How to Get Donations to Support Your Nonprofit Organization

​As a nonprofit, your organization relies on your ability (and the ability of your staff) to get donations, but doing so can be easier said than done. Unlike people who sell a product or service, you’re not giving donors something tangible in exchange for their donation. Instead, you’re relying on their goodwill, and while there are plenty of people who want to do good in the world, getting them to donate to your nonprofit requires a slightly different strategy from the ones used by people who work in sales. So, let’s talk about how to get donations to support your nonprofit organization.

​Use a Donation Page to Easily Get Donations

​The first thing you need to do is set up a donation page for your nonprofit’s website. This makes it easy for people who find your website to donate while they’re already there learning about your organization. It also gives you a page to link to when you’re asking for donations on social media or via email. If you can provide a link to your donation page where they can fill out their information to make a donation, they’ll be much more likely to do so.

Pro tip: Online donations are usually made via credit card, which charges you for each transaction. You can include a checkbox on your donation page that people can check if they’re willing to pay the transaction fee so more of the money they give can go directly to supporting your organization.

Get Donations Automatically by Asking for Recurring Donations

Every time someone gives you a donation, you should always ask if they want to make it a recurring donation. You can make it another checkbox on your donation page, but you also want to make sure it’s part of the script your staff and volunteers use when they get donations in person or over the phone. A recurring donation allows you to charge the same amount on their credit card or take it directly from their bank account every month. Recurring donations are a great way to get consistent income for your nonprofit while automating those donations so you don’t have to go out and ask for them every month.

​Send Thank-You Cards Every Time You Get Donations

You’d be surprised how far a traditional thank-you card can get you. If you want to save money on paper and postage, there are websites that let you send and create personalized thank-you cards to the recipient’s email address, but snail mail works, too, especially since it gives them a chance to put it on their desk or their fridge where they’ll be able to see it regularly. That helps keep you top of mind so that, if you did not manage to get a recurring donation from them, the thank-you card will prompt them to donate again. Everyone likes to feel appreciated, and the thank-you card helps continue the warm, fuzzy feeling they naturally get by donating to a good cause.

​Partner with Local Businesses to Get Donations

​Many businesses will match their employee contributions up to a certain dollar amount, so if you have not done so already, reach out to some local businesses to see if they offer this, and if not, if they’d be interested in adding it to their employee benefits.

You can also add a prompt on your donation page to ask donors if their employer offers matching contributions. If they’re not sure, you can ask them to check with their employer, or you can ask who their employer is. If you’ve partnered with local businesses, you might know which ones offer matching contributions, in which case you can check to see if they offer matching contributions. It’s a simple question that has the potential to double the amount of your donation.

Talk About What You Can Do with the Money

​For-profit businesses have testimonials, case studies, and success stories on their websites and in their marketing materials to demonstrate the benefits they provide their customers, and your nonprofit organization also needs to leverage these assets. Show what your organization has done, the benefits you’ve provided to the community, the impact you’ve had on people’s lives, etc. You’ll be more likely to get donations when people understand exactly what you’ll be doing with their money.

​It can also help to lay out a vision for what you want your nonprofit organization to do going forward, especially if you’re having a big fundraising campaign. For example, if you want to expand your operations, which includes buying more office space, then in addition to having your monetary goal, you’ll need to explain to people what you’ll be able to achieve once you’ve reached that financial goal.

​I spent years helping nonprofit organizations improve their fundraising efforts and get donations, so if you have any questions about how I can do the same for your nonprofit organization, don’t hesitate to reach out. You can schedule your FREE clarity call now to get started.