Animal Welfare Professionals

I have been busy setting up accounts for fundraising for several months now.  I've learned a lot in doing so, but I do wonder... is it worth it?  I mean, all of my accounts are free, but is there any advantage of using as many platforms as possible?  Do they drive traffic to your website?  Do these pages eventually get seen?

For instance,  I have accounts on:

Facebook (of course)

GoFundMe

Benevity

Charity Navigator

Deed

Donor Box

Mighty Cause

Goodstack

Give Butter

Great NonProfits

Idealist

Raise Right

Your Cause

I am waiting for (this one takes 4-8 weeks to be notified): Walmart's Spark for Good

Next up: Double the Donation

On the horizon:

ActBlue

GiveLify

Bonfire

Fundly

99Pledges

Fundrazr

Funraise

FundraiseUp

BetterWorld

Snowball

CauseVox

Give a Hand

Rally Up

Hi Diana,

Great question! Not all of these sites are created equal, as they say. And it depends upon your fundraising expectations for each

For example, Charity Navigator is more of a site to establish independent credibility with potential donors/grantors and less potent as a fundraising vehicle. Facebook is more of a social, peer-to-peer platform as well as for occasional, very specific appeals.

Then you have Double the Donation - don't wait on this one! - where you may be able to integrate their widget in your donation page to prompt donors to see if their donations can be matched. Their platform also helps you set up automated emails to donors to see if their gift is match eligible. Once you set it up it does it's thing and helps drive donations you would otherwise not receive.

Bonfire (we use them as well) I see as less of a fundraising platform than a nice way to create awareness and community through branded merch. And, by the way, you get a little donation money from it, too.

Benevity is great if you want to cultivate workplace giving donations.

I think in the end it depends upon how many you can actively manage and maintain with up-to-date information, and use the tools they make available. It's a dizzying assortment, so you might do best to organize the copious list above into the types of services/benefits they offer, and narrow down to the two or three at most in each category that you feel you can manage.

Time is a resource as well!

Hope this helps a bit.

Beth  Zimmerman

Executive director, Pets for Patriots

I have been busy setting up accounts for fundraising for several months now.  I've learned a lot in doing so, but I do wonder... is it worth it?  I mean, all of my accounts are free, but is there any advantage of using as many platforms as possible?  Do they drive traffic to your website?  Do these pages eventually get seen?

For instance,  I have accounts on:

Facebook (of course)

GoFundMe

Benevity

Charity Navigator

Deed

Donor Box

Mighty Cause

Goodstack

Give Butter

Great NonProfits

Idealist

Raise Right

Your Cause

I am waiting for (this one takes 4-8 weeks to be notified): Walmart's Spark for Good

Next up: Double the Donation

On the horizon:

ActBlue

GiveLify

Bonfire

Fundly

99Pledges

Fundrazr

Funraise

FundraiseUp

BetterWorld

Snowball

CauseVox

Give a Hand

Rally Up

Hi Beth, 

Your breakdown of these platforms was very insightful. I have been setting up several accounts as well. 

I just established a Benevity account this week in order to complete an application for a grant through Wells Fargo. I have not explored the site's resources yet but workplace giving donations is something of interest. 

I am definitely going to check out Double the Donation to contribute to our website. Thank you for sharing this! 

Hi Diana,

Great question! Not all of these sites are created equal, as they say. And it depends upon your fundraising expectations for each

For example, Charity Navigator is more of a site to establish independent credibility with potential donors/grantors and less potent as a fundraising vehicle. Facebook is more of a social, peer-to-peer platform as well as for occasional, very specific appeals.

Then you have Double the Donation - don't wait on this one! - where you may be able to integrate their widget in your donation page to prompt donors to see if their donations can be matched. Their platform also helps you set up automated emails to donors to see if their gift is match eligible. Once you set it up it does it's thing and helps drive donations you would otherwise not receive.

Bonfire (we use them as well) I see as less of a fundraising platform than a nice way to create awareness and community through branded merch. And, by the way, you get a little donation money from it, too.

Benevity is great if you want to cultivate workplace giving donations.

I think in the end it depends upon how many you can actively manage and maintain with up-to-date information, and use the tools they make available. It's a dizzying assortment, so you might do best to organize the copious list above into the types of services/benefits they offer, and narrow down to the two or three at most in each category that you feel you can manage.

Time is a resource as well!

Hope this helps a bit.

Beth  Zimmerman

Executive director, Pets for Patriots

I have been busy setting up accounts for fundraising for several months now.  I've learned a lot in doing so, but I do wonder... is it worth it?  I mean, all of my accounts are free, but is there any advantage of using as many platforms as possible?  Do they drive traffic to your website?  Do these pages eventually get seen?

For instance,  I have accounts on:

Facebook (of course)

GoFundMe

Benevity

Charity Navigator

Deed

Donor Box

Mighty Cause

Goodstack

Give Butter

Great NonProfits

Idealist

Raise Right

Your Cause

I am waiting for (this one takes 4-8 weeks to be notified): Walmart's Spark for Good

Next up: Double the Donation

On the horizon:

ActBlue

GiveLify

Bonfire

Fundly

99Pledges

Fundrazr

Funraise

FundraiseUp

BetterWorld

Snowball

CauseVox

Give a Hand

Rally Up