Having a charitable heart is only half of the battle when it comes to making a real difference in our world - giving only goes so far when you aren’t supporting the right organizations. In this article, we’ll share why effective giving is crucial to creating change. We’ll also outline some tips for nonprofits to make effective giving easier for their donors.
We’ve all given to charities who make a compelling argument in the moment, only to later realize they might not be as effective as they claim. While supporting nonprofits will always be a good exercise, many donors are looking for ways to make their giving more impactful.
That’s where effective giving comes in. Effective giving refers to donating to organizations that have a greater impact, so every dollar donated goes toward solving a real problem in our world.
Read on to learn more about effective giving. If you’re a nonprofit, we’ll help you evaluate if your organization is doing everything possible to secure gifts from donors who wish to give effectively and provide tips to help you do so.
Charitable giving is important – period. But have you paused to consider why charitable giving, particularly effective charitable giving, is so critical?
Here’s why charitable giving matters.
Without charitable giving, nonprofits wouldn’t have the funds to operate and work toward their mission. While many nonprofits have other revenue streams to support their operations, donations remain a significant portion of nonprofit budgets.
Let’s say you have $100 in your pocket and you want to change someone’s life. You can give it to an individual and impact that individual’s life, which is a noble act! Or, you can give it to a nonprofit that has the infrastructure and knowledge to touch thousands of lives, therefore making your money more effective.
Life is busy. While volunteering is an important philanthropic act, you might not have the time to pitch in the way you’d like to. Giving to a charity is a way to participate in making the world a better place, even if you can’t actively take a role in making that change.
To make your gifts really count, it’s important to understand effective giving and tweak your philanthropy habits to ensure your donations make an impact.
You can make your gift more effective by giving to organizations that:
Pro tip: It’s also important to note that how much you’re giving also affects how effective your gift is. For example, a one-time gift of $20 won’t go as far as a $5 monthly gift, which totals $60 a year – three times your original gift amount. If a nonprofit offers recurring giving, consider going this route to make a greater impact over time…without breaking the bank.
There are some misconceptions when it comes to effective giving. Some people may think they need to refrain from giving to organizations that:
Now that we’ve covered how donors can give more effectively, let’s look at how nonprofits can make this kind of giving easier. In other words, how can you ensure that your organization gets donations from donors who wish to give more effectively?
Here are five tips to bring in more donations from these donors.
First things first – your donors need to be able to find your donation form. Then, your donation form needs to share compelling details to encourage donors to complete their gifts.
We recommend doing the following to make your donation form easy to find and compelling:
Whether you’re building a new form or revamping your existing one, learn how to make it shine in this blog!
Bonus Resource: Watch this webinar on top donation form features that are proven to motivate donors to give:
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to get trending fundraising ideas and strategies from nonprofit experts every week!
Your website is your organization’s welcome mat. It showcases your mission, impact, processes, and more.
Having a current website will increase donor trust and can help you show off any recent accomplishments. Here are some common pages that need to be updated regularly:
And more.
Keeping all of your information up-to-date will help donors determine if donating to your organization counts as effective giving.
Transparency is the name of the game when it comes to building your donors’ trust and highlighting your effectiveness as an organization.
To be more transparent, consider posting your 990 or other financial documents on your website (with sensitive information redacted, like schedule B on your 990). You can also boost transparency by sharing your activities on social media and in regular emails. Donors like to see your work in action – and understand how their donations are being used.
For more tips to boost your organization’s transparency, check out this blog.
To demonstrate your impact better and keep your donors (or prospective donors!) in the loop, you need to have regular, high-quality outreach.
Use storytelling to make your emails and social media posts more engaging (so they’ll actually get read). Video is another great way to show off your impact and quickly share more information about your processes.
Put segmentation to work to personalize your outreach. Sort your donor data by segments like age, location, gift amount, and more to ensure your donors see the content most suited for them.
The most important part is remaining consistent. If someone is assessing whether your organization is a candidate for effective giving, they’ll want to see you consistently sharing updates.
Watch this webinar on driving donor engagement with donor segmentation:
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to get trending fundraising ideas and strategies from nonprofit experts every week!
Lastly, you won’t know how effective your fundraising materials are unless you regularly assess your progress. Reviewing your donation data can help you determine:
Ultimately, it’s always important to rethink your fundraising strategy so you can encourage more effective giving!
When you’re ready to give to a nonprofit again, stop and consider how you can make your gift more effective. Is this nonprofit serving a population or cause that is dear to you? Do they have the infrastructure in place to do this effectively? Are they making a real, sustained impact? Use the tips in this blog to make sure your gift counts.
If you’re a nonprofit, make it as easy as possible for your donors to see your value and choose to give their hard-earned money to your cause. Being transparent, communicating regularly, and updating your website are all part of bringing in more donations.
You also need to ensure giving to your organization is as easy as possible. Donorbox offers comprehensive features to help you maximize your fundraising. From crowdfunding to peer-to-peer to in-person fundraising with the Donorbox Live™ Kiosk – and much more – Donorbox has the tools and guidance to bring you to the next level. Learn more about our features and sign up today!
For more guidance, check out the rest of our Nonprofit Blog. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the best of the blog in your inbox every month.
Lindsey spent years wearing many hats in the nonprofit world. Whether she was helping arts nonprofits with their messaging and content, planning a fundraising gala, writing an NEA grant proposal, or running a membership program with over 400 members, she learned how to navigate – and appreciate! – the fast-paced world of fundraising. Now, she loves sharing those hard-earned lessons with the Donorbox community.
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Lindsey Baker Bower