New Tricks creates websites with donation functionality for a number of nonprofit organizations. One client, Sheltering Arms for Kids, provides childcare services for children from working, mixed-income families. When the coronavirus put their in-person programming on hold, the organization had to pivot quickly to provide their families with the food and diapers they now needed at home. This called for raising money – and fast.
Before the coronavirus struck, we had been researching new fundraising options for Sheltering Arms. The donation functionality they were using was state-of-the-art at one time, but was now difficult and time-consuming to use as compared to newer solutions. Our search turned up an exciting new option, Fundraise Up. We scheduled a demo and by the end of it, we were hooked!
Why I Love Fundraise Up
According to data from Fundraise Up, organizations using their program can raise 2x more money from every campaign with the same amount of traffic. That’s huge!
Here is how they’re able to accomplish that incredible feat!
It has a well-designed user interface
I love a well-designed, user-friendly software interface. In fact, a program’s appearance and ease-of-use is a big determining factor in how often I use it. If I get frustrated or confused, I’ll avoid use at all costs. If it’s fun and enjoyable to use, I’ll be in there every day. Fundraise Up makes it a delight to check the progress of your campaigns with sophisticated but approachable analytics. When I set up the Sheltering Arms system, I included my email to receive donation notifications. Following the launch, I was going to turn the notifications off, but frankly, it’s just too much fun to watch the money roll in!
It’s easy to use
After one demo, I found Fundraise Up intuitive and easy to configure. I was able to connect seamlessly to Sheltering Arms’ Stripe account, create a campaign using a variety of donation widgets, and link Fundraise Up to the organization’s WordPress site using a plugin. I created a donation landing page on the client’s website so users could donate within the site itself rather than going to an unfamiliar third-party URL. I set up donation confirmation and thank you emails that are sent out automatically following each donation.
It’s smart as hell
Most nonprofits collect data on their donors, but only a small percentage of them use that data to optimize their fundraising. Fundraise Up helps maximize donations using artificial intelligence and predictive analytics. For example, the suggested donation amount for a particular visitor automatically updates based on such items as donation history, location of the donor’s IP address, and the number of times the visitor has been to the site. As an end-user, you get all the benefits of this data crunching and utilization that automatically optimizes the effectiveness of your campaigns.
It includes unique features that allow for creative fundraising options
With so many nonprofits competing for limited dollars, organizations must get creative and make the donation process easy. Here a few features Fundraise Up offers to maximize fundraising campaign results. Each one is optional to include and easy to customize.
- Recurring donation functionality – Prompt donors to make their donation recur on a monthly basis.
- Option for donors to cover transaction fees – Ask donors if they’d like to cover credit card and Fundraise Up donation fees along with their donation.
- Smooth checkout process – Create fast load times and streamlined form fields to dramatically cut the time it takes to make a donation. This helps Fundraise Up to claim a 37% conversion rate as compared to the industry average of 18%.
- Suggested donation amounts – Donors select larger donation amounts determined by machine learning 50% of the time!
- Analytics – Fundraise Up tracks everything! In addition to seeing the total dollars raised, you’ll see at a glance the number of visitors who saw your donation page, interacted with donation elements, made it to the checkout page, abandoned the final step, and so much more. All of these easy-to-understand analytics and AB testing allow you to compare results among campaigns that used different approaches so you can make informed decisions about which elements to use in the future.
- CRM integrations – Fundraise Up integrates with five CRM donation management systems including Salesforce and Raiser’s Edge. This connection allows donation history to inform suggested donation amounts. It also ensures that new donations are saved in your donation management tool.
Bottom line, if you want to raise money on your website, sign up for a demo. With the conversion rates what they are, you can’t afford to waste any time in getting Fundraise Up set up on your site!
