Crowdfunding | An AmplifyDMC Tip Sheet
As nonprofits strive to overcome the challenges of fundraising in the digital age, how does crowdfunding fit into these efforts? Do you have the social stamina to sustain a crowdsourced campaign? Finally, which crowdfunding platform best fits your needs? As you consider these questions, we offer a cheat sheet on the highlights (and lowlights) of four crowdfunding platforms. Don’t recognize some terminology? Click here for a glossary.
We hope this tip sheet saves you some time and helps you find the funding platform that sets your organization apart from the crowd. Be realistic, be creative, and good luck crowdfunding!
Classy
Website: www.classy.org
Types of Fundraising: Peer-to-peer, recurring giving, and crowdfunding
Integration options: Salesforce, Razors Edge, and Blackbaud
Payment options: WePay, Braintree, Authorize Net
Costs: $499 a month (or start for free)
Donation Fees: 5% transcation fee, no platform fee listed
Mobile optimization: Yes
See it in action: National Geographic’s Save a Lion Campaign
Pros:
Three types of fundraising available
Encourages transparency between organization and donors
Easy thank-you donor tools
Lots of free resources to assist in fundraising efforts
Webinars and videos
Podcasts
Worksheets and Ecourses
Simple interface and customization options
Customer service is helpful and accessible
Live chat available
Cons:
Cost of the platform is not made public
No mobile app
Can be overwhelming for those new to crowdfunding platforms
It can be challenging to integrate Classy pages into custom-designed websites.
Cost
CrowdRise by GoFundMe
Website: www.crowdrise.com
Types of Fundraising: Online social fundraising, non-profit event fundraising, peer-to-peer
Integration options: Salesforce
Payment options: PayPal Giving Fund, WePay
Costs: Starter level is free
Donation Fees: 5% platform free + 2.9% +0.30 payment processing
Mobile optimization: Only for premium users
See it in action: Play Proud
Pros:
Starter Level is free
Recurring donations
Fundraising minimums
Email support
Easy to use, very intuitive
Optimized social sharing
Easy donor thank-yous and branded DIY fundraising
Cons:
Only integrates with Salesforce
Advanced mobile optimization costs more money
Does not accept pledges
Fundly
Website: fundly.com
Types of Fundraising: Peer-to-peer and crowdfunding
Integration options: SmartyStreets, UJoin, Donor Search, Google Maps, Quickbooks, MailChimp, WordPress, and Salesforce
Payment options: Stripe, WePay
Costs: $249 per year
Donation Fees: 4.9% platform fee + 2.9% + 0.30 payment processing
Mobile optimization: Yes
See it in action: Dignity Kits for Refugee Women
Pros:
Accepts pledges
Donation level alerts
Automatic acknowledgments for donation or donor can be set up
Option of peer-to-peer
Upfront about fees and specifically designed for nonprofits
Facebook integration
Cons:
Customer service and communication
Website has complex features that can be hard to navigate
Security problems
Kickstarter
Website: kickstarter.com
Types of Fundraising: Creative project-based crowdfunding
Integration options: Shopify
Payment options: Stripe
Costs: Free
Donation Fees: 5% of total funds raised, 3% + $0.20 per pledge
Mobile optimization: Yes
See it in action: Black Forge Coffee House
Pros:
No starter fee
Independent and art-driven
Fees are only taken if project fully funded
Allows for challenging, expensive creative projects to seem possible
Cons:
Only 36% of campaigns are successful
All or nothing: If you cannot meet the fundraising goal by a certain date, you will not get funded
Terms of the Trade
Peer-to-Peer: Fundraising that leverages your supporters to raise money on your behalf. Individuals create customized fundraisers for your nonprofit and share with their networks.
Recurring giving: Allows donors to give a set amount of money monthly or annually, providing a steady stream of funding.
Crowdfunding: Funding a project or venture by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically online.
Project-based crowdfunding: Crowdfunding for a specific project or product.