How Charity Fundraising Benefits from Technology:Online fundraising is changing the game

Charity Fundraising has moved to the web.  Today an individual or group with a charity fundraiser can sign up and create an online fundraising campaign with just a few clicks – all for free.

As budgets are slashed to meet the new fiscal demands of the twenty-first century the return on investment of traditional charity fundraisers is sinking precipitously. In response charities are developing new cost effective ways of generating funds. They realize that in order to compete for the money available each year, they need to harness the power of technology.

With the advent of social media, and the development of online fundraising platforms, charities can pursue a multitude of web channels: Facebook, Twitter, LinkeIn for the cost of sitting down and navigating through a few clicks.  Once your page is setup you can add widgets that connect with your friends, followers and connections alerting them to the positive change you are effecting.  With one click every friend you have on Facebook will know what you are doing and how he or she can help.

The online fundraising platform provides your charity fundraiser with the tools to connect to the social media platforms but further allows you to connect using a variety of devices: desktops, laptops, iPads, mobile devices – including SMS texting.  We live in a connected world.  The more opportunities you have to connect with your donors the more efficiently you will raise money and the more successful you will be with reaching your charities’ fundraising goals.

Traditional forms of charity fundraising like bake sales require the generosity of people to make and sell the goods, collect the money and securely transfer the funds so the charity so it can support its efforts in positive social change: a big effort for a small return on investment.  With technology the old ways of doing things have become just that, old.

Technology is developing at light speed in directions that mimic a three-dimensional net: reaching out in every direction.  The online fundraising platform is developing around this net, taking advantage of this
ever-changing paradigm.  And the charities are reaping the benefits: connecting with more potential donors than ever before for very little cost increasing their return on investment in ways not imagined even ten years ago.

The charities that recognize this evolutionary process will prosper and compete for years to come.