Our organization’s needs from a fundraising tool change over the years.
Perhaps you’re just getting started with online fundraising, and you need a tool that’s fast and free. Or perhaps you’ve been fundraising online for a while, and you’re ready for a tool that’s more flexible and customized.
I’ve analyzed and compared three online fundraising tools, from beginner to advanced.
(I don’t have a relationship to any of these tools. I chose these three because they’re popular among my nonprofit clients.)
Consideration: Security
All organizations that process online donations are responsible for safeguarding a donor’s information. In the United States, PCI compliance regulations apply to any online transaction.
Good news: each of the three tools is PCI compliant. (If you’d like to learn more about the laws and regulations that affect your nonprofit website, read my article: Keep Your Nonprofit Website Out of Legal Trouble)
Consideration: Conversions
Only a small percentage of people who visit your donation page will actually make a donation. This percentage is your “conversion rate”. (We talk a lot about conversions in my Smart Nonprofit Websites course.)
A couple of specific tool features will increase your conversion rate:
- The option to split a donation into monthly installments
- A donation form that looks exactly like the rest of your site
All three tools support recurring monthly donations.
Only Qgiv provides you with a form that looks exactly like the rest of your site.
Consideration: Donor Cultivation
A donation is just the beginning of a relationship between your organization and your supporter!
A couple of specific tool features will help you strengthen the connection between your organization and your donor:
- A custom thank you email message immediately sent to your donor
- Access to donors’ information in a format that you can then import into your communications/fundraising database
Click & Pledge and Qgiv both support customized thank you email messages.
Click & Pledge integrates with Salesforce. Qgiv provides donor information in a downloadable format.
Comparison Chart
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| Easy to setup | Immediate (additional time to verify nonprofit status) | 3 – 5 business days | Several business days or longer |
| Price to setup | Free | Free, $20/mo fee | $199 |
| Fees | 2.2% + $0.30 | 3.5% + $0.35 | 3.95% + $0.25 |
| Custom donation amounts | No | Yes | Yes |
| Recurring donations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom thank you message | No | Yes | Yes |
| Appearance of form | No customization | Some customization | Complete customization |
| Donor information available | Yes with additional configuration | Yes | Yes |
| Website | www.paypal.com | www.clickandpledge.com | www.qgiv.com |
