and all the ways to get involved. 

How Do Animal Charities Make an Impact?

If it slithers, wags its tail, or walks on four legs, it’s a safe bet that an animal charity works year-round for its well-being. When you support an animal charity, you know you’re offering life-changing care through an organization motivated by a mission over financial gain. 

What are good charities to donate to for animals?

The best charity to donate to is always the one that speaks to your heart and ignites your passions for animal care. Here are a few types of animal charities that exist and run programs on the support of donors and supporters:

• Animal rescues, animal shelters, and no-kill safe havens
• Animal sanctuaries and wildlife habitats
• Animal hospitals and veterinarians 
• Animal protection and animal rights groups
• Anti-poaching and factory farming groups
• Care for farm animals and domestic rehoming
• Centers for scientific research
• Humane societies 
• Legal outreach for policy change
• Service dogs and companion animals 
• Spay and neuter clinics
• Zoos and aquariums

The Best Animal Charities Making an Impact in 2023

1. Progressive Animal Welfare Society

The PAWS mission: The Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) mission is to facilitate people helping homeless pets and wild animals go home and thrive.

PAWS looks at orphaned and injured wildlife with a lens of opportunity and a second chance. The team also focuses on rehabilitating, sheltering, and adopting homeless animals, namely cats and dogs. Beyond that, PAWS actively educates the community to inspire more compassion beyond its walls, so communities can collectively take action in improving animal rights.

Since its start in 1967, PAWS has united over 130,000 homeless animals, including both cats and dogs, with new families and cared for over 140,000 wild animals. The organization doesn’t plan on slowing down their rescue efforts anytime soon.

Opportunities to support PAWS: PAWS offers supporters a simple donation website to give a one-time gift any time of the year. They can also make a monthly donation to expand their impact and reach even more animals. Let’s not forget all donors have the opportunity to see their contributions doubled through donation matching from employers and their loyal donor peers.

2. Nashville Humane Association

The Nashville Humane Association mission: The Nashville Humane Association (NHA) is committed to finding responsible homes, controlling pet overpopulation, and promoting the humane treatment of animals, all while supporting adoptable pets and pet families in our community.

Since 1946, the NHA has been the haven for homeless pets and at-risk animals in Nashville. It’s no wonder the city votes them as a “Favorite Place to Adopt” year after year. The NHA takes the time to show donors how their dollars go on to fund incredible work, which helps them receive recognition from Candid for excellent nonprofit transparency and a high rating on Charity Navigator.

Opportunities to support the NHA: The NHA created a strong family of almost 60 team members and hundreds of foster families, volunteers, and supporters to continue saving lives. Teamwork is entirely gift-based, and supporters never run out of new ways to get involved. The NHA focuses on making donations simple and engaging the community with modern experiences, helping them gain accolades as the hosts of the city’s favorite charity events. From corporate partnerships and planned giving to peer-to-peer fundraising, there’s always a new way to make a difference here.

3. Friends of the Topeka Zoo

The Friends of the Topeka Zoo mission: The Friends of the Topeka Zoo (FOTZ) mission is to enrich the community through wildlife conservation and education.

FOTZ sets its sights on a future of animal protection, from each tiny toad to big cat. With roots back to 1933, the zoo and conservation center has accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE). Even with 90 years of experience, the zoo has big plans for expansion, including its 2023 opening of a year-round giraffe habitat.

Opportunities to support FOTZ: FOTZ knows that big plans and consistent growth are all about support. That’s why the zoo offers many ways for donors to get involved both online and in person. The organization’s Elite 8 Watch Party with a memorabilia auction is one creative fundraiser example that adds to the year-round opportunities supporters have to give one-time and recurring donations.

4. Austin Pets Alive!

The Austin Pets Alive! mission:We pioneer comprehensive, innovative programs designed to save the animals most at risk for euthanasia.

Austin Pets Alive! isn’t just a no-kill shelter; it’s a catalyst for changing animal welfare as we know it. Their innovative programs were created specifically to address the lack of resources to save the lives of specific populations of animals, and they’ve created a network between animal welfare groups so that more animals can benefit from these life-saving programs. Adoptions and foster initiatives for at-risk animals are possible with a team of loving volunteers. That’s what led to the 98% live-release rate for the city of Austin and the over 110,000 lives saved by the organization.

Opportunities to support Austin Pets Alive!: Giving through the organization’s website pop-up is easier than ever, where a few clicks lead to life-changing funding. The APA! team utilizes pop-ups strategically throughout various campaigns to call a need to items like monetary need, unique involvement opportunities such as donating stock or cryptocurrency, and in-kind donation needs. They can also sponsor a kennel or fundraise for animals through their peer-to-peer fundraising page.

5. Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research & Conservation

The Jane Goodall Institute mission: The Jane Goodall Institute’s mission is to promote understanding and protection of great apes and their habitat and build on the legacy of Dr. Jane Goodall, its founder, to inspire individual action by people of all ages to help animals, help other people, and protect the world we all share.

The organization is a global community conservation organization that inspires people with animal advocacy. Its team believes that everything from saving endangered species like great apes from extinction to protecting the world’s animal habitats connects to present better outcomes for us all.

Opportunities to support the Jane Goodall Institute: The Jane Goodall Institute empowers passionate individuals and communities alike to come together around Dr. Jane Goodall’s work with year-round donations, automatic planned giving on a monthly cadence, volunteer work, and creative fundraising campaigns. Donors have flexibility on how they want to give from Venmo to Paypal, so becoming part of the impactful work is accessible anywhere, anytime.

6. Aquarium of the Pacific

The Aquarium of the Pacific mission: The Aquarium of the Pacific’s mission is to instill a sense of wonder, respect, and stewardship for the Pacific Ocean, its inhabitants, and its ecosystems. The Aquarium of the Pacific houses over 12,000 animals, from sea otters to sharks in unique Tropical, Northern, and Southern California galleries, has a robust education program, and participates in several conservation initiatives.

The Aquarium of the Pacific houses everything from sea otters to sharks in unique Tropical Northern and Southern California/Baja galleries. It also supports the people who care for them. This year marks the third year of scholarships presented to African American students who engage in various aquarium efforts. 

Opportunities to support the Aquarium of the Pacific: Because donations keep the aquarium alive, supporters have access to a simple donation page on the organization’s website. There, they can give a one-time gift, dedicate their donation to a specific program or become a member and enjoy everything the aquarium has to offer. 

Support Animal Welfare Organizations With Fundraising Tech

One common thread between the organizations you just got to know is a commitment to donors. By making it as straightforward as possible, communities can unite around the organization’s causes. Relationships sit at the core of sustainable fundraising, and securing the right fundraising tools is integral to building and nurturing those relationships for the long haul.

If you are interested in learning how to start an animal rescue foundation, it is essential that you have what you need to translate the commitment of active animal advocates into a tangible impact. That includes key factors, such as personalization, flexible giving experiences, and consistent opportunities to give across various campaigns. Start by investing in a strong fundraising suite to make not only your life easier, but your efforts more impactful.

We’re honored to guide you as you prepare to serve your community in new and creative ways. Below, you’ll find insights from our experience partnering with thousands of nonprofits who’ve collectively raised over $5 billion with our comprehensive fundraising suite.

Our goal is simple. We help nonprofits raise more to do more. Each of the nonprofits we partner with started right where you are now, and we can’t wait to help you kick off your incredible journey.

Keep reading to get answers to the most common FAQs, such as:

• How do you start a nonprofit with little money?
• What are the different types of nonprofit organizations?
• What is the best way to start a nonprofit?
• What is the best nonprofit software to use?
• And many more!

Step 1: Research Your Cause Category

The first step to start a nonprofit is to know who, what, or where you’ll serve. Begin by understanding which cause category you’ll join within the larger social sector.

What are the different types of nonprofits?

Charitable organizations fall into many categories. To understand the types of nonprofits, you can use the major groups identified through the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) Classification System.1 We’ve listed them here for easy access:

• Arts, culture, and humanities: A
• Education: B
• Environment and animals: C, D
• Health: E, F, G, H
• Human services: I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P
• International, foreign affairs: Q
• Public, societal benefit: R, S, T, U, V, W
• Religion-related: X
• Mutual/membership benefit: Y
• Unknown, unclassified: Z

How can I find my NTEE code?

The National Center for Charitable Statistics developed the NTEE Classification System as a keyword-searching criterion for nonprofits. You can visit this comprehensive list of all NTEE codes to identify the right fit for your nonprofit’s work and mission.

Understanding where your nonprofit will fall in the system will help you get more targeted in your category research. You can join category-specific nonprofit associations to network and partner with other organizations you might want to engage with to be a fiscal sponsor or mentor. In addition, you’ll need to know your NTEE code to complete appropriate Internal Revenue Service (IRS) forms, such as IRS Form 990.

Do I need to complete a needs Assessment for my nonprofit corporation?

The formula for a successful nonprofit is an inspired idea and a need for the help it provides. Before continuing in the following steps, determine how your nonprofit will serve a particular purpose and niche within the cause category you enter.

A needs assessment will help clarify who your beneficiaries are and how you can support this specific demographic or population. You’ll see gaps in nonprofit work today where your organization can enter to be the difference maker. That will also help you create a competitive edge as you look to gain buy-in.

How can I learn from other nonprofits in my category?

Like any other business, there’s value in learning from those in your cause category. Look at other nonprofits succeeding in your space to identify a list of inspirational organizations. It’s also beneficial to create a network of other new nonprofits to connect with as you all get started together.

Step 2: Incorporate Your Nonprofit Based on Your State

The second step to start a nonprofit is to know your state’s process. This will determine your next steps. It’ll help you prepare and understand better where all your documents need to go and when to deliver them. 

Where do I find my state’s incorporation requirements?

Google is your best resource for finding your state’s governing body for nonprofits. While we can’t list every state’s requirements, here’s an example of what you’d uncover if you started a nonprofit in California.

The California Association of Nonprofits guides those looking to start a nonprofit in California through state-specific steps, including2:

• Filing a Statement of Information with the California Secretary of State
• Applying for California state tax exemption with the California Franchise Tax Board

What is usually required to incorporate a nonprofit in my state?

While your state will provide specific steps to incorporate your nonprofit, here are a few standard requirements to expect in any location:

• File for an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
• Complete registration forms 
• Submit your articles of incorporation
• Develop nonprofit bylaws and conflict-of-interest policies
• Complete federal tax exemptions with the IRS
• Establish your street and mailing address

Creating a checklist of the appropriate paperwork and steps you’ll need to take is helpful. From there, build a more realistic timeline to being a fully operating and legal nonprofit organization.

Step 3: Apply for a 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Status

The third step to start a nonprofit is to file as a 501(c)(3). A 501(c)(3) organization is a corporation, trust, unincorporated association, or another type of organization exempt from federal income tax. Section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code is the foundation of this legislation.

How do I apply as a 501(c)(3)?

You’ll need to apply with the IRS to become a 501(c)(3) status tax-exempt organization through Form 1023-EZ. The only requirement is that the IRS considers your nonprofit charitable. In addition, the IRS charges a filing fee for federal tax-exempt status.3 Here are the categories you’ll need to fall into, corresponding to your NTEE code:

• Religious
• Charitable
• Scientific
• Testing for public safety
• Literary
• Educational
• Fostering national or international amateur sports
• Prevention of cruelty to animals and children

Step 4: Develop Your Unique Nonprofit Identity

The fourth step to start a nonprofit is to tell the world now that you know how you serve a need in your community and larger cause sector. That starts with defining your nonprofit’s brand and determining how you’ll introduce your new organization to others. 

How do I tell my nonprofit’s story?

Think of nonprofit founders in the same way as entrepreneurs, with a story behind how their organization came to be. 

Imagine yourself on a show like “Shark Tank,” where for-profit startups with fresh ideas enter a room of business investors to present their pitch.4 The business owners develop creative and engaging ways to tell their story and showcase why their idea is worth supporting. 

People want to hear your nonprofit startup story so they can relate to your mission. The story you tell not only matters now when you’re starting but will carry through to every fundraising event, donor interaction, and campaign you run as a consistent drumbeat that calls people to take action. 

Donor relationships sit at the core of sustainable charitable solicitations, and storytelling is the primary catalyst.

What do I need to build my nonprofit’s identity?

Get started with the basics of your nonprofit brand. Determine your nonprofit name, mission statement, purpose, and founding story. Consider how these elements come together to tell your supporters and future board members exactly what you do and whom you serve.

This step can stretch out for a while if you try to make it perfect. While you should be thoughtful about it, we suggest starting with a simple look and feel to get the ball rolling. You can always make changes as you learn how your supporters interact with it. 

If you want to test the waters as you workshop your ideas, consider creating a nonprofit overview on one page with your name, mission statement, and founding story. Share that with a close group of friends or colleagues to get their honest feedback.

How do I stand out with visuals?

Your nonprofit’s identity isn’t complete without visuals. Here are a few considerations to get you thinking about achieving a consistent look and feel across your website and marketing materials:

• Core brand colors
• Designated fonts
• 3 to 5 engaging images
• Logos

If you want to take your visual identity up a notch, check out this visual design advice from one of Classy’s designers. 

Eventually, your identity and story will become the narrative you weave into nonprofit annual reports to record your growth to supporters, partners, and board members.

Step 5: Draft Your Nonprofit Business Plan

The fifth step to start a nonprofit is to write out your first nonprofit business plan, describing how you intend to achieve your mission in detail. This exercise is a great way to organize your many ideas into a brief outline of action.

What goes into a nonprofit business plan?

Get creative about the format you’d like to use for your business plan. Here’s a list of critical components to get you started:

• Short and long-term goals
• Specific milestones and a timeline to achieve them
• Descriptions of beneficiaries, partners, and other stakeholders
• Financing models you plan to use
• Strategies you’ll use to secure funding
• Products, programs, and services you’ll deliver
• Details of your nonprofit’s position in the social sector
• Methods you’ll use to measure success

Who will engage with my business plan?

Your business plan benefits you by putting your thoughts and ideas on paper. It also serves as a valuable asset to some key audiences as you start building your brand, including:

• Donors: To effectively fundraise, you’ll want to map each campaign to your business plan and use language that excites people to support you. Think about the people most likely to donate to your cause and what they’ll want to know about how their contributions fuel your mission.
• Partners: If you plan on working with other nonprofits, corporate sponsors, or communities, consider what information they’d want to know before committing to the partnership. 
• Board of directors and employees: As you build out your team, you’ll want to consider the value proposition of working for you and your nonprofit. How will your team members play a part in your organization’s success, and what will get your ideal board members to agree to join the journey?

Step 6: Build Your Nonprofit Board and Team

The sixth step to start a nonprofit is to plan how you’ll attract individuals to work with you—even if you start your nonprofit alone, you’ll eventually need support.

Can I start a nonprofit by myself?

Of course, you can choose to operate your nonprofit alone. The trajectory of your nonprofit is entirely up to you. Still, recruiting board members and staff can decrease the time to impact significantly. You can decide whom you’d like to bring into your organization based on your fundraising goals for the first few years of operation.

Who should be on my nonprofit’s board?

Your nonprofit’s board supports your organization’s vision, planning, oversight, and execution. When you decide whom to bring in, consider who can fill in the gaps in your expertise. The following list of questions will be helpful in your decision-making: 

• Who has the experience or expertise in the specific areas I need to bring my nonprofit’s business plan to life?
• Who has leadership experience that can guide me as I expand the board and internal teams?
• Who is committed to my cause and passionate about my work?

How many board members should my nonprofit have?

A good rule of thumb is to select an uneven number of board members to avoid tied votes. Start by choosing at least five. You want to know that there are enough members to make sound decisions but not so many that decisions get held up.

How do I build a team of employees?

Think about where you’ll bring in others to support you. Here’s a list of functions you might want to prioritize hiring first:

• Development and fundraising
• Database ownership
• Marketing and design 
• Direct service 
• Finance 
• Information technology 

When should I lean on volunteers?

Volunteers will always add value to your nonprofit, but you can decide where you need support most. You might want to build out a network of volunteers to help you launch your first events or gain marketing support before you’re ready to hire additional team members.

Reach out to people in your network and community first, and encourage them to recruit passionate supporters who can help spread the word and fuel your growth. Knowing exactly what you’ll need volunteers for and promoting that specific role description regularly can help you find a core group of loyal individuals to rely on.

Step 7: Build a Marketing Plan to Acquire Your First Donors

The seventh step to start a nonprofit is to build a marketing strategy to fuel donor acquisition. 

How do I target the right donors?

Based on your business plan, choose your target supporters as you get started and who will most likely support your nonprofit in its first year. Set specific goals around how many supporters you want to attract in your first three months, six months, and year of operation.

Developing a basic donor persona that you can think about as you write promotional copy or develop messaging could also be helpful.

Which marketing channels should I use?

It’s time to get creative. Determine the first marketing channels you’ll focus on to launch your nonprofit to the world. Here’s a list of beginning places and associated resources to help you:

• Website
• Blog
• Email
• Social media

Where can I get ideas for marketing my nonprofit?

Inspiration is everywhere. Log on to any social media platform, and you can see how other nonprofits post content to reach desired audiences. You can also visit the nonprofits’ websites to see what messages appear at the top of each page, as well as the visuals that pull in readers to take action. 

Step 8: Choose Your Fundraising Solution

The eighth step to start a nonprofit is to rely on a fundraising solution. The digital landscape continues evolving before our eyes, and an innovative way to reach donors where they are with an easy-to-use donation process is critical.

How do I find the flexibility I need to focus where it matters most?

You can spend more time ideating and creating new fundraising strategies when your fundraising solution understands the needs of nonprofits. Look for a solution that can offer you the flexibility you need to establish workflows and customize the way you reach your donors with each campaign you run. It makes a difference when campaigns, from peer-to-peer to crowdfunding, feel consistent to your supporters. 

Flexibility also benefits your donors when you can give them options on how to pay, how to engage, and which device they want to use, knowing each experience will be one that brings them back.

How do I deliver tailored giving experiences to my ideal donors?

All giving experiences can’t look the same. When evaluating your suite of direct giving tools, look at ways to build donor journeys for each of the segments you hope to engage. 

For example, will you rely on a group of monthly or recurring donors to build a loyal following? Maybe you’re looking to start strong with events that build cause awareness with new donors who prefer intimate engagement to get to know you. Or maybe you have a list of major donors that will help you in your first few years. Either way, you want to be able to offer each group the right experience at the right time to drive the right action for your organization.

How do I build online relationships?

With social media and app-based experiences at the forefront and the introduction of artificial intelligence like ChatGPT and Google Bard, it’s crucial to have tools that feel modern and make it easy to engage younger donors without overcomplicating it. 

Look for fundraising software that can help you create connections and fundraise beyond your website to build authentic relationships that convert supporters into loyal donors.

Step 9: Collect Donations for Your Nonprofit

The ninth step to start a nonprofit is to secure donations. Identify sources of income that will get you to your goals and desired outcomes.

Can I start a nonprofit with no money?

You can lean on fundraising to build revenue for your nonprofit, but it’s a good idea to have a foundational bank account to pull from in the initial stages. In time, you’ll be able to raise money in increments to invest back into logistics, leading to more annual revenue to achieve your mission.

How do I set realistic fundraising goals?

Start by looking at your annual fundraising goals outlined in your business plan. Determine what’s possible by evaluating what you’ll need to raise to offset any costs you accrue while delivering on your mission. From there, look at how you can work backward to identify what you’ll need to raise each quarter and what that requires in monthly donations. 

To remain realistic about your fundraising goals, give yourself a simple starting point in your first few months. Look at the first campaign you run or the donation page you put up as an opportunity to set benchmarks for what you can predict you’ll raise in the future. 

Start by testing the waters and gaining a more predictable revenue path with each additional campaign you host.

Which type of fundraising campaign should I launch first?

We recommend starting with your main donation page on your website as a year-round campaign that can bring in a steady stream of gifts. 

New public charities can also be successful by adding the following campaign types:

• Crowdfunding campaign pages: Raise small amounts of money from many people to fund a specific project, collect general donations, or drive support to reach your first fundraising goals
• Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns: Let supporters fundraise on your new nonprofit’s behalf through their personal fundraising pages to attract new donors and raise more than they might be able to give
• Fundraising events: Invite your community to a live or online event to learn about your new nonprofit and build relationships with people who can become your supporters for future campaigns

Free Resources for Starting a Nonprofit

Fundraising Inspiration

• A curated list of 77 event ideas 
• Creative ideas to run your first Giving Tuesday campaign
• Unique examples of using visual storytelling to attract donors

Research on Today’s Donor Behavior and Fundraising Trends

• The State of Modern Philanthropy unveils fundraising trends across over 12 million donations, 5,000 organizations, and 54,000 active campaigns
• Why America Gives surveys donors to share what motivates them to give to organizations and how they become aware and connected to a nonprofit
• The Nonprofit’s Guide to Engaging Gen Z puts everything today’s youngest donors want to see from their fundraising experience in one place
• Hybrid Events Toolkit is your go-to for hosting an event that pulls in online and in-person supporters for a connecting event centered in relationship building 

Article Sources 

1. “National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) Codes,” National Center for Charitable Statistics, accessed April 18, 2023, https://nccs.urban.org/project/national-taxonomy-exempt-entities-ntee-codes.
2. “How to Start a California Nonprofit,” California Association of Nonprofits, accessed April 18, 2023, https://calnonprofits.org/resources/starting-a-california-nonprofit. 
3. “Form 1023 and 1023-EZ: Amount of User Fee,” Internal Revenue Service, accessed April 18, 2023, https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/form-1023-and-1023-ez-amount-of-user-fee. 
4. “Shark Tank,” ABC, accessed April 18, 2023, https://abc.com/shows/shark-tank. 

If you’re thinking, “Wait, what is a paddle raise,” we’ve got you covered. You might know a paddle raise as a “fund-a-need” or direct appeal, but it’s simply an easy fundraising idea that nonprofits can use to drive direct event donations. 

We’ll dive even deeper into what a paddle raise event is below and the Classy team’s best recommendations for making the most of yours.

What Is a Paddle Raise Event?

A paddle raise event is a type of fundraising auction where supporters pledge certain dollar amounts to an organization, typically for a specific purpose or special appeal. 

You can brand a paddle raise event around a specific initiative or keep it generalized to your overarching mission. Either way, it’s a great way to create a moment of excitement that gives your supporters a direct path to contribute to your cause.

What is the purpose of hosting a paddle raise event?

Paddle raise events fuel excitement and comradery among a group of passionate people who come together around a cause. You might use a paddle raise event to tell your story and ignite action at a time of heightened need or engage your event audience with another way to showcase their passion through a fun addition to the agenda. 

How does a paddle raise auction work?

Your paddle raise auction can be a live, virtual, or hybrid event with options for in-person or online attendance, thanks to modern nonprofit event platforms. 

During a paddle raise, the auctioneer asks for different donations in varying amounts from the crowd for raffle items. Guests raise their paddles or bid numbers to commit to a gift of that size. The gifts you choose and the timing of your paddle raise is up to you.

What are the benefits of hosting a paddle raise?

Your paddle raise can boost energy to avoid lulls during your fundraising event and unite your community around a shared interest. It’s also a way to spark healthy competition. 

You might even consider positioning it as a team event that calls on each paddle raise as a piece to the larger solution your nonprofit creates with the money you raise. 

How do you organize a paddle raise to reach your fundraising goals?

This is where your creativity comes in. We’ll share some of our favorite tips from nonprofits that hosted paddle raise events through Classy Live, but ultimately you want to think about how to leave a lasting impression to garner continued support following the event. 

Every decision you make will impact the way you make people feel at your event and the way they share that feeling with others when it ends. That’s especially valuable after our Why America Gives report found that 71% of donors are most likely to learn about new causes and charitable giving opportunities from friends and family. 

Top Tips to Plan Your Successful Paddle Raise Event

1. Think About the Virtual Experience

Your paddle raise can become virtual to appeal to your audience, wherever they are. 

Classy Live lets you carry a consistent experience for in-person guests and virtual attendees with mobile bidding. You’ll add your paddle raise auction item to the back end of the event platform with preset donation levels, then have admins add commitments made live to the back end to transition smoothly to the attendee’s cart. 

Virtually, you can host your paddle raise items on a public auction or donation page where guests can make commitments digitally on their mobile devices or laptops. From there, a simple self-checkout process guides them to completion. 

2. Make It Easy to Check in Guests

On the note of seamless experiences for attendees, your check-in process matters. When nonprofit teams host an event in Classy Live, whether virtual or in person, they have full access to a single source of truth for attendee records.

They can update attendee information throughout the event easily and allow attendees to add a credit card right at check-in to make any donations or purchases simpler than ever. 

For organizations using an integrated customer relationship management (CRM) tool, the CRM also updates each attendee record to help you stay in touch after the event. This is key to streamlining your donor management processes and initiatives. 

3. Think Through Payment Experiences

Since you don’t want any barriers to interfere with donations, you’ll need to provide various ways for supporters to give. Classy Live’s card reader solution gives nonprofits a quick way to tap a guest’s credit card and store the information on file for paddle raise commitments, fixed-priced items, or participation in a live or silent auction.

We always recommend adding various payment methods in advance, such as PayPal, Venmo, or other trusted digital wallets. When your donation forms and registration websites offer the options donors prefer, you ensure a completed transaction in just a few clicks.

4. Keep It Simple

Events that include raising paddles come with a lot of considerations, especially when tied to a larger fundraising gala or charity auction. 

Your software can help ease the process of tracking bidder numbers, auction items, paddle numbers, and specific paddle raise items. Let your tech handle the fast-paced activity while you focus on engaging your guests. 

Additional tracking details you can take advantage of include:

• The type of auction item (silent, fixed price, live, or paddle raise)
• The title of the item
• A number for the item
• The category describing the item
• A picture of the item
• The description of the item

5. Increase the Ways You Can Raise Money

Finally, pair your paddle raise with other opportunities when attendees access your auction page. Supporters can place bids or purchase silent auction items, paddle raise items, or fixed-price items. The more opportunities you present to passionate donors, the more you can raise on behalf of your mission through a single event.

Experience Paddle Raise Fundraising on Classy Live

If you’re already thinking about how much your event supporters would love to boost engagement with a new element like a paddle raise, we’re here to help you craft a standout event. Classy Live helps the nonprofit community reach the modern donor without the extra work. 

Explore nonprofit fundraising ideas built for schools, from elementary classrooms to high schools, and specific ideas that thrive on college campuses. 

Fundraising Ideas for Elementary Schools

Let’s start by diving into the best fundraising ideas for kids. Explore these safe and fun elementary school fundraising ideas that allow students to express their generosity.

1. Bake Sale

Gather students and their families to create something delicious. Start by sending out a sign-up list to ensure you have enough baked goods to sell in exchange for donations. You’ll allow students to showcase unique recipes and give anyone passing by a chance to enjoy something sweet. 

Bring even more fun to the event with a classroom bake-off. This element can help bring everyone together as a team for some friendly competition. Just make sure to advertise throughout the school for the best chance of attracting hungry customers.

2. Talent Show

Showcase the talent of each unique student to attract a crowd and boost donations. Set up a space to host people, or host it virtually with a set price per ticket sale that helps you achieve your fundraising goal.

Not only will kids get the spotlight to show off something they’re passionate about, but guests will have priceless entertainment. If it goes well, you might just find your most highly anticipated annual fundraising event.

3. Letter Writing

Brighten someone’s day with letter writing, a great fundraising idea for schools to spearhead with younger students. You could host a letter or card fundraiser to have students share a personalized donation appeal to their families and community or write to loyal donors who would love to hear how their donations to your school have impacted students’ educational experiences.

4. School Supply Drives

A school supply drive is a great fundraising idea for the back-to-school season. Get students involved as a way to spring them into action. You can work as a classroom to collect everything from pencils to notebooks and unique stickers to build a collection that students in the school can benefit from for unique educational projects.

5. Magic Show

Raffle off some online magic lessons or other creative raffle prizes for this audience of youngsters. You can also organize a few volunteers to host a magic show to which you can sell tickets in exchange for donations. If it’s within your budget, hiring a magician and increasing the fun by inviting students and parents to enjoy the performance together is always a nice option.

6. Ice Cream Night

Get creative and enjoy a classic treat with an ice cream fundraiser. Host a make-your-own sundae bar with all the fixings, from cookie dough to chocolate fudge, at a set price per participant. 

Another approach is to partner with a local ice cream shop for a fun pop-up field trip with a portion of the proceeds allocated to your fundraising efforts. Split contributions between your school and the ice cream provider to make it a worthwhile event for everyone involved.

A few ice cream stores that support fundraisers:

• Mister Softee
• Cold Stone Creamery
• Kona Ice
• Rita’s Ice

Fundraising Ideas for Middle Schools

As students get a bit older, find new ways to step up the engagement and interactivity of your fundraising ideas to spark new passions for giving back.

7. Color Run

Can you think of anything better than running for your school through a course full of color? The Color Run is an excellent source of inspiration for schools to recreate with their students. Get each student to fundraise individually for the chance to win prizes and climb the fundraiser leaderboard.

You can create the famous color powder that fills the air and turns runners into a colorful masterpiece by simply mixing cornstarch and FDA-approved dye.

8. Dance-a-Thon

Host a dance-a-thon as another way to keep students moving and motivated to give back. Spin up a great playlist and encourage passionate students to come together to dance for a set period, collecting donations through peer-to-peer fundraising for every hour they stay on their feet. 

Announce donations every time one comes in to inspire dancers to keep going and create natural moments for social sharing to spread the word quickly. 

You can even add your dance-a-thon to an existing field day of fun. The same creative approach can apply to your walk-a-thon or read-a-thon, depending on what your students enjoy most.

9. Partnership With a Local Theme Park or Arcade

Get students excited about a night out at a local arcade, amusement park, bowling alley, roller rink, or other entertainment zones by promoting how the proceeds will benefit a program at your school. 

10. Trivia Competition

Consider putting your students’ memories to the test with a themed trivia competition. Encourage students to form teams and fundraise together before the big night. Ask teachers to devise a list of trivia questions for your event and motivate them to volunteer to be hosts.

High School Fundraising Ideas

Before college, bring high school students together to be a part of something meaningful while keeping them interested in participating.

11. Obstacle-Course Event

Tap into the element of competition with a fun obstacle course. Have students recruit their family members and friends to donate on their behalf through a peer-to-peer fundraising model, then cheer them on as they navigate the twists and turns you create for them.

12. Community Service Hours for College

Host a volunteer fair to expose students to school programs or upcoming initiatives needing support. This helps high schools that are always seeking consistent volunteers to assist at sporting events, teacher appreciation dinners, student dances, and more. 

Exposing high school students to volunteer opportunities will make completing extended community service hours easier, bolstering their college applications and strengthening their connection to meaningful causes.

Button: How to Engage High School Student Fundraisers

13. Pancake Breakfasts

Partner with a local restaurant or take over your school’s kitchen with student volunteers to make and serve pancakes at a set price per plate. Encourage them to tell their families and friends about the tangible benefits of each ticket sale to motivate participation. Pair that with a nice cup of coffee, and you’re in business.

Some restaurants participating in pancake fundraisers include:

• Applebee’s Flapjack Fundraisers
• IHOP National Pancake Day 

14. School Clothing Sales

Capitalize on the sentimental value of school spirit and clothing representing high schoolers’ last stop before college. Consider selling school hats, jackets, T-shirts, scarves, socks, and more at sports events throughout the school year. 

Another way to attract customers is through a merchandise catalog. Entice more sales by advertising that a percentage of the profits will benefit a program in your school that directly impacts students and teachers.

15. Beach Day

Kick off summer with a good beach day as the end of the year approaches. Invite students to miss classes for a day in exchange for a donation. Increase the impact by offering an additional option to dedicate their time to a beach cleanup for an environmental nonprofit.

Virtual Fundraising Ideas for Schools

Learning on the go is an unexpected perk of remote learning environments. However, we can’t forget virtual fundraising ideas to help you engage students near and far.

16. Virtual Races

Host a race online to bring in support from entirely new networks of donors. Give students the freedom to choose where they’ll race and invite family and friends worldwide to join in the fun. Virtual event software makes it easier to create consistency for anyone who’d like to participate.

Download Your Guide to Pitching Corporate Sponsors

17. Viral Video Challenges

Boost views by participating in trends on TikTok and Instagram Reels. Video challenges can be an exciting and low-cost way to get the word out about your school and engage students to participate from anywhere. 

Create a challenge related to the reason you identified, such as participating in a mega scavenger hunt, doing ten push-ups in 30 seconds to support your school’s wrestling team, or posting kind notes to a trending song to help fund your seniors’ graduation celebrations. Have participants record themselves completing the challenge and tag others to do the same.

Include specific caption copy and hashtags that bring awareness to your school. Don’t forget to include a link to your donation site to inspire immediate action.

18. Twitch Livestream Event

Head over to Twitch to live stream a gaming tournament, cooking class, battle of the bands, or another live event to raise money for a charitable cause. Twitch charity streams are a great tool to unlock the power of online fundraising and reach more people.

Fundraising Ideas for College Students

When students mature into college, the world of fundraising opens up to include more significant ideas that foster deeper connections with their universities and soon-to-be alumni programs.

19. Short Poetry Contest

Have students sign up to read an original poem to an audience of people who vote for favorites as a no-cost, high-reward fundraising idea. A short poetry contest is a great way to boost confidence and unlock hidden talent.

20. Device Drive

Think of device drives as the new book sale. Especially after schools purchased additional tech to accommodate remote learning in 2020, there may be an opportunity to collect unused devices and distribute them to students who need access to technology to support their studies. You can also look for devices your students no longer use and sell them for monetary contributions to college programs. 

21. Tie-Dye Event

Bring college students together with tie-dye, a trend that never goes out of style.

Sell tickets to students and their friends to reserve their spots and cover the cost of supplies. To keep registration costs as low as possible, ask staff members to donate supplies like dye, light-colored clothing, gloves, and rubber bands.

22. Outdoor Movie Premiere

Find a large lawn or local park on campus, set up an outdoor projector, and lay out some blankets or chairs for attendees to enjoy a movie night. It’s easier than ever to access fresh content with today’s streaming services.

Invite students to come together and pay an admission fee to watch a new release or classic film while supporting an important educational program. You can even throw in a concession stand with popcorn sales and refreshment packages to boost fundraising efforts.

23. Pet Therapy Room

Ease stress and anxiety on campus through the calming effect of an animal with pet therapy. Especially for animal-related or mental health charities, hosting a room of friendly animals available to play with for an hour at a set price will surely pull in supporters.

To arrange a pet therapy room, you can contact a local shelter or pet therapy organization. This one’s a great idea around finals or other high-stress milestones throughout the year where a release on campus seems priceless (plus the animals get some love too).

Fundraising Ideas for College Sports Teams

Sports teams have a unique opportunity to tie their competitive spirit and engaged fans into a fundraising machine for good.

24. 5K Race

Get competitive with a 5K race near campus. Instead of charging for participation, encourage each runner to commit to a fundraising goal. Simplifying registration will allow anyone who wants to participate to easily engage their family and friends, which helps you reach people outside your campus walls. Reach more donors and make the event accessible to more participants all at the same time.

25. Tournaments

Have fun with a Frisbee-throwing tournament, a bowling challenge, or even a Jeopardy-style knowledge tournament—in the same vein as a 5K but without ruling out people based on athletic ability. You can have teams compete to raise the most.

26. Partner With Local Businesses

Capitalize on the campus hot spot, where students grab a bite, hang out, or meet up by partnering with local businesses. It’s a powerful fundraising strategy to reach students and raise money for your team. Corporate sponsorships can offer time and financial support.

Start by agreeing on which portion of the proceeds from a particular day will be donated. Then, brainstorm how you’ll spread the word leading up to the event. You’ll collect donations from a transaction students love while boosting brand awareness for the business with every new customer your fundraiser brings through their door.

17. Giveaway

Get your fans involved firsthand by offering a season pass to games or team merchandise to the donor who raises the most for your program. Set participants up with a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign that makes it easy to call on their inner circles for support and see who makes the leaderboard each week.

Fraternity or Sorority Philanthropy Ideas

Philanthropy is a pillar of Greek life, so check out these fun approaches to your next sorority or fraternity event on campus.

28. Ticketed Fashion Show

Partner with student designers or a local boutique to host a fashion show for students of all ages to attend for a small fee. Have students model their clothing or accessories to boost brand awareness and charge a set amount for tickets to attend. A great playlist, food and drink vendors, and some social media buzz can get people excited to participate for a night away from studying. It’s a win-win.

29. “Win-a-Date” Auction

Get ready for laughs and maybe even a love connection with a “win-a-date” event. Partner with another fraternity or sorority to assemble a ticketed auction for potential dates with a roster of eligible individuals.

These events usually ask each eligible individual to get up on stage and share their personal interests and proposal for a date. Then, the audience is welcome to bid on that date until you have a winner. The more diversity you get in your lineup of potential people to go on a date with, the more money you can raise.

30. Late-Night Food Delivery

Raise significant money with high traffic to your donation form through a late-night food delivery fundraiser ideal for students studying late or ending a night of fun at an hour when most food facilities aren’t open.

Choose to make a massive batch of grilled cheese sandwiches, waffles, and baked goods, or take the simple route with some snack packs. Then, advertise late-night delivery to students in dorms or nearby housing for a set price. The service cost adds value you can charge more for, and any associated tips contribute to your fundraising goals.

31. Coffee Shop Pop-Up

Gather all the fun add-ins to create your signature coffee bar on campus or at a local college event to raise money for your program. Get creative with a special menu that pulls in customers who want to try something new in their morning routine. Then, use social media as a perfect avenue to showcase your creations and get the word out.

32. Greek Life Carnival

Partner with other Greek life organizations at your college or university to host a carnival. Have each organization build a booth, game, or activity to lighten the load and build a fun event for people to attend. The best part is when organizations come together as school community members.

You can choose a single program to allocate ticket and participation revenue to or disburse the entry fee funds evenly between all Greek life organizations involved. Consider hosting a small competition to see which organization can bring in the most attendees to benefit everyone.

33. Alumni Night

Invite proud alums back to their alma mater to see what’s new. Make them feel special with an alumni night for graduates within your fraternity or sorority and their families. You could also host a dinner, a brunch, or a fundraising gala at a ticketed price that helps them give back to a cause that was once near and dear to them.

Bring Fundraising Ideas for Schools to Life With Tech

Every small donation counts, and you likely have one or two ideas you’re most excited to try. Before you plan, consider how to bring your next fundraising event to life with tech that simplifies the process.

Campaign Templates

Once you find what works, repeat the campaign across schools or annually with a template that unlocks:

• Consistent branding for all campaigns to match your school website
• Time savings when a new campaign needs to go live
• The ability to streamline changes across multiple campaigns at once

Hybrid, Virtual, or In-Person Event Platform

Turn ticket-based fundraising ideas into seamless events fit for any audience through:

• A simple registration process
• Silent auctions and mobile bidding
• Text-to-donate functionality
• A live fundraising thermometer to engage students

Modern Checkout Experience 

Include an embedded donation form and preferred payment options to avoid losing out on fundraising dollars:

• Venmo transactions
• PayPal transactions
• Digital wallets, like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Microsoft Pay

Closing Thoughts

When it comes to school fundraising ideas, there are countless avenues to explore and engage with. A well-rounded fundraising program involves diverse school fundraiser ideas that resonate with your supporters and community. 

Whether you’re raising funds with an art show at a middle school or selling raffle tickets at a silent auction for a private school, involving various stakeholders such as local businesses, community members, and supportive parents or extended family members is essential. By tapping into the collective strength of your school community and implementing innovative school fundraising efforts, you can successfully raise funds to support your cause. 

When finalizing your school fundraising idea, consider using Classy’s fundraising platform to manage your fundraising effort and let us help you achieve your donation goals. We look forward to helping your community. Learn more about Classy’s giving platform.

After all, your donation button is your nonprofit’s main call to action (CTA). Standard guidance on showcasing your donation button for online giving includes ensuring it is easy to find, links to the correct page, and stands out using contrasting colors—but it doesn’t end there. 

Today, we’re showing you how to further strategize its usage across your different online fundraising efforts. An intentional approach helps your story reach more ideal supporters and makes visitors more likely to take action as they digest and engage with your page.

Below, we look at creative ways to format the best donation button across different fundraising campaign types, with examples from five nonprofits that bring the donor experience to the next level.

1. Peer-to-Peer Campaigns: Focus on Strategic Placement and Visual Distinction

Peer-to-peer fundraising tools allow supporters to fundraise on your behalf. A donation button on your peer-to-peer campaign helps you collect even more one-time (and recurring) gifts for your campaign. 

Since these two CTA buttons—to fundraise or donate—live on your campaign page, you want to distinguish them visually. That could mean using color variations, separating sizing, or adding a contrasting visual that guides a page visitor to the options you offer.

One example comes from Texas Appleseed, a nonprofit working to “promote social and economic justice for all Texans by leveraging the skills and resources of volunteer lawyers and other professionals to identify practical solutions to difficult systemic problems.” The nonprofit’s peer-to-peer fundraising campaign helped it raise over $35,000.

At the top of its campaign page, Texas Appleseed highlights the opportunity to fundraise and donate. The “Become a Fundraiser” CTA leads the two with a transparent background and white outline that grabs visitors’ attention. 

Next to it is the highly visible donation button in red. Each CTA’s visually distinct yet grabby design catches the eye. The strategic proximity of these two buttons—visible at the top of the fold when a supporter lands on the page—gives supporters multiple opportunities to help the nonprofit reach its goal.

Farther down the campaign page, the nonprofit elevates the peer-to-peer component by listing some of the campaign’s top fundraisers and including the headline “Support a Fundraiser” to encourage donors to give directly to a peer’s personal fundraising page.

Pro Tip: By placing a donation button strategically alongside your CTA to fundraise, you can engage more donors by offering options for how they can participate in your peer-to-peer campaigns.

2. Crowdfunding Campaigns: Vary Your Donation Button Options

Crowdfunding campaigns allow for maximum creativity with your donation button. Below are two nonprofit examples that varied donation button options across Classy crowdfunding campaigns.

Incorporate Multiple Types of Donation Opportunities

Classy customer Houston Ballet started a crowdfunding campaign to keep its company dancing despite significant challenges resulting from COVID-19. The crowdfunding page featured a clear goal to raise $5 million, and the nonprofit incorporated three different donation opportunities, all supporting the overall goal.

First, the page displays a visually contrasting Donate Now button next to its progress bar on the campaign’s homepage. The placement creates a quick, easy way for donors to see social proof that others have supported the cause, and they can immediately take action as well.

Farther down the page, the campaign uses impact blocks to suggest how different levels of donations can help support the nonprofit during these times. It uses imagery in line with its brand and includes specific details on how the donation will make a difference, such as home-training gear and digital academy classes.

In the final section of the campaign page, the nonprofit includes a Become a Fundraiser button that encourages supporters to start fundraising pages to make an even more significant impact.

Pro Tip: By offering multiple donation buttons that cover various styles and fundraising types throughout your crowdfunding campaign, you give your supporters choices for how they can help you meet your goal. Your donation buttons progressively tell your campaign’s story as the supporter scrolls through your page.

Leverage Impact Blocks to Showcase Recommended Donations

Second Harvest of Silicon Valley provides healthy meals to anyone who needs one within its community. When the pandemic put a pause on its collection of in-kind food donations, the nonprofit started a crowdfunding campaign to fill the gap in its operations and keep the momentum flowing online.

The initial donation button for Second Harvest of Silicon Valley’s campaign is easy to find on the campaign landing page in bright orange, placed next to a short video showcasing some of the nonprofit’s beneficiaries.

Next on the page is an overview of the  nonprofit’s story, which highlights how its food distribution process looks different this year. Second Harvest of Silicon Valley explains how supporters can give a monetary donation for a particular item instead of in-kind food drop-offs.

Impact blocks show donors how different gift amounts translate to specific food items typically provided in kind. For example, the $50 impact block has a graphic of a roast chicken and says you can “fill the barrel” with 85 pounds of a whole chicken. 

The visually engaging custom illustrations, complete with donation buttons in orange, are specific to its branding. You can get creative with visuals that speak to your audience and draw attention with Canva or other design platforms.

Pro Tip: By adding creative impact blocks with donation buttons on your crowdfunding campaign, you provide a fun way for supporters to understand the tangible impact of their donations. If you hit a creative rut, explore these eight simple designs you can create for free using Canva for Nonprofits. 

3. Fundraising Event: Pair One-Time Donation With Registration

In registration with fundraising, you want your supporters to register for your event and start fundraising. For example, for ticketed events, your primary CTA is to buy a ticket.

Special Olympics Washington created a registration with a fundraising campaign page on Classy for its Polar Plunge challenge. On the campaign landing page, donors see a Register button alongside the donation button in the center of the hero block, under the event logo. 

Farther down the page, the nonprofit again pairs a registration button with a donation button next to a progress circle, inspiring people to join those who have already contributed and taken action.

Pro Tip: By distinguishing your registration and donation buttons visually, you inspire participants to donate more at that moment and people who can’t make your event but still want to support.

4. Recurring Giving Campaigns: Pair Donation Button With Powerful Language

Neighborhood Homework House started a recurring giving campaign to fund its mission to support students in its community. Its initial donation button pairs with text branded around the nonprofit organization’s recurring donations campaign. It explains, “For as little as $10 a month, you can rewrite the future of a generation of Azusa students.”

Below the initial donation button is additional text describing the power of small donations and that you can start supporting now by giving up small monthly expenses. 

The campaign then incorporates impact blocks that showcase examples of things a supporter could skip each month to donate to the nonprofit instead. For example, a supporter could choose to donate their $40 tank of gas or $20 meal delivery.

Pro Tip: By shaping your donation options around your recurring giving story, you build a case for your supporters to join your campaign.

6 Bonus Tips to Round Out Your Donation Process

As you set up a donation platform that converts supporters into loyal donors, here are a few last items to check off your list to complete the experience.

1. Offer suggested donation amounts to guide people and collect donations that make a real impact based on the programs you run
2. Think about offering as many payment options as possible outside of just credit cards, such as trusted transaction apps like PayPal and Venmo
3. Leave a checkbox that lets donors opt in to cover their processing fees and give the maximum gift to your mission
4. Provide an easy way for donors to share their actions for good on social media to build cause awareness through their Facebook page or other accounts
5. Consider embedding your donation form directly on your webpage with a simple modal, widget, or pop-up
6. Test the whole process as if you are a potential donor through different mobile devices and browsers to make it as smooth as possible

Think Creatively About Your Donation Button to Increase Supporter Engagement

Strategic use and formatting of online donation buttons can increase support across different campaign types. Think creatively about what types of donate buttons to use, how to place them, and ways to brand them to your mission to engage your audience and encourage donations.

As you build your donor-centric fundraising strategy, Classy has your back.

Nonprofit organizations already unite individuals who share certain principles and passions. However, compared to other types of nonprofit organizations, religious nonprofits and groups offer supporters a faith-based outlet to give back to their communities and express themselves through service. 

Today, we’re showcasing five religious organizations making a notable impact by gathering people around their powerful missions to do more good in the world. Whether looking to support a new cause or find inspiration for unique church fundraising ideas and experiences, you came to the right place.

What Is the Role of a Religious Organization?

Just like any other nonprofit, religious organizations exist to serve different missions. These organizations typically offer communities a place to gather, learn, and feel a connection to a religious purpose. While current events guide donors to discover new causes, religious organizations remain consistent among many loyal donors’ giving portfolios.

Classy’s Why America Gives report explored how today’s loyal donors find causes and engage with them through repeat donations and advocacy. Our survey showed the prevalence of faith-based causes in the minds of dedicated supporters, as 34% of loyal donors are likely to support religious organizations. That number was more than twice the percentage of passive donors, defined as only giving once to an organization, compared to loyal donors who gave at least three times to the same cause in the last five years.

We also saw that older generations gravitate toward faith-based donations, as Baby Boomers are the most likely to give to a religious organization. However, that doesn’t mean there’s no interest among the passionate younger generations. Nearly a quarter of Gen Zers and Millennials intended to support religious activities and causes through faith-based organizations by the end of 2022.

Religious Organizations and Tax-Exempt Status

You may be wondering, “Are churches 501(c)(3) organizations?” Churches, religious organizations, and ministries contribute to American society and therefore have a different set of tax laws by the IRS Internal Revenue Code. These organizations are typically exempt from income tax on the donations raised.¹ Having certain special circumstances allows religious organizations to continue to work and provide to those in need with more impact.

Types of Religious Organizations or Places of Worship

There are many groups and organizations that support a religious lifestyle based on what individuals believe. To demonstrate the vast nature of religious beliefs and groups across the world, we’ve listed a sampling below:

• Mosques
• Congregations
• Synagogues
• Religious institutions and on-campus learning 
• Religious nonprofits or 501(c)(3) organizations
• Catholic churches
• Christian churches
• Seminaries
• Houses of worship
• Nondenominational ministries
• Interdenominational organizations

The list of religious leaders and organizations goes on, and there are many ways to learn about local groups that share your interests and faith attributes. We celebrate the diversity of organizations established to provide a space for people to meet one another, build relationships, and find themselves within a larger society. 

For now, we want to highlight a few of the many nonprofits devoted to impacting the lives of those who need it most and successfully gathering religious communities around a cause. You’ll learn more about the work each nonprofit organization does and how each builds its communities of loyal supporters for a religious purpose.

What Are the Top Faith-Based Nonprofit Organizations Leading the Charge Today?

1. Faith In Practice

Mission: Improve the physical, spiritual, and economic conditions of the poor in Guatemala through short-term surgical, medical, and dental mission trips and health-related educational programs. 

Impact: Faith in Practice’s mission centers on love and compassion, offering ministry to the poor and spiritually enriching experiences for volunteers. The Christian organization seeks to improve Guatemalan citizens’ physical, spiritual, and economic conditions who can’t afford support through integrated surgical, medical, and dental mission trips and health-related education programs.

Faith in Practice partners with local Guatemalan hospitals and organizations to gather over 1,500 US and 1,000 Guatemalan volunteers to help others. Over 30,000 people have felt the impact of the group’s work and patience to meet them where they are with the support they need most.

Fundraising Opportunities for Faith In Practice Supporters 

• Volunteering on mission trips
• Peer-to-peer team fundraising opportunities
• Monthly recurring donations
• Donating in honor of a loved one
• Purchasing a Casa de Fe 100-bed patient guest house for surgical patients
• Doubling donations with employer gift-matching

2. Knights of Columbus Charities

Mission: Together, we’re empowering Catholic men to live their faith at home, in their parish, at work, and in their community.

Impact: Knights of Columbus Charities touch the lives of community members in so many ways, including the gift of warmth for a child, advocating for a culture of life, giving persecuted religious minorities food and medical care, and helping rebuild after natural disasters. 

Knights of Columbus Charities have been making a difference worldwide, including supporting displaced citizens in Ukraine and an Ultrasound Program that funded over 1,650 ultrasound machines for mothers to see their unborn babies. The ways this organization creates change for good seem endless. Its values shine through as it continues to partner with organizations such as Special Olympics and Habitat for Humanity to increase that impact even more.

Fundraising Opportunities for Knights of Columbus Charities Supporters 

• Providing an ongoing monthly gift to fund programs
• Donating in honor or memory of someone special
• Finding a council or assembly to join in your local area
• Participating in one of nearly 150 college campus councils

3. Life Without Limbs

Mission: Cross boundaries and break down barriers to build bridges that bring people to the love and hope found in Jesus Christ.

Impact: Life Without Limbs is committed to sharing the Gospel with a billion people by 2028. After 15 years of building connections worldwide and sharing the Gospel with 733 million people, the organization has no plans to slow its momentum. You can find Life Without Limbs focused on various ministry areas, including prison ministry for inmates, live outreach events, tent ministry, and prayer & encouragement. 

Life Without Limbs even offers digital ministry to use the power of technology to expand its reach. A community of Champions for the Brokenhearted seeks to support and bring hope to specific groups each month, including the trafficked, veterans, bullied, suicidal, disabled, widowed, orphaned, abused, addicted, and many more.

Fundraising Opportunities for Life Without Limbs Supporters 

• Becoming a member of the Circle of Champions with recurring donations and receiving exclusive bonus content
• Shopping apparel to spread awareness and fund programs
• Supporting others through prayer
• Creating legacy giving for the future
• Participating in stock gifts 

4. Salvation Army

Mission: The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message centers on the Bible, with its ministry motivated by the love of God. The Salvation Army makes it its mission to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and meet human needs in his name without discrimination.

Impact: The Salvation Army is active in virtually every corner of the world, serving 133 countries with religious services that offer God’s healing and hope to all those in need. Its long-standing motto of “sharing is caring” describes the partnership between The Salvation Army and the community as it works to offer social service programs, casework and counseling, youth services, senior centers, and Christmas programs. The Salvation Army also provides human and sexual trafficking advocacy alongside veterans and prison services to further extend their support to the larger society.

The Salvation Army meets human needs without discrimination, resulting in approximately 25 million Americans gaining assistance yearly. The strong unity that the organization creates becomes the heart of its efforts, with over 1.8 million members. There are many ways to support the organization on national and local levels with a strong footprint in many communities nationwide.

Fundraising Opportunities for The Salvation Army Supporters 

• Monetary donations  
• Donating goods and vehicles
• Leading a peer-to-peer fundraising page
• Providing a monthly donation
• Giving through bonds, funds, stocks, and IRA rollovers 
• Planned giving, wills, and gift annuities
• Volunteering

Reach More Communities Through Diversified Fundraising

The Classy fundraising platform offers nonprofits a simple platform to host various unique campaigns, from peer-to-peer fundraising to recurring giving. Dynamic donation websites allow you to collect gifts in any way a supporter chooses to make their impact. 

The variety you see from our list of standout organizations is one sampling of the many ways donors enjoy engaging with religious movements and causes they feel aligned with and want to support. That’s why we make it easy to offer flexibility and convenience that prevents any barriers to getting involved. 

Article sources 

1. “Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations,” Internal Revenue Service, accessed March 28 2023, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1828.pdf.  

A mission statement, also referred to as a vision statement, sums up the essence of your organization in just one or two sentences. It guides your decision-making processes and drives people to want to learn more about your organization.

At its strongest, a mission statement explains three things:

• Why your organization exists
• Whom it serves
• How it serves them

An effective mission statement hits all three points in a succinct, clear, and memorable way. However, many mission statements are vague and ambiguous, while others are too wordy and use industry-specific jargon. It’s up to you to craft a message that’s easy for people to remember and repeat to others.

Whether writing a new mission statement or sprucing up an old one, you can learn from the best. Check out these 20 mission statement examples for guidance and inspiration, along with our tips on how to write an impactful nonprofit mission statement.

Discover How Classy Can Help 2x Your Revenue With Top Tech

1. charity: water Vision Statement

charity: water is a nonprofit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

What we love about it: charity: water wastes no time getting to the heart of its cause. In just a few words, the nonprofit explains its mission in terms anyone can understand. The simplicity of charity: water’s mission statement could serve as a parallel to its straightforward mission of providing clean drinking water to those who need it.

2. Team Rubicon Vision Statement

Team Rubicon unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to deploy emergency response teams rapidly.

What we love about it:Team Rubicon defines and details its purpose and services rather succinctly. The keyword “rapidly” is a fine touch—it clarifies the nonprofit’s goal to provide aid immediately after a disaster occurs with just one word.

3. Heifer International Vision Statement

Heifer International works with communities to increase income, improve child nutrition, care for the Earth, and ultimately, end world hunger and poverty.

What we love about it: Heifer International’s phrasing “works with communities” brings into focus its method to eradicate hunger and poverty worldwide. It focuses on Heifer International’s goal to help communities become self-sufficient and engage in sustainable agriculture and commerce.

4. Watts of Love Vision Statement

Watts of Love is a global solar lighting nonprofit bringing people the power to raise themselves out of the darkness of poverty.

What we love about it:Watts of Love’s mission statement makes a powerful statement. This mighty sentence communicates the organization’s purpose, the people it serves, and the solution it offers. The wording is concise, memorable, and inspiring.

5. Vs. Cancer Vision Statement

Vs. Cancer empowers any sports team, athlete, and community to help kids with cancer. As a signature fundraising campaign of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, proceeds help fund child-life programs in local hospitals and lifesaving pediatric brain tumor research.

What we love about it: Vs. Cancer is very clear about how it intends to move the needle for the cause: by partnering with athletic teams to fund pediatric brain tumor research. As brief as it is, great nonprofit mission statements also get essential facts across.

6. First Descents Vision Statement

First Descents provides life-changing outdoor adventures for young adults (ages 18–39) impacted by cancer.

What we love about it:First Descents keeps it simple for its audience with its statement. We also love that it specifies the age range of the people it serves, keeping its mission fine-tuned and focused. While being so extremely succinct isn’t feasible for all organizations, this is a perfect example of how to write a mission statement that packs a lot in just one sentence.

7. Bright Pink Vision Statement

Bright Pink helps to save lives from breast and ovarian cancer by empowering women to know their risk and manage their health proactively.

What we love about it:Bright Pink crafts a nonprofit mission statement that’s compelling and transparent. It explains the change that will arise from the organization’s efforts and how it plans to accomplish its mission.

8. Global Communities Vision Statement

Global Communities brings together local ingenuity and global insights to save lives, advance equity, and secure strong futures.

What we love about it: Global Communities—the unified organization of recently merged nonprofits Global Communities and Project Concern International—identifies its three-pronged approach to building stronger communities worldwide. The powerful statement also highlights how it focuses on a macro and micro level to find solutions. 

9. CoachArt Vision Statement

CoachArt creates a transformative arts and athletics community for families impacted by childhood chronic illness.

What we love about it: CoachArt offers various services for the people it serves, and its mission statement captures this holistic approach in an emotionally stirring way.

10. Red My Lips Vision Statement

Red My Lips exists to transform our culture of sexual violence by educating, inspiring, and mobilizing a global community to red their lips, raise their voices, and create real change.

What we love about it: Red My Lips runs a campaign every April where supporters wear red lipstick to raise awareness about sexual violence. The organization’s name explains how people can get involved, and its mission statement reiterates this first, crucial step an individual can take—“to red their lips.”

11. Livestrong Vision Statement

Livestrong’s mission statement starts strong with the question: “Which everyday cancer problem will we fix today?”

What we love about it:Livestrong turns heads by asking a mission question, not making a statement, because it “believe[s] that [it] can only achieve the best healthcare solutions through asking the right questions.” This question format instantly gives off an impression of the organizational culture and approach—that Livestrong wants to listen to and learn from survivors and caregivers about their needs to address cancer issues as a community. 

12. SafeBAE Vision Statement

SafeBAE is a survivor-founded, student-led national organization whose mission is to end sexual assault among middle and high school students. As the only national peer-to-peer organization of its kind, it helps promote culture change by giving teens the tools to become activists and shift school culture through raising awareness about dating violence, sexual harassment and assault, affirmative consent, safe bystander intervention, survivor care, and their rights under Title IX.

What we love about it: SafeBAE began during the filming of the Netflix documentary “Audrie & Daisy,” when the survivors and their families united to prevent sexual assault and fight for human rights. The vision statement, while lengthy, details the organization’s multifaceted approach to prevent sexual assault among teens and raise awareness about the rape culture that leads to it. This statement underscores that the survivor-founded organization empowers students to lead the change. 

13. Eat.Learn.Play. Foundation Vision Statement

The Eat.Learn.Play. Foundation is committed to unlocking the potential of every child by fighting to end childhood hunger, ensuring students have access to a quality education, and providing safe places for all children to play and be active.

What we love about it: The Eat.Learn.Play. Foundation, founded by Stephen and Ayesha Curry, is dedicated to improving the lives of children and families in Oakland, the San Francisco Bay Area, and across the country. The nonprofit mission statement outlines a three-step approach focusing on well-being, nutrition, education, and physical activity. 

14. Be the Bridge Vision Statement

Be the Bridge empowers people and cultures toward racial healing, equity, and reconciliation.

What we love about it: Be the Bridge’s vision statement carries significant weight in just a handful of words. This succinct sentence embodies all the nonprofit’s efforts toward racial justice, restoration, and reconciliation without any buzzwords that would take away from the intention. The reader can grasp the organization’s heart for encouraging and equipping communities to pursue racial unity immediately.

15. The Trevor Project Vision Statement

The Trevor Project fights to end suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning young people.

What we love about it: The Trevor Project leads various programs that range from crisis intervention services to research and advocacy—but all the organization’s efforts point to the north star of its mission statement. This is a noteworthy example of how to be straightforward about the community you serve and your ultimate goal. 

16. Make-a-Wish Mission Statement

Make-a-Wish creates a sense of community when it says, “Together, we create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.”

What we love about it: Make-a-Wish offers a beautiful display of heartfelt and intentionally chosen words that detail what makes the organization stand apart. The statement successfully leaves a memorable impression and clarity around what a donation supports. This single sentence sums up the far-reaching impact of wishes while communicating every form these wishes can come in for children who need them, from having a quinceañera to being a firefighter.

17. The American Red Cross Mission Statement

The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.​

What we love about it: The American Red Cross built a reputation as a safe space to turn to before and after disasters across the country. This mission statement showcases the challenge the nonprofit dedicates its work to support, the catalyst for increased periods of need, and how they take action across the nation to continue showing up when it matters most.

18. Feeding America Vision Statement

Feeding America gets it right by saying succinctly, “Working together to end hunger.”

What we love about it: Feeding America and its subsidiaries across the country, such as Feeding San Diego, build a haven where no one goes hungry. Each relies on its communities to donate monetary support and physical donations that create the possibilities offered to those in need. This mission statement, which starts with “working together” and communicating its impact most simply, makes it incredibly easy for any audience to get behind.

19. Habitat for Humanity Mission Statement

Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope when it “seeks to put God’s love into action.”

What we love about it: Habitat for Humanity offers its “why” at the start of its mission statement, aligning with supporters who feel a connection to the reason the organization exists. The organization has locations around the world and brings a special call to that collective programming by specifying the way it brings people together, through beneficiaries, volunteers, and supporters who step up to make a difference every day.

20. Teach For America Vision Statement

Teach For America works toward the day when every child will receive an excellent and equitable education. 

What we love about it: Teach for America shares a vision statement example that makes its goal clear and invites the community to participate. The nonprofit finds and nurtures leaders who commit to expanding opportunities for low-income students and unites around the motivation for a better quality of life through education.

How to Make the Most of These Nonprofit Vision Statement Examples

The best way to gauge a good mission statement is to brainstorm with your nonprofit board members, ask for feedback from loyal donors, and get inspiration to switch it up from other nonprofit vision statement examples.

While all mission statements should answer the essential questions—why you exist, how you incite change, and whom you serve—there isn’t a step-by-step formula to getting a nonprofit mission statement right. Study your mission statement and assess whether it does its job. Then, invest the time and effort to make it hard to forget.