Raise Funds Online Through The Internet And With E-Mail Campaigns!
Whether your group has a website or doesn't have a website, there are several different ways to fundraise online:1. IF YOUR GROUP HAS A WEBSITE
Asking for donations on your website
- If your site already has a lot of visitors (At least a few hundred visitors a month for a small group. You’re checking your statistics, right?), then simply adding a “Donation” button might be all you need. PayPal.com has a very easy way of doing this; there aren’t any set-up fees and you only pay a small percentage on each amount donated.
For more information on different donation processing vendors and collecting donations online, read Internet Tools For Non Profits - Soliciting And Accepting Donations
- If your site has few visitors, you can promote your site on the web with simple marketing techniques and e-mail campaigns.
Read more about basic search engine optimization SEO techniques to market your site online at The Basics About Internet Marketing SEO When You Raise Funds Online
Selling products online to raise funds
You can also sell products online in order to raise funds for your group. You could create your own online store, but an easier alternative would be to set up your own "hosted store" on a site like CafePress.com
, or create an account with an online charity mall like iGive.com or Giveness.com.
Then you can simply send visitors from your site to the respective sites and each sale will generate income for your group!
Another very lucrative fundraiser is an online magazine fundraiser. Two popular online magazine fundraising programs are at MagFundraising and FastTrackFundraising.
Any type of online fundraising will be easier and more lucrative, if you have a substantial e-mail list, since it is impertinent to send out periodic messages to remind people to buy through your site, or other websites' programs your group is signed up with. Having a website isn't even necessary for many online fundraisers, since all the ordering, e-mail management and payments are done through the fundraising company's website. However, having your own website can greatly contribute to the amount of visitors taking part in your online fundraising efforts.
For more information about lucrative and fun online fundraisers, read Lucrative And Fun Online Fundraisers
Be sure to collect e-mail addresses
Having an e-mail list of interested parties and potential donors is incredibly useful when raising money online. Get into the habit of always collecting e-mail addresses at functions, meetings, or on your website. Of course, assure anyone who signs up that you won’t use their e-mail addresses for anything else, but for the sole purpose of keeping them informed about your cause.
People will appreciate being updated on any fundraising efforts and successes. Be sure to include a link to your website in each e-mail.
Once you have some steady traffic on your site, look at the suggestions above.
2. IF YOUR GROUP DOESN'T HAVE A WEBSITE
If you’d like to have a website
You can get started easily and inexpensively by signing up with one of the larger hosting companies like aPlus.net or GoDaddy.com . They offer starter packages and templates to help get you online. Advantage: low cost, less than $10 a month. Disadvantage: requires time to use tools and set up site.
You could also hire a company to build a customized site for you, either locally or through the internet - search for “web design services”. Advantage: professional design is done for you. Disadvantage: high cost.
If the expense of a customized site is too much, but you need help with design and marketing, try SiteSell.com. This company has a great track record of helping to build successful sites with easy to use design and marketing tools and lots of motivation! Advantage: much lower cost than customized site, about $25 a month, lets you set up a site in minutes. Disadvantages: None really, if you need help with setting up and marketing your website.
If you have the knowledge to set up your own site, we recommend the hosting company of our site, Hostgator.com. Advantages: great live tech support 24/7. Disadvantages: None, if you're able to design the site yourself.
For some basics on having your own website, read Create Your Own Website to Help Spread the Word About Your Group or Organization
If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of setting up a website
You can still very successfully raise funds online even without a website! For example, you could run an online magazine fundraiser. It is very important here, that you have a substantial e-mail list to help with your fundraising efforts. An online magazine fundraiser is one of the most lucrative online fundraisers out there! Two popular online magazine fundraising programs are at MagFundraising and FastTrackFundraising.
Read more about online magazine fundraisers at Tips For Running A Successful Online Magazine Fundraiser
Read more about other online fundraising ideas at Lucrative And Fun Online Fundraisers
Another way to raise funds online is to set up an account with any one of the online charity malls like iGive.com or Giveness.com.
With any of these online fundraisers it is very important, that people are reminded on a regular basis to shop through one of these particular online charity malls, or to buy or renew their magazine subscriptions through a specific site. As with other online efforts, having a good size e-mail list will be a major factor in the success of your fundraising campaign!
3. OVERWHELMED? NOT ENOUGH TIME?
If you’re unable to actually start any online fundraising campaign at this point, you can still prepare for it by collecting e-mail addresses from members of your group, potential donors and other interested parties.
As mentioned above: “Get into the habit of always collecting e-mail addresses at functions, meetings, or on your website." Of course, assure anyone who signs up that you won’t use their e-mail addresses for anything else, but for the sole purpose of keeping them informed about your cause. Then, when you’re ready, or someone else is able to start the campaign, you’re already a step ahead!
Do you have any great online fundraising ideas or suggestions? If we publish your tip, we will add your group’s website address to this page! Click here to contact us.