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Nonprofit Leaders 4min read

Mobile Donations Mean Instant Satisfaction

In the modern fundraising world, pen and paper don’t cut it. To attract and retain donors you must provide methods of giving that suit their mobile lifestyles, but also give them a feeling of satisfaction. Mobile donations are more than just a convenient and efficient way to fundraise — they help your donors feel the instant gratification that comes with giving.

They key to mobile giving engagement is providing a feeling of accomplishment both the moment a gift is made and on into the future. Here are some ways to help your donors feel good about giving to your organization.

Show Instant Results

One of my favorite features of the Givelify mobile giving app is the Givelithon. It’s a display of mobile donations with a dollar total, a progress bar, and donors’ faces and names. All of this updates in real-time on your screen or monitors, as donors are giving.

A Givelithon is incredibly effective at getting people excited about making donations. They enjoy seeing their faces on the screen, and as you get closer to your fundraising goal, it helps drive more giving. People want to feel like they helped your organization meet your goals, and seeing the results as they happen gets donors engaged.

Tell Your Story

People connect to a story, not just, “Help support our organization.” In the lead-up to your fundraiser, tell your supporters exactly how their donations will be used. When you can show the tangible results of donations, people will be more likely to give.

After your event, send a follow-up email to all your donors announcing how much money was raised and exactly what it accomplished. Post this same information on your website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and wherever else your organization lives online. That way everyone can see how their mobile donations helped make the world better.

Enable Social Giving

Try adding a Social Giving link to your emails and tweets. In fact, if you are using the Givelify app, you can even add a “Donate Now” button to your Facebook page. Your social media followers are already engaged with you, so turn every interaction into an opportunity for them to support your organization. Every time they do, they get an on-screen confirmation so they know immediately that their donation was successful and give them the good feeling of knowing they helped.

Givelify mobile donation app place of worship receipt

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And with the Givelify app, they can even directly share the fact they gave with the tap of their screen. This helps amplify your story and may inspire others connected to those individuals to follow suit. Here’s how that might play out on the other side:

Sharing donations on Twitter with Givelify

Click to enlarge

Say Thank You

Everyone likes to be thanked. It’s critical to engage with your donors after they have given so they know their gift is appreciated. Fortunately, Givelify makes it easy to follow up with our robust reporting. Complete contact information for every donor is gathered and stored in your dashboard, allowing you to send thank-you emails or even call them personally. You’ll want to do this as soon as possible, while the event is still fresh in their minds.

And there you have it. If you are a nonprofit, charity, church, or any type of place of worship, then we know you work hard to attract people to your cause. You draw in potential donors with your story. But what happens after those people leave an event or worship service? Will they remember to give? Will they think about your organization at all?

If you accept donations via mobile giving apps, distractions and forgetfulness don’t have to dampen your fundraising success. Mobile technology erases that hurdle altogether by enabling and encouraging immediate giving. The donor benefits from the instant gratification of giving, and you also get the perk of having the money moved directly into your bank account.

It’s a win-win.

About the Author

Matt is dedicated to making the world a better place. He works passionately to help charitable causes use mobile technology to raise the funds they need. In addition to his role at Givelify, he volunteers with the Southside Animal Shelter and Kentuckiana Pug Rescue.

Matt Chandler