This is a guest blog.
For your nonprofit to be able to fulfill its mission long-term, it needs to be financially sustainable. Although many factors contribute to nonprofits’ financial health—from accurate transaction records to robust operating reserves—a key consideration for fundraising professionals is having diversified revenue streams that fund your work year-round.
However, your team likely has limited time and resources to run a wide variety of fundraising campaigns. Fortunately, there is a solution: passive fundraising. ShopRaise defines this strategy as “any campaign in which supporters generate revenue for charitable causes as they go about their daily activities, often without spending any money they wouldn’t have otherwise….On the organizational side, the “passive” aspect is that once these campaigns are set up, running them is relatively hands-off.”
In this guide, we’ll discuss four passive fundraisers that are convenient for your supporters to participate in and for your nonprofit to run, including:
Online Shopping Fundraisers
Gift Card Fundraising
eCard Sales
Restaurant Partnerships
“Passive fundraising” doesn’t mean that your team can sit back and relax, but these campaigns require less effort than traditional fundraisers, and most of them can bring in revenue year-round.
That being said, let’s dive in!
1. Online Shopping Fundraisers
Online shopping fundraisers allow your nonprofit's donors to support your cause by making everyday purchases from participating e-commerce businesses. To launch this campaign, your organization just needs to follow three simple steps:
Partner with an online shopping fundraiser platform. Look for a solution that is free and easy to use, provides onboarding and marketing support, and handles all retailer negotiations on your nonprofit’s behalf. Additionally, compare different platforms’ commission rates—your organization could receive anywhere from 0.5% to 10% of supporters’ purchase totals depending on your partner.
Promote your campaign. While your online shopping fundraiser will essentially run itself once launched, one area where your team needs to be actively involved is marketing. Leverage your nonprofit’s website, social media, email, digital ads, and flyers to provide instructions for getting started and regularly remind supporters to continue shopping for your cause.
Track your results. This is the other active aspect of online shopping fundraisers. Your team will be able to view real-time campaign participation data through your fundraising platform so you can hone your marketing strategy and thank your top supporters individually.
To participate in your online shopping fundraiser, all supporters need to do is download your fundraising platform’s app or browser extension and use it as they make purchases. They’ll pay the same prices and have access to the same discounts they would otherwise, and a portion of each sale goes directly to your nonprofit with no additional work required for them or you!
2. Gift Card Fundraising
Gift card fundraising works similarly to online shopping fundraisers—supporters buy gift cards to their favorite businesses through your nonprofit’s online gift card store, and a portion of each purchase goes directly to your mission. Once you’ve set up your store, you can simply leave it open year-round while promoting your fundraiser and tracking your results.
Digital gift cards are preferable for this fundraiser since they can be automatically emailed to supporters within minutes of purchase instead of making them wait to get a physical card in the mail. Once received, supporters can use the gift cards to give back while making in-person and online purchases, or they can forward the email to a friend or family member to give them the card as a gift.
Additionally, some fundraising platforms include online shopping and gift card sale options in one solution so your nonprofit can easily run both campaigns at the same time. Then, supporters can use their gift cards to buy items through your online shopping fundraiser, thereby earning even more for your cause!
3. eCard Sales
If supporters buy fundraising gift cards for their friends and family or purchase presents through your nonprofit’s online shopping fundraiser, they may want to send the recipient a greeting card to go with the gift. By adding charity eCards to your strategy, your nonprofit can help them to do just that!
Use a digital greeting card platform to design eCards for various occasions—holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.—and incorporate nonprofit branding elements like your logo and color scheme to spread awareness of your mission. Then, as eCardWidget’s charity eCards guide explains, you can sell the cards using one or more of the following methods:
Create an integrated donation form specifically for sending eCards.
Embed a widget into your online donation confirmation page so donors can pick an eCard after they make a gift.
List your eCards as products in your existing online merchandise store.
Your nonprofit can also use eCards for other purposes besides fundraising, such as inviting supporters to events, thanking donors, or recognizing your employees’ achievements. Once you have an account with a digital greeting card platform, the possibilities are endless!
4. Restaurant Partnerships
Besides shopping and sending cards, your supporters may also like to eat out at local establishments. Restaurant partnerships allow you to leverage this activity for passive fundraising so supporters can give back while enjoying their favorite foods.
While some establishments might set up donation jars at the register or ask customers to round up their bills for charity, the most common type of fundraising restaurant partnership is profit sharing. On designated days, your chosen restaurant will split the profits from that day’s sales with your nonprofit based on your agreed-upon ratio (50/50, 60/40, etc.).
Generally speaking, there are two ways to get involved in restaurant profit sharing:
Partner with an independently owned restaurant. This option works for nonprofits of all sizes and missions, and local businesses are often willing to support charitable organizations to give back to their communities. However, you’ll need to negotiate the terms of the partnership yourself.
Apply to a chain restaurant’s sponsorship program. Several well-known chains—such as Chipotle, Panera Bread, and Panda Express—feature profit sharing as a key aspect of their corporate social responsibility efforts. While these programs have set terms and conditions, chain restaurants are sometimes pickier about the size or type of nonprofits they partner with.
Once you’ve established a restaurant partnership, advertise the fundraiser to your supporters so they know which days the restaurant will be sharing its profits with your organization. If you’re also selling fundraising gift cards during your profit share, encourage supporters to buy gift cards to your partner restaurant and pay with them to maximize your nonprofit’s earnings.
The ideas above are just four of the many ways your nonprofit can earn passive income for its mission. Whether you choose just one passive fundraising method or incorporate several new campaigns into your strategy, consider your supporters’ interests and preferences—after all, their participation is essential to your success! Also, remember that while individual contributions to passive fundraisers may be small, the money adds up over time to make a significant difference for your nonprofit.
Comentarios