How to Engage Donors Digitally
Online giving and digital fundraising have the potential to democratize support for the Canadian nonprofit sector and to engage younger generations in the process. To successfully broaden engagement, nonprofits will need to embark on a process of digital transformation to keep their outreach strategies relevant and responsive.
The 2021 Digital Skills Survey Results by CanadaHelps seeks to understand and assess the degree to which Canadian charities are open, interested, and willing to adopt new digital tools––and to identify barriers in using them.
In the first survey of its kind in Canada, their report summarizes key findings from over 1,400 diverse charities, including the following findings:
A majority of charities believe that digital adoption is important, yet more than two-thirds of charities report the adoption of digital tools is a lower priority for their organization;
More than 55% of charities expressed either a lack of funding or the skills, expertise and knowledge for greater use of digital tools;
For nonprofits eager to learn more about how they can embrace digital transformation, TechSoup Canada offers a number of valuable starting points––ranging from e-courses, webinars, blog resources, and practical tools.
Resources to Get Started
There are a number of practical ways to get started by bringing your fundraising strategy online, such as:
LOCAL AND CAUSE FUNDS
While the average large charity gets the majority of its funding from the government, smaller charities rely more heavily on donations from individuals. Local and Cause Funds are aggregate funds that include small and medium-sized charities doing work in a particular community or for a specific cause. These funds are designed so that individual donors can easily make an impact across many charities. When a donation is made to a Local or Cause Fund, the donor’s gift makes a broad and lasting impact by supporting a group of trusted charities working towards the same cause. Since launching in 2020, Cause Funds like the COVID-19 Healthcare and Hospital Fund raised over $2.7 million for hospital foundations across the country, while the Black Solidarity fundraised more than $1.8 million for charities supporting Black Canadians. Find more about them on this introductory page.
GOODSZILLA
This innovative platform allows users, whether everyday people or retailers, to sell products and donate a portion of their sales to a charity of their choice. As its founder, Toju Ogbeide, recently explained in this interview with the Toronto Star, Goodszilla “comes from the concept of a marketplace that uses buying and selling of goods to do good in the world.” Or, as its tagline summarizes: “sell cool stuff, buy cool stuff, support fantastic charities.” Learn more about how to use Goodszilla on their How It Works page.
FUNDRAISEUP
Fundraise Up is a growing industry leader committed to creating the best online donation experience in the world. Their mission is to empower nonprofits and other social change organizations with the right tools to get better donations from happier donors. Their pre-built fundraising components are easy to customize and were strategically developed to increase visitor engagement and prompt donations throughout your site. To learn more about them, your organization can request a demo––or don’t miss their webinar with TechSoup Canada, Leveraging Modern Technology in the Nonprofit Space to Increase Giving, they share lots of super helpful tips and strategies.
For more resources on this topic, read the full post by TechSoup Canada: Thriving Digital Connections: Supercharge Your Fundraising Strategy
