Work habits have drastically changed in the last few months for many due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Employees that can work from home don’t go into the office. Those employees that must continue to physically go into work, do so with the appropriate personal protective equipment and have to follow new physical distancing rules and procedures. What do all these changes mean for your charities’ corporate appeals and fall campaign strategies?
In the next few months, your nonprofit organization will have to adapt its workplace appeals approach. Workplace campaign kickoff meetings will be very different, and many may have to be held virtually. Paper pledge donations, which are still commonly used by many companies, may need to be entirely replaced by an online pledging approach. Since there will be a higher number of incoming online pledges than there typically are, you will need to adapt your process to set up your organization for success.
Online giving platforms are going to play a much more significant role in fall campaigns than we have ever seen before. There are a variety of tools available that charities can utilize to collect online pledges; however, it’s good to ensure that the platform you decide to use integrates with your CRM database and has all of the designation capabilities your organization needs. If you are an Andar e-Pledge customer, there are multiple ways to use the module to collect online pledges. An excellent method to understand the module and learn more about its functionalities is by first considering the types of donors that exist. The different donor types are Individual Donors, Workplace Donors, and Corporate Donors. Andar e-Pledge can gather donations from all of these donor types. When you use Andar e-Pledge, you can set up a variety of giving options for your donors. The different modes of giving are Single Page Pledge, the Shopping Cart, and the Multi-Step Pledge.
Using Andar e-Pledge for Online Giving
If you don’t currently own Andar e-Pledge and would like to see how your nonprofit can use the module, request a demo below.
If you own Andar e-Pledge and need help to set up specific online pledging process, contact us below.
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How Do the Modes of Giving Differ From Each Other?
The Single Page Pledge donating option allows the user to select the pledge amount, designate the gift, and answer multiple questions all in one screen. This option is convenient for donors because it allows them to complete their gift transactions without needing to click on numerous buttons that reload new webpages. The Single Page Pledge user experience is convenient because there is less opportunity to lose the donor between webpage loading times.
Another mode of giving is the Shopping Cart. The shopping cart provides pre-determined gift packages for donors. For example, one package option might be the ‘Education Impact Fund,’ which supports programs to ensure that children are prepared to succeed in school. Another Shopping Cart option might be ‘Financial Stability’ to back the financial needs of low-income families and veterans. The Shopping Cart option allows your nonprofit organization to determine the exact needs of your community and help the donor choose which area to give to depending on their interests.
The last mode of giving is the more traditional Multi-Step Pledge approach, which takes the donor through three to five steps that load on separate webpages. This option offers a clearly laid-out giving journey, but because it involves multiple webpages, the experience may prove to be a little challenging if the user has a slow internet connection.
Andar e-Pledge delivers a variety of giving options for the different donor types. To walk through a more detailed version of this chart and hear recommendations on what options are best, watch the 'Online Pledges: Adapting to the Changing Fundraising Landscape' webinar recording.
Andar e-Pledge provides different online Donor Authentication Methods depending on the donor type. For example, an email with a link can authenticate Individual Donors, and a Single Sign-On (SSO) administered by their workplace can authenticate Workplace Donors. The different Donor Authentication Methods are covered in detail in this webinar recording, 'Online Pledges: Adapting to the Changing Fundraising Landscape.' The webinar is available for free and on-demand.
Thinking Outside of the Online Pledging Box
Step away from the traditional online pledging methods that you are accustomed to and try to do something different this time around. An alternative donation option that your organization can provide is the One-Click Pledge option. The One-Click Pledge functions by sending out an email to a segmented audience. We recommend segmenting your audience so that you can cater the copy in the email to the recipients you’re targeting. For instance, the ‘Young Leaders’ contacts in your database would receive a different email message than your ‘Women United’ contacts because their community concerns differ. The One-Click Pledge email would contain different buttons that represent gift amounts. With these emails, the donor only needs to click on the amount they would like to donate. We discussed this option and answered many questions about it during the Q&A portion of this webinar, 'Online Pledges: Adapting to the Changing Fundraising Landscape,' which is available to watch from our Free Resources webpage.
The One-Click Pledge option is an innovative way to capture donors’ attention and streamline their gift-giving process.
Your nonprofit fundraising campaign strategy will have to change to adapt to physical distancing practices that are currently in place due to the coronavirus. Electronic pledges will become the primary method of receiving funds. Rather than seeing this change as an obstacle for workplace campaigns, it’s wise to see it as an opportunity to communicate differently with donors and personalize their gift-giving experiences based on their interests. This shift to predominantly using online pledging tactics is here to stay and will shape the donor journey for years to come.
Attend Upcoming Online Classes
As the fundraising landscape changes, your organization’s knowledge should evolve too. Learn more about the Andar e-Pledge module in online group training sessions. Classes include an e-Pledge Refresher and Campaign 1-2-3 Easy (Campaign Registration).