Automate Archives - Bloomerang

[ASK AN EXPERT] Do I Really Have To Worry About AI?

Claire Axelrad — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Our Ask An Expert series features real questions answered by Claire Axelrad, J.D., CFRE, our very own Fundraising Coach, also known as Charity Clairity. Today’s question comes from a nonprofit employee who wants advice on how small nonprofits should approach using artificial intelligence (AI):

Dear Charity Clairity,

Everyone is talking about AI, so I fear I can’t ignore it. But we’re a small nonprofit, I’m not particularly tech savvy, and I just don’t know where to begin. Can I wait for the bigger organizations to figure this out, and then jump on the bandwagon later?

— Overwhelmed, dazed and confused

Dear Overwhelmed, dazed and confused,

I had a boss in 2010 who told me “social media is a fad.”

Gulp.

It wasn’t.

Similarly, AI is here to stay.

So, best to stop being scared of it.

Dig into the technology (e.g., ChatGPT, Anthropic Claude, Gemini), and see what it’s capable of.

And remember: What it can do now is way less than what it will be able to do next year. And the year after that.

So, if you’re at all strategic, you can no longer be so without becoming comfortable with AI.

Why AI is worth paying attention to

It will soon be impossible to do your job without it.

Most likely 80% of the work people do in business today will be AI-assisted, at least in part, within the next two years.

Let’s say you do 20 things/month. Look at them and ask: how much can AI help me with these things? How can it enhance what I’m capable of doing? Can it actually automate some of these tasks?

Let’s say 50% of your tasks could be benefited by this technology. That would save you as much as 10 – 20 hours a week. Arguably, a small nonprofit can benefit from AI even more than a larger one. And, on a personal level, if you can save resources this way, you’ll become insanely valuable within your organization. Worth considering!

AI won’t go away.

What to do

Consider how you learn best; then engage in education and training.

Reading? Listening? Watching? Doing?

Take some time to curate some AI educational resources that match your favorite learning method. I highly recommend listening to AI Explored, a free YouTube podcast series put together by Michael Stelzner, founder of Social Media Examiner. Back about 15 years ago, I learned much of what I know about content, inbound marketing, and social engagement from him. That was then; this is now. This series will cover everything you need to know to understand how AI can most effectively serve your nonprofit.

I just listened to a podcast episode featuring Paul Roetzer, founder and CEO of Marketing AI Institute, and want to share some of his tips.

Pick one to three tools to go deep into; practice.

In other words, have AI help you with some of the tasks you identified earlier. For example:

Ask it to write a newsletter article; email headline;
Ask for a draft of an agenda for your event;
Ask it to identify speakers

You’ll see ways to blend the technology into your workflow.

You can’t simply listen to what others do. You must experiment yourself.

AI wants you to play.

Prepare yourself

You need to take some time to think about what you want it to do, and then experiment.

Just because you tried it a year ago, and thought it was meh, doesn’t mean you adequately prepared yourself for what it can do. Also, today’s versions (and paid versions) are infinitely more capable than yesterday’s versions.

Here are some practice tips:

Talk to it like a person.
Tell it specifically what you need help with.
Tell it why you need this help.
Tell it what you want to accomplish.
Ask it what it needs to know from you to do what you need.
Give it examples of what you did before and ask it to make improvements (e.g., shorter, snappier, funnier, using more emotional adjectives, warmer, etc.). Again, be specific (e.g., 2 pages; no more than 10 words; multiple use of the words “you,” “your,” and “us.”).
Ask it where it would insert images.
Ask it for some variations of what it just did. Ask it what else it would suggest.

The more you practice, the better you’ll get.

As you learn how to prompt it, it will begin to understand your style and, more or less, prompt itself. In other words, if you offer a super-wordy prompt, it will rewrite it (internally) and improve on what you wrote. In fact, Google found the best performing prompts are, on average, 21 words. [Bonus Tip: If you want to learn how to prompt more effectively, ask the AI what prompt it used to deliver your results.]

AI is getting better, fast.

What can you do besides draft text?

There’s generative AI and predictive AI.

More people are familiar with the former, where you use it to draft text. It’s equally good at the latter, which involves data analysis.

To grasp how this works, understand all AI models have vision capability. They can “see” things. They can understand what they see.

This means you can feed them data, a screen shot, a URL or a pdf.; then ask them “what’s happening here?” You can tell them the criteria you use to assess something (e.g. a web page; email series; ad campaign; even whether or not your major donor has received sufficient touches and moves to be asked for a gift) and ask them what they see. They’ll suggest things (like more images; different colors; less text; alternate placement; timing, etc.).

AI is here to stay.

Ground rules

Develop generative AI policies that give you basic guidelines.

These help everyone in your organization, internally and externally.

Which tools are you allowed to use? (e.g., AI-generated images? Video?)
For which use cases?
What are acceptable inputs?
Which data will you allow it to access?
How will you keep information secure and protect privacy?

One way to start developing an AI policy for your organization is to search the internet for “responsible AI framework.” You’ll get a lot of hits from businesses (e.g., KPMG , IBM) and also from places like Project Evident for responsible AI adoption in philanthropy. There are also many templates from which you can borrow (see here, here, and here).

Create a draft policy; run it by an attorney to make sure you’re not running afoul of copyright, trademark, breach of confidentiality, unintentional bias, or other potential pitfalls.

Put your generative AI policy on your website so folks know you have a policy and are acting above-board. AI is best used transparently, ethically and legally.

With AI, and anything else, there’s a right way.

The best way to become un-overwhelmed is to alleviate fear and confusion by digging in!

— Charity Clairity (Please use a pseudonym if you prefer to be anonymous when you submit your own question, like “Overwhelmed, dazed and confused” did.)

Have you had success using AI for fundraising? Let us know in the comments.

The post [ASK AN EXPERT] Do I Really Have To Worry About AI? appeared first on Bloomerang.

Bloomerang + Gratavid: Automate Your Giving Tuesday Thank You Process

Sara Salako — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 15:24:09 +0000

During this interactive webinar, learn how to simplify your Giving Tuesday through various integrations and automation. Also, learn about increasing giving, retaining your donors, and making this year’s Giving Tuesday the best one yet!

The post Bloomerang + Gratavid: Automate Your Giving Tuesday Thank You Process appeared first on Bloomerang.

15 Top Online Fundraising Platforms to Ramp Up Donations

Jay Love — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 13:30:36 +0000

Online fundraising is essential for nonprofits, but these types of initiatives come with unique challenges. Average online fundraising revenue declined by 1% in 2023, a continued downward trend after two years of monumental growth inspired by the global pandemic. To ramp up fundraising even in the face of challenges, your nonprofit must equip the right online fundraising platform for your needs.

This guide dives deep into virtual fundraising platforms your nonprofit can use to strengthen your online fundraising strategy, comparing features, costs, and more. We’ll cover:

What are online fundraising platforms?
What are the different types of donation platforms?
Top online fundraising sites for nonprofits

First, let’s discuss the basics of fundraising platforms and why they’re a good investment for your nonprofit.

What are online fundraising platforms?

Online fundraising platforms or fundraising sites for nonprofits are software solutions that your organization can use to solicit, accept, and process donations made via the internet.

These platforms can be used for year-round fundraising for your annual fund or they can be used for individual fundraising campaigns hosted during certain times of the year. For example, one tool might power the standard online giving page on your website, while simultaneously using another different platform to host a timely crowdfunding campaign for a specific program. Both of these virtual fundraising platforms raise money online, but in different ways and under slightly different circumstances.

Benefits of online fundraising platforms

An online fundraising platform offers the following benefits for your fundraising strategy:

Store and assess donor data to create targeted outreach campaigns. With the help of an online fundraising solution that’s integrated with your nonprofit CRM, you can automatically store donor information in donor profiles. This allows you to track all donor interactions and reach out to donors at the right times.
Give donors an easy way to show their support. Supporters can use these platforms to give quickly and easily from their laptops, desktop computers, and mobile devices. Many online fundraising sites also have tools for supporters to gather donations on behalf of your organization.
Report on fundraising data. Fundraising platforms can consolidate all fundraising data in one system, allowing you to get an at-a-glance view of your ongoing fundraising campaigns. By using a fundraising tool that integrates with other software solutions, you can ensure seamless data transfers between platforms, enhancing your reporting capabilities.

Essentially, online fundraising platforms are robust systems that increase fundraising efficiency by consolidating fundraising data, reports, and donor information in one place.

Features to look for in a virtual fundraising platform

Online fundraising platform features vary based on each solution’s main focus, but some solutions offer multiple features within one system. Here are a few common features of fundraising platforms:

Customizable donation pages
Peer-to-peer and crowdfunding functionality
Communications and marketing tools
A secure payment processing platform
Recurring giving opportunities
Donation analytics
Text-to-donate capabilities

For most nonprofits, it’s often worth finding an online fundraising platform that offers multiple or all of these features within one system. That makes it easier to keep your data organized and immediately accessible.

Common costs associated with online fundraising tools

Before we dive into our list of top fundraising sites for nonprofits, it’s helpful to know the common costs and payment terminology associated with these solutions. Here are a few types of fees to know about:

Platform fees: The cost of using the fundraising platform, typically billed annually or monthly.
Processing fees: Charges from payment processors (like PayPal or Stripe) to process online transactions.
Transaction fees: A percentage or fixed fee levied on each donation.

There may be additional fees depending on the system you invest in, such as data migration or platform implementation costs.

You may also be interested in using a free fundraising platform. These solutions are budget-friendly for growing nonprofits looking to level up their fundraising. However, some platforms that initially seem free may come with unforeseen startup costs. Do your research before choosing a platform to ensure you understand all the costs required for the full setup process.

What are the different types of donation platforms?

Donation platforms encompass more than just solutions for accepting online donations. These software tools can manage a wide variety of fundraising activities, including:

Crowdfunding: Create a primary campaign page and share it via social media, email, and other digital platforms to collect donations from a wide audience.
Peer-to-peer fundraising: Empower supporters to create personal fundraising pages based on your nonprofit’s main campaign page and share their pages with family members and friends.
Auctions: Plan silent and live auctions with tools that make it easy to procure items, plan the event, facilitate bidding, and deliver items to winners.
Events: Plan and carry out engaging nonprofit events such as walk-a-thons, concerts, galas, and other fundraising opportunities.
Merchandise: Design custom, branded merchandise, such as T-shirts, mugs, or hats, to sell to supporters and generate a new revenue stream.
Text-to-give: Use a centralized platform to create a text-to-give keyword and facilitate SMS donations.

Our list below includes options for each of these fundraising activities to help you find the right tool for your specific needs and goals.

Top online fundraising sites for nonprofits

Because fundraising platforms can be used in so many different circumstances and there are so many providers out there, we’ve compiled a list of the top solutions and compared each platform based on features and pricing.

Fundraising platform	Favorite feature	Pricing
Bloomerang	Donor profiles	Starts at $119 per month
Qgiv	Mobile-friendly fundraising campaigns	Free to get started with
Fundraise Up	AI-powered donor stewardship suggestions	4% fee per transaction
Donately	Donation pages	4% platform fee
Snowball Fundraising	Text-to-give process	2.9% + 30¢ transaction fee
Bonfire	T-shirt fundraising	3.5% processing fee
OneCause	Mobile bidding	Depends on the package
Regpack	Registrations	$125 per month with a 2.1% payment processing fee
Handbid	Auctions	3.5% + 30¢ credit card processing fee
Eventbrite	Event ticketing	Scalable pricing based on tickets sold
Gratavid	Donor appreciation videos	Contact for pricing
TrueGivers	Data hygiene and screening	Minimum $2,500 for use of the platform as a service
DonorSearch	Prospect research and wealth screening	Contact for pricing
GiveButter	Multi-platform fundraising tools	2.9% + 30¢ processing fee
360MatchPro	Matching gift fundraising	Starts at $999 per year

1. Bloomerang

Online fundraising platform overview:

Bloomerang is the top donor management solution on the market. Our specialty is helping nonprofits build relationships with supporters through their fundraising campaigns.

Once supporters give to your nonprofit through your virtual fundraising platforms, this information is stored in your Bloomerang database. This data can then be used to improve your donor retention strategy, which leads to more revenue.

Our favorite features:

Some of the features Bloomerang offers include:

Robust donor profiles. The profiles provide a centralized view of each donor’s engagement with your nonprofit and help you create effective messages based on your donor data.
Interactive dashboard. Customize your dashboard to show the fundraising metrics most important to your nonprofit’s mission and campaign success. You can use it to keep an eye on your donor retention rate, campaign progress, and more.
Customized reports. Pull reports with the most important metrics for your nonprofit’s success. These reports provide in-depth information about your top donors, monthly supporters, loyal constituents, and more.

Bloomerang was built by fundraising professionals in the industry, ensuring the software is equipped with the tools necessary to capture data and engage your audience both now and in the future.

Pricing:

Bloomerang’s pricing starts at $119 per month and scales based on the size of your nonprofit.

2. Qgiv

Online fundraising platform overview:

Qgiv offers a virtual fundraising platform that lets nonprofits make the most of online and hybrid event opportunities. Their event pages are only the beginning; they also provide registration and ticketing pages to attract and process attendees.

Our favorite features:

Qgiv is one of the most effective and successful virtual platforms for events because of its features like:

Peer-to-peer software. Generate excitement leading up to your next event with Qgiv’s peer-to-peer fundraising software. Ask volunteers to invite their friends and family to attend your next event while also spreading the word about your upcoming event opportunity.
Online auction tools. If you’re hosting an auction, you can take it online with Qgiv. Supporters can view auction items and bid online during virtual, in-person, or hybrid events.
Text-to-give software. Qgiv’s text-to-donate platform can be used during events, allowing supporters to give to your organization via their mobile device.

Qgiv has several integration partners that can help you make the most of your fundraising strategies and events, including Salesforce, DonorPerfect, and Bloomerang. The Bloomerang integration allows your nonprofit to map all of the data you collect through Qgiv campaigns to the correct donor profiles in your donor database.

Pricing:

Get started with Qgiv’s free plan, or level up to their $25 per month Giving Essentials plan. Learn more about pricing.

3. Fundraise Up

Online fundraising platform overview:

Fundraise Up is a virtual fundraising platform that is dedicated to creating a speedy giving process for supporters. This dedication to speed helps drive conversions, earning your organization more donations through your website.

Our favorite features:

The Fundraise Up platform includes the following features:

Mobile responsiveness. With Fundraise Up, all of your donation pages automatically resize to fit any size screen. This means all of your supporters will have a smooth donation process, no matter if they give from their laptop, tablet, or mobile phone.
Suggested donation amounts powered by machine learning. Suggested donation amounts can create a sense of social proof, giving supporters a frame of reference as to how much is “normal” to give. Using Fundraise Up’s AI technology, you can determine the right donation request amount for each donor and determine the best times to request upgrades.
Powerful peer-to-peer fundraising features. These features include donor portals where fundraisers can view their stats, such as how much they’ve raised so far and who is giving to their pages.

Fundraise Up also integrates seamlessly with your Bloomerang donor database. All of the donation information collected via Fundraise Up pages will be reflected automatically in the donors’ profiles and the funds raised will be recorded as a part of the campaign in Bloomerang.

Pricing:

Fundraise Up’s pricing starts with a self-managed option that extracts a 4% transaction fee. Learn more about pricing.

4. Donately

Online fundraising platform overview:

Donately provides a virtual fundraising platform for nonprofits, churches, businesses, and agencies. They provide donation pages that are specifically designed to convert more website visitors into donors.

Our favorite features:

These modern donation pages include features such as:

Customization options. Catch your donor’s eye by leveraging Donately’s customization features to brand your fundraising pages to your organization. Then, embed that page directly into your website for a seamless user experience.
Recurring donation buttons. By including a recurring donation button directly on your donation page, you’ll encourage supporters to give on a regular basis.

Donately provides a dashboard that makes it easy for your nonprofit to gather fundraising data from your donation pages. You can view all kinds of insights from this dashboard, such as the average donation amount and weeks with the highest donation volume.

Pricing:

Donately offers a free plan with a 4% platform fee. Learn more about pricing.

5. Snowball Fundraising

Online fundraising platform overview:

Snowball Fundraising offers a virtual fundraising platform designed for text-to-give campaigns. This solution is perfect for events and on-the-go fundraising campaigns where supporters can contribute by simply texting the number associated with your campaign.

Our favorite features:

Snowball’s text-to-donate functionality is a user-friendly feature for both donors and nonprofit staff.

Here’s what the text-to-give process looks like using Snowball’s software:

Your nonprofit chooses a toll-free or shortcode number to associate with your campaign.
Supporters send a customized trigger word and their donation amount via text message to the associated number.
Supporters receive a link that connects them directly to your organization’s giving page.
Supporters click the link and their donation is processed in seconds from their mobile device.

Using this software, supporters at your auction can also leverage your dedicated phone number to submit bids for various auction items.

Pricing:

Get started with the free Essential plan that comes with a 2.9% + 30¢ transaction fee. Learn more about pricing.

6. Bonfire

Online fundraising platform overview:

Bonfire is a t-shirt fundraising platform that allows your nonprofit to set up an online store that supporters can visit to buy your organization’s branded t-shirts.

Our favorite features:

To make the most of your t-shirt fundraising campaigns, Bonfire offers the following features:

Customizable t-shirts. Upload your own artwork to the Bonfire platform or use their design tools to create a shirt that is branded to your organization. Feature different branded designs for specific campaigns or offer a collection of staples all year long.
Various merchandise types. While Bonfire brands itself as a t-shirt fundraising platform, you’re not limited to only selling t-shirts. Bonfire also offers hats, tank tops, sweatshirts, mugs, pet clothes, and more, all of which can be branded to your organization.
Branded online stores. Use your organization’s own logo and colors to customize your online store.

Although there’s a processing fee to use the software, registered nonprofits receive a heavy discount.

Pricing:

Verified nonprofits can access a reduced 3.5% processing fee.

7. OneCause

Online fundraising platform overview:

OneCause offers a number of solutions as a part of its online fundraising platform, all of which can be used to enhance your online fundraising strategies. However, their platform’s bread and butter is the mobile bidding solution.

Our favorite features:

OneCause’s mobile bidding software provides tools that help with every step of the online auction process, including:

Developing solicitation letters and tracking various items’ procurement status as you work to fill out your auction item list.
Selling variously priced ticket packages.
Encouraging people to bid on their favorite auction items directly from their mobile devices. They’ll receive alerts when they’re outbid, increasing engagement and potentially jumpstarting bidding wars.
Allowing your auction winners to check out directly from their phones.

OneCause offers unlimited auction events as a part of their software subscription package. If you host auctions throughout the year, OneCause is an effective and efficient way to get the event tools your organization needs.

Pricing:

Visit the OneCause website for information on pricing plans.

8. Regpack

Online fundraising platform overview:

Regpack’s online fundraising platform is first and foremost a registration solution. Your nonprofit can encourage supporters to sign up for your various classes through custom registration pages and embeddable registration forms.

Our favorite features:

Regpack supports different types of learning opportunities, such as:

Online courses. If you offer online learning opportunities for supporters, volunteers, or other community members, use Regpack to set up a streamlined registration process. Gather insights about conversions, learn about the individuals who signed up, and raise funds all at the same time.
Camps. Do you offer camps or similar opportunities? Regpack can help facilitate camp sign-ups, streamline operations, and get data-driven insights to inform future camp offerings.

Regpack’s software can create a seamless registration experience with conditional logic. Conditional logic allows your nonprofit to personalize the registration process for all of your supporters. For example, you might ask your event attendees about dietary restrictions. Those who say they don’t have any notable restrictions will move on to the next question, while those who say they do will be prompted to give additional information.

Pricing:

Regpack’s pricing starts at $125 per month with a 2.1% payment processing fee.

9. Handbid

Online fundraising platform overview:

Handbid is an auction platform designed for nonprofit organizations. They provide auction software as well as other fundraising tools for hosting peer-to-peer and crowdfunding campaigns.

Our favorite features:

This virtual fundraising platform offers a number of unique opportunities for nonprofits to engage their audiences, including:

Web-based and live event auctions. Choose the options that will best engage your particular audience.
Livestreaming tools. Your nonprofit can livestream various auction activities and opportunities during your virtual and hybrid events.
Handbid TV. Handbid offers a broadcast of live metrics from the auction so supporters can see how you’re progressing toward your fundraising goals.

Handbid’s platform provides multiple convenient ways for your supporters to stay engaged in your auction.

Pricing:

Handbid offers custom auction packages. All packages come with a 3.5% + 0.30 credit card processing fee.

10. Eventbrite

Online fundraising platform overview:

Eventbrite offers a basic event registration solution for organizations or individuals, whether they’re trying to raise money or simply encouraging more people to attend a free event. It’s the perfect solution for small nonprofits that are just getting started with virtual and in-person event opportunities.

Our favorite features:

Eventbrite offers essential event-hosting features, including:

Customized event pages. Customize your Eventbrite page with your organization’s logo, colors, and images.
Ticket sales. Sell tickets through your event registration page. For events giving away free tickets, the Eventbrite platform is also free!
Attendee marketplace. Your organization can gain access to new viewership through the Eventbrite attendee marketplace, which allows those who follow Eventbrite to see your event and sign up.

Eventbrite is perfect for organizations that are just starting to throw events.

Pricing:

Eventbrite is free for your first 25 tickets sold and pricing scales up from there. Learn more on the Eventbrite pricing page.

11. Gratavid

Online fundraising platform overview:

The average donor retention rate is around 45%. Increasing your donor retention rate is one of the fastest paths to increasing your revenue. And how do you increase this rate? By showing appreciation for your supporters.

Gratavid is a software solution that enables your nonprofit to send personalized thank you video messages to each of your supporters.

Our favorite features:

This software offers features that give you the ability to:

Customize your videos to match your brand.
Add social sharing buttons to spread the word about your appreciation.
Send videos through email and text messages.
Integrate with other top platforms on the market, including Bloomerang.

Thank you videos are the perfect way to thank your supporters who give via virtual fundraising platforms.

Pricing:

Contact for pricing.

12. TrueGivers

Online fundraising platform overview:

TrueGivers provides nonprofits with insight into the donors in their databases through CRM data hygiene and enhancement sergices.

Our favorite features:

The software provides helpful features such as:

National Change of Address updates. Get notified when a supporter’s address changes. That way, you can reach them via direct mail and encourage them to update their credit card information if necessary.
Deceased information. When you know that someone has passed away, you can reach out to their family and offer condolences for their loss.
Notification emails. Get updates about your supporters’ information, allowing you to take required actions right away.

TrueGivers is most helpful when paired with a donor database, allowing you to keep your supporter information updated.

Pricing:

The platform as a service is a minimum of $2,500 per month. Most users leverage this service as a CRM integration, with varied pricing. Visit the TrueGivers website for custom data services pricing information.

13. DonorSearch

Online fundraising platform overview:

DonorSearch is a prospect research tool for learning about your supporters’ philanthropic and wealth indicators, providing insight into their capacity and affinity to give. This enables you to identify potential mid-tier and major donors.

Our favorite features:

The best part about DonorSearch is how nonprofits can use it to create better-informed fundraising strategies and connect with donors on a more personal level. For example, you can use DonorSearch’s tools to:

Create a VIP package for your next hybrid or virtual event, inviting mid-tier and major supporters with a more upscale experience.
Develop specialized outreach for your major supporters before, during, and after a virtual fundraising campaign.
Ask prospects to get involved in ways other than donating, like volunteering.

DonorSearch also integrates with a number of donor databases, including Bloomerang. This means you’ll see each donor’s generosity and engagement data in their Bloomerang profile.

Pricing:

Contact the DonorSearch team for pricing information.

14. Givebutter

Online fundraising platform overview:

Givebutter is a virtual fundraising platform that allows your organization to launch campaigns, and events, collect and process donations from your website, and send emails and texts to your donors. Supporters can give however is most convenient for them as Givebutter accepts a number of payment methods, including Venmo, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH, and standard credit cards.

Our favorite features:

Givebutter’s platform also offers other types of fundraising tools, like:

Peer-to-peer fundraising. Leverage Givebutter’s peer-to-peer and multi-team fundraising functionality to raise money during campaigns and events.
Ticket sales. Use Givebutter’s event ticketing software to sell tickets to your next gala, race, or reception. There’s a QR code featured on each ticket, making it easy for your supporters to scan their tickets when they arrive at your event.

Givebutter also integrates with Bloomerang! All you’ll need to do is copy your Bloomerang API Key into Givebutter. Then, you can configure your integration settings, mapping your information so that it appears automatically in your donor database from your Givebutter forms and fundraising pages.

Pricing:

Givebutter has no platform fees but a 2.9% + 30¢ processing fee.

15. 360MatchPro

Online fundraising platform overview:

360MatchPro by Double the Donation is a matching gift platform that can help amplify your fundraising efforts and increase the revenue from your virtual fundraisers by identifying corporate giving opportunities.

Our favorite features:

You can leverage 360MatchPro to discover and automate the matching gift identification process through tools like:

Email domain identification. This tool identifies potential matching gift eligibility by scanning the email domains of your supporters through a matching gift database. Then it connects supporters who have email addresses from companies that offer these programs with their company’s matching gift application.
Email automation. Send automated emails to each of your eligible supporters, informing them about the potential to double (or even triple) their donation to your organization through their employer’s matching gift program.
Revenue dashboard. Use the dashboard to track your revenue that comes in from matching gifts.

Many donations are eligible to be matched, but donors don’t often know that. With Double the Donation, you can identify and inform these supporters of this opportunity, raising even more funds.

Pricing:

The Standard plan is $999 per year. Learn more about pricing.

Wrapping up

Make sure your organization is ready for your next online fundraising campaign by choosing the right software solutions to meet your needs.

If you’d like to learn more about virtual fundraising and software that can amplify your strategies, check out these additional resources:

19 Incredibly Easy Online Fundraising Ideas and Expert Tips. As you start planning your next fundraising campaign, check out these helpful virtual fundraising ideas.
The 25 Best Fundraising Software Solutions to Boost Results. If you’re looking for even more fundraising solutions for your nonprofit, check out this guide.
How to Buy Fundraising Software That Lasts: Essential Guide. Before you purchase your next virtual fundraising platform, read this guide to help make the right decision.

The post 15 Top Online Fundraising Platforms to Ramp Up Donations appeared first on Bloomerang.

Bloomerang + Zapier: Automating an eCommerce Store With Bloomerang

Sara Salako — Mon, 22 May 2023 15:51:49 +0000

Many organizations are beginning to use eCommerce stores to sell physical, digital, and symbolic products. Learn how you can use the Bloomerang Zapier app to sync new orders in your eCommerce store to Bloomerang.

Learn how the following works in Bloomerang:
• eCommerce integration with Zapier
• Dynamic workflows and custom automation mapping

The post Bloomerang + Zapier: Automating an eCommerce Store With Bloomerang appeared first on Bloomerang.

Bloomerang + Gratavid: Automate Your Thank You Process

Sara Salako — Wed, 10 May 2023 19:00:14 +0000

Every year, more than half of our donors leave without making a second donation. We all know donor retention is a major problem facing our industry, but what’s one of the most simple tactics we can implement to improve it? A personalized thank you. In this Bloomerang Booster class, learn how to leverage the Bloomerang & Gratavid add-on integration to automatically thank new donors and create a tiered system to personally thank new donors or high-value gifts.

Learn how the following works in Bloomerang:

• Automatically send a video when a new donation is added to Bloomerang

• Setup rules to create a Gratavid task so you can personally thank new donors or high-value gifts when a new donation is added to Bloomerang

• Automatically send engagement data (video watched, video reply, etc.) back to Bloomerang

The post Bloomerang + Gratavid: Automate Your Thank You Process appeared first on Bloomerang.

Google Alerts for Your Nonprofit:

Kristen Hay — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 14:44:11 +0000

You’ve got donors, supporters, and potential supporters out in your community and beyond. If they’re talking about your nonprofit, you probably want to know what they’re saying, right?

That’s great in theory, but how do you go about doing that? Do you have the time or resources to find out what people are saying?

If you’re like most nonprofit professionals, you’re too busy focusing on your day-to-day tasks to search the internet for mentions of your nonprofit. It doesn’t make sense to have one staff member scour the internet every day for new articles and events.

That’s where Google Alerts come into play. Keep reading to find out what they are, why you should use them, and how to create them.

What is a Google Alert?

A Google Alert is an update that shares information about a specific keyword. Once you set one up, Google will send you an email summary of recent articles and other Internet activity that mention that keyword.

You can choose the sources you want to prioritize and even set things like language, region, and number of results you receive.

The best part? This service is free.

Why should my nonprofit create a Google Alert?

As we mentioned above, it’s good to keep tabs on what people are saying about your nonprofit. Not only that, but you also have the ability to keep up with things like industry news (via a keyword like ‘nonprofit’) or events that might impact the work your nonprofit is doing (via a keyword like ‘hurricane’).

A Google Alert can also help you form meaningful relationships with others and make a greater impact. For example, let’s say you operate a nonprofit organization that builds quality housing for low-income families. A Google Alert could point you toward people within your community who have expressed a need for housing assistance or companies that are searching for a nonprofit to support.

Creating your Google Alerts

First, go to Google Alerts and enter your keyword.

To get the most useful information, click “show options” next to the Create Alert button. You can change the settings to reflect how often you want notifications sent to you, what language you prefer, which specific locations to monitor, and what types of content you want to search.

Next, you’ll have to decide who you want to receive the Google Alerts email summary. Choose someone who can check the alerts regularly and enter their email address.

Tip: We recommend reviewing and editing the alerts as your needs and goals change.

Search terms to use

When setting up your nonprofit Google Alerts, here are a few basic guidelines to follow so that you can select the right terms.

The name of your nonprofit organization: Include alternate and incorrect spellings and acronyms, if applicable.
Names of important people in your organization: This includes founders, board members, and other prominent figures.
Keywords related to the cause you support: Think of things like pet care, health services, women’s leadership, etc.
The area(s) you serve: Include neighborhoods, cities, states, or countries.
Broad industry and fundraising keywords: This could include peer-to-peer campaigns, fundraising, charity, eco-friendly, social justice, and community aid.
Additional descriptors of your mission: Choose words that describe your nonprofit’s mission (ex: animal shelter, transportation, financial education, etc.).

Final tips

Ready to get started but aren’t sure what other keywords to include? Use a keyword checker tool and type in a few words or phrases that closely relate to your organization and your mission.

If you find that a keyword isn’t generating many relevant notifications, you can always remove it from your list of Alerts and add a new one to replace it.

Bloomerang is another powerful but easy-to-use tool that can help your team fundraise more effectively. Reach out to our team to get a Demo.

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Bloomerang + Zapier: Exploring Automations

Sara Salako — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 20:03:27 +0000

Review the Zapier 101 session here.

Review the Zapier 201 session here.

Save time, increase outreach with key constituents, and streamline operational tasks by leveraging automation with Bloomerang. Learn how automation can help your organization increase its fundraising efforts and outcomes by integrating other apps used for donor cultivation and stewardship with your database.

Learning Objectives:

• Common automation opportunities for nonprofits

• How to approach full-system automation

• Examples of nonprofit automation

• Why it is important to adopt a continuous improvement model for automation

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The Value of Embracing Integrations for Nonprofits

Sara Salako — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 14:30:58 +0000

Your e-mail, QuickBooks, your donor database, your bank’s website, PayPal, Venmo, Stripe, etc.…. How many different places do you visit each day to see what’s going on with your nonprofit? And how much time do you spend entering donations and expenses into your accounting software, that are already in another system? You don’t have to do this.

Walk Away With:

• Knowing the best way to properly import expenses paid from ACH, Draft, EFT, Debit card and Credit card into accounting software (QuickBooks primarily)

• Have a general knowledge of the choices out there for importing donations and other revenue from donor databases, payment processes, POS systems and E-commerce websites and how they work.

• Which importing options are good and which are not.

The post The Value of Embracing Integrations for Nonprofits appeared first on Bloomerang.

Quickbooks and Bloomerang: A Match Made In Heaven (Seriously!)

Sara Salako — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 16:31:55 +0000

Is your organization entering revenue into both Bloomerang and QuickBooks? Is someone spending hours trying to reconcile the revenue between the two? Bloomerang has one of the best QuickBooks Online syncs available. Using it will save your organization countless hours of time.

In this interactive webinar, nonprofit QuickBooks expert, Gregg S. Bossen CPA will team up with Bloomerang to walk through exactly how to set up and utilize the Bloomerang-QuickBooks Online sync function! No more double entry of revenue!

Topics include:

• How to adjust your current or new QuickBooks file to be able to receive Bloomerang transactions

• Step by step process for mapping Bloomerang to QuickBooks lists

• Best practice for which QuickBooks fields should be mapped (and which Bloomerang fields they should be mapped to!)

• What to do with the synced transactions once in QuickBooks – completing the deposit

• Dealing with duplicate names

The post Quickbooks and Bloomerang: A Match Made In Heaven (Seriously!) appeared first on Bloomerang.

Bloomerang + Zapier: Automating Updates to Bloomerang Transactions

Sara Salako — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 21:02:38 +0000

Leverage the power of the Bloomerang Zapier app to support your internal, operational procedures. Learn how to automate updates to new transactions in Bloomerang with custom field coding that supports your fundraising and/or fundraising data tracking needs.

It is recommended that attendees review the content in the Zapier 101 and Zapier 201 webinars prior to this session.

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Bloomerang + Zapier: Data Collection Forms

Sara Salako — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 21:31:36 +0000

Organizations use external data collection forms for a variety of purposes. Learn how you can use the Bloomerang Zapier app to sync new submissions of your online web forms to Bloomerang.

The post Bloomerang + Zapier: Data Collection Forms appeared first on Bloomerang.

Bloomerang Automations: Zapier 201

Bloomerang — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 19:43:33 +0000

The connection of Bloomerang to Zapier, an automation platform, enables additional integrations that can be customized to meet your organization’s use case. Utilities in Zapier can support your organization in solving common integration challenges and create automations customized to your use case.

Learn the following:

– How Zapier integrations are different from native integrations

– When to explore Zapier automations

– Explore common integration challenges and solutions using Zapier utilities

– How to get started with Bloomerang and Zapier

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