The Basics of Nonprofit Fundraising

Nonprofit fundraising is an ongoing process where an organization solicits funds and donations from businesses and individual donors to help it grow and fulfill its mission. Fundraising is the main revenue collection method for such entities, meaning they naturally allocate many of their resources to it.

A nonprofit organization can be an artistic, scientific, or philanthropic association. In addition, many universities and most all religious institutions are deemed nonprofit since they don’t keep any received monies as profit, but instead use them to further their work.

Nonprofits raise funds in several ways, including traditional and digital methods. Overall, there are two major methods: individual fundraising and corporate or company fundraising. Individual fundraising, also called personal fundraising, entails seeking financial support from people in an organization’s network, such as family members, friends, and colleagues, or reaching out well beyond this immediate group.

Mostly, nonprofits share their stories with people and ask them to fund their causes. An organization may also implement individual fundraising methods to raise money for a specific emergency or natural disaster, life event, medical expenses, or educational causes.

There are several techniques nonprofits use, including various Internet platforms. Social media allow nonprofits to share their URLs, directing donors to their fundraising or crowdfunding websites. Social media also allows them to share information about their causes. Platforms such as Facebook permit users to run fundraisers on their news feeds.

Mobile donations entail using smartphones and other mobile devices to make donations through specific mobile applications. A nonprofit may have its own mobile application or partner with a company providing such services. Additionally, some send text links using short message service (SMS). Indeed, this is a popular way to raise funds, as it accounted for 50 percent of all donations made in the US in 2018.

Individual events are also ideal places for nonprofits to solicit funds and use P2P (peer-to-peer) fundraising methods. Here, a nonprofit’s supporters and not its volunteers collect funds on its behalf. Such fundraising events include charity dinners, talent shows, rummage sales, concerts, and silent auctions.

On the other hand, corporate or company fundraising is used when an organization has funds it wants to give to better society. A nonprofit may collaborate with such a company and, in turn, this helps the business fulfill its corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals or enhance its reputation and public relations efforts.

A corporate grant is money a business or other profit-making entity gives to a nonprofit. An organization can choose to send the funds directly to the nonprofit or select one from several grant applicants. Therefore, nonprofits should always identify and apply for such grants, since there's an excellent chance one or more organizations will resonate with its mission and support its cause.

Co-venture donations refer to when a nonprofit partners with a business entity and has them share part of their revenue from specific activities. For instance, a telecommunications company may offer a small percentage of all user subscriptions for a particular service to fund a nonprofit’s charitable cause.

Employees may also organize events, charge small fees, or accept donations from invited members. Such events may include golf tournaments, wine tastings, art shows, and karaoke gatherings, among others. Notably, 5K runs as well as longer running races are popular where participants pay entry fees. Also, event organizers may seek sponsorships to participate in such events. Consequently, the organization channels all proceeds to one or more nonprofits.