Why Nonprofits Need More Than One Fundraising Platform

Sometimes one fundraising software platform isn’t enough.

If your nonprofit or faith-based organization is struggling with any of the following challenges, adding a second (or third!) giving tool just might do the trick:

• Your main platform is great at some things but not others.
• Your main platform lacks customization tools.
• Your main platform lacks giving features.
• Your funding accounts aren’t overflowing.
• You’ve got smaller, independent teams who could do more if they had their own tool.
• You’re not fully prepared to capture your share of Giving Tuesday.

“Wait…you’re saying we need new software? It’s hard enough to get our staff and volunteers comfortable with the giving platform we have…”

We hear you, but keep in mind as you read this article, you don’t need to give up or switch out your main software platform to use another giving tool. What we’re suggesting is that layering another giving platform on top of your main system opens up a world of new opportunities. It’s not either/or. It’s both/and.

Here’s why.

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Your donors (and prospective donors), staff, and volunteers all have their own unique preferences.

Do your current donors like interacting with your current giving platform? Do some demographics tend to prefer it over others? Does your staff like it more than your donors do? Are there certain uses that it works great for—and others where it falls flat?

You might find that adding a second fundraising tool helps fill some of these gaps. Some platforms allow better customization, for example, enabling you to feature your organization’s colors, fonts, and images—which in turn generates stronger feelings of connection. Some platforms have really clean, simple forms, which reduce friction in the giving process. These nuances can make a significant difference in how your donors respond.

Missing Key Features

Let’s say your current giving platform is integrated with your CRM (front office) and ERP (back office) systems, so it’s got lots of bells and whistles.

But what if it can’t do a few important things?

Capturing future pledges, for example, is a software capability that can be a gamechanger for your organization. On Giving Tuesday, this one feature alone can mean the difference between a basketful of small one-time gifts and a bushelful of donor commitments that can sustain you for the coming year.

The ability for donors to give via bank-account payments, also called ACH, is another critical feature. Today, ACH donations represent 20% of online giving—and that number keeps rising every year. Plus, for your organization, ACH payment-processing fees are lower, amplifying the impact of every gift. And providing a simple, trustworthy way for donors who’ve been writing checks to switch over to electronic ACH means that these important recurring donations get automated.

More Funding Needed

If your organization’s coffers aren’t overflowing (few are!), you might find that adding a second giving platform on top your foundational fundraising systems creates new opportunities and momentum.

Let’s say your new tool lets you add QR codes to your social-media posts, and those codes link to a simple online giving form. With just a few clicks of a button, you’ll have added a new giving pathway that may well spur your audience to not only act but to share with friends and family.

Or what if your new tool has text-to-give capabilities? Imagine the support you could unlock at your next event or gathering if donors could give immediately on their phones?

Or back to the Giving Tuesday idea, what if your second giving tool makes it easy for your team to launch a simple yet high-impact campaign? Like a fresh box of Crayons, a new fundraising platform—especially one that’s intuitive, fun, and simple to use—can really jumpstart creativity and enthusiasm.

Independent Tools for Independent Teams

A lot of nonprofits—such as churches, schools, youth sports leagues, community groups, and more—have smaller committees or groups that are focused on a particular activity, cause, or constituency. The adult church choir is one example. The school band is another. If they only had access to a simple giving tool, many of them could more easily fundraise among their members and followers.

By adding a second, simple giving tool that allows an unlimited number of users, you’ve just opened the door to what the nonprofit world calls a “distributed fundraising network.” The term doesn’t matter, but the impact does. You’ll be surprised at what can happen when you invite your active, eager subgroup participants to help you take up the mantle of fundraising—and you equip them with the right tool.

Give Roc Giving a Try

What it all boils down to is this: there are many great reasons to add a second fundraising platform, and there are virtually no reasons not to.

We provide our digital giving tool—Roc Giving—free of charge. There are no monthly fees! All your nonprofit pays to try Roc Giving are the regular payment-processing costs—and those can be covered by your donors.

Roc Giving is incredibly easy to use. It lets you launch a campaign in minutes, not hours.

With Roc Giving, you also get:

• Customizable forms and landing pages
• Future pledges feature
• ACH acceptance
• QR codes
• Text to give
• Unlimited users
• Fee-offset feature (this allows your donors to cover processing fees if they want to)
• 24/7 U.S.-based customer support