5 fundraising software tips to maximize campaign efficiency

When it comes to planning a campaign, it’s important to be efficient at all times. Explore these fundraising software tips to make your next campaign count. 

As a non-profit professional, running a successful campaign means putting a lot of thought, organization, and time into your efforts. Have you also considered the ways in which technology can make your efforts even more efficient? 

Today, fundraising software is a mainstream tool that many non-profits are using to boost donation revenue, engage with their donors, and maintain a high level of efficiency in their campaigns. 

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Fundraising software can help with marketing, data collection, tracking contributions, and more. This is why we’ve compiled several software tips to help you get started on maximizing your campaign’s potential: 

1. Ask yourself what your non-profit needs in terms of software. 
2. Use event management software to make the most of your events. 
3. Leverage peer-to-peer fundraising software to maximize your outreach. 
4. Accept mobile donations to make the giving process convenient. 
5. Promote matching gifts using matching gift software. 

In order to raise more money during your campaigns, it’s important to evaluate your non-profit’s needs and explore how (and how much) each type of software solution can help you. Let’s take a closer look at these tips so you can get started on your next campaign.

1. Ask yourself what software you need

Before taking the plunge and making a long-term investment in fundraising software, you should ask yourself what exactly your non-profit needs. The different elements you should consider include: 

• Asking yourself about your budget: When you purchase a fundraising software solution, consider the base price of the software, any additional features you’ll need, training and IT support costs, how many users it can support, and payment processing fees. The better you can anticipate these expenses, the more likely you’ll have a plan to accommodate all of them.
• Thinking about integrations: Does the fundraising software you’re considering work with your constituent relationship manager (CRM)? Integrations with your CRM will allow data from donation forms to flow seamlessly into your donor profiles, making your bookkeeping process and marketing outreach much easier. 
• Considering the campaigns you want to run: What is your ultimate fundraising goal? Do you plan to run a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, host an auction, or another event? Ask yourself these questions so you know what features of fundraising software you’re going to need most. 

Take a moment to evaluate these points before the purchase to decide what your organization's needs entail and what features you would most benefit from. From there, you’ll be able to make a more informed decision during your buying process and end up with exactly the solution you’ve been looking for! 

2. Use software to manage your events

Anyone who has run an event of any kind knows of the headaches it can cause. From planning to implementing and marketing, there are a lot of moving parts that need to function perfectly at the same time. Using event management tools that are built directly into your fundraising software can alleviate a lot of the stress that comes with planning an event. 

Consider these strategies as you think about how to manage your events using software: 

• Determine the event management features you need: If you don’t figure out what you need before making your purchase, you might end up spending money on features your organization doesn’t need or end up with fewer features than you wanted.
• Consider the types of events you’ll host: For example, if you’re running a silent auction, you can implement mobile bidding software to manage the bidding process and track many aspects of the evening. Learn more about running silent auctions with Qgiv’s guide. 

Events are a great way to drive real action. Spend some time brainstorming the types of events you’d like to plan down the line and decide what features you’ll need to run them successfully. Whether you’re running an auction, gala, tournament, or any other large activity, you should be ready with the right toolkit to tackle each part of the process. 

3. Leverage peer-to-peer fundraising software

Peer-to-peer fundraising is an excellent fundraising method that can help you extend your reach beyond your typical donor base. During a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, non-profits call on their supporters to fundraise on their behalf. Their fundraising activities can bring in an influx of new donors that you may not have reached through other channels. 

Using peer-to-peer fundraising platforms, you can set up a central event page for your organization. Then, your participants can create their own individual campaign pages to start fundraising for your cause. 

A peer-to-peer fundraising platform simplifies everything in the campaign strategy from planning to execution to collecting donations. Here are some tips to consider when running this type of campaign: 

• Train your supporters: Make sure you choose a user-friendly platform that will be easy for your supporters to use as they create their own individual campaign pages. Most of your supporters won’t have formal fundraising experience, so provide templates they can use on social media and through email.
• Encourage supporters to personalize their pages: Visuals are effective strategies to use for any type of fundraising campaign. For that reason, videos, images, and other personalized touches that help communicate your participants’ connection to your cause will help boost engagement. Make sure your platform supports all of this so your participants’ expanded networks can get to know your organization better. 

Placing a familiar face next to an otherwise unfamiliar cause can help your organization tap into an entirely new network of donors. When your participants successfully share their fundraising pages with their friends, family, and colleagues, your outreach will skyrocket! Be sure to invest in the right peer-to-peer fundraising software to make sure you have all of the features you need to accomplish your fundraising goals. 

4. Accept mobile donations for an easy giving process

More and more donors are making contributions on the go, so it’s important to make it easy to give straight from their smartphones. For that reason, investing in mobile-friendly fundraising software is essential. 

Here are two ways you can incorporate mobile donations into your strategy: 

• Mobile-responsive donation pages: Make sure your online giving software allows you to create donation pages are that mobile responsive. This means your page is easily viewable on a tablet or any other device without users needing to zoom in or out.
• Text fundraising solutions: Text fundraising is a simple and easy way for donors to give on the go directly from their phones. You can take advantage of solutions like text-to-give, where donors are billed the donation amount on their phone bill, or text-to-donate, where donors text a number to get redirected to a mobile donation form. 

Make your campaign more efficient by providing a convenient and positive experience when donors give to your non-profit. You’ll automatically receive the data from the transactions, and, if your software integrates with your CRM, you’ll have all the donor information that was captured on the form. 

Streamline your giving process and consider adding text fundraising to your toolkit! 

5. Use matching gift software to double your gifts

When it comes to matching gifts, non-profits have a tendency to direct their efforts elsewhere. This is because the time and energy that goes into promoting and processing matching gifts can be substantial, with not a lot of return. 

But there’s a way to simplify this process and raise more revenue through employer matching gifts! This is achieved by incorporating matching gift software into your strategy. 

Here’s how matching gift software works: 

• A company search tool is embedded in your non-profit’s website, giving donors access to thousands of companies that offer matching gift programs.
• During the giving process, donors can search for their employer to determine whether their gift will be matched. If eligible, they will be directed to the guidelines they can use to submit a match request.
• The donor’s company will review the request and confirm the donation with your non-profit.
• The company will submit its match to your organization. 

Many donors are unaware that their gift is eligible for a match through their employer. But by making that information readily available and easy to access, you’ll increase your chances of seeing matches through to completion. Make it easier on your staff with software that can work directly with your website. 

If you’re interested in learning more about how corporate matching gift programs work, check out Double the Donation’s comprehensive guide.

Planning a campaign can take a large investment of time, but you can make the most of your time by incorporating these software tips into your strategy. Make your next campaign count and bring in more donation revenue so you can focus on what matters most: your mission!