10 Signs Telling You It’s Time to Upgrade Your Online Giving Platform

Reading Time: 5 minutes

There may be one single thing keeping you from increasing your donations. 

It’s not your social media marketing strategy. 

And it’s not whether you’re running Facebook and Instagram ads for your nonprofit or not. 

No, my friend, it’s as simple as…

Your online giving platform is outdated. 

In this post, I’ll give you 10 signs telling you whether or not it’s time to upgrade. 

 

10 Signs It’s Time to Switch Your Online Giving Platform

As promised, here are the top 10 signs you’re ready to streamline your donation process with a modernized giving platform! 

Use this list as a mini report card. Is your current platform providing these elements? If so, you’re probably good to go! 

But if not, you may be ready to look into other options. 

Here’s the best part. No matter what you “score” on this report card, there’s an incredible option out there, called Fundraise Up, that does every single thing on this list! 

 

Is your online giving platform mobile-friendly? 

In this day and age, more people are using their phones to do their daily online transactions. And that includes donors looking to give online! 

Optimizing your donation process so it’s mobile-friendly opens the door to those who want to use the convenience of their smartphone to make their contribution. 

 

Does it give the option to get matching donations from your donor’s employer? 

Check this out! According to Fundraise Up, 84% of donors work for companies with matching gift programs. 

But too many donation processes make it difficult to take advantage of matching donations. And from the 84% of donors, there’s an estimated $7,000,000,000 in unclaimed gifts left on the table. 

Make sure your online giving platform allows you to give your donor the option to have their company match their contribution! 

 

 

Is there the ability to cover all of the processing fees, such as credit card and platform fees? 

Especially when using a third party site, your nonprofit may be hit with the processing fees of your donor’s gift. 

All of the credit card fees, all of the platform fees, everything. And that’s eating into your margins! 

Double-check your online donation platform. Does it give the option to allow your donors to cover the fees? 

92% of donors opt to pay for the processing fees when using Fundraise Up. And that means it’s a free online fundraising platform for your nonprofit to use! 

 

Does your online giving platform offer multiple languages for your donor? 

For many nonprofits, it’s too difficult to incorporate multiple languages on donation landing pages. So using a platform that’s only in English is the current standard. 

But not all of your prospective donors may speak English natively. 

So, to be more accessible to your audience, check to see if your platform offers multiple languages to choose from. 

For example, based on your donor’s IP address, Fundraise Up automatically translates your donation page into Spanish or French-Canadian! 

 

Can you have donation elements throughout your entire site, instead of just on one page? 

Within the donation process, there’s often only one landing page that includes donation elements. 

The problem with that is, your donor may not be ready to donate on that landing page alone. They may want to skip over to your About page, read up on your mission, and feel more connected with what you’re doing. At that point, they may be ready to contribute to your cause. 

So, meet them where they are! Use an online giving platform that allows you to have donation buttons throughout your entire site – not just one single landing page. 

 

 

Can you track analytics on the backend of your donation process to see which donation buttons are converting? 

And speaking of those donation buttons – double-check that your current platform allows you to track analytics on them. 

Why? Because with analytics, you can measure which buttons are converting and which ones aren’t. That allows you to optimize the ones that aren’t giving a top-notch performance! 

 

Does your online giving platform offer customized branding for your nonprofit?

Making sure every touchpoint reflects your brand and mission is an incredible way to build donor loyalty and confidence. 

From your donor portal (more on that in a minute) to your emails, it’s a great idea to make sure every part of your donation process is customized to your nonprofit branding strategy.

 

Does the donor have their own donor portal to pause, cancel, or increase monthly giving and view tax receipts? 

If your current online fundraising site only allows one single donation without letting your donor create a private portal or account, you may be missing out on the opportunity for recurring donations. 

Plus, allowing donors to have a self-serving account builds brand trust and loyalty and improves their overall donor experience. Those two in and of themselves encourage them to give in again! 

Check your current online donation platform. Does it allow your donor to create a portal where they can manage their payment info, pause, cancel, or increase their monthly contribution, and view their tax receipts? 

If not, it’s time to upgrade! 

 

Does your online giving platform customize donor amounts based on data points? 

If you’re inputting suggested donation amounts yourself, you may be leaving too much money on the table. On the other hand, if you input something too high, you could risk losing out on donations completely. 

 

 

Does your current online giving platform use an algorithm to analyze your donors’ patterns and behavior? 

Modernized fundraising sites, like Fundraise Up, use AI technology to analyze data points like used browsers, devices, website activity, previous donation history, and so much more. Based on the data, the platform automatically customizes optimal donation amounts for you! 

 

Can your online giving platform connect with social ads rather than sending donors to a third party site? 

It’s so important that your online giving platform connects directly with your social media ads for nonprofits. If they don’t you lose out on tracking analytics to discover what is actually working for both your donation process and your Instagram and Facebook ads. 

So, if your current platform doesn’t allow you to connect directly with Facebook Pixel, it’s definitely time to look into an upgrade! 

 

The 1 Online Giving Platform That Can Do It All: Fundraise Up

I know this sounds like a major checklist. 

But the amazing news is there is one single online giving platform that can do every single thing on this report card! 

As soon as you set up your online donation process with Fundraise Up, you can mark yourself with an A++ for every single item on this list! 

 

 

I get it though – trying to figure out how to switch over your online giving platform from your current one to Fundraise Up is just another thing to add to your to-do list. 

That’s where I come in handy! If you’re ready to upgrade your current donation tool with Fundraise Up, I will do it for you. 

Within 2 hours, we’ll set up your entire Fundraise Up dashboard and add 2-3 donation elements to your site. 

If your nonprofit is currently making $100K+ in online revenue annually, then let’s work together! 

Fill out the inquiry form here, and let’s transform your online donation experience in just 2 hours!