6 Questions to Ask Before Signing up with a "Giving Platform"

The giving technology landscape is crowded. When it comes to mobile, there are several platforms that can help your fundraising efforts, but trying to find the right solution for your organization can be cumbersome. Begin by mapping your needs to the offered solution. Where do they align and where do they branch apart. Break through the marketplace noise and find the partner that’s going to help you draw the most engagement and support from your current and potential donor bases.

Here are some key components to consider when ramping up your mobile fundraising and partnering with a giving platform.

It’s easy to get carried away about all the wonderful possibilities when you’re talking to a vendor, but bring it back to the basics. Ensure you understand the fees associated with sign-up, and how they evolve over time. Compare those fees to any forecasted fundraising revenue. Consider savings if postage and printing if you will be reducing pledge cards and paper receipts. Do the math, and you’ll be able to see if it’s a worthy investment.

Integrating mobile into your fundraising initiatives is an important step to enabling your donors to support your organization. It’s important to ensure that the mobile partner simplifies your efforts and improves donor services. If it’s been too cumbersome to ramp up mobile, make sure you are signing on with a partner that’s going to get you up and running quickly, with minimal time and investment. If it’s just as difficult with a partner, you’ll never see success with the platform.

An effective mobile initiative should easily supplement your current plans. A mobile partnership shouldn’t replace what you’re doing. Rather, it should bolster your fundraising efforts. If you’re signing on with an app, consider the following questions:

• How can you use the mobile app to maximize those donor dollars for your annual events?
• How can the mobile app make giving easier on your current donors?

• How can the mobile app attract additional funds from untapped donor bases?

4. 
   4. How Does the Platform Handle Tax Documentation?

We can’t emphasize enough the importance of making the giving process easy for your donors. It helps protect the relationship you have with them and promote sustained giving. For donors, one of the more frustrating components of charitable donations is tracking those receipts and letters at tax time. For NPOs, generating and mailing those letters can be tedious.

Mobile platforms help you, as a nonprofit, meet the donors where they are -- while they’re searching the web, waiting in line at the store, or even hanging out at your event with their phones in hand. The tax documentation process should also meet the donor in the same capacity, providing electronic receipts and a centralized list of donations that can be easily tracked.

5. 
   5. How Does the Platform Build Donor Engagement

Your mobile platform should also provide the ability to communicate and engage with your donors in a central location. Here are some points to consider with any mobile platform:

• How are you able to drive giving urgency with mobile communication?

• How are you able to promote corporate match opportunities?
• How can the donor share donations on social networks, further increasing your reach?

A mobile platform that advances donor communication along with dollars provides a robust solution that can optimize results.

6. 
   6. How Easy Is the Platform for Your Donors to Use?

Technology can make things really easy, but it can also complicate the process for a donor. For example, if you’re using a texting platform and your donor has to repeatedly enter his or her credit card information, it could impede donations. Ensure the platform is easy for your donors to use. For example, a mobile app should enable a donation in 10 seconds or less.

More and more donors are spending their charitable funds through mobile giving platforms, or a mobile giving app. Launching the right mobile initiative will help your nonprofit meet donors at the moment of impact, driving coveted donor dollars, and enhancing engagement with important stakeholders.

Learn how a mobile app can drive the results you want for your organization.

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