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15 Most Popular Online Fundraising Sites



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    Even if your group has a website – what if a PayPal Donation button isn’t enough and you still need help with marketing, email services and tracking your donations? Consider trying on of the dozens of online fundraising sites available; we’ve combed the web for you and have come up with a list of the 15 (or so) most popular ones.

    Which one is the right one for you? First, make a list of what kind of services you need: online payments and tracking, online auctions, volunteer management, marketing, e-mail campaigns, website design and hosting? Anything else?

    Then – remember that each of these online fundraising sites is in business to make money from the groups that sign up with them – compare services and fees of three to five of the fundraising services listed. Fees to consider are one-time setup fees, any monthly fees and per transaction fees. Some fees might be higher or lower depending on how much you collect in donation dollars.

    Each of the websites below provides a variety of services, some which might be useful for your group, some won’t. Be sure you don’t pay for services you don’t need and that the customer support offered is sufficient for you. Of course, make sure the website itself appeals to you and is easy to use! (Tip: Raising funds online may present new legal considerations for your group. It may be best to consult your legal adviser before raising funds online.)

    Finally, in order to raise funds online through one of these companies, your group usually has to be an officially registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Are you ready to apply for non-profit status?

    So here we go, the 15 (or so) most popular online fundraising sites – not in any particular order:
    (We occasionally update this list.)

     

    Our list of online fundraising sites:

    GoFundMe.com allows charitable, business and personal fundraising.
    online fundraising site - go fund me

     

    NetworkForGood.org. This company is also the nonprofit processing partner for Causes on Facebook
    online fundraising site - network for good

     

    DonorsChoose.org This one is for teachers only.
    online fundraising site - DonorsChoose

     

    IndieGogo.com. This company offers a platform for fundraising for commercial projects as well as for fundraising for charitable causes.
    online fundraising site - indiegogo

     

    VirginMoneyGiving.com (UK only.)
    VIrgin Money Giving

     

    ChipIn.com Micro-funding site – supporters can give as little as 25 cents. Collect your funds via PayPal. This site is set up for individuals to raise funds on behalf of others.
    online fundraising site - ChipIn

     

    Crowdrise.com. Donations processed by NetworkForGood.org.
    online fundraising site - crowdrise

     

    ThePoint.com (by the creators of Groupon). The Point isn’t only for activists and philanthropists. You can raise money for other purposes as well.
    online fundraising site - the point

     

    FirstGiving.com (JustGiving.com in the UK)
    online fundraising site - FirstGiving

     

    JustGive.org
    online fundraising site - Just Give

     

    Fundly.com
    online fundraising site - fundly

     

    Razoo.com
    online fundraising site - razoo

     

    HopeMob
    online fundraising site - hopemob

     

    GoGetFunding.com
    online fundraising site - Go Get Funding

     

    GivenGain.com
    online fundraising site - given gain

    If you need online fundraising management software:

    Convio.com

    DonorTools.com

    BlackBaud.com

    eTapestry.com

    ServiceU.com

    CharityAdvantage.com

    BlueStateDigital.com

    ClickAndPledge.com

    DonorPerfect.com

     

    After comparing some of these services, ask yourself, if the money you’re going to spend in the form of fees – which reduces your donation dollars – is really worth the service you’re getting.

    Maybe recruiting more volunteers, or putting more effort into marketing your fundraiser would be sufficient for your group.

    * * * * *
    To easily receive updates incl. new articles, fundraising ideas and more subscribe to FundraisingIP.com today.

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      Filed in FUNDRAISING IDEAS, Fundraising: Online, SMS, Social Media | all articles | permalink | 11 responses | email to a friend | Posted or updated on: March 6, 2013

      1. Posted by Sonya 14th October, 2008 at 12:01 pm

        Had no idea all these services existed! Thanks for the list :)

      2. Posted by Create A Website | Fundraiser Ideas and Events 27th January, 2011 at 11:36 am

        [...] (Looking for an online fundraising service that let’s you create your own fundraising campaign and page? Click over to 15 most popular online fundraising services.) [...]

      3. Posted by Accept Online Donations | Fundraiser Ideas and Events 14th June, 2011 at 10:49 pm

        [...] over to our article 15 Most Popular Online Fundraising Services or search for “accepting donations online” to find companies that help you accept [...]

      4. Posted by Scott Schroeder 15th June, 2011 at 3:30 pm

        thanks for the wealth of information. It’s helped me get my project out the door.
        Do you know about http://www.donortools.com/ ? I didn’t see it on your list.

      5. Posted by AJ S 2nd September, 2011 at 3:26 pm

        This looks like a pretty solid list of service providers in the industry, but I noticed that https://www.donationpay.org is missing. We provide totally customized payment pages that match our clients websites, with pricing far lower than other services that provide customized fundraising solutions (like the mentioned Network for Good and Convio).

      6. Posted by Moving Fundraising Efforts Online | Fundraiser Ideas and Events 29th March, 2012 at 4:28 pm

        [...] is small, a free blog will probably be sufficient, or you could simply sign up with one of the Popular Online Fundraising Services right away. These online fundraising services are useful for just about any size fundraiser and [...]

      7. Posted by Sam 20th April, 2012 at 7:44 am

        Hey, Sam from Go Get Funding here (http://gogetfunding.com)

        I’d love to quickly let you guys know about what we’ve been up to.

        We’re proud to have helped all types of fundraisers raise over $95k in just a few months (we launched late 2011). That’s mainly thanks to our low fees and innovative social features (such as our ‘Progress Tab’ which rewards social shares)

        With continued innovation, we hope to build on this trend and ultimately make it easier for people to raise more money for whatever matters to them :)

        Great to see so many good sites mentioned in this list. Two others that are doing a really good job are IndieGoGo and RocketHub.

        Bye for now!

      8. Posted by Tips for Running a Marathon Fundraiser | Fundraiser Ideas and Events 25th August, 2012 at 5:05 pm

        [...] our list of 15 most popular online fundraising services and also check sites like ConstantContact and Eventbrite.com for help with promoting your event and [...]

      9. Posted by Fundraising in a Recession | Fundraiser Ideas and Events 12th December, 2012 at 9:29 pm

        [...] (If you believe a straight online donation request campaign could help, click over to 15 most popular online donation websites.) [...]

      10. Posted by How You Can Run A Clean And Green Fundraising Campaign | Fundraiser Ideas and Events 9th January, 2013 at 5:17 pm

        [...] online – online fundraising companies are offering free web pages for your fundraiser you can use to collect donations. You can – and should – also set up your own website [...]

      11. Posted by Designing an Effective Landing Page for your Fundraiser | Fundraising Ideas and Events 20th February, 2013 at 10:34 am

        [...] the term ‘landing page’ can also be used for the pages created on an online fundraising platform, like giveforward.com or indiegogo.com. In fact, often a charity will use an online [...]

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