The Best Referral Programs and Affiliate Programs for Nonprofits

Have you ever been curious about affiliate marketing? If the answer is yes but you aren't sure where to start, you've come to the right place! We'll walk you through how referral programs work and fill you in on Donorbox's referral program.

7 minutes read
The Best Referral Programs and Affiliate Programs for Nonprofits

Referral and affiliate programs have become all the rage in the modern economy. Many freelancers, bloggers, and YouTube influencers make a significant part of their revenue from these sources.

Nonprofit organizations as well as individuals can join this trend and collect perks like gift cards, cash, or discounts from many online donation companies.

If you’re an individual who regularly connects with nonprofits, affiliate marketing may be right up your alley. If your nonprofit has excellent relationships with other organizations, you can also benefit from these programs.

This article will explain these programs and link you to some of the best affiliate and referral programs for nonprofits.


What is a Referral Program?

A referral program is developed by companies to encourage customers to recommend their business to friends and family. In exchange for their referral, customers receive a one-time financial gift, discount, or another financial perk.

Nonprofit referral programs are no different. As you know, nonprofits have to pay for online donation processors, peer-to-peer and crowdfunding tools, marketing products, and more. Companies selling these products rely on word-of-mouth, especially in the digital age, with so many options. If your nonprofit regularly connects with other organizations in your town, you can share your experience with them and receive a small stipend when they sign up to try it out.


Donorbox Referral Rewards Program

Donorbox is one of the most affordable and user-friendly online fundraising and donor management tools, used by over 80,000 organizations across 96 countries. We offer a plethora of features including Recurring Donations, Crowdfunding, Peer-to-Peer, Events, Memberships, Donor Management, Text-to-Give, and more.

Donorbox’s nonprofit referral program is easy to sign up for. If you already have a Donorbox account and have raised at least $100 with Donorbox, you can share your success with others and earn a few dollars in exchange. If you’re yet to start fundraising with Donorbox, here’s a guide to help you get started in four simple steps.

You’ll be able to access your referral link from the Donorbox dashboard here after 24 hours of raising at least $100 with Donorbox. As shown in the below screenshot, you can share your referral link with others in three different ways –

  1. Copying the link and sharing it with them.
  2. Clicking any of the social media links and sharing the referral link with your network.
  3. Sending an email invite right from the tool.

Screenshot showing the Donorbox referrals page.

Earn Referral Rewards With Donorbox

Once your referral organization signs up and raises their first $100 with Donorbox, you’ll both get rewarded a $50 Tango gift card that can be redeemed at Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Google Play.

You can refer as many organizations as you want to but to receive the referral rewards, they must only sign up to Donorbox using your referral link.

Have all your queries answered about the Donorbox Referral Rewards Program at this FAQs page.


Other Notable Referral Programs for Nonprofits

Donorbox isn’t the only nonprofit referral program. Below are a few other options for your organization to check out.


1. Bloomerang

Bloomerang provides nonprofits with a donor management system, online donation tools, and marketing options for a monthly fee. If you’re one of Bloomerang’s current customers, they’ll send you $250 for every new referral that signs up with Bloomerang.

All you have to do is fill out Bloomerang’s referral form, and a professional Account Executive will contact the referred organization and set up a demo. 30 days after they become a paying customer, you’ll receive a $250 Amazon gift card or cash donation to your nonprofit.


2. OneCause

OneCause offers nonprofits different packages for online fundraising, events, auction, peer-to-peer, text-to-give campaign software, and more. If you’ve had a good experience with this company, you may want to share this with other organizations and benefit in return. OneCause lets nonprofits earn unlimited referrals to new organizations.

You can earn $250 for every organization that signs up for a mobile bidding or fundraising platform or $500 for every peer-to-peer referral. Still, you’ll only receive one reward for each organization. Nonprofits receive credit toward future invoices within 60 days of their referral’s signup for a subscription.


3. RallyUp

nonprofit referral programs

RallyUp offers two programs that nonprofits can use for fundraising. Their referral program lets current customers sign up and get a unique referral link. They can then share the link on social media, by email, on their blog, podcast, or anywhere they reach other organizations.

If an organization uses your link to sign up for RallyUp, you’ll get $100 whenever your referral raises $1,000.


4. Neon One

Neon One offers its clients CRM, fundraising software, event technology, and membership solutions. Current customers can benefit from their referral program by filling out a form for any organization they wish to refer.

If they become a Neon One customer after being contacted by a salesperson, your organization receives a percentage of the revenue raised. Your partner level determines payout percentages.


5. Funraise

Funraise is an online donation tool offering website donation forms, monthly giving programs, peer-to-peer fundraising, event tickets, and more.

Funraise’s Refer a Friend program lets nonprofits sign up fellow organizations to be contacted by Funraise. Once they sign up, you receive a $250 gift card. Nonprofits can also become official Funraise partners by emailing .


What is an Affiliate Program?

Affiliate programs are built by companies to encourage online influencers and individuals with a large online following or network to promote their products and earn a percentage of the sale the company makes from the client when they sign up.

Since the influx of social media, people trust YouTube influencers and other popular online stars as trustworthy as friends. Because of this, affiliate programs have become very popular with freelancers, bloggers, influencers, and marketing agencies.

Nonprofit affiliate programs follow the same formula. They can provide a stable income for fundraising consultants, affiliate marketers, developers, designers, and other individuals whenever their clients raise funds using the recommended tool.


Donorbox Affiliate Partner Program

affiliate programs for nonprofits

Donorbox offers fundraising consultants, developers, designers, or any other affiliate marketers an excellent opportunity to become a trusted Donorbox partner and receive a 15% commission on their client’s Donorbox fees for the next 3 years.

As soon as you sign up to become a Donorbox partner, you receive a unique link to share with your clients, users, or audiences. The tracking cookies last for 45 days. Your client must sign up within 45 days since they click on your affiliate link. You start receiving commissions when your client starts receiving donations on Donorbox.

Our program currently runs on Tapfiliate, where each affiliate partner has its own dashboard to track the performance and commissions. You will receive your affiliate commissions through PayPal.

There’s a minimum payout limit of $50. If your commission amount is less than that, we’ll wait until you’ve reached that amount.

Donorbox does not allow retroactive, manual affiliations. Read our complete list of terms and conditions on the affiliate partner program.

Have all your other queries answered about the Donorbox Affiliate Partner Program at the FAQs page here.

Become a Donorbox Partner


Other Notable Affiliate Programs for Nonprofits

Several nonprofit companies, online donation tools, software services, and product sales companies offer affiliate marketing options for influencers and nonprofit consultants.


1. GiveWP

Bloggers, consultants, freelancers, and agencies can all sign up for GiveWP’s Affiliate Program.

Just set up an account, share a unique affiliate link, and receive 30% of all revenue generated from your first 24 referrals. After that, you can receive 40% off each referral. Affiliate marketers also receive discounts and customer offers they can share with their audience and help from a dedicated affiliate program manager.


2. DonorSnap

Anyone with an audience of nonprofits in the US or Canada can sign up for DonorSnap’s Affiliate Program and provide their audience with affordable donor management and marketing options.

Fill out their online form and gain access to an affiliate portal and links. Once anyone signs up as a paying customer, you receive $200. Payouts are made every month. Self-referrals are not allowed.


3. Donatefundme

Donatefundme lets anyone raise money for anything through their crowdfunding campaign website. If you’re a blogger or influencer with an audience interested in crowdfunding, you can sign up for Donatefundme’s Affiliate Program and share your unique link across social media and other online options.

You’ll earn 15% from every donation and $5 for every 500 impressions or clicks.


4. Fundraising.com

best affiliate programs for nonprofits

Fundraising.com started as a “lollipop company,” offering one product for nonprofits to sell. They now partner with hundreds of sales companies to allow nonprofits with fundraising sales options.

Affiliate marketers, bloggers, influencers, and consultants looking to share more ways for nonprofits to raise money can sign up and receive a unique affiliate link. Share the link online, and receive $3 for each free fundraising guide request.

You’ll also receive a 10% commission on all sales generated through their online fundraising campaigns or sales with partner stores.


5. Greater Good

Greater Good lets people play games to earn and shop to support people, pets, and the planet. Its Affiliate Program runs through Commission Junction and lets you earn a percentage of every sale.

The average order value for people using Greater Good is $40, and they have a higher-than-normal conversion and return visitor rate because of their charitable purpose. Their affiliate program offers a 2 to 8 percent tiered commission structure and $4.27 earnings per click.

Cookies are good for 45 days. Premium affiliates also get access to exclusive rates, promotions, and coupons.


Final Thoughts

If you’re a nonprofit that has worked hard to develop relationships with other nonprofits, don’t shy away from sharing the tools that worked best for you. As a blogger, influencer, and nonprofit consultant, it’s also your responsibility to inform your audience of all the options they can use to raise funds.

Referral and affiliate programs for nonprofits give organizations and individuals a way to share products they love with others in their community. They’re also an excellent way to raise passive income.

Donorbox is an all-in-one solution being used by 80,000+ organizations across 96 countries. Our simple yet powerful features have helped them raise over $2 billion in donations. If you’re one of them and Donorbox has helped improve your online fundraising efforts, share it with your network of nonprofits. Pave the way for success and growth for other organizations through Donorbox’s referral program.

If you’d like to meet other nonprofit professionals and grow your network, Donorbox Community is an excellent place for you to check out.

Donorbox is there for nonprofits with an array of helpful resources including the Nonprofit Blog. Find insightful blogs, downloadable checklists and templates, thorough guides, and more to boost donations and acquire more donors. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to receive a curated list of all our best resources for the month in your inbox.

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Kristine Ensor is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience working with local and international nonprofits. As a nonprofit professional she has specialized in fundraising, marketing, event planning, volunteer management, and board development.

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