Running a successful school fundraiser isn’t just about raising money, it’s about building community, boosting participation, and making it easy for families to support your school. With busy schedules and endless requests for donations, today’s school fundraisers need to be simple, engaging, inclusive, and meaningful.

Here are 10 proven tips to help your PTA, PTO or Parent Group maximize results and create fundraisers that parents, students, and staff want to support.

1. Focus on Participation, Not Just Dollars

One of the biggest mistakes groups make is only measuring success by total dollars raised. Higher participation often leads to stronger long-term results. Even small contributions add up when more families get involved—and it builds a culture of giving.

Tip: Set goals for number of families participating, not just revenue.

2. Make it Easy to Support for Everyone

If supporting your fundraiser feels complicated, people won’t follow through. The simpler the process, the more likely families are to participate.

Tip: Choose fundraising options that are mobile-friendly, easy to share, and require minimal steps to complete.

3. Communicate Early and Often

Don’t rely on a single email or flyer. With busy family schedules, it's easy for messages to slip through the cracks.

Tip: Use multiple channels - email, text, school apps, social media, and backpacks—to remind families about your fundraiser and deadlines.

4. Clearly Inform What the Funds will Support

People are more motivated to give when they know exactly how their support helps students. Make sure they understand it will benefit the students and the school. The more specific the better!

Tip: Be specific: “Funds will support new playground equipment” or “This helps fund classroom technology and field trips.”

Learn more about building sustainable, effective school fundraising programs at ShopRaise.com/school.

5. Get Students and Staff Involved

When students are excited, parents pay attention. Student involvement increases visibility and enthusiasm.

Tip: Add classroom challenges, grade-level competitions, or small incentives to boost student participation.

6. Offer Fundraisers that Families Want

Traditional fundraisers can feel repetitive. Today’s families respond better to options that fit into their everyday lives.

Tip: Look for programs that let supporters give back while doing things they already do—like shopping, dining, or gifting.

7. Encourage Social Sharing

Your school community extends far beyond just parents—think grandparents, relatives, and friends.

Tip: Encourage families to share the fundraiser on social media and via text to expand your reach.

8. Recruit a Strong Fundraising Team

It is true, many hands make light work. A small, organized team can make a big difference in execution and follow-up.

Tip: Assign clear role communications, incentives, tracking, and thank-you to keep things running smoothly. Break down tasks in small groups.

9. Thank Everyone – Often!

Recognition builds goodwill and encourages future support.

Tip: Thank your team, families, teachers, and volunteers publicly and often—through newsletters, social posts, and school announcements.

10. Think Long-Term, Not One and Done Fundraisers

The most successful PTAs and PTOs build sustainable fundraising programs year over year. Recurring fundraising is a great strategy!

Tip: Choose fundraisers that can run annually, increase participation over time, and become part of your school culture.

Final Thought: Fundraising Is About Community

At its best, school fundraising brings people together around a shared mission—supporting students and strengthening your school. When you focus on ease, engagement, and participation, your PTA or PTO can raise more money and build a more connected school community.

ShopRaise for your school

School fundraising presents real challenges — from limited volunteer time to volunteer burnout and participation fatigue. The schools that succeed don’t just rely on one big event; they design programs that fit the realities of their families and community, where they control engagement and stewardship.

With ShopRaise, schools can create fundraising programs that are sustainable, low-lift, and flexible. You can manage supporters in one place, integrate smaller campaigns with larger events, and turn everyday actions into reliable, long-term support. By combining events, product campaigns, and ongoing programs into a system that you control, schools can turn structural challenges into real impact without overburdening volunteers.

Learn more about building sustainable, effective school fundraising programs at ShopRaise.com/schools

Workplace giving—payroll deductions, donation matching, volunteering, paid volunteer time off (VTO), and volunteer grants—unlocks $5 billion annually in U.S. charitable support. Yet most programs limp along with low participation: traditional payroll/matching often sees just 10-20% engagement, while volunteering averages 33%.

The issue isn't a lack of employee generosity. It's outdated designs that don't align with modern behaviors and expectations.

At ShopRaise, we help nonprofits and companies rethink workplace giving: turning it from a checkbox HR benefit into a dynamic, habit-integrated program that drives real results. Below, we break down the eight core challenges holding most programs back—and the modern fixes that can transform them.

1. Low Participation Isn’t a Motivation Problem — It’s a Design Problem

Most workplace giving programs rely on a single entry point: payroll deduction enrollment. That sounds simple, but in practice it creates a major bottleneck. Employees must make a long-term financial decision, during a narrow window, often with little context or urgency.

That friction quietly eliminates the majority of potential participants before they ever engage.

Programs that break through this barrier widen the front door. They offer low-commitment ways to participate alongside payroll giving — options that feel easy to start and easy to stop. When giving fits naturally into existing behavior instead of requiring a formal sign-up, participation grows quickly.

2. Engagement Tapers Off After the Launch Buzz

Annual campaigns create initial excitement, but without ongoing touchpoints, momentum fades quickly. Employees get busy, and one-off drives fail to integrate giving into daily life, leading to drop-offs after the launch. This is especially true in programs relying solely on seasonal pledges, ignoring year-round opportunities like volunteering or passive matching.

When something shows up once a year, employees treat it like a task — not a habit.

The fix is frequency without friction. The most successful programs create small, ongoing moments of engagement interspersed throughout the year by tying giving to everyday actions. Giving stays visible, but it never feels like another campaign to manage or another ask to ignore.

Learn more about how ShopRaise can skyrocket your Workplace Giving participation

learn more at ShopRaise.com/Workplace-giving

3. Too Few Choices for Employees

Employees today want to support causes they care about deeply—whether local animal shelters, global climate efforts, or community health initiatives. A limited, one-size-fits-all charity list leaves passion (and potential donations) untapped. In fact, 30% of non-participants cite lack of preferred causes as their reason for opting out.

When employees don’t see themselves reflected in the program, they disengage quietly.

Programs that perform well preserve simplicity for administrators while expanding choice for employees. They recognize that personalization doesn’t complicate giving — it activates it. When people can support causes they genuinely care about, participation becomes voluntary instead of forced.

4. Payroll Deduction Has Real Limits

Payroll deduction has been the foundation of workplace giving for decades, but it comes with real psychological weight. For many employees, recurring deductions feel permanent, risky, or poorly timed — especially during periods of economic uncertainty.

Even employees who want to give often delay enrolling simply because the commitment feels too heavy.

Programs that grow treat payroll giving as one option, not the only one. By layering in additional programs, like Volunteering, In-Kind Donations and Shopping programs, they capture engagement from employees who would otherwise sit out entirely — expanding reach without replacing what already works.

5. Impact Feels Abstract When It’s Hard to See

If employees can’t easily see the impact of their participation, motivation drops. If program managers can’t clearly measure engagement, it becomes harder to justify internal support. Delayed reports and vague summaries don’t drive momentum.

Programs that grow make impact visible and understandable. They surface participation trends, engagement signals, and outcomes without requiring manual work. When impact is clear, giving feels real — and when it feels real, people stay engaged.

youtube.comCharity Hub CRM - Reporting & Business Intelligence with Excel and Power BI  Integration

6. Admin Complexity Chokes Growth

Workplace giving often creates more internal friction than expected. Payroll integrations, compliance requirements, manual reporting, and ongoing promotion all add up. When a program is difficult to manage, it becomes harder to expand and easier to deprioritize.

The programs that scale are the ones that reduce operational burden. They minimize integrations, automate tracking, and remove unnecessary steps for internal teams. Simpler programs don’t just save time — they get promoted more often, which directly impacts participation.

Learn more about how ShopRaise can skyrocket your Workplace Giving participation

learn more at ShopRaise.com/Workplace-giving

7. Communication Tools Are Underutilized

One enrollment email per year isn’t cutting it—but creating quarterly campaigns manually is exhausting. Employees miss opportunities to engage through matches, volunteer events, or everyday actions because reminders aren't tied to natural behaviors.

Programs that work rethink communication entirely. Instead of repeatedly asking employees to give, they focus on reminding employees that giving is already happening — embedded into normal behavior. This subtle shift reduces fatigue and keeps giving top of mind without constant outreach.

8. The One-Dimensional Model Is Outdated

Employees expect flexibility, personalization, and ease in nearly every aspect of work — from benefits to collaboration tools. Workplace giving shouldn’t be the exception. Programs that offer only one way to participate will always cap their potential.

The most effective workplace giving programs operate as ecosystems, not lanes. They combine payroll giving, matching, volunteering, events and everyday giving into a cohesive experience. This is where solutions like ShopRaise Workplace Giving fit naturally — adding an everyday giving layer that complements existing programs and expands participation without adding cost or complexity.

What a Modern Workplace Giving Program Looks Like

The programs that succeed today don’t rely on a single model or a single moment. They lower barriers, expand participation paths, and meet employees where they already are. They make giving easier for employees and simpler for program managers — and they see the results in engagement, culture, and impact.

Workplace giving isn’t broken — it’s unfinished. The programs that perform best don’t rely on a single model. They combine a variety of fundraising and engagement strategies to maximize participation:

• Broad cause choice across nonprofits, causes, and giving types so employees can support what matters most to them.Payroll giving and employer matching that amplify impact for employees who want a more traditional, predictable way to give.
• Volunteerism and incentive-based engagement, including volunteer grants and VTO, that recognize time as a meaningful form of contribution.
• Everyday giving through shopping that turns routine purchases into automatic donations — lowering the barrier to entry and driving consistent, year-round participation.
• Simple administration and clear reporting that reduce internal lift while showing real, measurable impact to both employees and leadership.

When workplace giving is built as a connected ecosystem — not a one-dimensional program — participation grows naturally and sustainably.

This isn’t futuristic—it’s what forward-thinking companies are achieving today with ShopRaise, evolving workplace giving beyond outdated models.

Ready to fix the barriers holding your program back? Learn more at learn more at ShopRaise.com/Workplace-giving and see how easy modern workplace giving can or:

For nonprofits, SEO's demise isn't abstract—it's a direct hit to fundraising pipelines. Organic traffic drives 44% of visits, translating to supporter education, email sign-ups, and donations. A 15-70% drop in clicks for key queries could wipe out thousands in potential revenue. Imagine targeting "nonprofit fundraising events": if AI summarizes ideas without linking to your event page, you're invisible. One query's traffic loss might cost $5,000 in equivalent ad value, but the real pain is in engagement. Fewer site visits mean fewer recurring donors, lower email list growth, and weakened brand trust.

AI exacerbates risks with content misrepresentation. It might pull outdated or decontextualized snippets from your site—say, a sarcastic blog post twisted into something off-putting—damaging perceptions. As organic results sink below ads and AI blocks, nonprofits must pour funds into Google Ads just to stay afloat, diverting resources from mission-critical work. In a donor landscape where attention is scarce, this visibility crunch competes with every other cause for time and money, potentially slashing conversion rates by 1-5% on what remains.

The broader trend? Google's flailing to appease investors with AI, even if it cannibalizes ad revenue from clicks. While search volume rises, the ecosystem favors e-commerce intent (direct shopping links) over informational content nonprofits excel at. Without adaptation, your SEO efforts—staff hours, consultant fees—yield diminishing returns, turning a once-reliable fundraising engine into a ghost town.

In this AI-dominated search era, nonprofits can't afford to watch organic traffic vanish. Diversifying beyond Google is key to safeguarding your fundraising future. Explore innovative tools like ShopRaise to turn everyday supporter spending into effortless donations. Sign up today at shopraise.com/organizations and start harnessing passive revenue streams that don't rely on search rankings.

Engaging younger donors isn’t just about getting that first gift—it’s about building a relationship that lasts a lifetime. Millennials and Gen Z supporters are changing the rules of nonprofit fundraising. They want purpose, impact, and experiences that feel authentic.

So how do you go beyond the donation button and turn first-time givers into loyal advocates?

Why Younger Donors Give

Today’s donors aren’t driven by obligation—they’re driven by purpose. They want to know:

• What problem are you solving?
• How does my gift make an impact?
• Why should I care about this cause?

For nonprofits, this means leading with mission, not money. Instead of asking for a gift right away, share the story, the solution, and the difference they can make. When donors feel connected to your work, giving becomes natural.

Create Experiences, Not Just Appeals

Millennials and Gen Z want to be part of something bigger. They expect nonprofits to provide more than a donation form—they want opportunities to engage actively.

This could mean:

• Behind-the-scenes content that shows the real work behind your mission.
• Social challenges or campaigns that make participation fun.
• Invitations to volunteer or advocate, not just donate.

The goal is to make supporters feel like partners, not transactions. When you build that connection, loyalty follows.

Simplify Giving and Make It Recurring

Younger donors are used to subscription models like Netflix or Spotify. Apply that mindset to your recurring giving program. Offer a branded monthly giving option that feels like joining a community.

What works best?

• Easy, mobile-friendly sign-up with options like PayPal, Venmo, or digital wallets.
• Exclusive perks such as early access to events or special updates.
• Clear impact reporting so donors see the difference they’re making.

Recurring giving programs turn one-time gifts into predictable, long-term support—and that’s a win for both your mission and your donors.

Turn Everyday Actions into Impact with ShopRaise

Building loyalty means meeting supporters where they are—in their daily lives. That’s why ShopRaise is a game-changer for nonprofits.

Every time your supporters shop for groceries, clothes, or essentials, they could be helping your cause—at no extra cost. Here’s how it works:

• Shop with over 14,000 retailers and 300 gift card brands.
• Use the ShopRaise app, browser extension, or online mall for a seamless experience.
• Track every contribution in real time with detailed reports.

It’s an easy way to make giving part of everyday life. Supporters keep doing what they already do—shop—and your organization earns a percentage of every transaction.

Start Building Lifelong Relationships Today

Younger donors want connection, transparency, and convenience. Whether you’re launching a recurring giving program or using ShopRaise to turn shopping into support, the key is making giving simple and meaningful.

Ready to engage your next generation of supporters?
Sign up for ShopRaise today and turn everyday shopping into sustainable fundraising for your cause.

In a world where nonprofits are constantly seeking sustainable funding and deeper community engagement, workplace giving programs stand out as one of the most powerful tools available. More than just a fundraising strategy, they offer nonprofits the ability to tap into corporate ecosystems—engaging businesses, employees, and entire networks to amplify their mission.

At ShopRaise, we believe in the transformative potential of these partnerships. Here’s how your organization can power up your partnership game and build a thriving workplace giving program.

Why Workplace Giving Matters

Workplace giving is more than a buzzword—it’s a $5 billion opportunity. These programs channel donations through payroll deductions, corporate matches, volunteer engagement, and even employee shopping, offering nonprofits stable, recurring revenue. And the best part? It’s scalable with minimal overhead.

The Benefits:

Stable Funding: Payroll deductions create predictable revenue streams.

Corporate Donations: Matching gifts double or triple your impact.

Employee Engagement: 71% of employees are more likely to give if their employer supports the cause.

Scalability: Once the framework is in place, these programs grow with you.

Step 1: Finding the Right Corporate Partners

The foundation of a successful program lies in choosing partners that align with your mission, values, and goals.

Where to Start:

Look Local: Chambers of commerce, business associations, and local meetups are goldmines for small to mid-sized companies eager to support their communities.

Target Values-Aligned Companies: Seek out companies with strong CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programs.

Leverage Existing Networks: Investors, board members, and volunteers can often introduce you to decision-makers.

Pitching Value:

Businesses want more than a thank-you letter—they’re looking for impact, employee satisfaction, and positive PR. Your pitch should highlight:

Tangible benefits (tax deductions, brand reputation, community involvement)

The mutual value of the partnership

How you’ll make it easy for their employees to participate

Step 2: Driving Participation

Signing up a company is only the beginning. The success of a workplace giving program depends on employee engagement.

Keys to High Participation:

Simplify Enrollment: Use online portals and integrate with payroll when possible.

Incentivize Giving: Offer raffles, recognition, or matching funds.

Leverage Peer Influence: Train employee ambassadors to spread the word.

Communicate Often: Share stories, milestones, and the impact of donations regularly.

Step 3: Build for Long-Term Success

Once your first partnership is underway, focus on sustainability and scalability.

Start Small: Pilot with one or two companies, refine your approach, and grow from there.

Diversify Engagement: Offer in-person and virtual options—volunteer hours, fundraising events, and team challenges.

Use Technology: Platforms like Benevity, YourCause, and Double the Donation help streamline and scale your program.

Share the Wins: Transparent, real-time reporting builds trust and keeps companies coming back year after year.

A Smarter Approach: ShopRaise Workplace Giving

At ShopRaise, we’ve developed a frictionless way to amplify workplace giving—by turning everyday shopping into impact.

Here’s how it works:

Shop for Everyday Business Needs: From office supplies to team lunches, every purchase earns money for your cause.

Track Everything: Real-time reports show impact per transaction.

No Extra Cost: Businesses continue shopping as usual while supporting their favorite nonprofit.

Easy Setup: No tech hassle. We handle everything—setup, customer service, and reporting.

With over 2,000 participating retailers and nearly 300 gift card options, ShopRaise makes it effortless for corporations to contribute—without writing a check. Whether it's stocking break rooms, rewarding employees, or making major supply purchases, every transaction helps fund your mission.

The Bottom Line: Everyone Wins

Workplace giving programs are one of the most underutilized tools in nonprofit development. When done right, they build long-term revenue, expand your reach, and foster deep, mission-driven relationships.

With ShopRaise, it’s easy, it’s effective—and it’s free.

Learn More

Check out our On-Demand Webinar

Ready to Power Up Your Partnerships?
Join the ShopRaise Workplace Giving Program

Why Your Nonprofit’s Social Media Strategy Needs a Total Makeover Posting to Facebook and Instagram and hoping for engagement might have worked a decade ago, but today, it’s a formula for invisibility.

With algorithms prioritizing paid content and influencers, the reach of organic posts on platforms like Facebook (2.6%) and Instagram (4%) is dismal. If you're not paying to boost your content, chances are your audience isn't seeing it. Add in engagement fatigue, oversaturation, and algorithm changes, and you’ve got a recipe for wasted time, effort, and budget.

It’s time to revamp your nonprofit’s social media strategy—from where and how you show up, to how you turn attention into action and support.

The 90/10 Problem: The Content Distribution Disconnect

Many nonprofits fall into the trap of spending 90% of their time and resources creating amazing content and only 10% on distributing it. That imbalance means even your most powerful stories, videos, or updates go unnoticed. Great content doesn’t matter if no one sees it.

The solution isn’t necessarily to spend more on content—it’s to be smarter about how and where it’s shared. Social media should be a distribution channel, not your destination. Think of your platforms as launchpads to move supporters into a space where you can control the conversation and deepen engagement.

Stop Relying on Legacy Platforms Alone

Facebook and Instagram still have their place, especially for certain demographics—but they shouldn’t be your entire strategy. Diversify. Explore TikTok for younger audiences. Consider YouTube, Reddit, Pinterest, or LinkedIn, depending on your mission and your audience.

But even more important: drive your audience off of social media and into a dedicated community hub you control. Whether it’s a platform like Patreon, a private Facebook group, or an integrated part of your CRM, your goal is to create a space where you can communicate consistently—without being at the mercy of an algorithm.

Your Nonprofit Is a Content Creator

Today’s most successful nonprofits understand that they are also content creators. You don’t need a film crew or a studio—just a smartphone and a clear message.

• Content can be powerful and simple:
• Behind-the-scenes glimpses of your work
• Personal stories from people impacted by your mission
• Quick updates and calls to action
• Follow-up content that keeps supporters in the loop

And you don’t need to start from scratch every time. A single piece of content—like a blog post or a video—can be repurposed into reels, stories, email newsletters, social posts, and more. Create it once, distribute it everywhere.

Building a Thriving Community

Social media engagement is fleeting. A true supporter base is built within community platforms that foster two-way communication and recurring support.

Platforms like Locals, Substack, or Patreon offer recurring donation models, exclusive content areas, and direct interaction. More importantly, they give you creative control and access to your full audience at any time—something social media can’t guarantee.

With the right setup, these communities become your nonprofit’s engine for growth: deeper donor relationships, more reliable income, and higher retention.

Automate and Amplify

No team? No problem. There are countless tools available to help streamline and automate your content creation and social media workflow:

• Use tools like Make.com to connect your systems and automate tasks.
• Use AI to turn webinars or blog posts into email campaigns, captions, and short-form video content.
• Schedule content across multiple platforms using affordable publishing tools.

This allows you to maintain a consistent presence without burning out your team or draining your resources.

Multiply Your Impact with Everyday Fundraising

As you expand your outreach strategy, don’t forget to offer ways for supporters to engage with your cause every day—not just during campaigns. With platforms like ShopRaise, supporters can turn everyday shopping into donations for your nonprofit, at no extra cost.

Whether they're buying groceries, gift cards, or office supplies, their purchases can help fund your mission. It’s a seamless, easy-to-promote fundraising channel that aligns perfectly with your updated content and distribution strategy.

Time to Rethink and Rebuild

Revamping your social media strategy is about more than jumping on the latest trend. It’s about taking back control, increasing your visibility, building real relationships, and creating systems that work.

It’s about working smarter—distributing better—and transforming your one-time content into ongoing community engagement and recurring revenue.

Want to dive deeper into how to apply these strategies? Watch the full Revamp Your Social Media Strategy webinar here:
👉 Watch the Webinar

Let’s stop playing by outdated rules and start using social media the way it was meant to be used—for real, meaningful, mission-driven connection.

3 Free AI Tools Every Nonprofit Needs to Supercharge Fundraising and Efficiency

In today’s fast-evolving nonprofit world, staying ahead means embracing technology and fresh fundraising ideas. With donor habits shifting and funding landscapes changing, leaders need tools to streamline operations and diversify revenue. Free AI tools and creative strategies—like shopping fundraisers—are the secret weapons every nonprofit should wield.

In this post, we’ll uncover three free AI tools your nonprofit needs now, plus a bonus tool that turns everyday shopping into effortless fundraising for your cause.

The State of Nonprofit Fundraising in 2025

Before we dive into the tools, let’s set the scene. Nonprofit fundraising is facing big shifts:

• Shifting Funding Sources: Foundation giving rose 7.2% and corporate donations climbed 5.1% in 2023, yet individual donor participation hit a record low of 49.5% of U.S. adults (2024 Giving USA Report).
• Economic Pressures: Inflation has tightened wallets, with 62% of Americans citing financial strain as a barrier to giving (Nonprofit Quarterly, 2024).
• Generational Divide: Gen Z is all-in on causes—93% plan to donate (DoSomething.org, 2023)—but their median disposable income is just $1,200 annually, compared to $8,000 for Boomers (Statista, 2024).

Key takeaway: Nonprofits must diversify income and boost efficiency to thrive. That’s where AI and shopping fundraisers come in.

Tool #1: ChatGPT & Grok – Your Content Creation Powerhouses

Compelling content fuels successful fundraising. Tools like ChatGPT (from OpenAI) and Grok (from xAI) churn out grant proposals, social posts, and donor emails in minutes.

How Nonprofits Can Use Them

• Research and Insights: Pull real-time stats and trends to power campaigns.
• Content Generation: Draft blogs, appeals, or event invites with ease.
• SEO Optimization: Rank higher with keywords like “nonprofit fundraiser” or “shopping fundraiser.”

Real-World Win

4 Paws 4 Life used ChatGPT to craft an SEO-optimized blog for their “White Whiskers Fund.” With fresh stats sourced instantly, they slashed creation time from 3 hours to 20 minutes—boosting online donations by 15%.

Tool #2: Make.com – Automation Made Easy

Nonprofits drown in repetitive tasks: updating donor lists, posting updates, sending thank-yous. Make.com automates these by connecting your apps—like Google Sheets or Slack—for free.

What It Can Do

• Donor Management: Auto-sync event sign-ups to your CRM.
• Social Media: Schedule posts from a spreadsheet.
• Gratitude at Scale: Send personalized thank-you emails post-donation.

Impact Snapshot

Per a 2023 TechSoup study, nonprofits using automation saved 12 staff hours weekly—time better spent on donor outreach or planning a shopping fundraiser.

Tool #3: Automa – Your Data Collection Sidekick

Researching sponsors or filling grant forms takes hours. Automa, a free browser extension, scrapes web data and auto-fills forms, cutting the grunt work.

Use Cases

• Sponsorship Outreach: Compile local business lists in minutes.
• Trend Tracking: Extract donor stats from reports.
• Grant Efficiency: Auto-populate repetitive application fields.

Efficiency Boost

One nonprofit slashed grant research time by 40% with Automa, freeing staff for strategy (Nonprofit Tech Review, 2024).

Bonus Tool: ShopRaise – Turn Shopping Into Fundraising

AI streamlines operations, but ShopRaise unlocks passive revenue. It turns supporters’ everyday purchases—online or via gift cards—into donations, at no extra cost.

How It Works

• Scale: Shop at 2,500+ retailers (Amazon, Target) and 300+ gift card brands.
• Impact: A cut of each purchase supports your nonprofit.
• Ease: Supporters get regular prices and rewards—your cause just wins too.
• Transparency: Track funds with real-time dashboards.

Why It’s Essential

Shopping fundraisers diversify income effortlessly. In 2023, passive giving programs like ShopRaise raised $1.2 billion for U.S. nonprofits (National Retail Federation). Supporters shop as usual, and your nonprofit earns with every transaction.

Why This Combo Wins

Pairing AI tools with a shopping fundraiser delivers:

• ✅ Efficiency: Save 12+ hours weekly (TechSoup, 2023).
• ✅ Engagement: Boost response rates by 25% with AI content (HubSpot, 2024).
• ✅ Revenue: Add 10-15% to annual funds via passive streams (Fundraising Journal, 2023).

In a world where 61% of nonprofits miss fundraising goals (Chronicle of Philanthropy, 2024), this toolkit is your edge.

Ready to Transform Your Nonprofit?

Explore the tools:
ChatGPT | Grok | Make.com | Automa

Launch your shopping fundraiser:
Sign Up for ShopRaise

With these free resources, your nonprofit can work smarter, engage better, and fundraise year-round—starting today.

Last updated: March 03, 2025

In today’s competitive nonprofit landscape, donor outreach has never been more challenging or crucial. With limited budgets, shrinking resources, and increasing compliance requirements, nonprofits need innovative solutions to connect with supporters. Enter ConnectRaise: a cutting-edge donor prospecting system that leverages AI-powered processes to help nonprofits build and grow their donor base efficiently.

As a ShopRaise Marketing Manager, I’m excited to share how ConnectRaise can revolutionize your donor outreach strategy and propel your organization toward its fundraising goals. In this blog post, we’ll explore the challenges nonprofits face in donor acquisition, the groundbreaking features of ConnectRaise, and actionable tips for optimizing your email campaigns.

The Donor Acquisition Challenge

Donor acquisition has always been a resource-intensive endeavor. Traditional methods, such as direct mail, events, and cold calls, are costly, time-consuming, and often yield minimal returns. According to industry statistics:

• Nonprofits send nearly 60 emails per subscriber annually, including 29 fundraising emails.
• The average nonprofit raises $1.11 per email contact, generating over $5,000 per campaign.

Despite the efficacy of email marketing, new rules and regulations, including DMARC, SPF, and DKIM authentication, make managing email campaigns increasingly difficult. Nonprofits must also navigate strict spam rate limits, unsubscribe requirements, and deliverability challenges. These hurdles significantly impact a nonprofit’s ability to communicate effectively with donors.

Key Takeaway: Adhering to email best practices while maintaining domain reputation is vital for successful donor outreach.

Introducing ConnectRaise: The Future of Donor Prospecting

ConnectRaise is a revolutionary donor prospecting platform designed specifically for nonprofits. By utilizing AI-driven processes, ConnectRaise helps organizations:

• Identify and connect with new donor prospects.
• Grow their email lists with high-quality leads.
• Maintain compliance with evolving email regulations.
• Increase open and click-through rates through multivariate testing.

Key Features of ConnectRaise:

1. AI-Powered ProspectingConnectRaise uses advanced algorithms to identify potential donors who align with your mission, saving your team countless hours of manual research.
2. Domain ProtectionTo safeguard your sender reputation, ConnectRaise provides multiple domains and email addresses. This ensures uninterrupted communication even if one domain encounters deliverability issues.
3. Scalable OutreachEach month, ConnectRaise sends over 7,000 emails to 2,400 new donor prospects, maximizing your organization’s reach.
4. Compliance ManagementThe platform adheres to all relevant laws and inbox rules, taking the burden of compliance off your team.
5. Campaign OptimizationThrough AI-assisted multivariate testing, ConnectRaise continuously refines your campaigns to improve engagement and conversion rates.

Email Best Practices for Nonprofits

To make the most of ConnectRaise, nonprofits should implement email marketing best practices to ensure maximum deliverability and engagement. Here’s how:

1. Set Up Email Authentication

Ensure your domain is configured correctly with DKIM, SPF, and DMARC records. These authentication methods:

• Verify your sender identity.
• Prevent unauthorized use of your domain.
• Enhance email security and deliverability.

2. Reduce Unsubscribes and Bounces

The average nonprofit loses 15-20% of its email list annually due to unsubscribes and bounces. Here’s how to mitigate this:

• Use email cleaning services to remove invalid or disengaged addresses.
• Avoid sending emails to disposable or role-based addresses (e.g., info@domain.com).
• Send relevant, personalized content that resonates with your audience.

3. Optimize Email Content

A compelling email should:

• Include a clear call-to-action (CTA).
• Use engaging subject lines to boost open rates.
• Balance text with visually appealing images.
• Incorporate alt tags for accessibility.

4. Validate Emails Before Sending

Utilize email validation services to ensure your emails are:

• Free of broken links and short URLs.
• Compliant with industry standards.
• Optimized for deliverability.

The ConnectRaise Advantage: Real Results

Unlike traditional donor acquisition methods, ConnectRaise provides a scalable and efficient solution that delivers measurable results. Consider this sample campaign:

• 4 Sending Domains: Protects your sender reputation.
• 12 Email Addresses: Facilitates personalized communication.
• 7,000+ Emails Sent Monthly: Reaches 2,400 new donor prospects.
• Hundreds of Quality Leads: Enables ongoing engagement and conversion.

With ConnectRaise, your nonprofit can focus on its mission while leaving the heavy lifting of donor prospecting to the experts.

Why Now Is the Time to Act

As email marketing evolves, staying ahead of the curve is essential. ConnectRaise equips nonprofits with the tools and strategies needed to overcome modern donor outreach challenges. By leveraging this platform, your organization can:

• Reduce costs and save valuable staff time.
• Enhance donor engagement and retention.
• Increase donations and grow your impact.

Ready to transform your donor outreach strategy? Schedule a demo with ConnectRaise today and discover how we can help your nonprofit thrive.

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Fundraising is becoming increasingly difficult for nonprofits. Traditional charity fundraisers require significant planning, time, and donor engagement, yet total giving has been declining year after year. Nonprofits are relying on fewer donors, many of whom are aging out, while corporate and foundation giving remains limited.

To combat these challenges, organizations must look beyond traditional fundraising models and start leveraging everyday spending—not just from their supporters but from their own organizational expenses and their corporate sponsors.

An online shopping fundraiser provides a sustainable, year-round way to generate revenue. Instead of relying solely on donations, nonprofits can tap into their operational spending and corporate partnerships to create a continuous stream of funding.

The Hidden Potential of Your Nonprofit’s Own Spending

Many nonprofits focus their fundraising efforts on external contributions but overlook their own spending as a major source of funding. Every organization has operational expenses—whether for office supplies, technology, marketing, or travel. By using an online shopping fundraiser, nonprofits can convert these essential purchases into direct contributions to their own mission.

What Purchases Can Earn Contributions?

• Office Supplies & Equipment – Paper, ink, computers, furniture, and technology upgrades.
• Marketing & Promotional Materials – Printing costs for brochures, flyers, banners, and donor mailings.
• Event & Meeting Costs – Catering, venue rentals, decorations, and supplies.
• Travel Expenses – Flights, hotels, car rentals, and transportation for staff and volunteers.
• Gift Cards for Fundraising & Donor Incentives – Prepaid cards that can be used for shopping, dining, or as donor rewards.

Through ShopRaise, nonprofits can shop at over 2,000 major retailers and receive a percentage of their purchases as a direct donation to their organization. These are purchases nonprofits already make—why not turn them into a funding stream?

Corporate Sponsors: A Major Opportunity for Charity Fundraisers

Many businesses and corporate sponsors want to support nonprofits, but their giving is often limited to one-time donations or employee volunteer programs. However, through an online shopping fundraiser, businesses can integrate charitable giving into their everyday operations.

How Corporate Partners Can Contribute Without Extra Cost

Corporate sponsors and businesses spend thousands to millions of dollars each year on essential purchases. Just like nonprofits, they buy office supplies, travel, marketing materials, and technology. An online shopping fundraiser allows companies to convert these everyday business expenses into ongoing donations.

Key Spending Areas That Generate Contributions:

• Office Procurement – Computers, desks, chairs, office supplies, and electronics.
• Employee Travel & Lodging – Business flights, hotels, rental cars, and conferences.
• Catering & Employee Perks – Team lunches, coffee runs, and event meals.
• Corporate Gifts & Incentives – Gift cards for employee recognition, bonuses, and holiday rewards.

For example, a company that spends $50,000 annually on office supplies could generate thousands of dollars in donations simply by making purchases through an online shopping fundraiser.

Why an Online Shopping Fundraiser is the Future of Charity Fundraisers

1. No Additional Cost to Participants

The biggest advantage of an online shopping fundraiser is that it allows nonprofits and businesses to contribute without spending extra money. Organizations and corporate sponsors buy what they already need, and a percentage of their spending is automatically donated.

2. Recurring, Year-Round Donations

Unlike traditional charity fundraisers, which rely on one-time donations, an online shopping fundraiser operates continuously. Since businesses and nonprofits spend money every month, this model creates an ongoing stream of funding.

3. Strengthening Corporate Relationships

Many businesses struggle to find meaningful ways to support nonprofits beyond one-time sponsorships. By integrating a shopping-based giving model, companies can sustainably contribute to nonprofits without adjusting their budgets. It also enhances corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, making companies more attractive to employees, customers, and stakeholders.

4. Effortless Implementation

Nonprofits and businesses can easily integrate an online shopping fundraiser with no disruption to their current operations. Through ShopRaise, organizations receive:

• A custom-branded fundraising page.
• A browser extension and mobile app to track contributions.
• Automated reporting tools to monitor and optimize results.

Steps to Launch an Online Shopping Fundraiser for Your Nonprofit

Getting started with an online shopping fundraiser is simple:

1. Register with ShopRaise – Create a free account for your nonprofit.
2. Promote the program to corporate sponsors and supporters – Encourage staff and business partners to shift their spending habits.
3. Track contributions in real-time – Use ShopRaise’s dashboard to measure impact and optimize engagement.
4. Expand participation – Once initial results are in, work with other businesses and supporters to increase engagement.

Why Every Nonprofit Should Be Using an Online Shopping Fundraiser

The landscape of charitable giving is changing, and nonprofits must adapt to new fundraising models. By tapping into the spending power of their own organization and corporate partners, nonprofits can unlock new revenue streams with minimal effort.

Instead of relying solely on traditional charity fundraisers, nonprofits should take advantage of everyday business and operational spending. An online shopping fundraiser transforms routine purchases into a long-term, sustainable source of funding—all without additional costs.

Now is the time to rethink your fundraising strategy. By implementing an online shopping fundraiser, nonprofits can generate consistent, reliable funding while strengthening relationships with corporate sponsors.

Start your free online shopping fundraiser today and start earning from every purchase!

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If you’re an administrator, teacher, or PTA/PTO member at a K-12 school, you’ve likely planned and executed fundraising campaigns of all shapes and sizes. Whether you’re working to renovate facilities, upgrade classroom technology, or fund extracurricular activities, school fundraising is essential to make students’ educational experiences the best they can be.

However, school fundraising has a reputation for being challenging, and the source of many of its difficulties—from promoting your campaigns to tracking donations as they come in—is not leveraging the right software.

Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place to mitigate this problem! We’ve compiled a list of our top fundraising platforms for schools and the reasons why each one is so great:

1. ShopRaise: Best Overall Fundraising App for Schools
2. 360MatchPro: Best for Corporate Giving
3. OneCause: Best for Event Management & Auctions
4. PledgeCents: Best for Crowdfunding
5. 99Pledges: Best for Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
6. Bonfire: Best for Branded Merchandise Sales
7. Jotform: Best for Fundraising Form Creation
8. DonorsChoose: Best for Classroom Supply Donations
9. BetterWorld: Best for PTA, PTO, & Booster Club Fundraising
10. GiveCampus: Best for Donor & Volunteer Engagement

Before we dive deeper into these software solutions, let’s discuss the top features a strong school fundraising platform should have.

What to Look for in a School Fundraising Platform

Most fundraising platforms are designed for specific purposes, from crowdfunding to event planning to booster club management. However, there are some general software features that make it easier for your school’s community to support your cause. These include:

• Customization and branding. Your school should be able to adapt its platforms to give its campaigns their own signature look and feel. Plus, when community members see your school’s colors, logo, and other brand elements in your fundraising apps, they’ll trust that their contributions are supporting your initiatives.
• User-friendly interface. Make sure you can easily set up these custom-branded fundraisers—even if your team doesn’t have a background in coding or development. Your software should also provide a straightforward user experience for supporters so you can spend less time teaching them how to use it and more time bringing in donations!
• Secure, flexible payments. Community members appreciate the ability to contribute to fundraisers using their preferred payment method, so ensure your platform accepts all major credit cards, bank account transfers, and mobile payments like Venmo and Apple Pay. Any solutions with built-in donation processors should also protect supporters’ sensitive information—ones marked PCI-compliant or PCI-certified are your best bet.
• Marketing support. For your school’s fundraisers to succeed, you need to spread the word to students, parents, teachers, administrators, support staff, alumni, and countless other audiences. Look for platforms with built-in tools or customizable templates for promoting your campaign via your school’s website, email, social media, digital ads, and flyers.
• Reporting and analytics. Your chosen software should automatically track your fundraising revenue, participation, and other relevant metrics that will help you capitalize on your strengths and improve where necessary going forward. Platforms that display this data on reporting dashboards with easy-to-read charts and graphs provide the best insights.
• Customer service. To make your fundraiser run as smoothly as possible, ensure your software comes with access to a dedicated customer support team that will assist with setup, promptly answer your questions, and fix any problems as they arise.

Once you determine what type of fundraising platform your school needs, make lists of the features you definitely need and ones that would be nice to have, ensuring the capabilities described above go on the must-have list. Then, schedule demos for your top platforms so you can see how the software works before you make your final decision.

Best Fundraising Platforms for Schools

Since you’ll be looking for different platforms depending on the types of fundraisers your school wants to host, we’ve highlighted what each of the solutions on our list is most suitable for. Additionally, consider your school’s budget, size, and student population to help you choose the right software for your needs. That being said, let’s dive into our list of platforms!

1. ShopRaise: Best Overall Fundraising App for Schools

ShopRaise allows community members to contribute to various mission-driven organizations—including schools—simply by shopping online. By partnering with ShopRaise, your school will have access to two types of fundraising campaigns:

• Online shopping fundraiser: Supporters download the ShopRaise app or browser extension and otherwise shop as usual at participating online retailers. A portion of their sales total (3-10% depending on the retailer) goes directly to your school.
• Gift card sale: Supporters buy digital gift cards to popular stores and restaurants from the Gift Card Store in the ShopRaise app, and your school receives a percentage of their purchase (5.5% on average).

With more than 1,500 participating businesses in the online shopping fundraiser and more than 250 fundraising gift card options, ShopRaise is as flexible as fundraising gets!

How It Works

Your school can launch its own online shopping and gift card fundraisers in three easy steps:

1. Sign up for ShopRaise. The ShopRaise team will walk you through a simple onboarding process, answer any questions you may have, and design a branded landing page for your school.
2. Spread the word. Once you set up your fundraisers, they’re fairly hands-off to run. All you need to do is let supporters know how to get started and remind them to continue participating over time. ShopRaise can also help with this step by creating custom email templates, social media graphics, flyers, and website banners for your school.
3. Track results. You’ll be able to view real-time fundraising data on a comprehensive dashboard, making it easy to hone your marketing strategy and thank your top supporters individually. ShopRaise protects shoppers’ privacy by just displaying their names and fundraising totals—only the supporter will know exactly what they purchased.

When community members shop online for your school, they’ll pay the same prices and have access to the same discounts they normally would—the only difference is using the ShopRaise app to purchase items or gift cards. They’ll also receive their gift card via email within minutes of purchase, at which point they can give it to someone else by forwarding the email or use it themselves to shop more ethically. Plus, if supporters pay for their online shopping fundraiser purchases with fundraising gift cards, they’ll maximize their contributions to your school!

Why ShopRaise Stands Out

ShopRaise is our top pick among school fundraising platforms for several reasons, including that:

• It’s completely free for both schools and supporters.
• You can use it year-round as an unrestricted revenue stream.
• It’s scalable, so it works equally well for schools of all sizes.
• You receive personalized support at every stage of the fundraising process.

Although each contribution your school receives through ShopRaise is relatively small, they quickly add up to make a significant difference for your students’ education!

2. 360MatchPro: Best for Corporate Giving

Did you know that more than 26 million people work for companies with matching gift programs? Employer matching gifts are a lucrative funding source for traditional 501(c)(3) nonprofits, but many businesses will also match their employees’ donations to educational institutions—like your school!

To take full advantage of this revenue stream, your school needs to leverage a robust matching gift database where donors can check their eligibility and submit match requests to their employers. The best platform available to meet this need is 360MatchPro by Double the Donation.

Top Features

• The world’s largest matching gift database, which you can easily embed into your school’s online donation page to prompt donors to check their eligibility.
• Auto-submission capabilities that allow eligible supporters to send match requests simply by entering their work email addresses.
• NEW 360MatchPro Volunteer Hub to help your school’s volunteers take advantage of their employers’ corporate volunteer programs like volunteer grants and paid volunteer time off.

Pricing

360MatchPro’s Standard Plan—the most popular plan for K-12 schools—starts at $2,500/year.

3. OneCause: Best for Event Management & Auctions

Whether you’re planning a fun run for students, an auction for parents, or a talent show for your entire school community, there are likely multiple events on your school’s annual fundraising calendar. OneCause is a comprehensive platform your school can use to manage all of its events throughout the year. Since the company’s founding in 2008, OneCause has helped 11,000 nonprofits and schools raise more than $6.5 billion through their fundraising events!

Top Features

• Registration, ticketing, and data collection tools that work for any type of event in any format—in-person, virtual, or hybrid.
• Mobile bidding capabilities to streamline participation and checkout for both silent and live auctions.
• Online giving functionalities like text-to-give and campaign-specific donation pages so you can generate additional revenue before, during, and after events.

Pricing

OneCause’s pricing varies depending on which features your school wants to leverage—contact their team for a custom quote.

4. PledgeCents: Best for Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is a great way for your school to quickly bring in a lot of donations to meet an immediate need, such as paying for an emergency building repair or helping a community member going through a hard time. While there are many crowdfunding platforms to choose from, PledgeCents was built with K-12 schools in mind and will ensure your campaigns are tailored to your school’s needs.

Top Features

• Personalized strategy session with a PledgeCents fundraising expert to help you get started.
• Email and social sharing to gather essential community support for your crowdfunding campaigns.
• 0% platform fee, so you keep all of the revenue you earn.

Pricing

In addition to the 0% platform fee, it’s completely free to set up a campaign on PledgeCents!

5. 99Pledges: Best for Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

“A-thon” fundraisers like walk-a-thons, dance-a-thons, and read-a-thons are among the most engaging for students since they provide two challenges: doing an activity for as long as possible and collecting as many donations as possible through peer-to-peer fundraising. 99Pledges makes every aspect of these campaigns easy, from setting up students’ individual fundraising pages to collecting donations once they’ve completed the activity.

Top Features

• Customizable participant pages where you can create a standard campaign message for students to share or allow them to personalize their page with their own stories and photos.
• Automated email reminders to encourage students to collect more donations and ensure they always have access to their pages.
• Real-time data collection with comprehensive admin reports and shareable leaderboards.

Pricing

99Pledges fundraisers are free to set up, and there are no platform fees!

6. Bonfire: Best for Branded Merchandise Sales

Selling merchandise like t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and tote bags that feature your school’s logo and colors is a win-win—community members get to show their school spirit, and you bring in revenue for your school’s needs. Bonfire is a flexible merchandise sale platform for charitable organizations that offers a wide range of product options, simple design customization, and two ways to sell your school’s merchandise: online stores and peer-to-peer campaigns.

Top Features

• A wide size range for apparel—most adult t-shirts and sweatshirts come in sizes S-3XL (with a few going down to XS and up to 5XL), plus there are youth, toddler, and infant sizes available.
• Multiple ways to design products—use one of Bonfire’s pre-made templates, create or upload custom artwork, or partner with a professional graphic designer.
• The Bonfire marketplace, where you can feature your school’s merchandise alongside thousands of other organizations and creators to expand your reach.

Pricing

Setting up an online store or campaign through Bonfire is free, but there is a processing fee of 3.5-8% depending on the organization, and a base cost for each item you create.

7. Jotform: Best for Fundraising Form Creation

Professional-looking, user-friendly digital forms can make or break your school’s ability to reach its fundraising goals. With Jotform, you can create forms to collect donations for specific campaigns, sign supporters up for events, gather feedback on your initiatives, and more—all in a matter of minutes with no coding required!

Top Features

• 10,000+ form templates to meet all of your school’s needs, as well as a custom builder if you want to create a unique form structure.
• Form theme and widget stores to add a creative look and unique embeds to your forms.
• 150+ integrations with marketing platforms, donor databases, and other essential fundraising tools.

Pricing

Jotform has a free Starter Plan, paid plans starting at $34/month, and a 50% discount for eligible educational organizations.

8. DonorsChoose: Best for Classroom Supply Donations

The beginning of each new school year means restocking classroom materials—but unfortunately, teachers often have to pay for supplies and books out of their own pockets. DonorsChoose is a nonprofit created by teachers, for teachers to alleviate this burden. Teachers simply create a campaign and select the items they want, and donors choose which items to buy for them!

Top Features

• Catalog of more than a million items from popular retailers like Amazon, Staples, and Lakeshore.
• Classroom Essentials bundle option with a streamlined list of teacher-favorite supplies that ship as they’re purchased, in addition to custom campaigns.
• Complete online project list so donors from all over the U.S. can find and fund your campaign.

Pricing

It’s completely free to create a campaign on DonorsChoose. However, there are strict eligibility requirements for who can receive funding, and custom projects run on an all-or-nothing model (meaning you have to hit your fundraising goal to get any of the supplies you requested).

9. BetterWorld: Best for PTA, PTO, & Booster Club Fundraising

PTAs and PTOs are critical to school fundraising success, and booster programs are particularly helpful for funding school clubs and sports. BetterWorld offers an all-in-one suite of free fundraising tools that makes it easy for volunteer fundraisers to run all types of campaigns, from crowdfunding to auctions to recurring giving.

Top Features

• Comprehensive online auction suite that includes ticketing, mobile bidding, consignment items, and streamlined checkout.
• Customizable digital donation pages to help you communicate how you’re fundraising for specific initiatives.
• Giveaway and raffle tools for an easy add-on to other fundraising campaigns (as long as your school is mindful of the raffle laws in your state!).

Pricing

BetterWorld is free to use, aside from a 2.9% + $0.30 credit card donation processing fee, which donors have the option to cover.

10. GiveCampus: Best for Donor & Volunteer Engagement

No matter what types of fundraisers your school runs, it’s essential to track donor and volunteer participation to fuel effective communication and stewardship. GiveCampus was designed with schools in mind and does exactly that! More than 1,300 K-12 schools and higher education institutions trust GiveCampus with their overarching online fundraising and supporter engagement needs.

Top Features

• Mobile-first donation forms to meet modern donors’ needs, including flexible payment options and matching gift integration.
• Robust donor and volunteer data tracking so you can use past engagement to inform future outreach and solicitation.
• GiveCampus Community where school fundraisers can learn from each other and access an extensive resource library.

Pricing

GiveCampus pricing varies based on the solutions and functionality your school needs—contact their team for a custom quote.

Wrapping Up: Additional Resources on School Fundraising

The platforms in this guide are just a few of the possible solutions your school could use to support its fundraising efforts. Research each platform you’re considering carefully, and keep your school’s unique needs and budget in mind as you make your decision. And remember—if you want to add a free, easy-to-use, and innovative revenue stream to your fundraising toolkit, look no further than ShopRaise!

For more information on school fundraising, check out these resources:

• Online Shopping Fundraisers for Schools: How to Get Started. Dive deeper into how online shopping fundraisers can benefit your school and how to launch one with ShopRaise.
• 20+ Holiday Fundraising Ideas for a Merry and Bright Season. Discover a flurry of engaging fundraising ideas to get your school community in the giving spirit.
• 25+ Winning Sports Fundraising Ideas for Your Team. Explore the best campaigns and events for turning your school’s sports teams into championship fundraisers.

For nonprofits, fundraising is key to fulfilling their mission and making an impact on their community. Because of this, they need to be experts in connecting with donors and inspiring them to give.

Similarly, your school raises funds to support your academic programs, extracurricular activities, scholarships, and more. Learning from the successes of nonprofits can help you secure the funding you need and greatly enhance the student experience. In this guide, we’ll cover five essential fundraising lessons your school can learn from nonprofits.

1. Focus on the “why.”

Nonprofits understand that donors contribute to a fundraising campaign because they’re drawn to helping make a difference. That’s why, on their donation pages and marketing materials, they use stories and statistics to highlight the purpose of their fundraising campaigns and what they’re trying to accomplish.

Your school can inspire more people to contribute to your fundraisers by mirroring nonprofits’ efforts and following these tips:

• Tell stories. Choose a student whose experience encapsulates the goals of your fundraising initiative. This could be someone who benefited from a scholarship, participated in a special program, or overcame challenges with the help of school resources. By sharing the stories of individual students, you help donors visualize their potential impact.
• Incorporate compelling visuals. Incorporate photos or videos of students participating in school activities, showcasing their achievements, or speaking about their experiences. Visual elements make your stories more engaging and relatable. However, be sure to get permission from students or their guardians before publishing any images online.
• Use donor-centric language. Frame your messages in a way that emphasizes the donor's role in making a difference. Use phrases like "Your support will enable…" and "Thanks to your generosity, we can...” This approach helps donors see themselves as active partners in your mission, directly contributing to positive outcomes.

For example, an elementary school raising funds for an upcoming field trip might share the story of Carlos, a shy fourth grade student who came out of his shell after meeting his best friends during last year’s field trip.

This personal narrative shows families and community members that the field trip offers students, like Carlos, a crucial chance to connect and belong. Understanding this impact can motivate more people to support the fundraiser, knowing it will help other students in similar ways.

2. Diversify your revenue sources.

Since nonprofits need consistent funding to carry out their mission, it’s essential for them to develop several revenue sources that they can depend on. Your school can take this same advice. Consider going beyond simply hosting a fundraising campaign and tapping into valuable revenue opportunities such as:

• Partnerships with local businesses. Encourage local businesses to sponsor school events, sports teams, or clubs. In return, you can offer promotional benefits like displaying the business's logo on uniforms, event banners, or school newsletters.
• School grants. According to Double the Donation, there are many online grant research tools your school can use to uncover funding opportunities and find grants that fit your needs. Some are targeted toward specific educational programs, technology upgrades, facility improvements, or extracurricular activities.
• Merchandise sales. Choose items that resonate with your students, families, and staff. Popular options include apparel like T-shirts, hoodies, and hats, as well as school supplies, water bottles, and tote bags featuring your school logo or mascot. Offer a range of products at different price points to cater to various budgets.
• Online shopping fundraisers. In addition to purchasing branded merchandise to support your school, families can also contribute year-round through their everyday purchases. Simply register with an online shopping fundraiser platform and have supporters download their app, and a portion of their sales totals will go directly to your school!
• Fee-based after-school programs. Survey parents and students to determine which types of programs are most in demand. This could include tutoring, sports, arts, technology, or special interest clubs. Tailoring your programs to community interests ensures more people will participate.

Developing various revenue sources is vital for your school because it ensures a steady flow of income and reduces your dependency on any single funding stream. This will also help you weather economic changes and potential funding cuts more effectively.

3. Make use of fundraising tools.

Like nonprofits, your school has a lot on its to-do list, from budget planning to student support. Fortunately, there are many fundraising tools available to ease the burden on staff and volunteers.

Both nonprofits and schools can use fundraising software for:

• Gift card fundraising. Students, families, and community members can support your school by simply buying gift cards through a gift card fundraising platform. They’ll be able to use these gift cards to make convenient online or in-person purchases while a portion of the proceeds goes toward covering your fundraising needs—it’s a win-win!
• Peer-to-peer fundraising. You can get your school community directly involved by empowering students and staff to fundraise on your behalf. Participants create their own fundraising pages, share their personal stories and connections to your school, and reach out to their networks for donations.
• Auctions. You can organize live, silent, or online auctions with items donated by local businesses, families, or staff. By investing in a silent auction software solution, your school can tap into features such as live-streaming, mobile bidding, and customizable event sites to create memorable fundraising experiences for your community.

When choosing the best fundraising tools for your school, consider the specific needs of your community, the ease of use, and the potential for engaging a wide audience. It's important to select tools that align with your school’s specific goals and resources.

4. Engage with donors through multiple channels.

Interacting with donors through multiple channels helps build strong relationships by connecting with them in their preferred ways. When crafting fundraising appeals, nonprofits know that it’s not just the content that counts, but the channels through which you send them.

Your school should consider using the following channels to engage donors:

• Email. Email allows you to reach a wide audience quickly and cost-effectively. Email campaigns can also be easily tracked and analyzed, providing valuable insights into your donors’ behavior and preferences.
• Social Media. Social media platforms make it easy to reach a diverse audience. By sharing compelling stories, updates, and interactive content, you can involve followers in real time and foster a community around your cause.
• Text. Text messaging is a direct and immediate channel to connect with your donors, making it excellent for time-sensitive campaigns and updates. It allows you to send concise, urgent appeals that donors can respond to instantly, right from their phones.

By establishing an active presence on various communication platforms, your school can maximize fundraising engagement and build a strong community of support over time. Be sure to consider your school’s website as well. Having a high-quality website is crucial for effective communication and enhancing your fundraising efforts, since it serves as a central hub for sharing information and collecting donations.

5. Harness the power of gratitude.

Donors lie at the heart of every nonprofit’s success. To keep donors invested in their cause, nonprofits make gratitude an integral part of their fundraising strategy.

Some popular recognition ideas for your school include:

• Thank-you emails
• Social media shoutouts
• Appreciation videos
• Handwritten cards or animated eCards
• Special recognition events
• Donor feature stories in newsletters

According to SchoolAuction.net, while you should provide updates on the impact of donors’ gifts, avoid any additional monetary requests in your thank-you messages. Consistently celebrating your donors through a variety of thoughtful gestures not only shows your school’s appreciation but also fosters a loyal and supportive community that is vital for your ongoing success.

Wrapping Up

Whether you’re raising funds to purchase new sports equipment, expand your extracurricular offerings, or renovate a school building, applying a few tried-and-true nonprofit best practices can make a world of difference to your campaign. Track and assess your fundraising results to identify what strategies work so you can improve year after year.

In 2022, 7.47 million small businesses sold goods through the e-commerce platform Etsy, just a fraction of the more than 30 million small businesses in the US. Whether you want to offer high-quality products to your most loyal customers or venture into a new market, it’s critical to take advantage of this opportunity to boost your revenue.

Merchandising is the process of selecting, arranging, displaying, advertising, and selling products (merchandise) in a physical or online store. Selling merchandise is a great way to bolster your income, improve financial stability, and even give customers a way to shop for a worthy cause through charity partnerships.

In this guide, we’ll explore how you can get started with merchandising to take your business to new heights.

1. Consider Your Brand and Target Audience

The first step in your small business merchandising journey is identifying your target audience and market. Answer questions like:

• Who are they?
• Where do they work?
• What is their income?
• What do they do in their free time?
• What problems do they have?
• How can your merchandise solve those problems (e.g., a dog grooming business helping out busy customers by conveniently selling brushes, shampoo, and other products they can use at home in-store)?

You may find that you have more than one target market. Aim to outline and understand between three and five core audience profiles. Then, develop and adjust your in-store and online merchandising to align with your brand identity and target those audiences. Incorporate these elements to instill your branding into each product offered:

• Visuals. Visuals create a first impression that sets the tone for how customers think of your products. For example, consider a dog daycare selling leashes, toys, and calming supplements. They want their product displays, decor, and website design to use consistent brand colors and logos, and showcase happy, well-behaved dogs in product images, signs, and marketing materials.
• Voice. Brand voice concerns how you talk about products on store signage, online product descriptions, and social media promotions. The language, tone, and core benefits you use should be consistent across all of these communications. This is particularly important to keep in mind if you’re working with influencers or other third parties to promote your merchandise.
• Values. What are your business’s values? For example, do they include sustainability, safe and fair employee work conditions, and giving back to the community? Develop a merchandising strategy that reflects your brand ethics and aligns with shoppers’ own values and morals.

Committing to thorough planning and data analysis at this stage will make the more “fun” parts of merchandising, like displaying and selling your products, go much more smoothly. Additionally, you’ll see the positive impact of cohesive, compelling branding that appeals to your target audience once you start crunching your sales numbers.

2. Leverage Visual Merchandising

Visual merchandising is a strategy your business can use to sell more products through strategic floor layouts, color, engaging displays, and other eye-catching tactics. This marketing strategy helps communicate your brand, catch customers’ attention, and boost sales by quickly directing them to the products they need—or even new ones they aren’t aware of yet.

For example, the clothing brand Anthropologie is well known for its elaborate, ever-changing window displays, decor, and product staging. Not only do these beautiful works entice customers and build a cohesive environment, but their use of recycled and sustainable materials also reinforces the business’s top value: to be mindful of its environmental impact.

Take inspiration from brands like Anthropologie as well as the top companies in your niche, and apply these tips:

• Choose a focal point. In each display, identify a primary focal point—ideally, your product. Use signage, decor, color, lighting, and even technology like screens to direct customers’ attention to that focal point.
• Consider product placement. Place the products you want to sell the most, typically your high-margin or popular items, at customers’ eye level. Encourage impulse purchases by placing low-cost but useful items near the checkout area.
• Keep things simple. Avoid overloading your store and merchandise displays with clutter. This can make it difficult for customers to absorb and navigate all of the items on sale. After all, the goal is to direct attention to the merchandise, not the decorations around them.

For example, let’s say you run a pet business that offers basic pet supplies, food, and dog grooming and daycare services. During the Halloween season, you place holiday-specific products such as dog costumes and trick-or-treat dog treats at the front of the store with colorful, themed signage to draw attention to them. To keep everything streamlined and track the outcomes of these seasonal trends, you leverage specialized software like Gingr to reserve items, track inventory, and analyze profits.

3. Provide Interactive Experiences

Adding an array of sensory experiences keeps customers engaged and interested in your merchandise. When selecting your store’s sensory experiences, try to include as many of the five senses as possible. Consider how sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound play a role in your merchandising.

A sensory experience also shows customers what they’re buying. Try incorporating these engaging sensory experiences both in-person and online:

• Host events with hands-on activities. Give customers the chance to interact with the products through engaging activities. For example, if your spa sells face masks or other skincare products, you might hold a workshop to show them how to do their own facials at home using your merchandise.
• Offer free product samples. Similarly, offer samples of your products to your customers. For a bakery or ice cream shop, this may result in instant purchases if the customer enjoys the treat. But if you’re handing out makeup samples, for example, customers will likely return to your store after they’ve tried the product at home to make the purchase. If you have an online shop, consider including free samples in customers’ orders.
• Provide personalized recommendations. While customers can easily get a recommendation from your employees when shopping in person, it’s harder to do so as an online shopper. Consider setting up an AI chatbot to assist your online customers or even creating a product quiz. For example, Living Proof’s haircare quiz helps customers find the best products for their unique hair needs.
• Ask for feedback. Have customers weigh in on what their favorite products are. Allow them to vote and then create a list of top sellers based on their responses. You might even set up a dedicated display highlighting these items for future customers to peruse.

To create a truly immersive experience, foster excellent employee engagement and make sure each of your team members is an expert in the merchandise. They should be able to direct customers to the products they are looking for, answer questions, and recommend products based on customers’ needs. Combined with a positive shopping experience, this will make customers feel satisfied and want to return.

4. Make Purchasing a Positive Act

When given a choice between buying a product from a faceless organization and one that gives back to its community, shoppers will generally choose the one that gives back. As Double the Donation’s roundup of corporate social responsibility (CSR) statistics explains, 77% of consumers want to purchase from companies that have CSR initiatives.

There are many ways you can bake this type of giving into your small business merchandising strategy, including:

• Donating a percentage of each sale to each customer’s preferred nonprofit.
• Connecting with and supporting nonprofits through a charity affiliate program.
• Donating a portion of each sale you make to a predetermined nonprofit.
• Partnering directly with a nonprofit to sell their branded items in your store.
• Pledging to donate one unit of your product for every purchase made.

Ideally, your shoppers should feel like purchasing your merchandise directly supports a positive cause. Make your customer-facing CSR initiatives explicit in your marketing. For instance, remind shoppers that a portion of their spending will go back into their community, and be specific in how it will be donated and spent.

Wrapping Up

These merchandising strategies will help you get your ideas off the ground, reach the right customers, and inspire them to try your products. However, you shouldn’t have to go it alone.

Leveraging the right business management software and digital tools will simplify the merchandising process and save you time. Ultimately, scalable, customizable software will help you implement these merchandising essentials and grow your small business.

In an increasingly digital era, there are endless opportunities to share your nonprofit’s cause with the world. Boosting awareness not only motivates donors to give but also draws attention to the issues your organization works to address.

The good news: Your organization doesn’t need a bottomless budget or a large marketing team to do this. From social media to your nonprofit’s website, there are plenty of cost-effective and free marketing tools available to spread the word about your mission. All you need is a dedicated strategy to reach the right audience.

Let’s explore a few cost-effective ways to boost awareness on a budget.

1. Launch a shopping fundraiser

What better way to draw attention to your nonprofit than by putting your cause right in front of potential supporters? The number of online shoppers is steadily increasing, meaning a large portion of your target audience is likely to be found in online stores.

A shopping fundraiser is a campaign in which a portion of supporters’ online purchases are contributed to your nonprofit. Here’s how you can get started:

1. Partner with a service that provides online shopping fundraising tools, like an app or browser extension.
2. Promote the opportunity through shareable content so existing supporters can get their friends and family involved.
3. Encourage shoppers to make purchases through the app, browser, or online mall.
4. Receive a portion of the sales as a contribution from the retailer based on a pre-negotiated rate set by your online shopping fundraising service.

The unique advantage of shopping fundraisers is that everyone shops. This strategy not only allows your nonprofit to raise funds passively but also helps you stay top of mind for supporters using your app and browser extension. Plus, online shopping is accessible to nearly everyone with a computer and internet access, helping you engage a broad audience.

2. Start blogging

Content marketing involves sharing valuable creative content online, such as articles or videos. Blogging is an especially effective content marketing medium because it allows your nonprofit to educate and attract an audience beyond your existing supporter base—and it’s completely free!

To start a blog on your nonprofit’s website, plan articles focused on issues relevant to your mission. For example, an animal shelter might publish blog content about the rate of dog homelessness in the community or tips for caring for your dog on a low budget.

Then, use search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to ensure your blog content appears on Google’s search engine results page (SERP) for relevant keywords. This involves:

• Providing valuable insights. Well-researched and thought-provoking content not only ranks higher but will also increase reader engagement. Share your original, professional insights to create unique blog content that only your nonprofit can offer.
• Targeting specific keywords. Brainstorm and research keywords to determine what terms potential supporters are entering into Google. Then, build content around these topics that address the audience’s interests and compel them to support your cause.
• Linking to credible resources. Citing reputable sources, whether they’re your own reports or from another organization, boosts your content’s credibility. Add links to web pages that your content viewers would benefit from exploring.

Content marketing doesn’t have to be just written blogs. Experiment with other content formats, like video or podcasts, to engage all types of audiences, and try posting them on various channels in addition to your website, like social media.

3. Apply for the Google Ad Grant

Once you’ve developed valuable content for your website, you can make doubly sure large audiences see it with the Google Ad Grant. Getting Attention defines Google Ad Grants as “a free version of Google Ads” for nonprofits that apply and qualify for the grant. These nonprofits receive $10,000 in free monthly advertising credits.

With these ad credits, your nonprofit will bid on keywords related to your cause. Then, your ads will display at the top of the SERP when someone searches for a keyword you’ve bid on and won.

Get started with the following steps:

1. Apply: This involves enrolling in Google for Nonprofits and submitting your website to Google’s team for review.
2. Maintain eligibility: Comply with Google’s rules, which range from following keyword guidelines to the structure of your account.
3. Measure campaign performance: Track the performance of your ads over time to ensure they appear in front of a large audience and result in the desired action.

While the Google Ad Grant is a budget-friendly way to boost awareness, it requires a strategy to produce the desired results. To grow your audience and drive support through your website, you’ll likely need to adjust your ads over time to stay relevant.

Managing your ads is a full-time job, so the best way to make the most of your ad credits is to enlist the help of a Google Grant agency. An expert’s guidance can help you create effective ads that reach your target audience and compel visitors to take action.

4. Post consistently on social media

Social media sites are popular nonprofit marketing platforms. On some social media sites, content can show up in the feeds of users who don’t even follow you, meaning there’s great potential to grow your audience on platforms like Instagram.

By posting regularly, you can cultivate an engaged audience who shares your content with their own networks of followers. To maintain a consistent schedule, create a calendar that outlines when you’ll post, what you’ll post, and on what channel.

For example, the posting calendar for an animal shelter may look something like this:

• Monday
  • Platform: Instagram
  • Content: Infographic showing the number of dog intakes that occurred over the weekend.
  • Caption: Over the weekend, we welcomed 50 new furry friends into our shelter! To alleviate overcrowding and ensure we have enough resources and space, we need to reduce our animal population to 300. Swipe to see how you can help by adopting, fostering, or donating!
• Tuesday
  • Platform: Facebook
  • Content: A picture of a newly adopted dog and his family accompanied by the story of his adoption.
  • Caption: Meet Bella and her new forever family! Bella found her perfect match after a full year at our facility. Visit our website to learn more about her journey to her new home.
• Wednesday
  • Platform: X (formerly Twitter)
  • Content: A quick tweet recruiting help from potential volunteers.
  • Caption: Our shelter needs your help! We need volunteers to help walk and feed dogs this weekend. If you love animals and want to make a difference, visit our website to sign up!

If you don’t have enough data to determine which social media channels your target audience uses or what content would compel them to get involved, it’s time to do some research! You can start with social media appending, which NPOInfo defines as “the process of updating outdated social media information and pulling new details for contacts in your CRM.”

This allows you to find your current supporters’ social media profiles. Use this data to identify which platforms your audience already uses and reach out to them when starting new accounts.

Wrapping Up

With a strategic approach, your nonprofit can reinvigorate its marketing efforts to garner increased support, generate more revenue, and make a bigger impact than ever before. When you leverage cost-effective ways to boost awareness, you may even have wiggle room in your budget to delegate the marketing process to an experienced professional. Determine which approach is right for your nonprofit and develop a plan to reach more potential supporters.

Sustainable revenue sources are essential to a successful nonprofit fundraising strategy. Beginning in 2013, more than a million organizations participated in the AmazonSmile program to generate ongoing funding between their larger giving campaigns and events. But in January 2023, Amazon announced that it was discontinuing the Smile program just one month later, which left nonprofit participants uncertain about the future of their year-round fundraising efforts.

Fortunately, AmazonSmile wasn’t the only ongoing revenue stream nonprofits could implement. In this guide, you’ll learn all you need to know about choosing the best alternative to AmazonSmile for your organization. Here is what we’ll cover:

• What was AmazonSmile?
• Why was AmazonSmile discontinued?
• Best Alternatives to AmazonSmile

Before we dive into our alternative fundraising recommendations, let’s begin with some background information on the AmazonSmile program and its untimely end.

What Was AmazonSmile?

AmazonSmile was a program that Amazon launched in 2013 as one of its business philanthropy initiatives. It allowed shoppers to contribute to their favorite charitable causes simply by making everyday online purchases on Amazon at no additional cost to them or the organization they chose to support.

For nonprofits, AmazonSmile provided an easy, year-round method of bringing in unrestricted funding to supplement any area of their budget, particularly overhead expenses.

Of course, the program had some inherent disadvantages, such as its low commission rates—just 0.5% of each supporter’s purchase went back to the nonprofit. Shoppers could also only contribute through purchases made on Amazon.com, and nonprofits couldn’t view any participation data, making it impossible to thank supporters individually. However, AmazonSmile’s convenience as an ongoing, passive fundraiser made it a popular supplement to the annual fundraising efforts of organizations of all shapes and sizes.

Why Was AmazonSmile Discontinued?

According to an official press release, Amazon discontinued the Smile program because the company felt like its philanthropic impact was spread too thin. Instead, the business planned to focus on other, more targeted charitable initiatives, such as aiding in disaster relief and building affordable housing.

However, what Amazon didn’t take into account was the significant impact the announcement would have on individual nonprofits. Small organizations, in particular, relied heavily on the Smile program’s funding to conduct their day-to-day operations, and the program’s discontinuation meant a key revenue source was no longer available to them.

The announcement also came in January, when most nonprofits had already finalized their operating budgets for the 2023 fiscal year. Combined with the quick turnaround, this timing made figuring out an alternative to a funding source they had relied on for up to a decade even more challenging.

Best Alternatives to AmazonSmile

For many organizations, AmazonSmile’s discontinuation left them with a fundraising deficit that they quickly had to fill. If your nonprofit was among these organizations, you might have tried several alternative fundraising ideas—many of which still have various advantages if you’re looking for an additional revenue stream for the coming year.

Let’s look at six top alternatives that share AmazonSmile’s benefits of convenience and cost effectiveness while driving even more revenue and supporter engagement for your organization. Several of these ideas also have the benefit of earning funds for your nonprofit year-round, boosting financial sustainability.

Featured AmazonSmile Alternative: ShopRaise

AmazonSmile wasn’t the only program of its kind out there. The best, most sustainable alternative to AmazonSmile is to partner with a different online shopping fundraiser platform, like ShopRaise.

ShopRaise allows supporters to contribute to their favorite nonprofits by making everyday purchases. Rather than being owned by and limited to a single online retailer like AmazonSmile was, ShopRaise operates within a wide network of e-commerce businesses to provide even more opportunities to shop for a good cause.

ShopRaise offers two options for your organization to fundraise through supporters’ purchases: the online shopping fundraiser and the gift card store. Let’s dive into both aspects of the platform in more detail before discussing its specific benefits as an AmazonSmile alternative.

Online Shopping Fundraiser

Similarly to AmazonSmile, ShopRaise’s online shopping fundraiser contributes a percentage of supporters’ sales totals at participating retailers directly to their cause of choice. Your nonprofit can get started with this part of the platform by:

1. Signing up for ShopRaise. The ShopRaise team will walk you through a simple onboarding process, answer any questions you may have, and handle all negotiations with retailers for you.
2. Spreading the word. Since ShopRaise functions differently from AmazonSmile, you’ll need to provide instructions to help supporters start shopping for your cause and regularly remind them to use the app as they shop online. ShopRaise also helps with this step by creating a branded landing page, flyers, email templates, and other marketing materials for your nonprofit.
3. Tracking results. You’ll be able to view real-time data on your fundraiser through the ShopRaise platform, allowing you to thank your top supporters individually and hone your marketing strategy. To protect shoppers’ privacy, you’ll just see their names and fundraising totals—only the supporter will know exactly what items they purchased.

On the supporter side, all they have to do is download ShopRaise’s free app or browser extension and use these tools when shopping online. They’ll pay the same prices and have access to the same discounts they normally would. They’re also able to view their fundraising totals in the app, so they can see how their contributions add up over time to make a difference for your nonprofit!

Gift Card Store

When your organization signs up for ShopRaise’s online shopping fundraiser, you automatically gain access to the Gift Card Store as well! Here, supporters can choose from more than 200 different gift cards, and a portion of their purchase will again go back to your nonprofit.

All of ShopRaise’s fundraising gift cards are digital, so they’re delivered directly to supporters’ inboxes within minutes of purchase. Once a shopper receives their digital gift card, they can do one of three things with it:

1. Forward the email to a friend or family member to give them the card as a gift.
2. Use the gift card for their own in-person or online purchases so they can give back while they shop or eat out.
3. Pay for the items they buy through ShopRaise’s online shopping fundraiser with the gift card, thereby contributing even more to your organization!

While gift card sales make a great holiday fundraiser, they can provide revenue for your nonprofit year-round just like the online shopping fundraiser. For instance, supporters may purchase them as birthday gifts or for their own purchases, which can happen at any time.

Benefits of ShopRaise as an Alternative to AmazonSmile

Although having participated in AmazonSmile makes ShopRaise an easy switch for your nonprofit and its supporters, ShopRaise offers several advantages that AmazonSmile didn’t provide, including:

• Higher commissions. AmazonSmile only gave 0.5% of supporters’ purchase totals back to their chosen nonprofit. Meanwhile, ShopRaise’s online shopping fundraiser commission rates range from 3% to 10% depending on the retailer, and the average contribution from a Gift Card Store purchase is 5.5%.
• Marketing support. Although communication is essential to a successful online shopping fundraiser, AmazonSmile didn’t create custom branded marketing materials for each participating nonprofit, which ShopRaise will do for your organization at no cost.
• Data reporting. A common pain point for organizations participating in AmazonSmile was the inability to view data on their fundraising performance. By contrast, ShopRaise offers easy-to-use data reporting tools for both nonprofits and supporters.
• Increased versatility. Supporters can contribute through a wider range of purchases through ShopRaise since the platform isn’t restricted to a single retailer. Plus, the Gift Card Store allows supporters to contribute to your cause while shopping in stores or eating at their favorite restaurants, while AmazonSmile was limited to online purchases.

Additionally, AmazonSmile only allowed nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and schools to participate. ShopRaise also provides fundraising solutions for sports teams and clubs—we want to help you earn revenue for your cause no matter what type of organization you represent!

Other Top AmazonSmile Alternatives

Besides online shopping and gift card fundraising through ShopRaise, there are a few other revenue generation ideas your nonprofit could consider as AmazonSmile alternatives, such as:

• Virtual events. Events like galas, auctions, and 5K races often have a high ROI and can easily become annual fundraisers for your organization. Plus, your upfront costs will be lower for a virtual event than an in-person event since you don’t need to secure a venue or other tangible supplies. However, these events still require a lot of planning and don’t share the advantage AmazonSmile had of providing steady, ongoing revenue.
• In-kind donation drives. If your organization needs physical items on a recurring basis to further its mission, soliciting them directly from your supporters allows you to secure them more efficiently. For example, an animal shelter might ask for contributions of pet food, treats, and cat litter each month. The main difficulty with in-kind donations is that you’ll likely receive some items you can’t use (like opened or expired goods), which will go to waste.
• Matching gifts. Adding a matching gift tool to your online donation form can help you maximize the donations your supporters are already contributing year-round, as well as strengthening relationships with local businesses. This idea’s biggest challenge is that many donors aren’t aware that their employers might match their gifts, so you’ll need to invest time and resources into marketing the opportunity.
• Fundraising eCards. eCards are a creative way to spread the word about your mission, and in exchange for a supporter’s donation, they get the opportunity to send a digital greeting card to a friend or family member. However, since supporters will likely only send these cards when there is an appropriate occasion, this revenue stream isn’t quite as continuous as AmazonSmile was.
• Branded merchandise sales. Many fundraising organizations open online stores to sell t-shirts, hats, beverage containers, magnets, and other gifts that feature their logo. When supporters purchase these items, in addition to donating to your mission, they’ll spread the word about your organization every time they use your products. The main drawback here is that these items often aren’t on supporters’ regular shopping lists, so they have to go a bit out of their way to contribute.

As you can see, each alternative fundraising idea has its pros and cons. Weigh these various factors as you decide which options are best for your nonprofit.

Wrapping Up: Additional Resources on AmazonSmile Alternatives

Although AmazonSmile’s untimely discontinuation in early 2023 impacted many nonprofits, all hope was—and is—not lost! There are plenty of alternative fundraising methods your organization can try to establish new revenue streams and engage your supporters. If you want a solution that works similarly to AmazonSmile but eliminates several of that program’s key pain points, look no further than ShopRaise!

For more information on alternatives to AmazonSmile, check out these resources:

• Passive Fundraising: 7 Best Ideas to Earn Extra Revenue. Explore our top ideas for helping your supporters give back as they go about their daily lives.
• Nonprofit Revenue Streams: How to Fundraise Sustainably. Learn more about the five main categories of revenue streams available to nonprofits and how to incorporate them into your organization’s fundraising strategy.
• Ethical Shopping: How to Change the World With Your Wallet. Discover what ethical shopping means, why it’s likely important to many of your organization’s supporters, and how you can facilitate it through platforms like ShopRaise.

Data-driven marketing and fundraising are the future. After all, using data allows organizations like yours to personalize your donation appeals and marketing tactics, making supporters feel like a crucial piece of your social good puzzle.

However, 87% of marketers say that their organization is underutilizing its data, leading to missed opportunities to engage supporters, inspire donations, recruit volunteers, and more. To help you use your data to its full potential, we’ll explore some best practices for collecting and analyzing data and outline the top ways to use your data in this guide.

Fundraising Data Best Practices

Before you can extract insights from your fundraising data, start by making sure your database is clean, comprehensive, and up-to-date. To prepare and understand your data, follow these best practices:

• Eliminate or solve for data silos. Data silos occur when information is collected and stored across multiple different systems. It’s best to use a constituent relationship management (CRM) system to aggregate your data. Set up integrations between your CRM and other fundraising tools to consolidate the information.
• Establish standardized data entry practices. Reduce potential errors by outlining standard conventions for entering donor data. For example, clarify whether you will spell out or abbreviate street names or if you’ll include hyphens in phone numbers (e.g., 123-456-7890 versus 1234567890).
• Audit and clean your data. Clean data is free of errors, duplicates, outdated information, and nonstandard formatting. Auditing your data and correcting these issues is critical. As NPOInfo’s guide to data hygiene explains, skipping this step could lead to missing opportunities to engage your supporters, overspending on outreach initiatives, and lapsed donors.
• Segment your donors. Segmenting donors involves grouping them based on shared characteristics, such as demographics, giving behavior, engagement level, communication preferences, and more. These segments will allow you to spot more granular trends among smaller audiences within your supporter base. Plus, you can use them to send targeted marketing messages.
• Track the donor lifecycle. The donor lifecycle illustrates a supporter’s journey with your organization, from acquisition to retention or reactivation. Following this journey will help you identify gaps that may be causing donors to lapse. For example, you may not be sending personal, timely thank-you messages to donors, causing them to feel unappreciated and sit your next fundraiser out.

Additionally, make preparations before each campaign to ensure you collect the right data. Choose key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with the campaign’s goals. For example, if you hold a school fundraising event to raise $10,000, track donations. Or, if your goal is to reach 50 new donors, track metrics like new donor acquisition rate and conversion rate.

How to Make the Most of Your Data

Next, it’s time to put your data to work. Employing data analytics for nonprofits, schools, and other mission-driven organizations is the best way to prove your impact and continuously improve your fundraising efforts. Start by making sure you’re connecting with supporters at the right time, with the right message, through the right communication channels.

1. Personalize marketing.

Personalized marketing involves applying data insights to your communications and appeals to supporters. For example, you might reference the last time a donor engaged with your organization to show how much you value their contributions.

For this method to be successful, you’ll need to create donor segments. Then, you can launch:

• Tailored messages. Include personal details in your messages by greeting the donor by their first name, referencing past support, and recommending other opportunities for them. For example, if a supporter gives to all of your school’s fundraising events, you might ask them if they’d like to volunteer at the next one. Share these messages via donors’ preferred communication channels to ensure they see and engage with them.
• Targeted campaigns. Create campaigns aimed at specific segments of your audience. For example, let’s say you kick off a marketing campaign to re-engage lapsed donors. In this case, you’d send updates about the work you’ve done recently, share impact metrics, and tell them how their support would help you do even more.
• Customized appeals. Making a fundraising ask is often the most daunting part of the process. However, using data to formulate tailored appeals increases your chances of success. By referencing the donor’s giving frequency, recency, and average gift size, you can position your appeal in the fundraising Goldilocks zone by asking for the right amount.

Once you’ve gotten comfortable segmenting donors and tried out these personalized marketing strategies, consider launching a passive fundraiser to earn additional revenue. Because these hands-off campaigns rely mostly on solid marketing to drive donations, creating effective donor segments and using automated marketing tools can yield great results with minimal effort.

2. Document your impact.

Tracking and sharing your organization’s impact helps you prove your nonprofit’s progress to donors. When they have tangible evidence of the change their fundraising dollars or volunteer hours made in the world, they’ll be much more likely to continue donating.

Here are some examples of how you might communicate impact to your supporters:

• A school holds a read-a-thon and uses the reading log recommended in 99Pledges’ read-a-thon guide. After the fundraiser ends, the school shares the total number of minutes, books, and pages students read with supporters.
• A food pantry tracks how many meals volunteers can serve within their three-hour shifts. Then, they follow up with volunteers to let them know that because of them, 150 people didn’t have to go hungry.
• A wildlife conservatory translates dollars to tangible benefits so donors know exactly where their money is going. For example, five dollars is enough to plant a new sapling, while $50 purchases beach cleanup supplies.

Spread awareness of these key metrics to inspire support from current and prospective donors. Add these numbers to your annual reports, website, social media pages, and targeted marketing messages.

3. Optimize future events.

Another way to show how much you value your supporters is to ask for and implement their feedback. By getting their input on your fundraising events, you’ll know what’s working well and where you stand to improve.

For example, perhaps your school works closely with the PTA to organize a charity auction. Once the auction wraps up, you ask both the PTA members and attendees to weigh in via a survey. Let’s say parent volunteers indicated that they needed more direction at the event, and attendees and donors say they would have liked to access a full auction catalog in advance.

From here, you need to use the data. Implement donors’ suggestions whenever you can to make future events align with their preferences and expectations. Returning to our previous example, your school could start assigning specific roles to each parent, appoint a volunteer manager, and share a digital auction catalog two weeks before the event.

Additionally, you can compare metrics like registration and attendance rates to identify gaps in the process. For instance, if 200 people register but only 125 attend, you may need to send reminders the day before the event to boost attendance.

Wrapping Up

Your data is one of your most valuable assets—don’t leave fundraising revenue on the table by letting it go to waste. Plus, these insights can aid you in building a strong foundation of supporters. Personalizing communications, effectively communicating your impact to supporters, and consistently improving campaigns will help you retain more loyal donors that you can count on to power your mission.