As the saying goes, small things, done consistently, can add up to big things over time.

While crowdfunding campaigns and peer-to-peer fundraising are centered around raising money to achieve a funding goal, the primary difference is how the funds are solicited. The main call to action for a crowdfunding initiative is to donate. The purpose of peer-to-peer fundraising is to call supporters to fundraise on behalf of an organization, typically through online platforms.

How Crowdfunding Works

Crowdfunding is a team effort. It can help a startup get off the ground, provide small business owners with enough funding to open their doors, or support nonprofit relief efforts when disaster strikes.

In general, successful crowdfunding campaigns are composed of four steps:

1. Platform Selection
2. Platform Acceptance
3. The Pitch
4. Receiving Payout

It’s important that your target audience remains at the center of each decision throughout these four steps. Regardless of your goal, the key to crowdfunding success is engaging the right people in meaningful ways.

Start by identifying who you’re talking to. From there, craft your strategy to align with those supporters’ preferences, tendencies, and behaviors.

Selecting a Crowdfunding Platform

When it comes time to choose a crowdfunding platform, the process can be overwhelming. We’ve broken it down into three simple recommendations.

Evaluate the Fundraising Platform’s Pricing and Fee Structure

• Credit processing fees. A small percentage of each monetary gift to a crowdfunding campaign goes to the online platform that hosts the campaign’s processing service. That fee covers transmitting the data, authorizing the transaction, and depositing the funds. Look for a site that offers benefactors the choice to cover the processing fees to avoid missing out on impactful fundraising dollars.
• Percentage platform fees. While the percentage taken in processing fees can vary from platform to platform, it’s important to know that they are often calculated and deducted from the total amount of money you raise. This is how platforms make most of their revenue. Carefully consider how this deduction from your funds could impact your fundraising goal.

Investigate Ease of Use and Customization Options

• Ease of use. Time is our most valuable asset. Make sure you’re looking for a fundraising platform that keeps things simple. The less time you spend building, updating, and optimizing your crowdfunding campaign page, the more time you have to raise money.
• Customization options. Consistent branding on your crowdfunding campaign helps create an identity for your organization. It shows who you are, what you stand for, and how this crowdfunding initiative will help sustain your good work. Advanced customization options allow you to easily communicate your values, clarify your call to action, and tell your nonprofit brand story that resonates with anyone who visits your donation site.

Identify Available Resources and Customer Service Offerings

• Accessible resources. The key to success is having the right tools. Explore each potential fundraising platform’s site to look for online tutorials, resource guides, or even a list of up-to-date FAQs. These easily accessible resources can be a major source of time savings throughout your crowdfunding campaign.
• Attentive customer service. If you run into a problem in the creation or launch phase of your crowdfunding campaign, you’ll want the comfort of knowing that someone is there to help. Try contacting customer support before you select a fundraising platform to ensure their support team is both helpful and responsive.

Getting Accepted by a Fundraising Platform

While this isn’t always the case, certain platforms may require you to fill out online forms and provide documentation before being accepted to host your crowdfunding campaign on their site. This process ensures you’ve met the platform’s creator requirements and will use it as intended.

Requirements vary from platform to platform, but here are a few examples:

• You are 18 years of age or older
• You are a permanent resident of one of the eligible countries
• You have an address, bank account, and government-issued ID based in the country you’re creating the project in
• The linked bank account belongs to the person who verified their identity for your project
• You have a major credit or debit card

The Pitch

Once a fundraising platform accepts you, you’ll be asked to pitch your project to their team to ensure it’s a good fit. What are you trying to accomplish? How much are you hoping to raise? How do you plan to solicit support?

Prepare for this pitch by proactively identifying your campaign narrative and laying out your nonprofit marketing plan. Think of the pitch similarly to promoting your organization through word of mouth, social media, and paid ads. It’s your opportunity to sell your story and garner support from donors, accredited investors, family members, or others who feel passionate about your initiative.

Receiving Payout From Your Crowdfunding Campaign

This is where all of the research you did before selecting your crowdfunding platform comes into play. Some platforms will payout all the money you raised during your campaign regardless of the final total, while others may only offer a payout if you hit your fundraising goal. The pricing and fee structure also plays a large part in the percentage of funds that will land in your organization’s bank account once the campaign wraps.

With the ultimate goal of raising as much money as possible, be sure the platform you select doesn’t have any fine print that could interfere with your success.

Crowdfunding Types

Crowdfunding is used most commonly by startup companies or growing businesses, as well as nonprofit organizations raising money for worthy causes. Although these organizations are all working toward the same result, the different types of crowdfunding they’re applying are different. Below, we break them down to help you understand which applies to your organization.

Rewards-Based and Equity-Based Crowdfunding

When someone contributes funds in exchange for something, it falls into the rewards-based crowdfunding bucket. This is typical for startups that might offer free swag or a discounted service. Similarly, equity-based crowdfunding, or equity crowdfunding, allows small businesses and startups to give away a portion of their business in exchange for funding.

Donation-Based Crowdfunding

The simplest type of crowdfunding is donation-based crowdfunding, which means someone gives money for nothing in return. While seemingly lackluster for the donor, this crowdfunding type can be extremely rewarding. It attracts loyal supporters who are passionate about your work, which we see happen year after year across the social sector.

Crowdfunding Use Cases

Depending on your unique goal, how you conduct a crowdfunding campaign may differ. Below we break down the most common applications of crowdfunding and how to successfully bring each strategy to your organization.

Philanthropy

Demonstrated by global giving initiatives like Giving Tuesday, crowdfunding has proven its impact on the long-term health and sustainability of nonprofits worldwide.

A crowdfunding campaign is built to inspire support for your cause with a robust narrative that ultimately drives people to make a gift. It consists of a campaign landing page highlighting your impact to draw people in and a donation form to simplify the transaction process.

Crowdfunding campaigns are a great way to create a sense of urgency with your target audience and motivate immediate action. A few common nonprofit crowdfunding applications include:

• General donation fund
• Time-bound project
• Disaster relief

Science

Crowdfunding supports impactful scientific research that may be impossible otherwise. Capturing the interest and backing of thousands of individuals willing to donate can significantly change the way science evolves in the future.

Researchers pitch a proposal to garner support through a crowdfunding page. Patients, medical professionals, and individuals with a strong belief in a specific area of science can contribute to the project by simply donating online. Broad support allows for greater intellectual freedom and independence and provides scientists with an opportunity to build credibility.

Just look at the Gray family, devastated by their young daughters’ 2015 diagnosis of the fatal and incurable Batten Disease. They turned to crowdfunding to accelerate research in three promising treatment options. 

With $1 million dollars, the family would be able to hire a team of doctors and scientists committed to researching to treat the rare disease. Since its start, they have raised $2.6 million and counting and have started FDA filings for a clinical trial. 

Startups

Rather than depending on traditional funding sources, startups can capitalize on the support of friends, family members, entrepreneurs, and potential investors to get their businesses off the ground.

Crowdfunding makes it easier for startups to amass capital and market their new business to larger audiences. Investors want to see a company do well when their finances are involved. That usually makes them eager to spread the word about the new products and initiatives you’re working on.

These organic conversations lead to greater brand awareness, which could motivate other investors to get on board or encourage future customers to purchase your products or services.

Startups typically offer investors something in return, most commonly through rewards-based or equity-based crowdfunding. They use social media and crowdfunding websites to educate both primary and extended networks about the opportunity to fund an emerging business. Doing so highlights the perks and incentives people will receive in exchange for support.

Oculus, the wildly popular virtual reality headset, started on a crowdfunding site. Within four hours of launching the campaign, they achieved their goal of $250,000 and went on to raise $2.4 million.

Crowdfunding Websites

When you’re looking for people to help fund a new project or business venture, it’s critical that the transaction process is as seamless as possible. Social media is a great place to raise awareness, but finding the right fundraising platform to convert supporters into donors or investors is critical.

Below we’ll break down the best crowdfunding sites to help you understand what makes each site unique.

Classy.org

Made for nonprofits, Classy’s crowdfunding platform allows charitable organizations to create evergreen microsites that simplify the donation experience and maximize conversions.

Easily customize campaigns with a complete set of advanced design tools to communicate a clear mission. Offer flexible payment options, manage online donor activity with ease, and take the stress out of the tax preparation process with Classy.

GoFundMe

Best for personal fundraising, GoFundMe is a versatile platform that helps individuals raise money for everything from medical needs to emergency response.

The GoFundMe platform makes it simple for families and communities to receive the funds they need to get back on their feet quickly.

Complete with a 0% platform fee, this site can help individuals reach their fundraising goals by offering support in trying times.

Indiegogo

If you’re looking to launch a new idea or product, Indiegogo offers the tools to set up a 60-day campaign to help raise funds and garner support. By giving entrepreneurs a platform to introduce clever or unconventional products to the world, this site fuels innovation.

Indiegogo’s crowdfunding campaigns allow entrepreneurs to get curious and creative and provide early backers and angel investors a place to discover groundbreaking products before they hit mainstream availability.

KickStarter

Kickstarter is a place for creatives to share their visions with communities that will support them. No matter how big or small, the platform wants to help creators of all kinds, including filmmakers, artists, musicians, designers, and more. They can easily spread the word about their new projects and welcome backers to become part of the magic.

Common Crowdfunding Questions

How much money can you make through crowdfunding?

The revenue a crowdfunding campaign will generate varies from hundreds to millions of dollars depending on multiple factors.

On average, crowdfunding campaigns that successfully reached their goals raised $28,656 with an average pledge of $96. When we look at all crowdfunding campaigns, rather than just successful campaigns, the average raised is $824 with a pledge size of $88.

Crowdfunding is projected to grow by $300 billion by 2030, so we can expect that these averages will continue to fluctuate.¹

Believe it or not, America’s first major crowdfunding project dates back to the summer of 1885 when the Statue of Liberty was shipped in pieces from France, awaiting assembly. Americans could not raise the $250,000 they needed for a granite base for the statue until the launch of a fundraising campaign in The New York World newspaper.²

What’s the difference between peer-to-peer and crowdfunding?

The primary difference between crowdfunding vs. peer-to-peer fundraising is the call to action.

Crowdfunding campaigns are versatile appeals for support with the main call to action to donate. A peer-to-peer campaign invites supporters to fundraise on behalf of your organization to reach a larger audience.

Both include the option to complete a one-time donation, but the goal of a peer-to-peer page is to recruit individuals who will appeal to their personal networks.

How do crowdfunding campaigns work?

Crowdfunding is raising money from many people to fund a project, new business venture, product launch, or worthy cause. Crowdfunding campaigns are typically conducted online through a fundraising site and intended to garner support to achieve a set fundraising goal. These crowdfunding examples do a great job of laying it out.

How do I tell a good story for a crowdfunding campaign?

Nonprofit storytelling is a huge part of creating meaningful connections with supporters. Rather than simply informing people about why your campaign is important, create a felt experience with sensory, descriptive language.

Keep your text short and include compelling imagery, like photos or videos. Clarify the tangible impact of each contribution and focus on one clear call to action that will drive conversions.

What is a crowdfunding Quizlet?

If you’re hoping to learn more about crowdfunding, a set of flashcards might just do the trick. A crowdfunding Quizlet is a free learning tool you can use to familiarize yourself with the topic while reviewing flashcards, playing games, and creating study sets to take with you on the go.

Ready to Start Crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is a central fundraising model worldwide. These campaigns serve as both a tool to bring personal projects to life and a powerful way for impactful organizations, creators, and businesses to share their stories. It can help fund programmatic and operational initiatives with the support of an extended network.

Tell your nonprofit story and inspire support for your cause with Classy’s conversion-optimized crowdfunding platform and give your mission the recognition it deserves.

Article Sources

1. “Crowdfunding Statistics: Market Size and Growth,” Resources, Fundera, last updated January 23, 2023, https://www.fundera.com/resources/crowdfunding-statistics.
2. “The Statue of Liberty and America’s Crowdfunding Pioneer,” News, BBC, last updated April 25, 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21932675.

But where do you start?

Should you host an all-out charity golf tournament or a simple fundraiser at the local miniature golf course? Could you incorporate a live-auction component? And what about that Mulligan thing?

Below, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about golf fundraising to put on an unforgettable fundraising event.

What Is a Golf Fundraiser?

A golf fundraiser is a golf outing paired with fundraising to support a cause. That might be a silent auction for golf merchandise or an 18-hole charity golf tournament. The flexibility of a golf fundraiser means you can tailor it to your specific audience.

Catering to young families? Make it a miniature golf tournament. Want to respond to a recent outbreak of illness in your community? Transition to a virtual event and host an online auction. Want to engage golf enthusiasts? Partner with a pro to host a can’t-miss fundraising event.

Why Use Golf as a Way to Fundraise?

Close to 26 million Americans played on a golf course in 2022—that’s 8% of the total U.S. population.¹ Furthermore, golfers tend to have an average household income of $100,950.²

That said, golfers may be the perfect donors for your organization.

8 Golf Fundraising Ideas to Fuel Greater Giving

There are dozens of golf fundraising ideas to target your specific giving audience. Whether young families or serious golfers, we’ve got a quick list of the best golf fundraisers.

1. Charity Golf Tournament Fundraiser

Host a charity golf tournament fundraiser that requires participants to pay an entry fee to play. You could add other fun components, too, such as a hole-in-one contest or a putting contest.

Consider partnering with a golf resort to gain access to its course, parking lots, lodge, and equipment. If you pitch it right, your partner will see the benefit of advertising their course to your community during the event. Come prepared with refreshments, entertainment, and great prizes as well to ensure guests are comfortable all day.

2. Longest Drive

Line up at the local golf course or Topgolf location to see who can hit the longest drive. You could even incorporate this event into your charity golf tournament on a par 5 or par 6 hole.

Participants could donate for a certain number of attempts or earn their place in the competition through peer-to-peer fundraising. Once they raise a particular amount, they’re free to play.

3. Silent Auction

Accompany a tournament with a silent auction for golf merchandise and experiences. Merchandise may include classic items, like gloves, hats, shirts, pants, golf balls, bags, and clubs. You could also branch out and include experiences, such as:

• Tickets to watch a live golf event
• Lessons from a golf expert
• Lunch with a local pro
• Tee times at a nearby golf course
• Exclusive access to a section of the driving range

4. Caddie Rental

Let golfers rent a caddie for their day out on the course. This could be on their time or as part of your charity tournament fundraiser.

Your volunteers could carry clubs or drive golf carts for the golfers. It’s also a chance for your volunteers to build relationships with the donors, increasing the odds of repeat donations and spreading awareness of your cause.

5. Challenge the Pro

Invite the golf club’s local pro to volunteer for your event. Position this individual at one of the holes along the course and have golfers bet with the pro to see who can hit it closer to the cup. Golfers that win get paid double. If the pro wins the bet, the money gets donated to your nonprofit.

While the actual hole challenge might not be a huge donation driver, the pro’s presence may have a bigger impact. Including a local celebrity in your golf event could be reason enough for some participants to sign up.

6. Miniature-Golf Tournament

Partner with your local Putt-Putt course and host a tournament for the youngsters to show off their skills—see, fundraising ideas for kids don’t have to be a challenge.

Have prizes on hand for winners, holes-in-one, and the coolest shots—that way, every player can have a good time, regardless of their skill level.

And don’t forget about the parents. While some of them might prefer watching their kids compete, others may want to get in on the action. Consider hosting an adults-only miniature golf tournament later in the evening. This is a great way to engage members of your community that want to get involved but don’t have the experience to participate in a competitive golf challenge.

7. Hole Sponsorship

Sell sponsorships to local businesses for all 18 holes along the course of your charity tournament. Hole sponsors can have signage or a flag indicating their corporate sponsorship and give out prizes to golfers who swing under par for their specific hole.

8. Mulligans

Help out golfers when they’re in a bind with Mulligans—an extra chance to swing without hurting your score. Sell these at the time of registration, check-in, or on the course when a golfer has an emergency. Just be sure to set a limit so nobody exploits the system unfairly.

Achieve Your Goals With Classy’s Comprehensive Fundraising Tools

Successful golf fundraisers bring your donors to the table, but you still need fundraising tools to drive donations and simplify the giving process to put on a successful tournament. Fortunately, Classy has the unified solutions you need:

• Donation websites: Collect one-time and recurring donations with ease.
• Classy Pay: Invite donors to contribute via credit card, ACH payment, Venmo, PayPal, and more.
• Recurring giving: Enable donors to strengthen their impact with recurring gifts.
• Peer-to-peer giving: Empower supporters to fundraise on your behalf.
• Classy Live: Host virtual, in-person, and hybrid event experiences.
• Live and silent auctions: Set up auctions with everything from mobile bidding to paddle raises.

Want to learn more about Classy’s fundraising platform? Schedule time to talk with an expert.

Article Sources:

1. “26 Glorious Golf Industry Statistics [2023],” Advice, Zippia, last modified March 16, 2023, https://www.zippia.com/advice/golf-industry-statistics/.
2. “Who Is the Average Golfer?” Morton Golf Sales, last modified July 27, 2020, https://blog.mortongolfsales.com/who-is-the-average-golfer/.

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.

Once you’ve set and defined your project’s fundraising goal, you need to find the best crowdfunding website to serve and support your unique needs. The right fundraising tools can differentiate between a seamless crowdfunding experience and a headache for everyone involved.

Since the early-stage platform selection process can feel overwhelming, we’ve compiled a list of crowdfunding sites with the best success rates to guide your decision-making. Regardless of what types of crowdfunding your organization pursues, you’ll walk away with a better understanding of what each popular platform has to offer.

Best Overall Crowdfunding Site: GoFundMe

GoFundMe is the world’s largest social fundraising platform for individuals, teams, and nonprofits, with a giving community of more than 200+ million individual donations worldwide.

The popular crowdfunding site is available in 19 countries and counting and has processed more than $20 billion in donations since its start in 2010. With a free sign-up process, hands-on customer support, and donor protection guarantee, GoFundMe proudly celebrates its reputation as a trusted leader in online fundraising.

More Reasons to Love GoFundMe for Crowdfunding

• GoFundMe mobile app to fundraise on the go
• Easy donation withdrawals at any time
• No time limit on campaign length
• “Keep What You Raise” payout model
• Hands-on 24/7 customer support

Fees and Pricing Plans

For individuals and businesses:

• 0% platform fee
• 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fee per donation

For charities:

• 0% platform fee
• 2.2% + $0.30 transaction fee per donation

GoFundMe Reviews

• TrustRadius: 8.7/10 stars
• Capterra: 4.4/5 stars
• G2: 3.3/5 stars

Best Crowdfunding Platform for Nonprofits: Classy.org

Classy helps thousands of nonprofits worldwide tell powerful stories and inspire support for meaningful causes with customizable, conversion-optimized nonprofit crowdfunding campaigns.

Our global giving platform provides the crowdfunding campaign formats and flexibility needed to connect people to the causes they care about through engaging and intuitive giving experiences. A fundraising site supported by world-class design and engagement tools, we have helped nonprofit organizations raise more than $5 billion for good since 2010.

More Reasons to Love Classy for Crowdfunding

• Customizable, personalized campaigns that allow you to keep your story at the forefront 
• Embeddable donation forms
• Mobile-optimized campaigns
• Campaign activity wall to encourage real-time engagement 
• Powerful reporting and analytics
• Flexible payment options, including digital wallets, ACH, PayPal, and more
• Thoughtful integrations and award-winning key performance indicators
• Secure transactions (Level 1 PCI compliance and SSL Security built on Amazon Web Services)

Fees and Pricing Plans

Classy offers a comprehensive fundraising tech stack on a sliding cost scale. Our top priority is delivering high returns through our comprehensive solution priced according to customer needs. 

Our pricing is a combination of an annual upfront subscription, with a transaction fee associated with each donation.

Learn more about Classy’s custom pricing plans by connecting with a qualified member of our team.

Classy Reviews

• TrustRadius: 8/10 stars
• Capterra: 4.3/5 stars
• G2: 4.4/5 stars
• Software Advice: 4.33/5

Best Crowdfunding Site for Individuals: Fundly

Fundly is simple to use and scalable to any size fundraiser, providing individuals with the tools they need to have a successful campaign.

The donation platform is available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the U.K. to help nonprofits reach more donors through any fundraiser.

More Reasons to Love Fundly for Crowdfunding

• No startup or hidden fees
• “Keep What You Raise” payout model
• Fundly mobile app to manage campaigns from anywhere
• Easy withdrawals at any time
• Giving-level donor incentives
• Donor heat maps
• Powerful integration with Facebook

Fees and Pricing Plans

• 4.9% platform fee per donation
• 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee per transaction

Fundly Reviews

• Capterra: 3.9/5 stars
• G2: 2.9/5 stars
• Fundly: 2.9/5 stars

Best Crowdfunding Site for Startups and Small Businesses: Indiegogo

Indiegogo brands itself as the platform “where new launches,” which reflects its mission to fund clever, cool innovations and groundbreaking products before mainstream availability.

The platform makes it easier to support entrepreneurs with business ideas and new technology from its earliest stages of development. This helps startups and small businesses gain the freedom to choose a fixed or flexible funding goal, making it possible to customize experiences as needed.

More Reasons to Love Indiegogo for Crowdfunding

• Expert support and exclusive partnerships
• Pre- and post-campaign tools
• Integrated analytics
• Donor perks options
• Fulfillment and manufacturing support
• Indiegogo mobile app to simplify the fundraising process

Fees and Pricing Plans

• 5% platform fee
• 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fee

Indiegogo Reviews

G2: 3.4/5 stars

Best Crowdfunding Site for Creators: Kickstarter 

Kickstarter is on a mission to help bring creative projects to life.

Since its launch in 2009, over 22 million people from every continent have backed a project on Kickstarter. The industry-leading platform leverages a rewards-based model that offers unique incentives to potential investors to make them feel like they get something in return.

Kickstarter has processed a total donation volume of more than $7.2 billion and tallied over 236,489 successfully funded projects. The platform is well on its way to bridging the gap between creators, backers, and the community.

More Reasons to Love Kickstarter for Crowdfunding

• Only platform fully dedicated to building a community around creative projects
• All-or-nothing payout model to incentivize backers
• Flexible campaign duration of 1 to 60 days
• Detailed creator resources, including a Creator Handbook

Fees and Pricing Plans

If a project reaches its fundraising goal:

• 5% platform fee
• 3% + $0.20 payment processing fee per pledge

If a project does not reach its fundraising goal, the creator pays no fees.

Kickstarter Reviews

• G2: 3.7/5 stars
• Trustpilot: 1.2/5

Best Crowdfunding Site for Education: DonorsChoose

DonorsChoose makes it easier than ever to connect people to public schools. Over two million fulfilled classroom project requests shows just how effective the crowdfunding site is in raising the money teachers need for tools and materials to offer a great education.

The organization helps donors find a classroom project that inspires them. With the project fully funded, the DonorsChoose team purchases all required materials and ships them directly to the teacher. Donors even get a thank you note from the teacher, along with photos and reports of how each dollar made an impact.

More Reasons to Love DonorsChoose for Crowdfunding

• Detailed project reports to see where every dollar goes
• Hand-screening process prior to project approval
• Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) giving options
• Highest possible ratings on Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, and GuideStar

Fees and Pricing Plans

• 0% platform fee
• 1.5% payment processing fee

DonorsChoose Reviews

Charity Navigator: 4 stars

Best Crowdfunding Site for Scientific Research: Experiment.com

Experiment.com helps fund the next wave of scientific research by bringing scientists and the public closer together.

The crowdfunding site centers on a public-funding model, which allows backers to directly support the projects of their choice without any overhead. Experiment.com is open to all scientists—labs, universities, individuals—and offers a free sign-up process.

More Reasons to Love Experiment.com for Crowdfunding

• All-or-nothing payout model
• Thorough content review and video interview prior to approval
• Free to start a project
• No institution overhead
• Supports projects in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Australia

Fees and Pricing Plans

If a project reaches its fundraising goal:

• 8% platform fee
• 3-5% payment processing fee

If a project does not reach its fundraising goal, the scientists pay no fees.

Experiment.com Reviews

Experiment.com has no formal ratings or reviews.

Additional Crowdfunding Sites to Explore

The best fundraising efforts come from a deep understanding of the available technology. We’ve added bonus crowdfunding websites to explore to support a well-rounded selection process.

Great for Individuals: FundRazr

FundRazr is a multipurpose crowdfunding platform that offers advanced technology for effective organizational and individual fundraising.

Create state-of-the-art, mobile-friendly fundraising campaigns in minutes. Reach more potential donors with the platform’s “one-click” social sharing tool, and ensure a smooth donation experience with up-to-date payment tools, like PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay, and more.

Select from three pricing models, including:

• Free: 0% platform fee 
• Standard: 5% platform fee 
• Pro: Custom pricing on your terms

There are no setup fees, monthly subscription fees, or contracts. Users can even assign different pricing models to multiple campaigns for convenience and flexibility.

FundRazr Reviews

• Capterra: 4.6/5 stars
• Trustpilot: 4.2/5 stars
• G2: 3.9/5 stars

Great for Startups and Small Businesses: Fundable

Fundable exclusively helps companies raise capital from investors, customers, and friends. This online fundraising platform has received over $570 million in funding commitments since 2012, with a determination to help great companies succeed.

Entrepreneurs can create a profile, choose between a reward or equity-based fundraising campaign, and tell the world about their goals. It’s free to set up, and campaign owners can defer payment until they’re ready to launch.

Pricing structure includes:

• $179 per month
• No success fees

Fundable Reviews

Trustpilot: 3.8/5 stars

Great for Creators: Patreon

Patreon has changed the way we value art. By inviting their most passionate fans to support their creative work, artists can continue their craft.

On Patreon, creators let their fans become active participants in their projects by offering them a monthly membership. In exchange, supporters gain exclusive access to content, community, and insight into their creative process. 

This membership model helps establish stronger connections with fans and provides individuals with the resources they need to fully embrace their talents.

It’s free to get started, with only a small monthly fee on earned revenue. Creators have the ability to choose from three different plans, including:

• Lite: Simple tools to set up recurring support from fans for 5% of creators’ monthly income
• Pro: Everything needed to build a thriving membership for 8% of creators’ monthly income
• Premium: Dedicated coaching, support, and advanced features for 12% of creators’ monthly income

However, keep in mind there’s an industry-standard payment processing rate included.

Patreon Reviews

• G2: 4.1/5 stars
• Trustpilot: 1.3/5

Great for Education: AdoptAClassroom.org

AdoptAClassroom.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit designed specifically for teachers. The crowdfunding platform helps fund anything from technology to musical instruments, textbooks, or uniforms. 

Its mission to advance equity in education has already been supported by over $65 million in donations, translating to roughly 6.4 million students receiving the tools they need to succeed.

Teachers begin by filling out a detailed online profile with a list of the items they need and why those items are essential to their students. Once donors find a project they’re passionate about, they can donate to a specific classroom, school, or fund. Educators then order the items themselves and thank donors with detailed updates on how they spent the money.

When people give to a classroom project, there’s a minimum $10 donation to AdaptAClassroom.org to assist in minimizing card processing costs. However, if you donate to a Spotlight Fund or directly to AdoptAClassroom.org, there’s no minimum.

Additionally, AdoptAClassroom.org includes the following fees:

10% fee deducted from each donation

AdoptAClassroom.org Reviews

Charity Navigator: 4 stars

Great for Scientific Research: MedStartr

MedStartr is the first medical innovation crowdfunding site for inventors, early adopters, hospital leaders, clinicians, patient activists, and so many other leading minds. 

The platform’s goal is to help medical and health care projects, startups, and innovations succeed while improving how health care works for everyone.

Think of MedStartr like an Accelerator Platform powered by crowds and designed for health care. Rather than being funded by accelerators, people who want the innovative product or service for their loved ones, patients, or even themselves fund each project.

This crowdfunding site offers an all-or-nothing payout or a “Keep What You Raise” payout. Open to any health care project, like medical devices, drug development, and research, MedStartr brings all the stakeholders in health care, online and off, to drive the growth of new, innovative companies.

The fee structure on this crowdfunding platform includes:

• All-or-nothing payout: 6% platform fee, if fully funded
• “Keep What You Raise” payout: 9% platform fee

Additionally, the average transaction fee is about 3%.

MedStartr Reviews

MedStartr has no formal ratings or reviews.

Crowdfunding FAQ

What are the advantages of crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding can facilitate everything from personal fundraising and venture capital to financial support for business owners in early-stage startups with a new product. Any amount of money can become more attainable with crowdfunding. For now, we’ll talk specifically to the crowdfunding benefits for nonprofit organizations.

Crowdfunding puts your cause in the spotlight and gives you the opportunity to tell your story in a way that pulls in new and existing supporters to take action. Whether looking to power giving days, collect recurring donations, or support a timely need, crowdfunding gives your donors a choice on how they’d like to become a part of your mission. 

Wonderful crowdfunding use cases include:

• Creating a social media giving campaign that’s easy to share 
• Sharing a link to feature on podcasts or in livestreams
• Providing organizations or corporate sponsors with a simple way to collect donations among employees
• Calling on supporters in the wake of crisis and high demand for help
• Raising awareness and funding for a specific project 

How does crowdfunding work?

The potential of crowdfunding relies on the experience supporters have when engaging with your campaign. That’s why crowdfunding sites should be evergreen, with microsites that bring your story to life through videos, images, and clean copywriting. 

Crowdfunding sites also give donors the power to select how much they’d like to give with a clear picture of what different gift sizes mean for your work. From there, they can access an online donation form on various devices and complete the transaction with a few clicks for the most flexible funding experience.

How do you set up a crowdfunding site?

The key to a successful crowdfunding site is experience. You want to think about how someone who’s never heard of your organization will navigate the fundraising page at every step. 

Here are a few points to consider for an excellent donor experience:

• Greet new supporters with your brand and a relatable story 
• Hook them with visuals and words that explain the importance of giving
• Show the impact of a donation clearly (e.g., $50 feeds three families this month)
• Include a clear call-to-action button that people can’t help but click
• Give donors a donation form with minimal fields and helpful instructions
• Offer payment methods people trust, from credit cards to PayPal to Venmo
• Wrap it up with a thank you email that celebrates their decision to donate

Can you use more than one crowdfunding site?

Ultimately, the decision is up to you. However, keep in mind the importance of delivering a consistent experience and streamlining your reporting to maintain clean data. More power to you if you can do that through multiple platforms. We recommend simplifying your back-end management and ensuring a consistent experience for your donors by keeping everything on one site. 

Select Your Crowdfunding Site to Get Started 

Whether looking to fund a scientific breakthrough, introduce a new electric vehicle to the world, or provide aid and relief to victims of a natural disaster, knowing how each unique crowdfunding platform can support your efforts is critical.

Start your selection process by solidifying your fundraising goals, defining your budget, conducting thorough research on the functionality of each site, and doing your due diligence to confirm each donation platform’s track record and fee structure. 

Dedicating the time upfront to weigh all your options will set you up for success in the long run.

Every successful nonprofit crowdfunding campaign starts with a good story. Whether raising money for emergency humanitarian aid or supporting families impacted by brain cancer, it’s critical to illustrate the problem, articulate the solution, and forge emotional connections with your supporters to help you solve it.

These five examples of successful crowdfunding websites will help you articulate the motivation behind your goal and encourage supporters to contribute to your awe-inspiring efforts better. 

Why You Should Consider a Crowdfunding Campaign

So what is crowdfunding?

While crowdfunding projects support entrepreneurs, venture capital endeavors, small businesses, and startups, we’re talking crowdfunding for charity here. Here’s a deep dive into crowdfunding for nonprofits, specifically.

The way crowdfunding works is that a single crowdfunding site acts as a fundraising campaign to attract a large number of people with a powerful message and a timely need for their support through monetary donations to support a specific need.

We always suggest nonprofits switch up the options given to supporters to participate and engage with a cause through various campaign types. Adding a crowdfunding campaign (where it makes sense) in your fundraising strategy can be a great way to attract new donors and give loyal supporters another way to act.

Now, let’s dig into some incredible examples of crowdfunding that led nonprofits to outstanding fundraising results.

5 Crowdfunding Examples

1. Direct Relief Boosts Conversion Rates to 35%

Direct Relief is a humanitarian organization offering emergency medical assistance and disaster relief worldwide. The organization views fundraising in a unique way by uniting individuals for a cause instead of marketing to them proactively to solicit donations. Crowdfunding campaigns are a key part of its strategy, which helped them raise $5.8M in its first seven months using the Classy platform.

Crowdfunding Example: Supporting Ukraine

Direct Relief partnered with AmerisourceBergen and Alliance Healthcare to respond to the Ukraine Crisis. Using a crowdfunding page that led with a powerful story, the organization successfully campaigned why the community needed help quickly. Additionally, Direct Relief was able to offer a 200% employee donation match to increase the urgency of its ask, followed by a simple experience for donors to give in minutes.

The expanded audience reached through its partnership with prominent corporations called for more focus on a simple donation experience. To do this, Direct Relief made its crowdfunding campaign page and payment methods with trusted apps, like PayPal and Venmo,  easily accessible on a mobile phone or smartwatch. It also features its pledge to spend 0% of donations on fundraising, alongside its accolades as a top-rated nonprofit on Charity Navigator, Forbes, and CNBC, right on the donation form itself.

2. Riley Children’s Foundation Acquires 22% More Donations

Riley Children’s Foundation is on a mission to support children through pediatric research funding, care, education, and access to healthcare. The organization fundraises to activate loyal donors and advocates while expanding its brand awareness to new audiences. Its Giving Tuesday crowdfunding campaign helped to increase fundraising by 19% and acquire 22% more year-end donations year over year.

Crowdfunding Example: Community Fundraising on Giving Tuesday

Riley Children’s Foundation turned to crowdfunding to host its dedicated Giving Tuesday campaign. The campaign page featured bold branding with the fundraising goal front and center and a prominent “donate now” call to action. Funders also saw a video that encouraged contributions to support children who needed it most at the end of the year. Additionally, it utilized creative and visual impact blocks that tie donations to the results the organization can offer kids in need.

With the help of Classy for Salesforce, Riley Children’s Foundation exceeded its funding goal. It created a multichannel approach to optimize marketing efforts and donor communications that brought more individuals to its campaign. Salesforce also provided a clear view into supporter data for a new level of engagement and personalization to the campaign, giving it that special touch.

3. Saprea Increased Donations by $40,000 Year Over Year

Saprea fundraises with a commitment to eradicate child sexual abuse and its effects on individuals. It has a beautiful approach to sharing stories of survivors through campaigns, making crowdfunding an ideal outlet to connect those stories to passionate donors. Saprea also turned to crowdfunding for Giving Tuesday and saw its donation volume increase by $40,000 in just one year.

Crowdfunding Example: A Giving Tuesday of Visual Story Sharing

Saprea gave donors a memorable moment on its crowdfunding campaign launched on Giving Tuesday 2020, with a beautiful page design that stood apart from millions of other movements that go live on this massive day of giving worldwide. Still, it was its genuine and authentic video that stole the show.

Featuring a personal story from a child sexual abuse survivor, Saprea was able to successfully pull in an emotional call to contribute to the vital cause. It supported this with startling statistics and story elements that pull a specific group of people in to help, even if it’s their first time hearing about the organization. Adding the option to give a monthly donation additionally resulted in 113 new recurring donors for Saprea, all from one powerful crowdfunding campaign.

4. Many Hopes Modernizes Giving to Increase Donations by 56%

Many Hopes began in Kenya and now operates in six countries to rescue children from oppression. Using donor-first fundraising initiatives focused on simplicity and various campaigns, it builds a well-rounded donor experience. Many Hopes also uses crowdfunding as a key campaign in its portfolio to deliver the consistent and frictionless experience that helped them increase donations by 56% year over year.

Crowdfunding Example: The Gift of Hope Holiday Call to Help

Many Hopes used crowdfunding to host a time-sensitive holiday campaign that spoke to donors with simple yet impactful language. The campaign matched all donations until the last day of the year, prompting more donations to flow in at a critical time. Many Hopes also explained clearly how much a donation would mean to a child during the holiday season with the added element of a moving testimonial.

Donors saw how different gift amounts benefited four specific children in need to build trust and transparency around their actions. Additionally, Many Hopes put donors first in every aspect of the donation process throughout the campaign, with simple payments from Google Pay and PayPal to Venmo and ACH transfers to capture the most impact possible.

5. Lutzie 43 Increased Campaign Donations by $39,000

The Lutzie 43 Foundation turned a tragedy into a mission to educate communities about the risks of distracted and impaired driving. After an accident took the life of Philip Lutzenkirchen in 2014, his father, Mike, was determined to reach more people with the story and make a genuine difference. The Lutzie 43 Foundation brings creativity to its crowdfunding approach, seeing a $39,000 increase in its signature campaign in just two years.

Crowdfunding Example: The Power of the 43 Day Campaign

The Lutzie 43 Foundation created a custom crowdfunding campaign called the “43 Day Campaign” to honor Philip’s football number at Auburn University. Additionally, the call to action created a critical sense of urgency among potential donors to offer immediate support. It focuses on donor acquisition with a tangible impact of donations present on the campaign page for anyone to feel connected to its cause.

Clear and compelling messaging started with a targeted email campaign, postcard mailer, public relations efforts, and social media challenges and carried into the campaign page itself. Then, the Lutzie 43 Foundation took its campaign to the next level with the help of Classy partner, the Knight Eady strategy and creative agency, to guide them through the many features available to design a standout crowdfunding design.

Top Takeaways to Build Your Successful Crowdfunding Campaign

• Showcase a consistent brand: Donor admiration is foundational to lifelong donor stewardship. To keep your unique brand presence in all you do, start by crafting a cohesive narrative. Although seemingly small, building this instant credibility with campaign page visitors can strengthen donors’ connection to your cause and inspire giving that stretches far beyond one campaign.
• State the problem your campaign addresses: Nonprofits address an array of complex problems, so presenting the core issue in one clear statement is nonnegotiable for achieving your crowdfunding campaign goal. Consider stating the problem in the headline of your campaign page to captivate site visitors and encourage them to read on.
• Offer a solution to the problem: Now that people are aware of the problem you’re trying to solve, offer them a solution. Otherwise, your donors may struggle to understand how their gift can make a difference. Demonstrate how you’ll address the problem with an action plan and clarify if you’ve proven your model before.
• Show the impact of your crowdfunding campaign: When a donor understands the impact of their gift, they’re more likely to offer repeated support to your crowdfunding campaign. Get specific, emotional, and creative with your communication to demonstrate exactly how each dollar will change the lives of your beneficiaries. You can also describe how different gift amounts affect your ability to implement a solution by customizing the copy in each impact block on your crowdfunding campaign. 
• Explain the “why” behind your call to action: You’ve demonstrated a problem, a solution, and a supporter’s fit into that picture. Bring the story full circle and explain your campaign’s “why” to backers of your mission. Here are some questions to address on your campaign page: 
  • Why now? 
  • Why this goal? 
  • Why does it matter to the future of your organization? 
  • How does it solve the problem you’re addressing?
• Give social proof to drive action: A well-crafted crowdfunding campaign has the potential to provide that social proof. With campaign features like a real-time progress barorlive activity wall, prospective donors can immediately see how many people trust your organization and are passionate about your cause.
• Mimic modern transactions with your donation process: Business owners attract customers to purchase a new product with a seamless transaction experience. Just as Amazon customers know they can make a purchase in seconds, you can offer that same consistency and reliable process on your checkout form to convert as many campaign visitors as possible.

Strengthen Your Crowdfunding Success

Crowdfunding platforms, like Classy and GoFundMe, make it simpler to establish a campaign that meets your audience where they’re at, from mobile-optimized donation forms to easy sharing on social media. The examples and takeaways we’ve shared today will help you establish a repeatable process for building compelling crowdfunding campaign pages that are easy for supporters to digest and act on.

For more comprehensive tips and ideas on how to elevate your crowdfunding campaigns, explore our crowdfunding campaign checklist. 

What Are the Benefits of Virtual Fundraising?

Virtual events helps your nonprofit reach entirely new audiences with a next level fundraising strategy. They also allow for on-demand events that open the likelihood of supporters attending and viewing your content than a time-bound event. You can appeal to your donor’s schedules, and reach more potential donors using the recordings of your event. Imagine hosting your event once, and keeping registration to access the content on-demand all year to continue building relationships and support raising funds.

A Modern Take on Virtual Fundraising Software

As you start to think about virtual fundraising efforts, consider the way technology sets you up for success. Engaging event platforms let you bring physical, virtual, and hybrid events to life with tech enhancements that exceed modern donor expectations.

22 Creative Virtual Fundraising Ideas

Across almost all virtual fundraising events, your nonprofit organization will likely want to livestream content to your audience. You can also embed your Zoom recording, YouTube or Twitch livestream directly into your Classy virtual fundraising campaign or Classy Live event.

In-Person Event Pivots to Virtual or Hybrid

1. Online Gala Dinner

Many nonprofits were forced to pivot their in-person galas to virtual events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which struck during the height of gala season. However, nonprofits have seen great success hosting their galas virtually. There’s no longer a geographic restraint so anyone can attend, you can emulate table fundraising with online peer-to-peer fundraising and team captains, and you may actually net higher fundraising totals with an expanded attendance and less overhead costs.

Upaya Social Ventures successfully pivoted their in-person gala to a virtual gala in a few weeks and ended up raising over $300,000, 50% more than their initial fundraising goal. They used their Classy campaign page as a central hub to post messages from leadership, share engaging videos, and even host an auction.

2. Online Auctions

Similar to galas, an online auction or silent auction can increase your audience of potential donors and bidders. The key to a successful virtual auction is twofold. On one hand, your nonprofit must take stock of your items, clearly define the rules for participants, set competitive bids, and promote the auction items in emails and on social media.

On the other hand, you can also use this as an opportunity to ask for donations throughout the event that are separate from the price of every auction item. This way, you can keep people engaged at times when they might drop off. For example, if someone is outbid on an item, you can suggest they donate the amount they would have paid to your organization directly.

3. Online Telethons

You can also turn an online raffle or auction into a telethon event. A telethon can be an opportunity to livestream with a special host or group of engaging community members. You can use the time to share items for auction or raffle of fun prizes in exchange for donations. Mobile bidding can enhance the experience as you tie your event to an online campaign or donation page.

Get creative about a theme that resonates with the time of year or your current projects. You can translate that theme to your host’s appearance, the set of your telethon, and any supporting marketing materials.

Food and Drink Virtual Fundraising Ideas

4. Cooking or Mixology Virtual Classes

Whether you’re making homemade pasta or mixing up a nice old fashioned, cooking and mixology virtual classes cater perfectly to a virtual audience. Your nonprofit can partner with a local chef or mixologist, or even famous culinary influencers if you have the connections, and stream the virtual cooking class fundraising event live.

You can charge admission with a ticketed event fundraising page, or in the form of a donation. The key is to set tiers of gifts. For example, $100 can guarantee a supporter gets a seat in the class, but $250 or more will allow that supporter to participate in a live virtual happy hour or webinar with the cook or mixologist after the class is concluded. Additionally, you can make calls to donate to your nonprofit throughout the livestream fundraising event.

5. Group Dining Events

It may not be feasible to gather your community of supporters together around a good meal, but there are ways to transition a feeling of togetherness into a virtual fundraising idea. When Miry’s List hosted their 2020 World Refugee Day Awards Campaign, they offered a takeout picnic that supporters could pick up curbside and enjoy at home while they watched the virtual awards ceremony.

6.Virtual Alcohol Tasting

Whiskey, wine, mezcal, or otherwise, alcohol tastings are never dull events. Your nonprofit can create a virtual fundraising event where the price of registration includes the cost of the alcohol and shipping. Your supporters can then receive their drinks in time for the live event, where a professional teaches them about the alcohol.

There are some rules and restrictions by which you must abide in order to ensure the legality of your event, but Hope for Haiti is a great example of a nonprofit who has done this with Haitian crema. You can use their model to get started, like clearly calling out which states are eligible to receive alcohol shipments, but always consult with your legal team to ensure you’re in compliance with state and federal laws.

Athletic Virtual Fundraising Ideas

7. Yoga Class

Reach out to your local yoga studio and invite them to lead a class, or series of classes, in partnership with your nonprofit over zoom. You can also ask your supporters if any of them are yoga teachers, or know someone, who would want to guide the classes. Either way, you can sell tickets to your community, as well as the community that regularly supports the yoga studio. The best part of this virtual fundraiser is that there’s no limit to the number of people who can join.

8. Bootcamp

For your supporters who want more of a hardcore workout over a relaxing yoga class, bootcamp is the perfect option. Collaborate with a local trainer to develop a regimen and have them lead the virtual workout. You can also design it so no extra equipment is required, supporters can do it on their own time, and they can share results on social media after.

Consider pre-recording the initial workout with the trainer so you can keep the virtual bootcamp up in a more evergreen capacity. Each time someone pays the registration fee, you can email them the video.

9. Virtual Walks and Runs

Many nonprofits who host regular endurance events—like the Cleveland Clinic VeloSano event, a walk-a-thon, a stair climb, or a 5K—often incorporate a virtual fundraising component into their event even when they’re hosting it in-person. The formula is simple: you charge registration through an online donation form and then the athlete completes the distance on their own.

If you’re going fully virtual, it’s crucial that you create engagement opportunities throughout the campaign. Have riders or racers start peer-to-peer fundraising pages to solicit their networks for support, ask them to share photos on social media with a hashtag, and send them branded gear that promotes your nonprofit while they race.

Community Engagement Virtual Fundraising Ideas

10. Virtual Crowdfunding Pet Events

This virtual fundraising idea capitalizes on people’s love of showing off their furry friends. An event like this can be a great way to get people involved with your organization, especially in a virtual environment. Often, all that’s needed is for them to snap a picture of their pet and post it to social media with a specific event hashtag. You could run a crowdfunding campaign that coincides with the awareness to give people a place to take action.

For example, if you’re hosting a virtual pet parade, they can dress their animals up in costumes and post photos. The virtual component also expands the potential audience since people with birds, turtles, rabbits, and lizards might not normally be able to attend an in-person event with their pets—pets they might not be comfortable taking outdoors. Everyone can participate.

The Boulder Humane Society pivoted their annual Doggie Dash event into a fully virtual fundraising event. They drove engagement across their social media channels powered by user-generated content, and raised 101% of their fundraising goal.

11. Community Talks

Virtual community talks offer an opportunity for your nonprofit to offer supporters something of value, as well as solicit donations for your mission at the same time. Tap your board members, executive leadership, or prominent members of your community and have them speak about topics related to your mission. You can also bring in outside speakers to discuss relevant or timely topics.

For example, if your nonprofit is involved in the fight for social justice, you can have a respected diversity coach lead an open discussion for your supporters. Whatever topic you choose, you can engage your audience with Q&A sessions, educational hand-outs, and interactive conversations throughout.

12. Book Clubs

Virtual book clubs are a great way to get your supporters to donate. Charge a small fee for supporter to get admitted. You can make this a club that recurringly meets and give the attendees an opportunity to donate each time. Book clubs allow for discussion and adds a personal touch to getting connected with supporters.

13. Behind-the-Scenes Tours

What goes on at your organization that the average, everyday supporter never gets to witness? Host a virtual fundraising event that takes your supporters on a behind-the-scenes virtual tour of your operations. There are countless options for what you can show your supporters, regardless of your cause category. The key is to provide them with a value equal to the amount they donate to participate.

This tactic worked well for the Joffrey Ballet in their campaign, “Pulling Back the Curtain: The Nutcracker.” They invited people to get a first glimpse of the play with footage, interviews with artists, the art team, and secret delights along the tour. What’s more, they created their page so that people were sponsoring the virtual event versus just making a donation. This language makes it feel tangible for supporters and gives them a sense of ownership over the actual event when it takes place.

14. Virtual Tailgate

Tailgating for a major sports event is one of the most fun parts of watching the game. You can make your tailgate avirtual celebration. Have your supporters purchase a tailgate package, which can be picked up and taken back home before the big game.

The Palmer Home for Children decided to host a virtual tailgate like this for the Mississippi State football team, and supporters a cooler filled with tailgate foods and treats. They creatively sold sponsorship packages as well, and anyone who purchased a sponsorship had their organization included inside the tailgate cooler on special promotions. Anyone who was unable to grab a tailgate cooler could make a one-time donation and celebrate with a virtual cocktail.

Arts and Entertainment Virtual Fundraising Ideas

15. Game/ Trivia Night

Nothing beats an engaging game night to spark donations to your fundraiser. There are endless virtual game night opportunities with trivia being a stand-out when it comes to captivating the attention of the attendees. You can even tailor the trivia questions to your company or charity to get attendees to learn more about the cause.

16. Virtual Movie Night

Movie nights are an easy way to solicit donations. Simply charge a fee to enter the virtual screening of a popular movie. At the end or beginning of the movie, you can further explain your cause and communicate your mission to your supporters.

17. Script Readings

Hosting a virtual movie night is a good idea, but it can be difficult to convince someone to donate and watch a movie at their house when they could simply watch it on their own. One way to level up this virtual fundraising idea is to invite actors to join your organization on a livestream and read the script to a famous movie together.

To be clear, you don’t need to be an arts organization to do this, any nonprofit can. The key is to get the right people to participate in the script reading. If you don’t have connections to influential actors, you can tap into the local businesses, performance arts centers, schools, or even your direct audience of supporters to participate.

18. Tour an Art Gallery

In the world of virtual fundraising ideas and events, no geographic territory is off-limits. Your organization might be located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but that doesn’t mean you can’t give your supporters a tour of MOMA in New York City. It boils down to securing partnerships with the right people and orchestrating a virtual fundraising event.

You might not be able to secure access to major venues, but there are thousands of smaller artists around the United States who would likely be willing to showcase their galleries to your supporters. You can build this as a ticketed event and maybe even throw in an online fundraising auction for the artist’s various creations.

19. Virtual Concerts

You might not be able to go to an in-person venue to watch your favorite band play, but that doesn’t mean concerts are off the table. Reach out to bands and invite them to perform for your audience in a closed venue. Sell tickets for the virtual fundraising event idea, solicit donations during the virtual concert, and livestream all the excitement to everyone who bought a ticket.

20. Virtual Pageant

Similar to a concert, you can host a pageant and livestream it for your attendees who bought tickets. Unlike a concert, you can use this opportunity to shine a light on your beneficiaries.

Arc Broward hosted the Virtual Miss Arc Broward Pageant, which empowers their beneficiaries who actually participate in the pageant. They sold tickets to save a virtual seat for the livestreamed event and added upgrade options to enhance the viewing experience with a hot chocolate bomb, a make-your-own pizza experience, or charcuterie board for two. Each enhancement was designed to be a curbside pickup that you take home and enjoy while watching.

21. Comedy Events

Comedians can find opportunities to perform for wider audiences online. Your nonprofit can secure comedy talent from local improv venues all the way up to nationally recognized names, and everything in between. This virtual talent show fundraising event can be more than just a ticket purchase. It can be part of a larger giving day.

The Scleroderma Research Foundation hosts an annual comedy event called Cool Comedy, Hot Cuisine. When they pivoted to a fully virtual event, they moved all of their performers into the virtual space to deliver their performances as well. However, they enhanced the experience by folding in an online auction and gourmet food and wine boxes for purchase.

22. Virtual Fashion Show

A fashion show can be a great virtual fundraising idea for schools, clubs, or communities looking to raise money. You can get creative and partner with local boutiques or stores that would love to have their clothing promoted for a good cause. You could livestream the event or pre-record the fashion show and sell tickets to view it when it’s finalized. You could even lean into a peer-to-peer fundraising model by having each participant or model raise money from their friends, families, and social networks.

African Community Education (ACE) transformed their annual gala into a flexible hybrid event that welcomed virtual guests. During the 2021 giving season, ACE has students walk in a fashion show that was streamed to a virtual audience to immerse them in the experience. The result was a 3X increase in revenue from their 2019 in-person gala.

Which Creative Virtual Fundraising Idea Will You Use?

One benefit to hosting virtual fundraising events is that you can get wildly creative with the ideas and concepts. You don’t only have to stick to ideas that seem to fit exactly in your cause category either; almost any event can be adapted to fit your mission, work, and impact.

Use this list of virtual fundraising ideas to inspire your next great virtual fundraising event, and feel free to tweak them to fit your specific goals. Don’t forget to download our virtual fundraising events toolkit to ensure you nail your next event.

As you build out your nonprofit’s annual strategy, use these virtual fundraising ideas to create engaging experiences for your donors, grow your audience of supporters, and raise more money. Don’t forget to download our Virtual Events Toolkit to help.

An Overview of Fundraising Campaign Types

We’ll take a look at five different campaign types at your disposal when you use a modern fundraising platform like Classy. These include:

• Donation Pages /Donation Websites
• Crowdfunding
• Peer-to-Peer
• Ticketed Events
• Registration with Fundraising Events

Choosing the right campaign type is vital to your fundraising success. Your decision affects the entire marketing and communications strategy that you’ll use to rally and engage supporters.

For example, the call to action you’d include on a donation form would be along the lines of “make a one-time donation.” For a peer-to-peer campaign, you’d change that to something like “sign up to fundraise on our behalf.” If you want to lean heavily on storytelling through photos and narrative text, or explain the power of different gift amounts through impact blocks, you might lean toward a crowdfunding campaign where people can come to donate.

Below, we’ll explore the different use cases and nuances of each campaign type and provide actual Classy campaigns examples. First, let’s go over how you can determine your nonprofit’s primary focus to help decide which type is right for your first campaign.

The Value of Using Multiple Campaign Types

It’s important to state that it can be highly effective for nonprofits to use multiple campaign types throughout the year to capture new donors and audiences according to how they’d like to give. Our annual report, The State of Modern Philanthropy, outlines how valuable a multi-campaign approach can be to a well-rounded fundraising strategy. 

As you go through the list of campaign type options, think about which combination can help you reach your target donors and raise the funds you need at various milestones throughout the year. You’ll see proof points and sentiment from Classy customers to help you envision your organization’s next successful campaign.

What’s Your Campaign Focus?

To ensure you choose the right Classy campaign type, determine your organization’s focus or top priority. This isn’t the end-all-be-all of your fundraising strategy but rather something to guide your first campaign.

Start by exploring the most immediate need that brought you to use Classy in the first place. For example, you might want to establish your main donation button on your website and build a landing page that serves as a place for someone to donate.

Define specific goals and desired outcomes

Your goal will help you choose the best-fit campaign to get you there. The key is to be as specific as possible. It could also be a good idea to envision the end of the campaign and your desired outcomes. Get clear about the donation volume you’d consider a success, how many donors would participate, the ideal length of your campaign, and how many supporters you want to build relationships with throughout the process for future campaigns.

Once your team agrees on its focus, it becomes much easier to create cohesive messaging that helps supporters understand how they can contribute to your work. Each section below begins with a sample focus statement before exploring the different campaign types and examples from real nonprofits.

Donation Page

“Our nonprofit simply needs to gather donations and build a supporter base.”

A donation page can stand as your landing page. Supporters can arrive, read a short section on your work, and complete their donations. Your nonprofit can link to your donation page from your main website through a donation button. 

From there you can take the following action to get donors to your donation page:

• Include it in your monthly email appeal for donations
• Add a promotion within your newsletters
• Create online ads 
• Develop social media posts
• Write timely blogs
• Include the URL on pieces of direct mail

Flexibility of Donation Pages

With a donation page, you can collect either one-time or recurring donations. You can offer the frequency and the donation amounts listed on the form. Further, you can use pass-through parameters to have a pre-selected donation amount automatically populated when someone lands on the form. 

Offer more choices on your donation pages with modern payment options like Venmo, PayPal, cryptocurrency, digital wallets, and ACH bank transfers. Classy also offers an embedded checkout experience with a pop-up modal that can be placed on your website to simplify the experience for your donors. 

Many Hopes brought an embedded checkout experience to their donation website to see a year-over-year donation volume increase of 56% and a $975 average gift size specifically through the PayPal option.

For example, look at how Casa Central built its donation page to be engaging enough to draw someone in yet still strong enough to stand on its own.

Donation Page Classy Campaign Example

The ROI of Donation Pages

Donation pages powered by the Classy fundraising platform bring in the most average recurring revenue of all campaign types from automated repeat donations. They also have the least amount of canceled recurring contributions in the first year from the original recurring donation compared to all other campaign types.

Crowdfunding

“Our nonprofit needs to gather donations, build a supporter base, and tell our organization’s compelling story in the process.”

A crowdfunding campaign is built for storytelling. With this campaign type, you can inspire support for your cause with a robust narrative that ultimately drives people to donate.

Crowdfunding campaigns are the landing page before someone gets to your donation page. It’s meant to draw people in, teach them about your nonprofit, show the impact their gift will make, and steward them to complete a donation. Nonprofits often use video, rich imagery, and well-written copy to accomplish this.

Crowdfunding’s Value for Community-Based Campaigns

While a crowdfunding campaign works well for story-driven appeals, it’s also ideal for time-bound appeals that fundraise against an optional, public-facing goal. You can’t do this on a donation page. In addition, when you run a crowdfunding campaign that’s bound to a set duration of time, it can create a sense of urgency to donate.

Additionally, when someone donates, you can thank and encourage them in real time on the comment wall of the campaign page. This public-facing engagement opportunity shows supporters that you and your team are grateful for the support.

It also lends an element of social proof to the campaign. With a donation page, you cannot see who’s donated, how many have donated, or gauge any sense of momentum. Here’s a campaign by Water4 that puts all of these best practices to use.

Crowdfunding Classy Campaign Example

Crowdfunding for Recurring Giving

Donation pages can effectively include a recurring giving option, but you can also use a crowdfunding campaign to build a dedicated recurring giving program. The only things that change are the call to action, which shifts the focus from a one-time donation to a monthly recurring donation, and the timeline. Recurring giving programs are often evergreen. Operation Broken Silence built a recurring giving program in this fashion.

Recurring Giving Crowdfunding Classy Campaign Example

The ROI of Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding campaigns have the highest percentage of donors on mobile devices who are visiting from social media platforms. We also see that crowdfunding campaigns are the second most common way a donor returns to give a second donation. 

Peer-to-Peer

“We want to empower people to fundraise on our behalf.”

A peer-to-peer fundraising campaign page may look similar to a crowdfunding campaign, but it has a different call to action. Instead of asking someone to donate, a peer-to-peer campaign instead asks them to sign up to fundraise on your behalf.

Some peer-to-peer campaigns will offer both options and invite supporters to donate or sign up to fundraise. That way, people can still give to your cause even if they don’t want to build a personal fundraising page.

Create a Central Hub for Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Your main campaign page serves as a central hub from which supporters build their personal fundraising pages. Fundraisers will then send out their personal pages to their networks, asking people to donate.

All donations to personal fundraising pages link back to your main campaign page and increase your fundraising progress toward the goal. The true value here lies in that network effect.

As individuals reach out to their friends, families, and coworkers to share their fundraising pages, your nonprofit gets exposed to new audiences that may not have heard about your mission before. Peer-to-peer fundraising can also net your organization higher overall fundraising totals.

That’s because someone who starts a personal fundraising page can often raise more from their network than they can donate out of pocket. Not everyone can donate $100 at once, but many people have 10 friends who can each donate $10. Look at how Volunteers of America built their page.

Peer-to-Peer Classy Campaign Example

Year-Round Peer-to-Peer Campaigns

While most peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns are time-bound, like most crowdfunding campaigns, you always have the option to leave it on year-round. In these cases, you would call it a year-round peer-to-peer campaign.

Beyond that, you can build your peer-to-peer campaign as a DIY fundraising campaign, which lets supporters fundraise on their own terms and time, like Room to Grow did. Someone can donate their birthday, wedding, athletic event, or another major life milestone.

DIY Peer-to-Peer Classy Campaign Example

The ROI of Peer-to-Peer

An individual’s fundraising page brings in 20 donors on average, so your campaign could potentially reach 100 donors if even five people participated. We also saw that the average amount raised by each participant’s fundraising page in 2021 increased by 34% on average from 2020.

Events

“I want to hold an event that activates my entire community of supporters.”

Classy offers two different ways your nonprofit can tap into the power of events. First, you can choose a ticketed event, which allows you to sell tickets to your event—our online ticket sales for nonprofits feature makes this easier than ever. Second, you can choose registration with fundraising, which combines the peer-to-peer fundraising campaign with a ticketed event campaign. With the addition of Classy Live, these events can now be run virtually or enhanced in-person with mobile features.

Ticketed Event

A ticketed event is what you’ll want to choose for any event that you want to sell admission tickets for, like a gala. You can control the total number of tickets you want to sell, as well as the types of tickets you offer supporters.

You can also create special promo codes to pass out and attract additional attendees. Last, you can include a “Donate” call to action so that anyone who can’t attend your event can still make a donation to support like the High Fives Foundation did.

Ticketed Event Classy Campaign Example

Registration with fundraising is similar to the ticketed events campaign type, but it mixes in an element of peer-to-peer fundraising. Often, nonprofits will use this campaign type for endurance events like 5Ks, marathons, and run/walks.

Participants can still pay for admission to the event, but there’s an option for them to create a personal or team fundraising page as well. Some will also use this peer-to-peer functionality as a gate to entry for the event.

Someone must fundraise a certain dollar amount to guarantee their registration in the event. You can use this example from the Sacramento SPCA to inspire your own campaign.

Registration With Fundraising Classy Campaign Example

The ROI of Events

Not only are events seeing tremendous year-over-year donation volume growth after the pandemic years of 2020 through 2021, but registration with fundraising events converted at the highest rate of all campaign types. We also see ticketed events bringing in the highest percentage of donations over $1,000.

What Classy Campaign Type Will You Choose?

No matter which Classy campaign type you choose, it’s helpful to view your campaign as an iterative work-in-progress that can always be improved. One of the biggest keys to success is to have a defined focus before you start that drives a strong first version that can be improved upon later.

When you understand the call to action and are confident in the campaign type you need, you’ve done the hard part. That way, you won’t spend hours designing a page only to realize you’ve chosen the wrong type.

For more ROI related to specific campaign types on Classy, visit The State of Modern Philanthropy report. If you’re interested in learning more about how Classy can power your online fundraising efforts, please reach out to us. Good luck!

The goal of any nonprofit fundraising event is maximizing donations while minimizing expenses. That way, more money goes directly towards your mission instead of covering overhead costs.

Knowing that the average nonprofit donation is $128, think about how much your organization could raise through a successful community event. Those small gifts can add up to make a major impact.

There’s certainly still a need for larger events on your annual calendar, but supplementing large-scale efforts with easier, cheaper options is a great way to sustain a steady flow of donations all year.

To help you get started, here are 14 cheap and easy fundraising ideas to consider. Pitch some of these creative ideas to your team to determine which ones work best for you.

Incorporate These Ideas Into Your Events With Ease

1. Donation Jars

In the age of cryptocurrency and digital wallets, we often forget about cash as a quick donation option. People are always looking for ways to unload clunky coins from their purses and pockets, so you might as well offer them the opportunity to give back in the process.

These hard currency donations might be small, but they can add up quickly. Encourage people to donate by placing physical donation jars around your community. Talk to local businesses like restaurants, grocery stores, banks, or dry cleaners about leaving a donation jar near their register.

Clearly label each jar with your organization’s logo and mission statement. Train the employees of these businesses on how to speak to the public about your cause. Help them answer any potential questions about your mission and educate them on ways to encourage customers to give.

2. Community Yard Sale

Stuck at home during the pandemic, many people cleared out their attics and closets of unwanted items. Nonprofits like Goodwill were overwhelmed by an influx of donations.

Take advantage of this purging frenzy by organizing a community yard sale. Find a large space, like a park, gym, or community center, to host the event. Invite friends, family, and donors looking to unload their unwanted goods, and encourage them to spread the word to their extended networks.

Sellers can donate a flat rate to your nonprofit for a spot to sell their items, or you could ask for a portion of the money they earn. Your biggest task is to drum up interest from potential shoppers. After all, the success of this event depends on the turnout.

Promote your upcoming yard sale through all relevant marketing channels. Send a localized email campaign to supporters close enough to attend, as well as targeted social media ads focused on a specific geographic area. Even printed materials, like flyers or posters, can help raise awareness.

3. 50/50 Raffle

Over the years, 50/50 raffles have become popular because they give half of the proceeds back to your cause while passing along the other half to a lucky winner.

The only things you’ll need for this cheap and easy fundraising event are a large supply of raffle tickets and a captive audience. Sporting events or school pep rallies work well to host these raffles. Simply recruit a team of volunteers to circulate and sell tickets for a set amount, and provide updates on the prize pool throughout the evening to pique interest.

Toward the end of the gathering, divide the ticket profits into two equal parts and select a random winner to take home half of the money. There are even options for hosting a virtual or hybrid raffle if that’s more accessible to your audience.

Whichever environment you choose for your event, remember to review the rules for nonprofit raffles. Make sure to abide by these laws and pay the appropriate taxes on certain cash prizes.

4. Bake Sale

There’s a reason why reality TV shows like The Great British Baking Show are so popular. People love baked goods, especially when they’re homemade. Your nonprofit can ride this wave of popularity by hosting a bake sale fundraiser.

The most important element of a successful bake sale is recruiting volunteer bakers to make cakes, pies, muffins, and other delicious treats to sell. Then, secure a high-traffic venue to host the event and attract potential (and hungry) buyers.

Even better, coordinate the sale with an event that already draws a crowd, like a farmers market, sporting event, festival, or concert. Ask if you can set up a table or small concession stand to sell your items, then let the smell of freshly baked cookies do the work.

5. Concession Stand

While we’re on the subject of food, we can’t forget about running a concession stand at the next local sporting event. With enough volunteers and tasty snacks, these stands can bring in hundreds of dollars in a single evening.

If you’re interested, reach out to your local high school, college, or professional sports teams. See if they‘d offer your nonprofit the opportunity to run a concession stand at one of their venues, or split the proceeds with your organization if they prefer.

Recruit a team of volunteers to work shifts at the concession stand, and encourage your supporters to attend the game with big appetites. This is a great way to stay involved in the community and meet supporters face to face in a relaxed environment.

6. Car Wash

Washing cars is a common way to raise money for high school sports teams, bands, and clubs. They’re not only extremely simple to organize, but also offer a way for donors to check this pesky chore off of their to-do lists.

To organize an effective car wash, your organization needs an open space, like a parking lot or gas station, plenty of washing materials, and a group of willing volunteers.

Attract the most drivers with clear signage and an easily-accessible location. Set a flat price for the service, or simply ask for donations as customers arrive. Just be sure to mark a clear donation box or bin where donors can leave donations on their way out. This is important since most of these gifts will likely be physical cash or personal checks.

Although a car wash is extremely cheap and easy to organize, it’ll end up being a massive flop if no one shows. Don’t forget to promote ahead of time through your organization’s website, social media channels, and email. Get your volunteers to share news by word of mouth, too.

7. Team Trivia Night

Trivia question: What is the largest nonprofit organization in the United States?

Answer: According to Forbes, it’s the United Way, which brought in more than $5.1 billion in 2021.

Who doesn’t love a good game of trivia? Or even better, a trivia tournament to raise money for your charity.

Work with a local restaurant or bar to host the event. Get a volunteer to emcee with a list of brain-teasers, or reach out to a local personality who supports your cause. Teams can pay a set amount to enter the competition, or the restaurant could give back a portion of the revenue they make from food and drinks throughout the evening.

You could even give a portion of the funds to the winning team as an incentive. But win or lose, trivia nights are always a great way to bring people together for some old-fashioned fun.

8. Sports Tournament

If a trivia tournament isn’t your style, host an athletic competition instead. This could be a tournament of flag football, ultimate frisbee, softball, kickball, basketball, or a mix of different sports.

First, you’ll need a venue to host the competition. Starting your search with a public park or community center could help save money on rentals. If that doesn’t work, reach out to local schools or churches to see if they’d let you use their space for a few hours. Your volunteers can serve as referees—just be sure to get them whistles and striped shirts.

Provide clear rules for gameplay upfront. Determine how many teams can participate and organize them into a bracket to decide who plays who. Depending on the sport, you may need to have medical services on standby in case of athletic injuries.

Collect an entry fee from each team to participate. Sell tickets to spectators as a way to generate additional revenue, and consider selling merchandise, food, or beverages in exchange for donations. You could even secure a corporate sponsor if you wanted to go the extra mile and create custom swag for all competitors with your sponsor’s logo.

9. Giving Holidays

There are several built-in fundraising dates across the calendar, with the most obvious example being Giving Tuesday. However, there are quite a few other holidays your organization can leverage depending on your cause.

Holidays are effective opportunities to raise money because they create organic opportunities for connection. You can even tap into holidays that aren’t traditionally known for fundraising, like Valentine’s Day or Halloween. Costume parties or donation drives are great ideas to maximize these special days.

Find ways your nonprofit can leverage specific holidays or cause awareness days to engage wider audiences and keep donors engaged all year. The more direct the connection is to your cause, the easier it is for people to understand the impact of their gift.

10. Happy Hour

One of the largest perks of joining a nonprofit community is the opportunity to meet and spend time with like-minded people. That’s the reason why traditional fundraisers like golf tournaments or galas are so successful. They’re not only fun, but also give donors the opportunity to spend time together.

However, you don’t need a huge budget to bring people together. Host a happy hour at a local restaurant or pub to help people relax and unwind after a busy day. This also offers an opportunity for professionals to network with one another in a low-pressure environment.

Consider setting a theme for your event, like Taco Tuesday or TGI Friday—anything involving food and drinks. It doesn’t need to directly relate to your nonprofit, so don’t be afraid to get creative.

Ask the managers of your happy hour venue to donate a percentage of their sales back to your cause, or give attendees a discount during your event. Keep in mind, you don’t need to serve alcohol for the event to be effective, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

11. Social Media Challenge

If the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge taught us anything, it’s that social media can be an extremely impactful tool for boosting cause awareness.

Invite supporters to participate in a creative challenge to raise money for your cause, then share their experience on social media to garner interest. The Ice Bucket Challenge took off because it included a clear action that caught donors’ attention—dump freezing cold water on your head in an effort to raise awareness for ALS.

You can be as simple or creative as you’d like in crafting your challenge. It could be as straightforward as doing 20 jumping jacks, volunteering for an afternoon, or taking a photo of yourself doing a kind deed.

Keep in mind, the ultimate goal is to get participants and supporters to donate to your cause. Encourage participants to include links to your donation page with each social media post to drive conversions.

12. Talent Show

Plenty of popular reality TV shows, from American Idol to Dancing With the Stars, focus on people’s talents (or lack thereof). Your nonprofit can cash in on that popularity by hosting a talent show of your own.

Solicit local talent—anything from singers, jugglers, magicians, or ventriloquists—to perform in your show. Pick a volunteer or staff member to emcee the event and help create seamless transitions from one act to the next.

Grab three or four of your board members to act as judges. They can crown an ultimate winner after all of the entries have performed, or leave it up to the audience to determine the best act. The show’s winner could be awarded with some of your best swag, or a set of free tickets to your next event.

Sell tickets to an adoring public or ask for donations as spectators arrive. They’ll not only get to see entertaining acts, but also know that they’re supporting a worthy cause in the process.

13. Open Mic Night

If you liked the last two ideas, combine them together by hosting an open mic night for your nonprofit community. Mix happy hour with a talent show to give attendees a memorable night of stand-up comedy, singing, or a combination of the two.

Like a talent show, you’ll need to secure a venue, emcee, talented performers, and a paying crowd. Your open mic night will likely also involve food and drinks, so be sure to plan ahead by getting a rough headcount of attendees.

Identify what type of crowd you’re attracting so your performers know what to prepare for their acts. Determine upfront if you want a family-friendly environment or more of an adults-only evening.

14. Gaming Marathon

Video games are a big business, providing people with the opportunity to engage with a like-minded community and potentially even give back to worthy causes.

Gaming marathons can attract mass audiences and raise awareness for your organization. In fact, nonprofits like Games Done Quick and Extra Life are built completely around this idea.

Recruit a few gamers to stream themselves online while people watch, cheer them on, and potentially donate a certain amount for every hour they play—similar to pay-per-mile races.

The biggest challenge here is forming relationships with well-known gamers who would be interested in participating. If you can’t secure a gaming celebrity or influencer, look within your own staff, community of supporters, or volunteers for others who could be a good fit.

Use a platform like Twitch or YouTube Live to broadcast the video game streams. Share information about your nonprofit with each gamer to discuss as they broadcast, and encourage them to put the direct donation link in the chat box while they play to encourage additional gifts.

Fundraising Made Quick and Easy

The common link between all of these cheap and easy fundraising ideas is that they bring people together to have fun and support a good cause.

Every season presents new opportunities to fundraise for your nonprofit, whether that’s the spring, summer, fall, or winter. Luckily, these inexpensive events can be pulled off nearly any time of year without breaking the budget.

For even more great ideas, take a look at our article, 77 Fundraising Ideas for Nonprofits and Charities. 

Crowdfunding for nonprofits is a staple of modern fundraising success. However, you can’t simply create a campaign page, launch it, and expect donations to roll in. Like any fundraising campaign, there’s a fair amount of work and strategy that goes into crowdfunding.

Get the most out of your next nonprofit crowdfunding campaign with the following tips. Keep these best practices in mind as you define new organizational goals and refer back to them often as you refine your strategy.

Tip #1: Know Your Nonprofit Audience to Maximize Crowdfunding Potential

One of your first steps towards building, launching, and sustaining a successful nonprofit crowdfunding campaign is knowing your audience. To help pin your donors down, ask yourself some important questions like:

• Who will we market this campaign to?
• What does our average donor look like?
• Who typically engages with our fundraising campaigns?
• Do we have more success on certain channels, like email over social media?
• Are there demographics we haven’t appealed to before that might like this campaign?

It can be difficult to gather insights like this around your audience, but segmenting your supporters is a great first step.

Consider the following donor segments to get started:

• First-time donors
• Recurring donors
• Major donors
• Repeat donors
• Event participant

It’s important to understand exactly who you’re talking to. Blanketed mass donation appeals don’t typically generate the same results as their hyper-targeted counterparts. A solid segmentation strategy can help get your message in front of the right people at the right time to grow giving.

Once you identify who makes up your donor base, consider soft-launching your nonprofit crowdfunding campaign to your most loyal donors to establish early momentum. Not only will a targeted appeal resonate with them, it also establishes social proof for your campaign before you release it to the general public.

Tip #2: Choose the Right Crowdfunding Platform for Your Nonprofit

You shouldn’t choose an online crowdfunding platform without doing the proper research. The right set of tools can be the difference between achieving your goal or falling short. Host your crowdfunding campaign on a platform that matches the needs of your nonprofit to ensure a smooth experience.

Remember, your crowdfunding campaign’s success is driven by your staff, powered by your resources and supporters, and guided by your fundraising and marketing strategies. 

If you have a limited staff, you may need to consider a crowdfunding platform that provides campaign templates to get you started, or a hands-on customer service team that can offer help along the way. Likewise, it’s important to consider each platform’s customization options. Consistent branding, ways to showcase impact, and donor experience are critical to the success of your campaign. 

Do your research to discover a crowdfunding platform that supports your nonprofit’s unique goals. From there, you can comfortably take the time to create great elements, stories, photos, and videos to populate the page and drive donations.

Tip #3: Empower Your Donors With Helpful Tools and Insights

When it comes to empowering your supporters, guide them from discovery of the campaign, through exploration of your mission, to the completion of a donation.

One way to encourage donations is to showcase just how much their gift will impact your beneficiaries. Classy’s impact blocks are a great tool for this, as you can customize them to include specific dollar amounts and details on where that money will go. 

When someone donates to your crowdfunding campaign, they’re saying that your cause is important to them. Make it easy for your donors to spread the word about their impact and celebrate that they’re making a difference.

Consider sending your supporters a few resources after their donation is complete to encourage their ongoing advocacy. For example, you might send an email with custom social media photos or an easy-to-digest messaging document about how to communicate your nonprofit’s story.

What’s important here is that you help them feel proud of their donation so they can inspire their  friends, family, coworkers, and diverse networks to also consider joining your community. This goes a long way toward donor stewardship as well, increasing their chances of returning for future campaigns.

Tip #4: Try Peer-to-Peer Fundraising to Engage Wider Audiences

Peer-to-peer fundraising is a specific type of crowdfunding that allows supporters to align with your cause in personalized ways. Once supporters land on your main campaign page, they can either donate or create a personal fundraising page to raise money on behalf of your organization.

The impact of individual fundraising pages continues to grow. In 2021, individual fundraising pages brought in an average of 20 donors, up from 18 donors in 2020, and the amount raised by an individual fundraising page increased 34% year over year. Through this individual fundraising page, supporters can creatively express their direct connection to your mission.

Set fundraisers up with social posts, messaging, and resources to promote their fundraising pages to their diverse networks. This not only helps them raise more money to fund your timely goal, but also increases their chances of encouraging friends or family to fundraise too. 

What’s more, peer-to-peer fundraisers can raise more money for your nonprofit than they could donate out of their own pockets. In fact, Classy’s The State of Modern Philanthropy 2022 report found that time-based campaigns that include peer-to-peer raise on average 3.8X more than all other time-based campaign types. 

In addition to the financial return, peer-to-peer fundraisers have the potential to bring in entirely new audiences of supporters through self-promotion of your mission. In fact, four out of every five donors who donate to a fundraiser are brand new to the organization.

Tip #5: Leave Room to Grow Your Crowdfunding Strategy

Getting a nonprofit crowdfunding campaign up and running is no small feat. At this point, you’ve had to:

• Identify and segment your audience 
• Choose an online crowdfunding platform that meets your needs
• Empower your supporters with helpful resources
• Learn how peer-to-peer fundraising fits into the picture

With all of that in mind, it’s important to understand that you may not reach your ultimate fundraising goal the first time around. However, that’s not a bad thing: fail fast and carry your learnings into your next crowdfunding campaign.

Success doesn’t happen overnight, and it could take your organization a while to build a crowdfunding engine that engages supporters, elicits donations, and stewards donors into future campaigns. Be patient, and before you know it, you’ll be a pro.

Crowdfunding Can Help Your Nonprofit Raise More

As you move through your nonprofit’s crowdfunding campaign, take the time to lay out a robust fundraising strategy and create thoughtful marketing content that speaks to your audience. If you’d like to dig into even more details around crowdfunding, make sure to download our guide, The Anatomy of a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign.

Year after year, the giving season remains the most active time for nonprofits. This Best in Classy year-end campaign example visually breaks down how your organization can capitalize on the generosity of the holidays to raise more for your cause.

Hope for New York’s year-end crowdfunding campaign combined a powerful donation button strategy with compelling storytelling and recognizable branding to achieve 104% of their 2020 year-end fundraising goal.

Executing a successful year-end fundraising campaign means not only driving supporters to your site, but also seamlessly guiding those supporters to make a gift on your donation page. Your donation button is a key ingredient in that recipe.

Walk through each step of how Hope for New York strategically incorporated donation buttons throughout their year-end crowdfunding campaign and incorporated a number of other best practices to raise more for New York City families in need amid COVID-19.

Meet Hope for New York

Mission: To mobilize volunteers and financial resources to support nonprofit organizations serving the poor and marginalized in New York City

Cause Sector: Human Services

Employee Count: 15

Location: New York City, New York

Years on Classy: 4

Connect with Hope for New York on Instagram

See a Strong Year-End Crowdfunding Campaign in Action

To provide New York City families with everything they need for the holidays, including toys and basic necessities, Hope for New York set out to raise holiday funds to give grants directly to their nonprofit affiliates.

Explore how Hope for New York’s seamless user experience supported their ambitious goals and learn how to bring these strategies to life at your organization.

Method: Hope for New York’s dedicated year-end crowdfunding campaign immediately drew donors in with its bright and cheery holiday theme, recognizable branding, and eye-catching visuals. Supporters were met with a brief, yet powerful video in the hero block that clearly defined the problem they were trying to solve, identified what the organization was going to do to improve upon it, and how each donation would make a tangible difference to their city-wide beneficiaries.

Presented with the opportunity to have every gift matched, dollar for dollar, up to $15,000, donors were motivated by a sense of urgency to double their impact. Multiple donation buttons across the page presented more opportunities to give. Each button’s distinguished design and strategic proximity naturally led donors to complete their gifts with ease.

Strong visuals in the hero block, background, and custom text blocks supported the organization’s narrative of bringing holiday magic to those in need. Live interactions with donors were prominently displayed on the activity wall, generating social proof of others having supported the cause and strengthening donors’ sense of connection.

Rounding out their donor experience with modern payment options, including credit card, ACH, and Google Pay, helped boost conversions and allowed for easier on-the-go transactions.

Tools That Made It Happen:

Hope for New York chose Classy for its year-end fundraising campaign because of the platform’s flexibility and advanced design tools that made it possible to communicate their unique mission and timely goals.

Their team took advantage of the following Classy capabilities:

• Customizable, mobile-optimized landing pages that allowed for donors anywhere, on any device, to become a part of their story.
• Advanced design tools that brought their holiday vision to life through an engaging hero block, compelling copy, consistent branding, and more.
• Custom text blocks that created the perfect place for additional donation buttons to live.
• A donor activity wall that helped scale outreach by providing a way to respond directly to each donor after they made a gift.
• Digital wallet payment options that offered a modern transaction experience that donors trust.

The Value of a Strong Donation Button Strategy for Your Nonprofit

Nonprofits’ sustainability depends on the generous donations of passionate supporters. In order to deliver on the demands of your organization year over year, converting these supporters into loyal donors is critical.

A compelling campaign landing page is important, but creating a seamless path to give may be the difference between surpassing your goals or potentially falling short. The less time your supporters have to spend searching for the donate button, the more likely they are to see the process through.

Think creatively about your donation button placement to quickly and conveniently guide new and existing donors through the checkout flow with ease.

More Takeaways to Boost Your Year-End Fundraising Results

1. Make the Most of Multiple Donation Buttons

Strategize how your organization can incorporate multiple donation buttons across your campaigns. By offering numerous ways to give, your supporters are more likely to take action as they watch your campaign unfold.

Do It on Classy

Customize your landing page to incorporate multiple call to action buttons. You can also customize the copy on each button with Classy’s advanced design tools to remind donors of the why behind your campaign.

2. Tell Your Story 

Illustrate the problem your organization is attempting to solve and articulate the solutions you hope to achieve with the support of your donors. Forge emotional connections with your community by digging beneath the surface to explain why your ask is timely, meaningful, and worthy of support.

Do It on Classy

Easily personalize your copy, incorporate attention-grabbing visuals, and add custom text blocks to continue building a larger story arc for your campaign in just minutes. Pull photos and video from your organization’s own media library, or tap into our built-in library of free, high-resolution Pixababy stock images to include on your campaign and donation pages.

3. Make an Impression With Consistent Branding

Use your brand to tell people who your organization is, what you want to accomplish, and what makes you unique. The more clearly this comes across, the closer donors feel to your mission.

Create a formal brand guide to set the foundation for your campaigns and marketing materials to ensure the same look and feel are carried across all platforms.

Do It on Classy

Carry your logo, brand colors, font, and tone of voice to each new campaign to help boost brand recognition and strengthen donors’ trust. Enter your exact color hex codes on Classy to ensure brand consistency across all pages.

4. Engage With Donors (and Donations) in Real-Time 

Make donors feel noticed and appreciated when making a contribution to your campaign. A prompt, personalized message of appreciation posted in direct response to a donor’s gift is an effective way of showing your supporters how much you value their generosity.

Do It on Classy

Classy’s activity wall serves as a digital hub of communication between donors, fundraisers, and administrators to encourage real-time engagement and connection. Keeping your community connected in this way not only provides an instant feeling of acknowledgement, but also helps scale outreach as campaign momentum picks up.

5. Always Offer a Recurring Giving Option 

Develop a strong recurring giving program to establish a predictable stream of revenue to lean on during slow seasons or uncertain times. These reliable donations help to maximize annual contributions, increase donor lifetime value, and boost donor retention.

Do It on Classy

Incorporate a recurring giving option on your donation forms to engage more supporters, or launch a targeted recurring giving campaign with ease. Tailor your suggested donation amounts to reflect your unique donor base and segment your outreach with the help of Classy’s custom data reports, like the Returning One-Time Donors report.

With Classy’s latest recurring frequencies and end dates, nonprofits can now offer even greater control and flexibility to both new and existing donors.

6. Let Donors Pay the Way They Choose 

Take note of the 80 million people who prefer digital wallets because of their convenience. Upgrade your donor experience by embracing modern payment options in your year-end campaigns.

Donating through PayPal or Venmo captures the interest of 55 percent of donors who share that they would likely donate through these methods if offered. Make donors feel like your organization is a seamless extension of their everyday purchasing behaviors to increase their chances of donating to your cause and encouraging their inner network to do the same.

Do It on Classy

Introduce digital wallets, mobile payments, and bank transfers to your donor base with Classy Pay, our seamless integration with Stripe. Backed by industry-leading fraud protection, Classy Pay allows your nonprofit to keep security front and center for all transactions. Also take advantage of its low-cost transaction fees, automatic credit card updating, and more.

Additionally, offer your donors the opportunity to donate cryptocurrency to receive the tax benefits and make a true impact. Classy’s Crypto Giving Fund currently lets donors give Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USD Coin to nonprofits in the food relief, hospitals and health, and community support cause sectors.

More Donation Buttons, More Opportunities to Give

Get smart about how you’re driving your year-end appeal by supplementing each ask with a strategically-placed donation button. Providing a bridge between your campaign landing page and donation form not only helps to increase support for your cause this season, but also into the new year and beyond.

November kicks off the most impactful giving season of the year, starting with Giving Tuesday.

As we continue to break down the factors that make particular fundraising campaigns stand out, it only makes sense to highlight one of the most memorable Giving Tuesday campaigns of 2020.

The Younique Foundation’s Giving Tuesday crowdfunding campaign combined the power of storytelling with a seamless donor experience, resulting in a donation volume increase from $9,000 in 2019 to $50,000 in 2020 on Classy.

This campaign showcased captivating authenticity and reflected a strong partnership between The Younique Foundation and Classy’s customer support team.

Read on to discover how a strong story, tailored coaching, and advanced digital design tools brought this campaign to life for one of our most successful fundraising organizations on Classy.

Meet The Younique Foundation

Mission: Inspire hope in women who were sexually abused as children or adolescents by providing healing services through educational retreats, support groups, and online resources.

Cause Sector: Human Services

Employee Count: 58

Location: Lehi, Utah

Years on Classy: 3

Connect with The Younique Foundation on Instagram

The Value of a Giving Tuesday Storytelling Campaign

Giving Tuesday is the time to attract supporters who may be looking for new causes to connect with. Unlock the generosity of donors worldwide by creating a strong tie between their gift and the actionable outcome of that gift on your cause.

Capture the interest of anyone who visits your page by explaining the challenge you’re facing and how it requires a community of loyal donors to eradicate it. Just as popular brands use compelling advertisements with strong stories to win over customers, nonprofits can use a crowdfunding model to inspire support in similar ways. Emotional connections influence donor behavior and drive the ultimate decision on whether or not to make a donation or influence their networks to do the same.

See a Giving Tuesday Storytelling Campaign In Action

Learn how The Younique Foundation turned their storytelling skills and the knowledge they gained from Classy’s coaching and free resources into an unforgettable 2020 Giving Tuesday campaign. Our full breakdown will help you do the same.

How Classy’s Crowdfunding Tools and Coaching Led to Big Results

The Younique Foundation trusts Classy’s giving platform to activate new donors with actionable and compelling fundraising campaigns. Here’s a deeper look at this crowdfunding campaign example:

Campaign Goal: Help 170 survivors of child sexual abuse on their healing journey through The Haven Retreat, a program that helps heal childhood trauma with clinical experiences, healthy meals, and educational materials.

Method: The Younique Foundation advanced their storytelling strategy by transitioning from a single Giving Tuesday donation page to a dedicated crowdfunding campaign. Complete with a beautifully designed hero block that clearly outlined the needs of the cause, the campaign successfully mobilized new and existing donors to get involved.

The header block displayed the number of supporters joining together to make an impact, the number of days left in the campaign, and the progress they’re steadily making toward their goal of $35,000. The Younique Foundation strategically placed this information front and center for donors, leading into the call to action, “Donate Now.”

Showcasing the generosity of their donors also helped The Younique Foundation motivate more people to get involved. Social proof is powerful for a campaign. Supporters are more likely to donate if other people do, especially if you’re trying to capture the final handful of donations to cross your fundraising finish line.

In big, bold letters, donors quickly learned that one in four women endure the trauma of child sexual abuse. They were also presented with a beautifully produced video of a survivor and her journey through The Haven Retreat.

The Younique Foundation taps into the power of storytelling to:
1. Explain the broader issue to donors with startling statistics.
2. Introduce a personal story from Martha, child sexual abuse survivor, to pull at emotional heartstrings and give a face to the cause.
3. Use different font styles and spacing to make certain story elements stand out, even if people scroll quickly.

Tools to Make It Happen: The Younique Foundation established their crowdfunding campaign on Classy to give their cause the spotlight it deserves.

Classy’s crowdfunding campaigns serve as giving microsites to help nonprofits kick off the year-end giving season. With mobile-optimized pages and flexible payment options, these campaigns allow supporters to choose how to get involved in a cause. The Younique Foundation incorporated their unique branding in just a few clicks with Classy’s intuitive campaign editor and carried that branding through their donation receipts.

Their team also used impact blocks to tie each specific donation amount to the tangible support it provides. Donors had the option to give one-time or monthly, which led to 113 new recurring donors. Several payment options helped convert more supporters from mobile devices, and a live activity wall brought the experience together by showcasing the action all day.

Takeaways to Tell Your Story Through a Strong Giving Tuesday Campaign

1. Tell Donors How Impactful Their Actions Are

Donors are motivated by knowing the exact impact of their donation and will reconsider their donation if that’s not immediately clear. Highlight your goal with a progress bar to communicate how far you have to go when someone arrives on the page.

Concisely tell your story through compelling visuals and customized impact blocks that tie donation amounts to specific actions donors feel connected to. Impact blocks help people understand more about your nonprofit’s work in a format that’s optimized for the online viewer.

We love how The Younique Foundation did this by giving donors the option to take specific actions, such as providing healthy meals to survivors. Providing several paths like this may pull in a chef or mother who loves to cook for her family. At the same time, the option to offer educational materials may appeal more to someone who was a teacher or feels a close tie to that profession.

Select giving levels that fit your organization. Evaluate trends across your donor base to identify suggested donation amounts that motivate larger gifts and help you raise more. Also, consider dividing your general email list into subcategories to serve different giving levels to different donors.

2. Show and Tell Your Story in Authentic Ways

The Younique Foundation did an incredible job curating the story they wanted to tell. They explain their mission and narrow it down to a specific program they are asking donors to support.

They then go a step further by bringing a survivor’s story to the forefront through a video and captivating image. The visuals introduce new supporters to The Younique Foundation’s cause in a meaningful way while also reminding existing donors whom they’re supporting.

Use this approach to bring a raw, personal touch to your campaigns and leave donors with an impression that lasts long after they’ve donated. Especially around Giving Tuesday, give donors a bite-size portion of what matters most to your organization at that moment to help them organically advocate for it to their internal networks.

3. Provide Options and Multiple Paths to Give

Make the donation experience feel like any other transaction your donors are used to completing by offering flexible payment options like PayPal and Venmo. Instead of waiting until they’re in front of a computer or have a credit card in hand, allow donors to complete donations from anywhere, on any device.

There’s far less risk of missing out on a completed donation when the checkout process moves quickly and seamlessly. At the same time, nonprofits can also get creative about the donation frequencies they offer donors.

Our 2021 Recurring Donor Sentiment Report found that the top incentive to donate on a recurring basis was the affordability of breaking up donations over time.

The subscription economy paves the way for donors to participate in recurring giving programs and view them as a way to subscribe to causes they care about in a cost-friendly manner. Offer donors the option to give on a daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or yearly cadence to provide any donor with the most convenient donation path.

4. Show Appreciation at Every Step

The Younique Foundation makes sure donors know how much they are valued on Giving Tuesday. That supports a long-term strategy to steward them through year-end giving and into the new year.

Their team thanks donors at the top of the donation page before they’ve even completed a gift, reiterating the impact they’re having on healing survivors of sexual abuse. They also use Classy’s activity wall to comment and interact with individual donations as an added touch.
These moments matter to donors and result in increased donation volume when applied thoughtfully.

Continue Learning With Classy Academy

Classy Academy is your opportunity to expand your fundraising knowledge on the topics that interest you most, right from the comfort of your home or office. These free on-demand courses hosted by Classy’s team of experts make it simple to apply new techniques and approaches, like we covered in this post, to help you succeed in anything you put your mind to.

Whether this is your first time taking part in Giving Tuesday or if you’ve participated for years, we have plenty of resources to meet your needs. We’re here to ensure you can have the best global day of giving yet.

Kick-off your year-end fundraising strong, with a few of our favorite giving season resources:

• 3-Month Giving Tuesday Checklist
• Smart Guide to Year-End Fundraising
• Checklists for Crowdfunding, P2P, and Events

Connect to More Donors This Giving Tuesday

Tell your authentic story on the biggest stage available this Giving Tuesday through a Classy campaign, and make a meaningful impact on the challenges you’re working so hard to solve.

Next month, be sure to check back for another campaign example to keep your fundraising fresh and inspired by new ideas.

We sat down with the customer success management team at Classy for their advice on how to design a successful Giving Tuesday donation page. For more helpful information like the lessons below, be sure to check out our free Giving Tuesday resource library.

1. Appeal Section

To maximize conversions and keep your potential new donors interested, expand upon the appeal you included on your Campaign Landing page and be mindful not to reiterate the exact language you’ve used in previous campaign sections.

Never miss an opportunity to recruit new recurring donors. By turning on our Recurring Donations Optimization Initiative when setting up your donation page, you can give your Giving Tuesday donors the opportunity to make their gift a monthly donation.

2. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

FAQs will only appear on desktop view. If you receive common questions throughout the day, consider adding FAQs to inform your donors about tax deductibility, how funds are utilized, and more.

3. Buttons

To ensure you’re not leaving any money on the table, the lowest suggested gift amount should reflect your typical average donation size (either for online giving holistically or from past Giving Tuesday campaigns).

4. Custom Questions

When adding custom questions, be mindful of whether the data collected from your supporters will make an impact on your fundraiser. To maximize conversation rates, consider removing unnecessary custom questions altogether or ensure the question is not required to submit the donation form.

5. Donor Covered Fees

Donor Covered Fees should always be turned on in the back-end of Classy. When it is, and checked by default, 80% to 85% of donors opt to cover the fees. On a day like Giving Tuesday, that can add up to real savings for your organization.

6. Donate Button

In your Advanced Designer, you can customize the text on your Donate button. If you choose to do so, keep it short, sweet, and action-oriented.

Below are the top 10 campaigns that we featured on Classy’s 2020 Giving Tuesday Resource Center and what we loved about them. Apply these takeaways to your own initiative, so you can create a successful Giving Tuesday campaign that knocks it out of the park.

Get Inspired by 10 Successful Giving Tuesday Campaign Examples

1. The Younique Foundation

One of the most important elements of a successful Giving Tuesday campaign is strong storytelling that draws in visitors. The Younique Foundation is an organization that inspires and provides resources for women who were sexually abused as children and educates and empowers caregivers to protect children from sexual abuse. They creatively leveraged imagery, copy, and video on their Classy fundraising campaign page to share the personal story of an individual impacted by their work, and how Giving Tuesday donations will continue to make a difference.

The clear, well-written copy immediately draws in the reader and makes an emotional impact, complete with a firsthand quote from a beneficiary. We love how that leads you into a video to hear directly from that individual and dive further into her story.

As the visitor continues on the campaign page, the copy and imagery clearly communicate how each donation will make a difference for these 170 survivors. Impact blocks articulate exactly how different gift amounts will provide value throughout these individuals’ healing journeys.

Takeaway for Your Giving Tuesday Campaign: Highlight specific beneficiaries’ stories so that visitors can identify personally with someone impacted by your organization’s work. Use clear language and strong imagery to communicate how supporters can play a role in these individuals’ next chapters.

2. Shriners Hospitals for Children

Creativity is a common trait among successful Giving Tuesday campaigns. Those who creatively hook in their visitors immediately can increase their chances of drawing them through checkout.

Shriners Hospitals for Children leaned on exciting graphics to create a unique, engaging hero block at the top of their Giving Tuesday campaign page. They used balloons with the faces of children impacted by the organization that float up through the block behind the campaign title. That visual is paired with the copy, “The Sky Is the Limit on Giving Tuesday,” encouraging donations that will help children dream big and reach for the stars.

The Giving Tuesday campaign page continued to explain that when Shriners Hospitals for Children reaches their goal, they will host a virtual balloon release on Facebook as a thank you. One virtual balloon was released for every donor who contributed to the campaign. We love that this includes a call to action to follow Shriners Hospitals for Children on social media to catch the action.

The impact blocks also each creatively feature a child whom donors can support along each of their dreams. These are the same faces on the floating balloons in the hero block.

Takeaway for Your Giving Tuesday Campaign: Consider how you can infuse creativity into your Giving Tuesday campaign—from exciting visuals to your powerful, direct messaging—and connect it with your overall campaign theme so there’s no question about how your supporters will advance your mission.

3. Kent State University

The visual and interactive experience of your Giving Tuesday campaign can be a big factor that both spotlights your organization’s branding and engages prospective donors to take action.

Take Kent State University, for instance. Their successful Giving Tuesday campaign embodies their branding from top to bottom. Their hero block pops with custom graphics, and customized buttons throughout the campaign page to visually engage visitors. Including buttons also creates an interactive experience for those who want to learn more about specific initiatives.

Takeaway for Your Giving Tuesday Campaign: The fundraising platform you choose to create your Giving Tuesday campaign matters. Kent State was able to create this fully customized campaign experience on Classy, bringing their branding to the forefront through every element of their campaign page.

Learn how Classy can help you create a successful Giving Tuesday campaign and offer a stellar giving experience for your supporters.

4. Prisma Health Midlands Foundation

Strong hero images continue to be a recurring theme as we hit our next successful Giving Tuesday campaign from Prisma Health Midlands Foundation. This organization engages community partners to enhance health care for patients and families served by Prisma Health-Midlands.

The colorful hero image grabs visitors’ attention right away. We also see the pink gradient carried throughout the entire campaign as a strong branding element that spans each image they use for their impact blocks. The impact blocks feature quality images and a good text length that keep things clear and succinct.

The organization also titled their activity wall—a feature on the Classy platform that serves as a hub of communication between the organization and their donors or fundraisers—to recognize supporters as Giving Tuesday heroes, which is a nice touch to show donor appreciation.

Takeaway for Your Giving Tuesday Campaign: Get creative with how you tie your campaign visuals together to create a cohesive look and feel throughout the page. A gradient is one such option. Also consider how you can help your donors identify as generous participants in the solution of the social or environmental problem you address.

5. Epilepsy Florida

Epilepsy Florida is a nonprofit organization that serves those impacted by epilepsy and the challenges caused by seizures. They created a successful Giving Tuesday campaign that harnessed engaging media, helpful resources for supporters, and an overall stellar campaign flow.

The organization used high-quality, engaging imagery from their hero block, all the way across their page. Visitors learn about the organization through GIFs, videos, and creative impact blocks. Their copy encourages prospective supporters to step up as partners in their mission, including language that “invite[s] you to be part of our community of supporters.”

The Giving Tuesday campaign page flows and builds on itself, bringing visitors to a graphic that links out to stories and testimonials of individual beneficiaries. The organization also offers a social media toolkit that includes sample social posts and a resource PDF.

Takeaway for Your Giving Tuesday Campaign: Consider including or linking out to content like testimonials and social media resources to connect donors with your work and equip them to evangelize your cause.

6. Vanderbilt Health

Successful Giving Tuesday campaigns often weave in specific branding for the giving day throughout the page. Vanderbilt Health makes that visual splash with their beautifully designed hero image, which marries the classic Giving Tuesday branding with their own campaign’s look, feel, and theme.

The rest of the campaign page carries consistent brand elements, along with clear text defining the campaign’s goal and inviting supporters to take part. We also love how they used a custom block to highlight the donation match, and custom CTA copy emphasizing that donors can stretch their dollars.

Clear impact blocks and a video featuring an individual’s personal story continue to show supporters how their gifts will make a difference.

Takeaway for Your Giving Tuesday Campaign: Beautiful imagery and tasteful, consistent branding will only enhance your campaign’s overall appeal as visitors make their way through your Giving Tuesday campaign page.

7. Hire Heroes USA

Hire Heroes USA created a successful Giving Tuesday campaign that had a clear, powerful theme to empower veterans and military spouses. They also wove in Giving Tuesday branding with their own campaign branding elements, from the custom hero image to other headings on the page.

Typography was a huge branding element for this campaign. A GIF spells out “Together, We Empower” serves as a visual moment that captures visitors’ attention. The engagement continues with text that plays a huge part in their campaign aesthetic as you scroll to their impact blocks, which feature specific words in the box where images typically are used.

8. Room to Read

Many organizations opt to create crowdfunding campaigns or custom donation pages for their Giving Tuesday campaigns, but you might consider peer-to-peer fundraising to activate your community. Get them more deeply involved and eager to spread the word about your cause like this example from Room to Read. Room to Read is a nonprofit organization dedicated to children’s literacy and girls’ education across Asia and Africa, created a stunning, successful Giving Tuesday peer-to-peer campaign to kick off their holiday season.

A captivating hero image instantly draws visitors in at the top of the page, followed by video highlighting the organization’s work. Custom impact blocks with beautiful images are striking and inviting. They showcase how fundraisers can move the needle for girls’ education and literacy.

Takeaway for Your Giving Tuesday Campaign: Much of your ability to use beautiful imagery and create a stunning campaign will depend on the customization and capabilities of the fundraising software you choose. With a platform like Classy, you can create a mobile-responsive, stunning Giving Tuesday campaign that puts your story and brand first, regardless of your personal design experience.

9. Pikes Peak – America’s Mountain

The stunning imagery and branding across Pikes Peak’s successful Giving Tuesday campaign contribute to a powerful donor experience. Custom blocks detail how supporters’ donations can name a piece of Pikes Peak and not only preserve the mountain, but also celebrate loved ones or memories.

The rest of the campaign design seems to channel the likes of curated magazines and websites to capture the majestic mountain and initiative that supporters would help preserve. Thorough, detailed copy breaks down how the new Summit Complex contributes to a vibrant community, and how donations will make it a reality.

Takeaway for Your Giving Tuesday Campaign: Make sure that any visitor who lands on your Giving Tuesday campaign learns exactly what their gift will go toward.

10. The Salvation Army

It’s clear from the top that The Salvation Army used their successful Giving Tuesday campaign to launch into the holiday season. Bold text speaks to the holidays and the power of donors to help preserve the meaning for people around the world.

We loved how they used illustrations for their impact blocks to create a clean look and feel. Donation amounts are listed from highest to lowest, visually encouraging donors to consider larger gift amounts.

Their campaign further outlines why and how the needs were greater due to the challenges presented by the pandemic.

Takeaway for Your Giving Tuesday Campaign: List your suggested donation amounts from highest to lowest to hopefully encourage larger gifts.

Create a Successful Giving Tuesday Campaign

Strong visual elements, consistent branding, meaningful content, and an intuitive flow all contribute to successful Giving Tuesday campaigns. Get inspired by these examples and consider how you can enhance these factors in your Giving Tuesday campaign this year. Then download our step-by-step 3-Month Giving Tuesday Checklist to plan a successful campaign that catapults you into a successful year-end fundraising season.

Miry’s List’s Afghanistan Emergency Action Fund has unlocked generosity across the globe. The crowdfunding campaign supports their goal to help refugees from Afghanistan survive, hive, and thrive upon their arrival to the United States.

A timely and compelling call to action is crucial to the success of any fundraising effort, especially when you’re looking to capture donations through story-driven, time-bound appeals.

Miry’s List is a movement of neighbors and friends who are dedicated to providing critical resources to refugees. The organization is no stranger to the value of timely crowdfunding campaigns, and often leans on this trusted strategy to respond to the abrupt exodus of families seeking a safe haven from violence and persecution in their home countries.

Miry’s List’s mission has become even more urgent as the world navigates the 2021 Afghanistan crisis. Today, we explore their approach to connect with donors who are passionate about giving to ensure every interaction results in a completed donation for their cause.

Meet Miry’s List

Mission: Welcome new arrival refugee families into the U.S. through inspired crowdsourcing solutions

Cause Sector: Immigration & Refugees

Employee Count: 15

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Years on Classy: 4

Connect With Donors in a More Meaningful Way Through Crowdfunding

Use a strategic crowdfunding platform to connect with donors on a deeper level by showing the immediate impact of their donations. Help people understand and become supporters of your cause by telling your story in a compelling way that creates a sense of urgency with your audience.

Miry’s List chose to do this through their use of captivating imagery, an engaging “About the Campaign” section, and a clear nod to the urgency of their fundraising goal. They lean on descriptive impact blocks to explain how each gift enables them to provide survival essentials to incoming refugee families and fulfill their wish lists in real time.

Organizations on Classy can create crowdfunding campaigns like this in minutes to respond quickly, elevate their overall giving experience, and offer a seamless donor journey along the way.

See a Strong Crowdfunding Campaign Strategy in Action

Get inspired by Miry’s List’s Afghanistan Emergency Action Fund campaign to advance your mission with a fresh crowdfunding campaign strategy.

How Classy Helped Bring This Crowdfunding Campaign to Life

Miry’s List looks to Classy’s giving platform to delight their donors with customized campaign pages, advanced design elements, and flexible payment options, among other features that make their fundraising efforts stand out. Let’s take a look:

Campaign Goal: Provide survival essentials and fulfill wish lists for Afghan families seeking safety in the U.S. after fleeing their country to escape the Taliban.

Method: Engage donors with a branded, mobile-optimized landing page that features a story-driven, time-bound appeal, customized impact blocks, employee matching opportunity, animated GIFs, personalized text on buttons, and compelling visuals.

Supporters receive a full picture of what they’re being asked to do and why it’s critical right now with an up-to-date tally of the number of families Miry’s List has enrolled in their 12-month program to exemplify the good work being accomplished with each new donation.

Tools to Make It Happen: Classy’s crowdfunding campaigns can be fully customized to relate to specific donor segments in just a few clicks. Nonprofits have the ability to select a branded hero image, showcase descriptive impact blocks, add custom text blocks without the need for any coding knowledge, and incorporate interactive design elements to catch donors’ attention and keep them engaged.

This campaign’s cohesive design, captivating colors, personal touches, and compelling storyline is enough to make any supporter confident in their decision to donate. Paired with the timeliness and increased levels of awareness surrounding Miry’s List’s cause, this crowdfunding campaign offers donors an immediate opportunity to get involved in something larger than themselves.

Takeaways to Boost Your Nonprofit’s Crowdfunding Campaign Strategy

1. Lead with a timely call to action to ignite immediate support

When the world is in crisis, people naturally look for ways to get involved. Help these passionate donors take action right away with a seamless path to give.

Capitalize on the organic influx of traffic to your site when happenings in the world are directly impacting your beneficiaries. Whether it’s a current event, natural disaster, health crisis, or any other situation that connects to your cause, compel donors by highlighting the urgency behind your ask. Lean into brief, yet descriptive language that communicates the gravity of the situation.

Look for specific hashtags, groups, or conversations on social media to share your campaign with new audiences. Make sure your organization’s website clearly features your campaign for those who hear about it organically, and send timely emails about the ways you’re offering support.

2. Pull in donors with emotional appeal and defined impact

Connect each dollar to a tangible object, service, or feeling it will help provide to your beneficiaries through the use of impact blocks.

Provide a brief, clear description with a high-resolution photo or graphic to articulate the impact of each gift. Get specific by communicating how far each dollar will stretch. Consider language like “Feed a child for a week for just $25” and customize the section header above your impact blocks to speak to your organization’s unique mission.

Remember, telling a compelling story can bring your work to life and establish an emotional connection with your donors that so often drives giving.

3. Keep your audience engaged with custom visuals

Get creative about what you feature on your campaign page to catch supporters’ attention and ensure they don’t abandon the donation process. Think about how you could successfully pique a person’s interest if all they did was glimpse at your page. That immediate draw is crucial to conversion.

Add animated GIFs to your Classy campaign page by simply saving it as a .gif file and uploading it to the image field in any of the following locations:

• Header logo
• Footer logo
• Text blocks
• Header image
• Headline image

If your organization’s own media library is running dry, find other images for your campaign page with Google’s “Usage Rights” filter. Select “Creative Common licenses” from the drop down menu and explore the search results. The photos that populate from this query will have license information attached to them, which makes it quick and easy to identify whether they’re free to use or require a purchase fee.

Images with Creative Common licenses are typically free of cost if you adhere to the particular licensing provisions for the photo. In most cases, this means crediting the source by including the photographer’s name or a link to the original location of the image.

While these general guidelines usually apply, be sure to review the specific licensing requirements for all individual images before including them on your campaign page.

4. Offer an employer match opportunity

A simple way to boost funds with minimal effort is to allow your donors to double eligible donations through employer matching gift programs.

While over 18 million individuals work for companies that offer matching gift programs, an estimated four to seven billion dollars in matching gift revenue goes unclaimed each year. Knowing that mentioning matching gifts during the donation process results in a 51 percent increase in donation amount, this opportunity is worth exploring.

Easily offer an employer match on your Classy donation form with our Double the Donation integration. When supporters view one of your pages, they will see an employer match checkbox. When they mark the box, they’ll be able to search for an employer or sponsor to match their donation.

Classy donation forms also allow you to capture employment information, giving you the ability to follow up with donors about matching gift opportunities.

5. Provide supporters with additional ways to get involved

To meet the needs of all supporters, provide alternative options for them to show their support.

Miry’s List does a great job of this by linking out to their volunteer page and virtual merchandise shop. Consider connecting your campaign landing page to a DIY peer-to-peer campaign, or include a recurring giving option for donors who are looking to make their impact go further.

Provide sharing assets like sample emails and social media templates to help supporters spread the word about their donation and compel others to do the same.

6. Deliver a payment process that reflects a modern e-commerce checkout experience

Avoid missed donation opportunities from donors who step away from your page to find a credit card or wait until they’re in front of a computer (if they remember to go back to your page at that point).

More than 98 million Americans prefer digital wallets because it eliminates having to carry around physical cash and credit cards. Align with your donors’ preferences and eliminate the friction of entering a card number manually by offering digital wallet payment options like Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, and Venmo.

Classy’s State of Modern Philanthropy 2021 report reveals the strong ROI our customers see when they incorporate these convenient payment options into their checkout flow. This includes an 11 to 14 percent increase in mobile conversion rates and 55 percent larger recurring gifts.

Drive Your Mission Forward With Compelling Crowdfunding

Every fundraising campaign starts with a good story. Whether you’re raising money to support Afghan refugees, achieve your Giving Tuesday goal, or just grow your general donation fund, the key to conversion is appealing to your donors’ emotional side.

Kick off a strong crowdfunding campaign the next time your nonprofit is looking to accept general donations, raise money for a specific project, or drive support for a time-based initiative.

As you brainstorm where to start, keep Miry’s List top of mind as a stellar example of how to create a giving experience that excites and motivates donors to become a part of your community.

Until then, check out 50 of Classy’s top campaigns across five key fundraising categories to inspire your next idea.

For more ways to expand your reach, amplify your impact, and advance your mission, here are a few crowdfunding campaign resources we created just for you:

• Your Donation Page Checklist
• Your Crowdfunding Campaign Checklist
• The Simple Blueprint for Crowdfunding Campaign Success

That’s why we’ve created this step-by-step checklist to help pave the way to increased conversion rates, revenue, and donor satisfaction. 

Use this checklist to cover off on must-have elements for your donation page, including things like:

• Brand colors and logos
• Giving options
• Domain-masking 
• Suggested donation values
• Custom questions
• Dedications

Learn how to engage your audience with a branded look and feel, concise messaging, and a seamless checkout flow, and discover how Classy can help your organization reach its conversion goals.

Here’s a peek into what you’ll find inside:

Download The Nonprofit’s Donation Page Checklist today to optimize your page for conversion and raise more money for your mission.

I’ve had the privilege of working with Classy’s nonprofit customers for over three years. While each nonprofit can be vastly different and our product has created innovative new features over the years, I always come back to the same 10 pieces of advice.

See Classy’s top 50 fundraising organizations and campaign examples for inspiration.

Online fundraising combines your standard relationship-building with digital mediums. The capabilities of your online fundraising platform have a massive impact on your overall success, and platforms like Classy can help you connect with your supporters effectively and efficiently online. Follow these 10 tactics that range from broader best practices to detailed product tips.

1. Your organization’s branding should be front and center.

When your supporters go through the donation process, you want them to have a seamless checkout experience that they trust and are thus more likely to complete. Part of what makes checking out seamless is having an organization’s brand front and center, so the donor feels assured they are in the right place. Donation pages that are customized with an organization’s branding perform six times better than those that are not personalized.

We always advise nonprofits to customize their donation pages to include their own logo, brand colors, and their domain name in the URL link. This can all apply to your email receipts as well. You can even update the browser icon to match your website. At the end of the day, your donation forms should look beautiful, match your branding, and streamline the giving process to be as simple and trustworthy as possible.

2. Harness the power of setting campaign goals.

Setting goals for a fundraising campaign is an important step to ensure you are staying on track and seeing year-over-year growth. However, it can have so much more impact than just for your internal tracking purposes. Your goal can also be a motivating tool to encourage more donations quickly.

Most Classy campaign types come with a progress bar or circle showing the thermometer bubble up as more donations come in. Supporters love to see their donation move the progress bar, and they’re more inclined to give if they know their donation is not just a drop in a bucket, but actually making a difference in reaching the goal.

A pro tip is to hide your progress metrics at first and do a soft launch where you share the campaign with a small pool of loyal supporters whom you feel will likely make gifts. Then, turn on the progress metrics for your hard launch to your wider network. Nobody likes to be the first to give, so by launching your campaign with about 5 to 10% of your goal fulfilled, you’ll be able to hit the ground running.

Don’t forget to continuously communicate with your supporters around your goals. For example, let people know when you’re halfway to your goal, or that you’re so close that you only need 10 more donors to give $100. Breaking it down like this makes giving less intimidating and helps donors feel like their gift really does matter.

3. Offer innovative ways to give and that also improve your conversion rates.

Keeping up with modern payment methods is critical to attract the modern donor and accommodate how they like to give. Classy provides innovative payment options via our processor, Classy Pay powered by Stripe.

Aside from regular credit card transactions, Classy Pay also provides digital wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Microsoft Pay. When a donor is checking out on their phone, the corresponding payment option will appear. Because donors are already using digital wallets for everyday transactions, it’s much easier for them to click one button and complete the donation process.

When digital wallets are enabled, conversions from mobile devices increase by 11%. The digital wallet already has the credit card information saved, so the donor does not have to fish out their actual wallet and enter in the number.

On top of digital wallets, Classy Pay also offers ACH payments via Classy Pay. This allows donors to enter in their bank information and initiate an automatic bank transfer rather than entering in credit card details. ACH is a great option for monthly recurring plans as expiration dates are not an issue with bank transfers.

We always recommend nonprofits opt for Classy Pay powered by Stripe as their payment processor and highly encourage our customers to enable digital wallets and ACH payment options, which is as easy as clicking a box.

4. Take advantage of matching gifts.

A matching gift for a campaign is a powerful strategy to increase your number of donations. Many donors will choose to give, or give more when there is an associated match because they know their gift will have double the impact.

A common myth is that donation matching is just for Giving Tuesday and end-of-year campaigns. They are powerful to use year-round. If your organization has corporate or major sponsors that are interested in donating a matching gift for a certain time period and/or up to a certain dollar value, it’s easy to add this in on Classy’s backend. You can also always repurpose an existing gift as a match, or combine several smaller donations as one larger match within a campaign.

5. Enable Classy Mode to allow donors to cover a portion of your transaction fees.

Classy provides a feature called Classy Mode that allows donors to cover some of your processing fees. Most donors are happy to add on a bit extra to their gift so that more of the donation can truly go to your programs. I also recommend organizations turn this feature on and set it as the default to promote further engagement.

6. Customize your donation amounts to align with donor behavior.

On Classy donation pages, you can enter four suggested donation amounts. Rather than keeping the templated amounts, take a look at your online donor base to understand their current behavior. Use your average and median donation values to help guide what the suggested donation amounts should be. For example, if your donors typically give $100, use that as a middle value so that you can encourage larger gifts.

You can also set a default donation amount so that a particular amount is bubbled in when a donor lands on your donation page. Having a preset default amount helps nudge donors to give that amount, or consider something close. We recommend defaulting the second-to-highest value on your page to encourage a higher amount, but still remain humble by not selecting the highest amount.

7. Comment on your activity wall to personally steward donors.

When you first log into your Classy account, you’ll land on your activity wall that will highlight all supporter activity on your campaigns. You can comment on any donations, registrations, or fundraising page creations. Your comment will then be directly emailed to the supporter.

This extra step is a great way to quickly thank your donors without spending too much time. Not only will they get an automatic notification when you comment to them on the feed, but it’s also very personal and feels like you’re communicating with a friend or family member, rather than receiving just the official email receipt.

8. Remove and edit any templated language on campaigns and emails.

Within Classy’s campaign templates, we include templated language as placeholders. While it may seem obvious to update the language to your own, there are a couple key areas that people often miss:

• On Landing Pages, edit “About the Campaign.” “Campaign” is an internal fundraising word and doesn’t always resonate with donors. Take every opportunity to evoke an emotional response from your potential donors. We recommend changing this to a powerful quote or statistic.
• Within peer-to-peer and registration with fundraising campaigns, you have the option to create a template page for fundraisers. Many organizations assume that their fundraisers will update their individual page to make it personal to them. While we highly encourage fundraisers to do this, we also recommend giving them a head start.They don’t live and breathe your programs, so help them out by writing out some text on the template in their voice that provides information about your nonprofit and the impact you have on the world. Don’t be shy to include a photo or video as well. They can always come back and update their own personal story, but you’re helping them get started. Plus, if they don’t make any changes, you still have a good first impression with any new potential donors who may see the page.
• Don’t forget to update the language in your donation receipts (both for one-time and recurring monthly gifts). These will automatically get sent to donors, so make sure to make it more personal to your organization.

9. Utilize year-round campaigns to create sustainable revenue and diversify your fundraising strategy.

Many fundraising appeals have a start and end date, such as Giving Tuesday and year-end asks. However, you can create some campaigns to permanently live on your website year-round.

It’s always smart to provide multiple ways for people to engage with your nonprofit. Not to mention, when you are not promoting a big time-sensitive appeal or event, you can default to promoting one of these and the pages will always be ready to go.

1. Main donate button: You should have a clear donate button that immediately takes supporters to the checkout form. Ideally this is branded and follows donation page best practices.
2. Recurring giving option: We always recommend having a monthly giving program linked to your website. Definitely keep monthly giving as an option on your main donation form, but you’ll probably find that most people opt to give one-time on that page. Typically for monthly gifts, donors require more information to truly understand the impact a monthly gift can have. Recurring gifts are a commitment for supporters, but recurring donors are over five times as valuable to your nonprofit. Take the time to create a crowdfunding campaign dedicated to this program.
3. DIY peer-to-peer campaign: All nonprofit websites should include a fundraising option in case a supporter wants to fundraise on behalf of your organization throughout the year. You can set up a peer-to-peer campaign that utilizes the impact blocks to highlight different ways someone may want to fundraise, such as by hosting a birthday campaign or setting an athletic milestone. This is an excellent way to promote engagement in different ways from your existing supporters, acquire new donors through their fundraising pages, and dip your toe into the peer-to-peer fundraising world.

10. Donor communication is an essential piece of your fundraising strategy.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in building campaigns and planning logistics of appeals, but donor communication is crucial to the success of your fundraising strategy. Here are several main practices you should be following:

• Segment your email marketing lists. The more specific and personal you can make your emails, the better engagement you’ll have. Even if you use 99% of the same message in all emails, it can make the world of a difference if you simply acknowledge their relationship with your organization in the first sentence. For example, recognize your monthly donors and thank them for their existing contributions; then dive into your regular appeal.Segmentation can also help if you are concerned about over-communicating with donors; not everyone needs to receive every appeal message.
• Send at least five emails per campaign appeal and post frequently on social media during the campaign’s lifetime. Announce the launch of the campaign, keep people updated on its progress, end with a final push, and don’t forget your thank yous. Limited communication often results in campaigns that don’t hit their goals.
• For peer-to-peer campaigns, create fundraising toolkits that include instructions for fundraising, tips for how to be successful, and sample email and social media templates fundraisers can use.
• Take donor stewardship to the next level by using Classy’s Campaign Messages. You can send an email to all donors, attendees, or fundraisers and thank them. Send a thank you immediately at the end of the campaign, but also a month or even more out to update them with the results on their dollars. So often it feels like donations fall into a black hole and donors don’t understand the true impact they had. This is an easy way to prove that you haven’t forgotten about their gift and it really did make a difference.
• On the topic of stewardship, handwritten thank you cards and phone calls really go the extra mile.

Make sure to follow these 10 online fundraising tips to take advantage of low-hanging fruit and improve your campaign results.

Summary of 10 Tips:

1. Your organization’s branding should be front and center.
2. Harness the power of setting campaign goals.
3. Offer innovative ways to give and that also improve your conversion rates.
4. Take advantage of matching gifts.
5. Enable Classy Mode to allow donors to cover a portion of your transaction fees.
6. Customize your donation amounts to align with donor behavior.
7. Comment on your activity wall to personally steward donors.
8. Remove and edit any templated language on campaigns and emails.
9. Utilize year-round campaigns to create sustainable revenue and diversify your fundraising strategy.
10. Donor communication is an essential piece of your fundraising strategy.

We’ve created three step-by-step checklists that break down what to include in your crowdfunding, peer-to-peer, or event fundraising campaigns. They also include pro tips and best practices to help you elevate your campaign’s visual appeal and drive supporters to answer the desired call to action. 

Follow these fundraising campaign checklists to create a compelling landing page that attracts donors or fundraisers, as well as nail your donation pages and follow-up messaging to encourage gift completion and emphasize the impact of each donation.

Here’s a peek of what’s inside:

In previous years, Classy’s Why America Gives report has focused on consumer giving trends, what motivates donors to give, and their plans for Giving Tuesday and year-end giving. In our third-annual edition of Why America Gives, the 2020 report measures these year-over-year changes in giving sentiments and behaviors; in addition, it also analyzes how current events—specifically the COVID-19 pandemic and the social justice movement—have altered giving trends.

Most importantly, we wanted to pose the questions:

• How have the events of this year affected donor behavior?
• Will supporters be giving more or less than last year?
• Have COVID-19 and the fight against social injustice changed the causes or organizations donors will give to?

We sent out a survey in September 2020 to poll 1,000 individuals across the United States, all of whom were age 18 or older, to find out.

Based on the results of our survey, we’re optimistic about what the giving season holds for nonprofits. Below, we explore some of the major key findings from the report, but make sure you download your free copy of Why America Gives now to get all the insights.

The Outlook for the 2020 Giving Season Is Positive

The Giving Tuesday movement has grown to the point where over half of Americans have an awareness and understanding of the giving day. In 2020, 67% of our survey respondents who are familiar with Giving Tuesday donated last year, compared to 53% in 2019 and 57% in 2018.

Further, our survey results show that Americans still plan to give the same amount, or more, than they did in 2019. Among those who plan to give more, 33% say it’s because the societal need seems greater this year. Despite the economic impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, people still feel compelled to give, so don’t pass up an opportunity to engage your supporters with an ask.

COVID-19 Fuels Charitable Giving

Despite the financial challenges many Americans are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 39% of our survey respondents said they definitely or probably will give more to nonprofits in 2020 than they did in 2019. The main driving factor behind this is that many see a greater societal need in 2020 than in previous years.

When asked which causes Americans were most like to support, respondents chose healthcare as the top cause category ahead of disaster relief, the environment, and education. Still, whether your nonprofit is health-related or not, you can be confident that prospective donors are looking for ways to support relief efforts alleviating various challenges presented by the pandemic.

The Social Justice Movement Creates an Influx of New Donors 

Our survey results show that many Americans are actively looking for ways to support causes fighting for racial equality. In fact, 42% of respondents either donated, or planned to donate, to social justice causes in 2020.

Interestingly, 58% of these donors claim this was their first gift ever made to the social justice cause sector, and 43% said this donation was made in addition to other contributions. This shows us that current events play a major role in creating new donors, but for nearly half of all people, it doesn’t replace their regular giving.

Virtual Fundraising Events Generate Attention and Donations

Countless nonprofits were forced to pivot their in-person events to virtual events after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but donors weren’t driven away by this change. Our survey results show that nearly 30% of respondents have supported or participated in a virtual fundraising event since the beginning of the pandemic.

Of that 30%, the majority claim they have donated more in the virtual environment than they did at in-person events. This aligns with how many nonprofits have seen comparable or higher fundraising revenue generated from virtual events as well. Moving forward, the social sector will likely continue to host virtual events, even when in-person events make a return.

Download Why America Gives 2020 for More Insights

These insights are only the tip of the iceberg for this year’s edition of Why America Gives. Download the full report now and explore:

• Which causes Americans favor most
• The role politics plays in giving
• How donors prefer to give
• Insights around Giving Tuesday and year-end

On Classy donation pages, specifically, 60% of people who check out do so in less than one minute. However, when analyzing time spent across all Classy campaign types—including donation pages, peer-to-peer, crowdfunding, and events—we find that fundraising conversion rates peak within the 4 to 5-minute window.

While your nonprofit should test what works with your specific community and its behavior, this data points you in the right direction to drive higher conversions on your pages. It shows that you must capture someone’s attention as soon as they land on your page, either to immediately convert or keep learning more to eventually convert.

Your nonprofit needs to strike the perfect balance of engaging content that will hook in your visitors and increase their likelihood of checking out. Below, we supply some tips and best practices that can help your nonprofit engage visitors, disseminate important information, and inspire action.

Defining Conversion

Before we dig into the best practices, it’s important to understand the different ways a prospective supporter can convert, especially across different campaign types, and which action your nonprofit wants to encourage.

Donate

To donate is to contribute with either a one-time or recurring donation. This the primary call to action on crowdfunding platforms and donation pages.

Fundraise

Supporters can sign up to fundraise on your nonprofit’s behalf by creating a personal fundraising page. If you’re running a peer-to-peer fundraising platform or registration with fundraising event, this is your primary call to action.

Purchase a Ticket

A ticketed event, either in-person or virtual, will have a call to action that asks supporters to purchase a ticket in order to attend.

Tips to Increase Your Fundraising Conversion Rates

Armed with an understanding of different ways to convert across Classy campaign types, your organization can begin building and optimizing your campaign for higher conversion rates. Below, we walk through steps you can take to enhance your campaign and strengthen your efforts.

1. Balance Your Content

Encouraging someone to spend enough time on your page to buy into your cause and convert, while absorbing the right amount of information about your nonprofit, is a balancing act. Further, the amount of content can also depend on the campaign type.

For example, if you’re sending people directly to a donation page, they likely already intend to make a donation. You want this process to be as streamlined and quick as possible for them, so they follow through with their gift.

It doesn’t make sense to overload them with information about your mission or cause on the checkout form. After all, 60% of people check out on Classy donation pages in under one minute, according to The State of Modern Philanthropy 2020.

Don’t include paragraphs of text, links out to other pages, and excessive custom questions on your checkout form. If you add in unnecessary information, you run the risk of distracting or interrupting the checkout process for potential donors and may lose crucial fundraising revenue.

With the other campaign types—crowdfunding campaign, peer-to-peer campaign, ticketed event, or registration with fundraising events—people are going to inherently need more information in order to convert. Unlike with a donation page, they may not know for certain if, and how, they want to support your organization.

In that light, these landing pages need to disseminate important information while also answering potential questions someone might have, such as:

• Details about your mission
• How the campaign funds your work and programs
• The impact of a donation
• Incentives for fundraising activity
• If you’re a legitimate, trusted nonprofit
• Why someone should fundraise on your behalf
• How they can build a personal fundraising page
• Why they should attend your event

You need to anticipate the questions and gaps in knowledge someone might have when arriving on your campaign page, and provide that information in an easily digestible way.

2. Use Video

A well-made video can dole out large amounts of information in a short amount of time, showcase the impact your supporters make on the ground, or give new life to your organization’s imagery.

If you find your page is packed with long-winded walls of text, try to reimagine your copy as a video. Further, think about what common questions or knowledge gaps you can quickly cover with the help of a video.

As a general rule of thumb, you’ll want to keep your videos short and powerful. Aim for not much longer than 90 to 120 seconds.

More than anything, your video needs to be targeted. If that means you create a five-minute video directly related to your campaign that supplies worthwhile information, try it out and track your engagement metrics to see whether people are watching it all the way through. If it’s an old video about your brand unrelated to the campaign, skip it. Stop and examine what helps your call to action the most.

3. Create Clear Calls to Action

Make sure your language for your call to action is clear. If you want someone to donate, ask them to donate; don’t get overly creative or flowery with the copy. This makes it confusing for your supporters to know what action, specifically, you want them to take. That, in turn, introduces a chance that they abandon your page entirely because they don’t know what to do.

Additionally, including too many different CTAs can add more potential questions to the list they already have—questions your page is supposed to answer. A combination of CTAs to donate, make a monthly donation, and fundraise on your behalf can end up stalling their action. All of this increases the amount of time a potential donor spends on your page, but it’s not productive time spent.

Instead of learning about your mission and the impact they can make on your work, they run around in circles attempting to figure out what to do. Keep your asks simple, straightforward, and direct.

In fact, you can use the three conversion buckets above as a starting point for strong CTAs: “Donate,” “Fundraise,” and “Purchase Ticket.” If you have a specialized campaign, like a dedicated monthly giving program, you’ll likely want to create a CTA that’s a bit more specific, like “Donate Monthly.”

While our data analysis shows that conversion rates peak within the 4 to 5-minute window across campaigns, that doesn’t mean people won’t convert before then. Create a strong, direct CTA that can help push someone to convert sooner rather than later.

4. Perform User-Testing

At Classy, when we have new feature updates or product launches, our team asks external individuals to participate in user-testing. This allows us to gauge the effectiveness of any changes or new releases before the full launch to the public.

Carry that same testing mindset into your own nonprofit as it relates to conversion rates on your campaign pages. After you build a new page or re-optimize an old page, reach out to your network and source individuals who would be available to test the page.

Aim to secure between 3 to 5 people and set up a time where you can observe them as they engage with your page. Pay attention to:

• What they click on
• If they’re clicking what you need them to click
• Where they spend their time
• What they miss
• Which media they engage with most
• Any areas of confusion
• Any areas of fixation

As you go, ask them to provide verbal feedback about their experience with the page. Don’t prompt them with leading questions; let them supply organic reactions. All the while take diligent notes about their behavior on the page.

Once you have your feedback, update your page accordingly and prepare to launch it to the public. Think of this as a sort of soft launch to build confidence that your page is ready to drive conversions.

There’s no guarantee that people who don’t go through your donation checkout flow in over a minute won’t complete it. Additionally, if someone spends 4 to 5-minutes on your campaign page, it’s no sure bet they’ll convert.

However, you can use the findings from our annual report, The State of Modern Philanthropy 2020, to ensure you’re optimizing your campaign pages for higher conversion rates. If you’re interested in learning more about time spent on page, and the wealth of other data points in the full report, download your copy for free right now.

That’s why we’re excited to announce that Classy Pay now supports ACH donations. While we dive into details below, this update reflects not only our commitment to helping you offer an enhanced giving experience, but also yet another layer in providing your nonprofit and your donors the highest levels of security. To paint the full picture, we take an in-depth look at how Classy Pay offers organizations the strongest protection against online payments fraud.

Stay up to date on Classy’s latest announcements for more on Classy Pay and updated functionality across the entire platform. Join us free at the Collaborative: Virtual Sessions so you don’t miss a beat.

The Nonprofit’s Challenge With Online Payments Fraud

Classy has been in the business of online fundraising for more than a decade, and in that time, we’ve gotten insight into the most common obstacles nonprofits face with online payment processing. One of the most stubborn challenges is the continual fight against online payments fraud.

It’s an unfortunate truth that online donation forms are very attractive to scammers. This is due to their simple, one-step checkout process and the ability to input any dollar amount into the donation form, unlike a traditional e-commerce website with set prices. We’ve seen this manifest in scammers or bots using online donation forms to run large batches of small donations, attached to fake names and email addresses, to test the validity of stolen credit card numbers.

For the nonprofit on the receiving end of these “donations,” this typically results in time-consuming audits and manually combing through reports to attempt to separate legitimate payments from fraudulent ones. Nonprofits can also be hit with expensive chargeback fees from the owners of the compromised credit cards, bad data in their donation platforms or CRMs, and perhaps most importantly, harm to donor trust.

To fight fraud, many payment processors and the nonprofits who use them currently rely on manually setting filters and rules for blocking fraudulent transactions and blacklisting individual IP addresses. Or worse, organizations rely on humans to regularly monitor all incoming payments to flag transactions as being potentially fraudulent. This can fail to prevent the full spectrum of fraud, as today’s scammers are increasingly sophisticated, and often use fluctuating proxy IP addresses to make it look like their fraudulent transactions are coming from different computers each time, or even from different countries.

This can result in a game of “whack-a-mole,” where organizations are constantly creating new filters or rules in their processor to block a source of fraudulent transactions, only to have a determined scammer bypass those rules and have the nonprofit end up right back where they started. Additionally, setting up too many manual filters means your organization runs the risk of blocking legitimate gifts from your donors, leading to a loss of revenue and frustration from donors who don’t understand why their gifts are failing.

How Classy Pay Protects Your Nonprofit From Fraud

All this to say that when we built Classy Pay, we knew security had to be front and center. One of the major factors that led us to decide to partner with Stripe to build Classy Pay was their Stripe Radar fraud protection product. Instead of using fraud rules set at the individual account level or human monitoring, Stripe Radar uses machine learning to automatically detect and block fraudulent payments in real time.

When a card is used to donate to a nonprofit organization using Classy Pay, there’s an 89% chance that that same card has been seen before on Stripe’s global payments network of millions of businesses. Data from that global network, as well as card blacklists from Stripe’s financial partners, is used to create a fraud score for each payment and evaluate the risk level.

This approach results in a 25% reduction in fraud, on average. We also see that this method results in fewer false positives (legitimate donations falsely being blocked as fraud).

We’ve already seen organizations that have switched to Classy Pay enjoying higher conversion rates on donation forms, thanks to this reduction in false positives. One organization saw more than $20,000 in gifts accepted that previously would have been falsely flagged as fraudulent.

Classy Pay Now Supports ACH Donations

We’re excited by these early successes, but we’re not stopping here. Our product team is constantly focused on updating Classy Pay with new features to enable your donors to give exactly how they choose and make managing your fundraising even easier. Our latest update, available now, adds support for ACH donations on Classy Pay.

ACH, or Automated Clearing House processing, allows donors to make a gift to your organization directly from their bank account, without using a credit card. This giving method has a number of benefits, including supporting donors who don’t have credit cards, offering lower processing fees for large gifts, and even improving retention rates for recurring donors, as individuals tend to change their bank accounts much less frequently than they get a new credit card.

Did You Know? Monthly recurring donors who give via ACH are retained for 20% longer, on average, than donors who give via debit or credit card.

Of course, since donors who give through ACH are linking their payments directly to their bank accounts, it is even more important to make sure the payments are secure. That’s why we’re utilizing Plaid to authenticate and process ACH donations through Classy Pay. Plaid allows donors to safely and securely sign in to their online bank account directly from the Classy donation page, which provides an additional layer of protection for the donor’s bank account information.

We’re excited to roll out ACH payments to give organizations on Classy Pay—and their donors—even more flexibility to accept payments online. If you’re already a Classy Pay user, you can begin accepting ACH payments with just one click.

If you’re a current Classy customer not yet using Classy Pay, making the switch is simple. In just a few clicks, your nonprofit can see all the benefits of leveraging Classy Pay within your online fundraising ecosystem.

The work doesn’t end here. Our team has added support for digital wallet payments to Classy Pay, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Microsoft Pay. For the latest news about Classy Pay and other new features, make sure to check back on our blog or sign up for our product newsletter to stay in the know on all things Classy. For more information on Classy Pay, check out the Support Center.

Subtitled “Deconstructing the Online Donor Journey,” Classy’s 2020 report dives into topics such as conversion rates across campaign types, the additional ways recurring donors interact with organizations, and the actions of donors who come back.

Our third-annual report leverages proprietary data from 2018 and 2019, spanning over 40,000 active campaigns, nearly 4,500 organizations ranging in size, and 6.4 million transactions in order to surface insights for the entire nonprofit industry.

It also reviews 2019 holiday data, including Giving Tuesday insights—like our finding that 31% of Giving Tuesday donors return to make a second donation within six months. This proof point, as well as the success of recent #GivingTuesdayNow efforts in support of COVID-19 relief, highlight the opportunity to re-engage Giving Tuesday donors year-round, especially in the midst of global events taking place today.

Grab your copy of the 2020 report for insights such as:

• Conversion rates and donation sizes by campaign type
• How time spent on campaign pages impacts conversion rates
• The impact of suggested donation amounts
• Second actions of different groups of donors
• Retention rates by donation amount
• And more!

At the end of each section, we include thought starters to help you apply the data to your own fundraising strategy. The report also includes a fundraising benchmarks worksheet, so you can easily compare your own organization’s results to others in the industry.

Ready to get up to speed on the latest industry trends?

Want to check out the 2019 report, too? Download The State of Modern Philanthropy 2019: Trends in Return Donor Behavior.

Demonstrating the impact of donations has never been more important than it is during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether your nonprofit is directly mobilizing coronavirus relief or raising emergency funds to sustain normal operations, people need to see how their donations help provide resources and care or help keep the lights on at your organization.

However, it’s not enough to simply put impact blocks on your campaign page and hope people click on them. You must be specific, emotional, creative, and flexible with the copy you write, photos you use, concept you iterate, and location you place them.

Below, we’ve rounded up four creative pro tips you can use to make your impact blocks pop based on real-world examples we’ve seen from nonprofits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To hear how you can elevate your cause in a post-pandemic world, access session recordings from the 2021 Collaborative for free this year.

1. Get Specific

In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, WaterAid created an emergency fundraising campaign separate from their Clean Water for Clinics campaign. This new page was branded as an Emergency Global Hygiene Fund dedicated specifically to improving handwashing and hygiene in the different countries where they operate.

The copy on the page is direct and to-the-point, and it creates a narrative that drives urgency to donate immediately. It clearly explains the need for the emergency fund with lines like:

• “Handwashing is the first line of defense against Coronavirus”
• “As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, millions do not have access to soap and water for handwashing. Help us save lives.”
• “Communities and governments are asking for our help, urgently. To contain the spread of Coronavirus, we must deliver hygiene and handwashing programs around the world, right now.”

These potent calls to action culminate in their impact blocks section. Each impact block clearly explains how far donations will go to support the mission of this emergency fund:

Specificity is important, especially if your nonprofit’s day to day operations cover a lot of different areas. For example, WaterAid is committed to hygiene programs, but they also supply water pumps, showers, sinks, solar panels, water pipes, drinking fountains, and taps in the communities they serve.

Getting specific with the ask in your impact blocks, like WaterAid does here, can go a long way toward uniting all donors behind a common front. In this case, the singular goal to support the emergency hygiene program is broken down further in each of the four blocks which detail, specifically, how a donation will help achieve this goal.

2. Get Emotional

Similar to WaterAid, CoreGiving began an emergency fundraising program to support students left without school lunches, and their families, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools have remained closed, children are at risk of missing a meal and some parents are left wondering how they will cover the cost.

This is an inherently emotional situation, and CoreGiving made plays to that emotion with their impact blocks section. They offer eight different donation options, each paired with photos of children that tug at the heartstrings:

Paired with each photo is a creative title, often heroic in nature, that donors can rally behind as they make their donation. That is, while children might be hungry and families may be worried, a donor can feel confident in their own ability to be a leader, knight, guru, or mogul: they can feel confident in their ability to help remedy the situation.

Beyond that, each impact block has a clearly written description of precisely how many meals this donation will cover for students. Also, notice how they start with the highest donation on the left, and decrease as you move further down the blocks. This can help encourage people to donate higher amounts as they respond to the emotional appeal you’re putting in front of them.

3. Get Creative

Bartenders, baristas, servers, and countless others in the hospitality industry took a major hit with regard to job loss during the COVID-19 outbreak. Another Round Another Rally decided that they would help out with a fund that supported these hardworking individuals during a period of unemployment or severely reduced hours. So, they took a traditional crowdfunding campaign page and, with creative use of the impact blocks section, turned it into a virtual tip jar.

First, they moved the impact blocks section directly underneath the hero image block on the page. Second, they designed each impact block with a special call to action that’s anchor to something unique about the hospitality industry. For example, the $25 “tip” has a call to action to think about the bartenders in your area:

“While you are sipping on cocktails or a glass of wine, calming your nerves, send the bartenders you love a little love.”

Placing your impact blocks at the top of the page also unites the section with your progress bar, which can be key for driving engagement from supporters. Some enjoy coming back to the page over and over to see how far your nonprofit is to completing its goal. They may even donate again if they can see you’re making progress.

4. Get Strategic

Aside from the photos you use, copy you write, and donation amounts you include, you can also physically move the location of the impact blocks on your campaign page. In the examples above, this is a tactic that both CoreGiving and Another Round Another Rally use to place the impact blocks immediately below the hero image.

To accomplish this in Classy, it’s as simple as dragging the impact section in the campaign builder:

This can be used to ensure your impact blocks seamlessly fit with the flow of your campaign page’s narrative, whether they’re strikingly bold at the top or closer to the bottom as a heavy-hitting call to action. Don’t be afraid to get creative and play around with the layout of your impact blocks.

There’s more than one way to make use of the impact blocks on your campaign page. Regardless of what you choose to use them for though, they’re still united by the common thread of demonstrating impact.

If you’d like to learn more fundraising best practices, or see creative campaign examples like this, you can access all the recordings from the live sessions at the Collaborative: Virtual Sessions, as well as over 20 bonus Extended Sessions, for free below. They’ll provide actionable tips for growing your organization, adapting to changing circumstances, leading through times of crisis, and so much more.

As a result, we’re seeing nonprofits make creative use of Classy’s donation forms and crowdfunding, peer-to-peer, and events campaigns. Below, we’ll explore the different ways each campaign type has been adapted to fit the unique needs of:

• The San Francisco Ballet
• Another Round Another Rally
• Upaya Social Ventures
• Just In Time for Foster Youth
• Hope for Haiti
• Brooklyn Community Foundation

In each example we’ll show the issue they faced and how they built creative coronavirus fundraising campaigns in order to adapt to the situation. Then, we’ll provide some thought starters and key takeaways for your own nonprofit.

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is a way for your nonprofit to tell your story and attract direct support for your program or cause. The primary call to action is to “donate,” and the campaign page provides plenty of real estate for you to visually represent the impact those dollars are making on your organization.

Further, it can power everything from the biggest giving day campaigns, like Giving Tuesday, to year-round recurring giving programs. No matter the initiative, your crowdfunding page serves as a central place to collect donations from supporters.

San Francisco Ballet

The San Francisco Ballet had to cancel over 60% of their season due to the coronavirus outbreak. In an effort to drive emergency funding to compensate for lost revenue, and keep their staff paid and health benefits in place, they built a crowdfunding campaign on Classy.

Front and center at the top of the page, there’s a looped video of dancers onstage during various performances that grabs your attention, paired with a clear and direct ask. The video and accompanying CTA makes it immediately clear to supporters where their donations are going. The organization made use of Classy’s advanced design tools with the help of an in-house developer to make the video cover the entire top of the page.

Even if your nonprofit doesn’t have developer resources, you can still upload a video to the hero image block on your crowdfunding campaign. Also, while the donation button is typically in the header of a crowdfunding campaign, San Francisco Ballet positioned it directly below the video.

Aside from the video, San Francisco Ballet wrote concise, direct copy about the situation, strong calls to donate, and powerful images throughout the page. Everything comes to a head in their impact blocks, where donors can see the direct impact of their gift and how it affects the organization. By providing recommended donations levels and showing exactly how those funds will help, supporters can feel more connected to the mission of the organization.

When designing your own crowdfunding campaign, you can get a page built in as little as 10 minutes so you can start collecting the donations you need as quickly as possible. Crowdfunding campaigns are straightforward, but as the San Francisco Ballet proves, there’s certainly room to flex your creative muscles throughout the page.

Another Round Another Rally

The hospitality industry took a big hit during the coronavirus outbreak, which is why Another Round Another Rally made it their mission to raise emergency funding for chefs, baristas, servers, and more. They took a typical crowdfunding campaign page and turned it into a virtual tip jar.

First, they moved the impact blocks section directly underneath the hero image. Second, each impact block has a special call to action that’s not always directly tied to an incentive. For example, the $5 “tip” has a call to action to think about your day-to-day coffee barista:

“After you make your morning cup of coffee and before you head to your couch to telecommute send your local barista some love.”

The progress bar at the top is key for driving engagement from supporters. Some enjoy coming back to the page over and over to see how far your nonprofit is to completing its goal. They may even donate again if they can see you’re making progress.

You can use a similar strategy to show your supporters that every donation matters, even a gift of $1 or $5. At the same time, you can pair each impact block with a fun and thoughtful sentiment that gives people something to smile and laugh about. Case in point, generous donors who gift $100,000 to the virtual tip jar will receive not one, but two, rolls of toilet paper.

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Peer-to-peer fundraising is a multi-tiered approach to fundraising that has the power to exponentially increase your nonprofit’s reach, funds, and overall return on investment. This campaign type empowers supporters to fundraise on your behalf, which allows you to tap into your network’s network.

Upaya Social Ventures

Upaya Social Ventures made the difficult choice to cancel their annual gala and transition into a virtual event. Typically, during the in-person event, Upaya designates table captains to drive donations from people sitting at their table.

When they shifted the event into a completely virtual experience, they also shifted each table captain into a peer-to-peer fundraising team captain. Each captain took their “table” virtual as well with a team peer-to-peer fundraising page.

This way, they could still fulfill their role to drive donations from others sitting at their table—individuals who joined their online fundraising team. In some instances, these table captains were able to raise over $30,000.

Similar to Upaya, think of ways you might be able to transition key stakeholders of your event into peer-to-peer fundraisers or team captains. Not only does a peer-to-peer campaign allow your supporters to create their own personal and team fundraising pages, but there’s still an available option for people to give a direct donation as well.

Beyond the individuals who would normally wish to support your nonprofit’s event, peer-to-peer fundraising can help you reach entirely new audiences who may not have heard of your organization before. This reach is amplified exponentially as your supporters share it with their networks, who then share with their networks, and beyond.

Events

Whether you’re hosting an endurance event, a polar plunge, or any other type of event, Classy allows you to build modern, dynamic event landing pages where you can sell tickets or call for registrations, as well as allow attendees to fundraise on your behalf leading up to the event. You can attract participants, encourage individuals to fundraise on your behalf before the event, and set the prices for all tickets or registrations.

Just In Time for Foster Youth

Just In Time for Foster Youth took a traditional Classy Events page and turned it into a mock auction. Everything listed on their page would have initially been auctioned during their in-person event, which was canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Instead, they took all the items and listed them for purchase, not for bidding, under the ticket sales portion of the events page. Supporters could land on the page, read about the items in a linked PDF, and purchase what they wanted.

As the event drew to a close, Just In Time for Foster Youth reduced the price on the remaining items in an effort to drive more participation and progress toward their annual revenue goal. This is one way you can take what would have been an in-person auction and turn it virtual.

Hope for Haiti

Hike for Haiti, an event hosted by the nonprofit Hope for Haiti, has always been virtual. The campaign honors the students, teachers, and families who have to climb the 200 flights of stairs every day in Marre à Coiffe in order to access clean water, healthcare, and education.

Once the coronavirus outbreak happened, Hope for Haiti began marketing it as a way to drive community togetherness during social distancing. Anyone can make the climb or travel the requisite distance of 10 and a half miles in nature, at their home, or around the neighborhood. There are also strong calls to action to share your climb and results on social media for a chance to win prizes.

If your endurance event has been canceled, or is on the horizon of an uncertain future, don’t be afraid to make it virtual. Take your initial concept and simply invite everyone to participate in their area while abiding by the new social distancing rules.

This can open you up to countless new attendees across the United States who traditionally might not be able to attend your in-person event. In that light, you should consider adding a virtual component to any endurance event regardless of the coronavirus situation to maximize attendee registration and participation.

Donation Form

Donation forms allow you to collect one-time or recurring donations through a completely branded, mobile-responsive web page. All pages are designed to move donors through the checkout flow quickly and smoothly.

Brooklyn Community Foundation

Brooklyn Community Foundation had donors looking to take immediate action during the coronavirus outbreak. They used a donation form to provide a simple, direct way for people to donate as quickly as possible.

The page was customized to show specifically where the funds donated would go—the Brooklyn COVID-19 Response Fund—and what those funds would be allocated toward during the outbreak. Their call to action is straightforward but powerful, as it implores people to support neighbors in need and 100% of the funds will go directly to other high-impact nonprofits in Brooklyn. They also make a heavy push to sign up as a monthly recurring donor.

Donation forms are simple, but you can dress them up with actionable copy like Brooklyn Community Foundation did here. Similarly, you can set up a specific program designation for all funds donated through your form, which makes reporting easy. It also gives donors the satisfaction of knowing exactly where their dollars are going.

When your nonprofit wants to run another donation form, you can easily duplicate your current form and change out some of the content to target different audience segments. You can also use pass-through parameters in your URL to have a donor land on the page with a higher donation amount already in their “donation” field.

Last, make use of custom questions on your form to collect crucial donor data on incoming new supporters during this time. This information will help retain their support campaign over campaign as you build lasting relationships with them.

Online fundraising has never been more important than it is right now. Classy’s campaign types can help activate supporters wherever they may be and increase revenue at a time when you need it most. If you want to learn more about building creative coronavirus fundraising campaigns, or Classy can help you through this time, reach out to us directly. Then, be sure to download our guide below: The Anatomy of a Successful Fundraising Campaign.

Before you know it, you’ve spent 10 to 15 minutes talking, and on top of that, now you’re hungry too (thanks, appetizers). The point is that distractions at work can come at us at any time and from any place, and they can interrupt your flow.

Along the way, maybe little distractions have halted progress on your fundraising campaign (it’s OK, we won’t tell anyone). That deadline which seemed so far away and manageable is now right in your face.

The good news is that we can help you get a fundraising campaign up faster than that fast-approaching deadline. In fact, according to our customer support experts, you can build a crowdfunding campaign in 10 minutes.

In the video below, we call out a few 10-minute distractions that might arise in your day-to-day at the office to look out for, so you can squash them and instead spend the time getting that campaign up and running. Then, read on to get extra details, strategies, tips, and tricks for your campaign.

How Fast Can You Go?

When it comes to a crowdfunding campaign, our team estimates that you can get a page up in about 10 minutes. Still, there are a few required fields you should prepare details for ahead of time, such as your:

• Campaign name
• Fundraising goal
• Start and end dates
• Featured media
• Donate button text

Outside of that, Classy has pre-populated text in other sections of the campaign, like the “about” and “thank you” sections:

According to our customer support team, the element that takes the most time in this process is getting the proper digital assets together, like your logo and hero image. Know what size images you need, and where they will be displayed on your crowdfunding campaign. If you need help, Classy has the best-fit dimensions displayed in the campaign builder:

When speed is the goal, it pays to be prepared and have these assets on deck. Keep in mind that you can always launch a campaign and start accepting donations, then go back and tweak it to perfection later.

Pro Tips and Strategies From Our Experts

Even when you set a campaign page up quickly, there are still several things you can do to ensure it stands out and commands attention.

Make Your Headline Pop

The headline is the first thing people notice about your campaign. If you want it to really stand out, decrease the opacity of your hero image to let the dark background color show through a bit more.

Then, make your headline text a lighter color that pops against the darkened background. This will immediately grab someone’s attention and draw them into the rest of your crowdfunding campaign page.

There’s also the headline image feature that can be used to infuse more of your organization’s branding into the headline area. For example, your headline image could utilize a custom text graphic with your organization and campaign name or logo:

Use Your Words

While the pre-populated text can be useful when you need to get your page up and running, it’s important you return to flesh out your text later. Go through and ensure the copy suits the specific needs, voice, and wants for your campaign.

Depending on how much you want to customize the page, refining the text can take longer to nail down. After your page is published, take some time to consider:

• What’s the most important message to this campaign?
• How can you share your story through additional page elements, like impact blocks?
• Is there a creative and fun way to thank your supporters?

This information can help you make the most of the real estate on the crowdfunding campaign page and take your supporters on a journey from headline to donation button.

Think About the Future

If you want to take a more proactive approach, versus being reactive to timely events as they unfold in our world, you can create campaign templates ahead of time. This way, you prepare in advance and can quickly spin up pages when you want them in the future.

For example, build a branded template that incorporates standard colors, logos, and text. This will serve as a great starting place for the next campaign you build. Then, when you need to get a page up quickly, you can duplicate this page with all of your preferred auto-populated fields:

You can fill this template out with generic information and photos that can be minimally updated from campaign to campaign. This way, when you need to create a page, you can significantly reduce the time it takes to get something published.

While it’s important to give every campaign page you create a lot of attention, there are times when you need to get a page up quickly. Regardless of why you need a page in a timely fashion, it’s important you’re prepared to strike while the iron is hot.

Though it only takes about 10 minutes to get a crowdfunding campaign page up and running, you can spend a little extra time to build out templates to further reduce that time and increase the level of detail in your pages. This templated approach also lends itself well to peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns or Classy Events Registration with Fundraising, which tend to require a bit more attention.

The name of the game is speed, and the faster you can get a striking campaign up and out to the public, the more you can raise to fuel your mission.

When Cincinnati Bengals quarterback, Andy Dalton, threw a touchdown pass in 2018 that led the Buffalo Bills to the playoffs for the first time in 17 years, it sparked a movement. In just four days, 10,000 donors contributed nearly $250,000 (often in $17 increments to tribute breaking the 17-year drought) to the Andy and Jordan Dalton Foundation.

In this case, the act of giving provided a tangible way to say “thanks.” Your nonprofit can deliver that same sense of tangible contribution to supporters by elevating fun and easy ways to get involved with your work this fall.

The NFL’s entire season lasts into February, culminating in the Super Bowl. That’s plenty of time for your nonprofit to leverage the hype and plan a fun event for your community.

Creative Football Fundraising Ideas

Below are seven quick ideas to help you get started. The key is to identify activities people know and love and consider how to creatively add opportunities to give back.

1. Winner’s Pledge

Ask your supporters to contribute a certain amount of money each week if their team wins a game. You could have people “sign up” for your Winner’s Pledge and receive weekly messages that remind them to contribute and provide them with your campaign link.

2. Powderpuff Game

Cater to your female supporters and get them out on the field to play a game. Charge for admission and consider adding a peer-to-peer fundraising component. Players can create their own fundraising pages and you can award prizes for top dollars raised.

3. Flag Football Tournament

Have teams register, fundraise, and compete in a co-ed tournament. Make sure each team has a captain to help facilitate fundraising efforts. You can also charge for entry at the event, and award prizes for tournament and fundraising winners.

4. Fantasy Football Donations

Millions of fans compete in fantasy football leagues every year. For this fall fundraising idea, ask fans to pledge to donate a certain percentage equivalent of their winnings. Alternatively, you might use email or social media messaging to encourage your community to consider your nonprofit when they set up their leagues. Many leagues not only offer a prize for winning, but a “task” for the losing member to complete. All “losing” members in a bracket might donate an agreed upon amount, for example.

If you’re unsure about your state’s laws around sports betting and contributions to charity, remember to consult with a local professional to avoid any conflicts.

5. Tailgate Event

Grilling and having a good time go hand in hand with football games. Invite your supporters to gather for a pre-game party and charge for entry. To further monetize the experience, you might hold a chili cook-off, a BBQ contest, a best-dressed fan contest, or sell additional foods and drinks.

6. Game Day Viewing Party

Rent a space or invite supporters to your headquarters for a game day viewing party. You might even create an event series for this fall fundraising idea in order to invite as many different fans as possible. Charge a registration fee, serve food and drinks, and consider hosting a day-of auction to add an additional revenue stream.

7. Super Bowl Squares Competition

There are a few different ways to play football squares. Many participate in these competitions in honor of the Super Bowl. Instead of awarding cash prizes for those that buy in to play, ask for donations per square and award donated prizes gathered from local sponsors. Use restaurant gift certificates, tickets to a local event, and the like to encourage participation.

The right fundraising software can transform a simple fall fundraising event idea into a money-making machine. Learn more below.

Now in its second year, the World Changing Ideas Awards showcases 12 winners and more than 200 finalists. A panel of eminent judges selected winners and finalists from a pool of more than 1,300 entries in 12 categories, from Food, to Energy, to Developing World Technology.

Classy Passport debuted at the end of 2017, enabling nonprofits to instantly take their fundraising global, while providing worldwide supporters with a seamless giving experience for the causes they care about. Classy Passport was created in collaboration with Room to Read, an organization focused on improving literacy and gender equality in education across 14 countries. Unable to identify a product on the market that could meet their international online fundraising needs, Room to Read saw a unique opportunity to work closely with Classy on creating the ideal solution.

Other Fast Company honorees include big-name brands like Microsoft and Walmart, government programs from Los Angeles and Ontario, and nonprofits like the Anti-Defamation League and UNICEF. The 2018 awards featured entries from across the globe, from India, to Brazil, to Rwanda.

Fast Company’s May issue celebrates these world-changing ideas, highlighting how Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has spearheaded a solution to the city’s housing crisis by using backyards as a building place for tiny houses; Facebook, whose Disaster Maps feature helps rescuers allocate resources after disasters; L’Oreal, which has designed a tool to make sure its products are as sustainable as possible; and The North Face, which has designed a new wool beanie that is sourced from sheep farms that use agricultural practices that emit less carbon than they produce.

About the World Changing Ideas Awards: World Changing Ideas is one of Fast Company’s major annual awards programs and is focused on social good, seeking to elevate finished products and brave concepts that make the world better. A panel of judges from across sectors choose winners and finalists based on feasibility and the potential for impact. With a goal of awarding ingenuity and fostering innovation, Fast Company draws attention to ideas with great potential and helps them expand their reach to inspire more people to start work on solving the problems that affect us all.

Already a Classy Customer?

Crowdfunding Campaigns

Crowdfunding campaigns are versatile appeals for your community’s support. Use a campaign landing page to accept general donations, raise money for a specific project, or drive support for a time-based initiative.

No matter what’s driving the campaign, the main call to action on a crowdfunding landing page is to donate. All Classy Crowdfunding pages feature one main donate button. However, organizations can add Impact Levels that describe how certain donation amounts support their cause. These can help donors select and follow through with specific contribution amounts.

Love146 uses Impact Levels to provide examples of the difference $50, $110, $350, and $700 can make.

When to Build a Crowdfunding Campaign

Your organization can run crowdfunding and peer-to-peer campaigns simultaneously, but there are times when one method of fundraising may make more sense over the other.

You’d likely decide to run a crowdfunding campaign if you need to:

• Create a dynamic, beautiful general donation page
• Design specific landing pages that cater to different segments of donors
• Run a campaign for a specific day, such as a national awareness day or #GivingTuesday

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Campaign

Compared to a traditional crowdfunding campaign, peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns have the power to reach a larger audience because individual supporters solicit their networks for donations. These campaigns can serve as time-based initiatives or year-round fundraising opportunities.

The main purpose of a peer-to-peer page is to call supporters to fundraise on behalf of your organization. While there is also an option to complete a one-time donation, the goal of the page is to recruit individuals who will appeal to their personal networks.

Instead of Impact Levels that depict the significance of a single donation amount, the Impact Levels on Classy’s peer-to-peer landing page convey the impact an individual could make as a fundraiser.

When to Build a Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Campaign

You can run time-based peer-to-peer campaigns, create a year-round fundraising option that allows supporters to dedicate their life events, or run both simultaneously.

These peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns can serve to:

• Leverage the network of your supporter base to raise more money
• Tap into the network of certain key influencers, such as brand ambassadors, celebrity supporters, or board members
• Give donors a year-round option to raise money on behalf of your organization for different life events, such as birthdays or weddings

In the modern world of fundraising, crowdfunding and peer-to-peer campaigns are two essential tools in your organization’s development arsenal. Both power your appeals and empower your staff to design beautiful pages that convert visitors. Want to explore crowdfunding and peer-to-peer on Classy? Request a demo today.

That’s why organizations that understand the importance of branding and storytelling—even those that work on complicated or unsexy topics—can compel supporters to invest in their cause. For the modern nonprofit raising money online, storytelling is critical to a successful fundraising strategy.

But, as we all know, fundraising isn’t easy. The new Fundraising Suite aims to make it easier. These crowdfunding campaigns designed with Classy go above and beyond what we imagined organizations could create with Classy’s new built-in design tools. Below, you can see each live campaign and a storytelling tip to use for your next crowdfunding campaign.

1. #ShowYourGrit – John Wayne Cancer Foundation

Storytelling Tip: While it’s not the only thing that’ll drive someone to give, brand consistency is key to connecting supporters to a story the stretches beyond one campaign.

2. Heart & Home Recurring Giving Program – Selamta Family Project

Storytelling Tip: Shine through as genuine and effortless with friendly imagery and a warm, conversational tone.

3. feedOne Recurring Giving Program – Eastern Star Church

Storytelling Tip: On Classy Crowdfunding, images are the star of the show. They’re the first thing to grab a visitor’s attention and make a lasting impression.

4. Field of Flags – Disabled American Veterans

Storytelling Tip: Allow supporters to involve themselves in the story. Disabled American Veterans immediately expresses how a donor’s personal connection to the cause is an investment in the bigger picture of their mission.

5. Send a Kid to Camp – Epilepsy Foundation of Northern California

Storytelling Tip: Make an instant impression on prospective donors with a video, especially when someone visits your campaign page from a mobile device.

6. Sponsor a Student – Blue Engine

Storytelling Tip: Your organization may have many programs, but tell one story at a time rather than trying to fit everything in at once. Blue Engine tailored their crowdfunding campaign to demonstrate the specific impact of sponsorships.

7. #UtahRefugee Maker Bus – Kidnected World (The Wonderment Program)

Storytelling Tip: Your organization may have many programs, but tell one story at a time rather than trying to fit everything in at once. Blue Engine tailored their crowdfunding campaign to demonstrate the specific impact of sponsorships.

8. #DoubleTheFreedom – Destiny Rescue

Storytelling Tip: Identify an individual, even if she is anonymous like Destiny Rescue’s “her,” who encourages site visitors to connect to a cause on a very human level.

Now every blog reader has access to this insider’s look at the upgraded crowdfunding campaign platform. Learn how to build a sophisticated campaign landing page and create a more engaging donor experience with less effort and no code.

Here are three core best practices discussed in the webinar that will help you build better crowdfunding campaigns—on Classy and off—wrapped up with a tour of the new Crowdfunding Campaign Builder to boot.

1. Powerful Crowdfunding Campaigns are Brand-Centric

The concept behind the upgraded Crowdfunding campaign was to give organizations much more control over their brand, message, and story. It’s always been a core tenant of successful donor acquisition to make your organization’s work relatable. We consistently upheld that in our customizable campaign pages, but the control and flexibility the new Fundraising Suite affords is unprecedented.

When your organization can focus on building out cohesive creative concepts to their fullest potential, the results are truly stunning.

2. Powerful Crowdfunding Campaigns are Mobile Responsive

Donations made through mobile devices are not trivial. The M&R 2016 Benchmarks study notes that 13 percent of online donations are given on mobile devices; NP Engage measured at least 9.5 percent of online donations coming in via mobile. Classy data also supports this upward trend, with 31.5 percent of online donations made through Classy being completed on a mobile device.

Mobile optimization—from campaign landing pages to donation receipt emails—is now an inherent requirement for maintaining and growing online revenue.

3. Powerful Crowdfunding Campaigns are Community Oriented

Strong online communities are a big part of modern success stories. Charity:water’s founder, Scott Harrison, speaking on HubSpot’s Growth Show podcast, emphasized how cultivating such a community has been paramount to their growth and sustainability. Better community visibility on campaign pages was a highly requested feature by Classy users, and it’s a new option on all crowdfunding campaign pages.

Demonstrating social proof and showing appreciation of supporters bolsters a campaign’s potential for success.

With these three core values in mind as you build out your campaign landing page, you’ll be better equipped to inspire site visitors to give to your cause.

To get a full tour of how these and other fundraising best practices are baked right into crowdfunding campaigns on Classy, watch the webinar below.

The goal? Enable you to convert more donors and keep them invested in your cause, all while saving your team valuable time and resources. With Crowdfunding, you’ll get a taste of the new Fundraising Suite’s core design and functionalities, which will eventually be released for all campaign types.

Starting with our Crowdfunding platform, the new Fundraising Suite includes novel tools that enable you to create stunning, world-class campaign pages. Most significant for this purpose is a new campaign designer that’s maintains our reliable ease-of-use while unlocking an entirely new world of customizations.

The new Classy Fundraising Suite will continue to push the envelope on ease, flexibility, and cutting-edge design practices so your organization has the platform it needs to deliver a top-notch experience to supporters.

What’s New?

From a design perspective, the new crowdfunding campaign is an instant style upgrade that requires no code or heavily lifting on your part. How?

The new campaign creation process includes:

• Brand new landing page design so you can tell a beautiful, front-and-center story for every campaign or initiative
• More opportunities to highlight your cause and purpose
• Fine tune your campaign’s look and feel with built-in advanced customization options
• Descriptive impact levels that encourage campaign visitors to convert into donors
• Mobile-ready designs that wow on any device

The new look and designer aren’t the only things that are new.

Also included within Crowdfunding is the start of a brand new Classy project: a more robust email and engagement system.

Starting today, you can:

• Customize all automated emails sent from Classy to your supporters
• Stylize your new printer-friendly donation receipt
• Write and send better-looking emails directly from Classy
• Set a reply-to email address on all emails so important donor conversations can be had
• Track metrics like send, open, and click rates on all emails sent through Classy

What’s Next?

We’ve always believed in the power of storytelling and the role design plays in a remarkable donor experience. Those experiences lead to more invested supporters. This has been our philosophy since day one.

As we build out the new Fundraising Suite and email tools, we continue to follow this belief. Over the course of the year you’ll be part of Classy’s New Fundraising Suite rollout. These tools are meant to make your fundraising efforts more successful, require less heavy lifting, and keep your supporters invested in your cause.

We are all excited to see what you create!

– Matt Lackey, Product Manager