Digital Fundraising Strategies That Can Boost Your Donations by 80% or More

Digital fundraising isn’t easy! In our social-media-driven world, your fundraising campaign can easily get lost in a jungle of competing distractions. Long gone are the days when unimaginative, cookie-cutter campaigns got results.

While finding the perfect fundraising angle is going to rely on heaping spoonfuls of creativity and inspiration on your part, CauseVox has some hard data that can aid you in your quest to find the next dynamic campaign idea.

Here are three fundraising strategies that have boosted customer donations by 80% or even more.

1. Get Specific About Your Impact

There’s one big problem with making a general request for a donation. The appeal and the promised outcome are too abstract.

It’s like approaching someone and saying, “If you give me some of your money, we’ll be able to do more good stuff for some of the people we support.” There’s no picture here! There’s no “oomph” factor linking goodwill, to money, to actionable result.

A recent survey by the Charities Aid Foundation found that 68% of donors wanted evidence of the impact of their donation dollar. Linking your donations to tangible outcomes busts out of dull abstractions and proves your supporters can bring real good to the world.

The Irish International Immigrant Center (IIIC) decided to work with CauseVox to seize hold of this challenge. In place of a generic PayPal “donate” option, the IIIC switched to a punchy digital fundraising donation page built around a CauseVox donation page. Supporters could choose from a range of donation tiers, each directly linked to a tangible outcome, from therapy sessions to legal guidance.

Suddenly they had a story!

The IIIC wasn’t merely appealing for money; they were asking for help to build a practical solution for Irish immigrants in need of help to start a new life. Support surged. The average donation increased almost $100 higher than it was before, and the page drew in an 81% increase over previous campaigns.

The IIIC almost doubled their donations — and it wasn’t through exhaustive donor research or an expensive TV ad campaign. They simply spent a few minutes building a CauseVox donation page which linked contribution to result.

Clarity Counts

IIIC’s burst of newfound success only serves to drum home a crucial, basic truth of fundraising: clarity counts. The last few seconds where a supporter is poised to pull out their credit card and make a donation is a crucial moment.

Your donation form needs to be welcoming, crystal clear, free of distractions, and above all, simple to use. CauseVox’s donation pages bring this clarity to your messaging — and the result for you? Increased conversions!

Here’s the really cool thing though: the benefits don’t just end with one campaign drive.

Any conversation you can have about impact now paves the way for future conversations about sustainability. It equips you to say, “remember that good work you made happen last month? Well, we want to work with you to build on that!”.

2. Invite Your Supporters to Run Their Own Digital Fundraising Campaigns

In the old days, when campaign literature arrived in the mail in serious-looking envelopes, fundraising was a communication one-way-street.

The organization made their pitch and hoped enough recipients were interested enough to sign on the dotted line. How things have changed!

Peer-to-peer campaigns take advantage of the vast potential of social media for opening up conversations in new and exciting ways.

Instead of just you monopolizing the soapbox, with a peer-to-peer campaign every one of your supporters gets a chance to stand up on your behalf and add their own unique spin on what you do and why it matters. It’s digital fundraising for the masses.

While it all might sound a little chaotic, the results can be striking.

Supporters, Assemble!

Innovation: Africa decided to give it a try. Using CauseVox’s peer-to-peer campaigning tools, Innovation: Africa’s supporters quickly assembled their own donation pages using pre-made customizable templates. In minutes, each fundraiser could capture a unique angle on Innovation: Africa’s work.

This approach kept the campaign organized as well. CauseVox’s analysis tools gave Innovation: Africa a bird’s eye view of their fundraising progress, with a suite of smart reports allowing Innovation: Africato track their successes in real time.

Peer-to-peer digital fundraising campaigns produce impressive results, on average doubling donation revenue.

Increased returns aside, Innovation: Africa encountered an unexpected bonus. Their campaigning gained a cyclical momentum. With each new fundraiser creating their own page, they found it easier to prime fundraisers to build new and compelling stories — proof positive that a heart-felt personal endorsement goes a long way.

3. Excite Your Supporters With Memorable Events

It’s easy to fall into the assumption that a strong digital fundraising campaign requires strong justifications — but this is only part of the picture.

Humans aren’t purely rational by nature; we’re social creatures. By cultivating shared experiences and creating a sense that we’re all working together for the same goals, a fundraising event can build lasting emotional support.

Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) decided to seize this challenge and used CauseVox’s event campaign platform to raise awareness about climate change and clean energy. The CCAN Polar Plunge event is as inspired as it is challenging.

Every year, brave participants agree to jump together into the frigid waters of the Potomac River to prove their shared commitment to local ecology. It sounds like a hard sell! But the event has seen a steady increase in support, funds and awareness building.

CCAN’s supporters love it. Why? How on earth can jumping into a freezing river be a good thing?

The CCAN’s polar plunge generates contagious excitement by tying in their event with their mission. Their tagline, “Keep Winter Cold,” throws down a challenge its supporters can’t resist. Through that weird thrill of conquering the elements, CCAN’s Polar Plunge is brilliant for bringing people together to fight climate change.

Social creatures that we are, a shared experience quickly grows into shared vision.

Building Shared Vision

According to an article by The NonProfit Times, a well-designed event should celebrate local surroundings and have a unique objective. Jumping together into a famous local landmark as a display of strength and commitment hits it out of the park.

But of course, an event means nothing without publicity. CCAN decided to use CauseVox to build a peer-to-peer campaign and a story around the Polar Plunge. The results were spectacular. Each participant created and personalized their own page so they could tell their own story about their heart behind fundraising, whipping up excitement, as only the prospect of a freezing plunge into icy water can.

The Polar Plunge story flowed through social media. People talked about it. They challenged friends (and possibly frenemies!) to join in. In the lead up to the big plunge, the buzz around the whole event was almost palpable!

So, let’s talk results. Using CauseVox event fundraising tools, CCAN increased their peer-to-peer fundraising event results by 70% over the previous year. Prior to CauseVox, the Polar Plunge pulled in a respectable $80,000. Just two years later, CCAN’s CauseVox driven fundraising was pulling in over $150,000. Participants rate the experience at 4.4 out of 5 stars and rave about doing it again.

With masterful use of CauseVox donation tools, CCAN created a powerfully adrenaline-fueled bond with their donors. This will yield lasting dividends. Result!

Bust Out of Cookie-Cutter Digital Fundraising!

While a lot may have changed, a fresh digital fundraising approach is built on three enduring principles:

• Show your benefit.
• Make your donors feel good.
• Build a compelling story.

CauseVox helps you raise more online with less effort, so you can make the most of your digital fundraising. Why not jump in and give it a try! The waters are a lot warmer than the Potomac River — we promise.