Tools For Nonprofits To Raise Awareness And Engage Better

When it comes to Non-Profits, the operating ideology often is very simple. Every drop adds up. Every $ is equally valuable. Read on to know how non-profits can use specific tools for audience engagement. 

That’s the headline of the ALS Association website – an association that raised over $100 Mn from the Ice Bucket Challenge in less than 4 weeks. Ice bucket challenge is a classic case study of how non-profits can tap on to social media to create a ripple effect. While the ALS Association is one of the several association that benefited from the challenge, it continues to invest in fund raising. Creating awareness and fundraising are the line items for non-profits. And just like everyone else, non-profits are increasingly adapting technology to drive impact.

The ALS Ice bucket challenge went viral and raised a lot of funds as donations.

According to the FEP Report, donor retention rate was 45% and it has been observed that these donors donate more with each year. The rise of social media has motivated young people to contribute more to charity. The donors today are exposed to multiple devices and get information from various channels. Therefore, it is important that nonprofits start aligning their campaigns around these donors.

The new mental model: Zero Moment of Truth

Read on to know more about:

1. Various challenges faced by nonprofits.
2. Why is it essential for nonprofits to go online?
3. Tools for nonprofits that can help them to grow.

Problems faced by non-profits

Non-profits have problems which are both peculiar and eccentric, and in most cases are really hard to solve.

Challenges of a non-profit

Some of the major problems that most of these organisations face are:

• Limited Access to Funds

Non-profits face entrenched fundraising challenges.The existing sources of funds are often not enough to support the organizational activities. This happens because majority of the funds are raised via foundations and are thus restricted. Unrestricted funds are generated from the community which in itself is a bigger challenge.

• Donor Engagement

This FEP Report says that 55% donors in a particular year do not donate in the following year. Due to lack of communication, nonprofits are unable to engage their donors. It is necessary that you inform your donors about the impact that was created due to their contributions.

• Low Resources and Technological Skills

Any activity that is not directly related to the cause, is hard to perform in the organization. For example, a nonprofit working for Poverty Alleviation might have limited  knowledge about using a CRM or any other lead generation tool. Also, the cost attached to hire an expert mostly takes away the opportunity of exploring new horizons.

• Sustainability

A great vision doesn’t guarantee that the nonprofit will survive for long. While struggling with finances, it is necessary that the right resources get in place at the right time. That being said, at the end of the day every individual of the organization does sales. It’s important to find the faces that truly represent the value of the organization.

Objectives of a Non-Profit

Non-Profit Organizations have a vision and a mission. For example, the vision could be eradicating poverty and hunger from the country, with the mission of taking initiatives for the same for a particular city in next 5 years.

Keeping the vision and mission of the organization in mind, certain goals are set to achieve them. Some common objectives of a nonprofit are:

1. Raise awareness about the cause
2. Raise funds to facilitate the cause
3. Set measurable goals to achieve the cause

How can tools for nonprofits solve these problems?

Considering the problems of non-profits, help from software is required to help them achieve their objectives. Simultaneously, tools for nonprofits must be easy to use and affordable.

A good nonprofit website design

Here’s a list of tools for nonprofits (recommended) that will help them in creating a powerful digital presence:

Website Building Tools for nonprofits

• WordPress

WordPress is an open-source and free CMS platform that can be used to build responsive websites. Currently, WordPress powers more than 25% of the web and has a user-friendly interface with predefined themes which can be edited. It features plugins (paid and free) which improves the functionality of the website. The custom domain plan starts at just $2.99 per month.

• Wix

Besides WordPress, Wix is another CMS platform that has become well known in the past few years. The platform is easy to use  and has easy drag and drop interface that simplifies  website designing. The custom domain Wix presents the plan in the local currency of the user, so the whole currency conversion process is taken care of. Wix offers more than 500 design templates to chose from and so it takes just a few clicks before one can build his own website.

• Weebly

Trusted by over 40 million users worldwide, Weebly also offers easy drag and drop feature for building a website. Just like WordPress, Weebly has design templates which are editable. Starting at a monthly $8 plan, it offers unlimited storage along with custom domain.

Hosting Solutions offered by GoDaddy, BigRock and BlueHost

Communicate better with your audience

• Using Email Marketing

According to MailChimp, the average open rate of email marketing campaigns for non-profit industry is 24.98%. Here's a guide that talks about how to know if someone read your email. An effective email marketing strategy can help nonprofits to raise funds as well as build their volunteer base. MailChimp offers a free plan for up to 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month. You can design, schedule and send professional emails with MailChimp (or use one of the Mailchimp alternatives). You can also use tools like SendX, SendGrid, GetResponse.

• Build presence on social media platforms

PETA shows how social media is used to drive community towards the cause. Posting visual content on Facebook ,Twitter and Instagram not only helps in spreading a word but is a faster way to communicate with the audience. A study by Barclays Bank found out that there will be an increase of 72% in online donations via social media.

Instagram post by Peta

• Keep the community engaged with push notifications

With web push notifications non-profits can engage with their audience on both desktop and mobile. They can share updates about a new fundraising event, inform the audience about a successful campaign and encourage them to donate for a cause. iZooto has a special offer for nonprofits, flat 25% off and has provided services to Art of Living.

Start engaging users from day zero. Try web push notifications for free!

Content Creation Tools

• Design Banners and Posters with Canva

Canva offers a range of pre-designed templates which can be easily edited and converted into strong and empowering posters. Canva has a special offer for non-profits and has offered services to organizations such as Amnesty International.

• Use Piktochart to make infographics

Infographics are a great tool to raise awareness about a cause. They are easily consumed and understood by the people, and that’s why they hold such significance in any content marketing strategy. With Piktochart, one can choose from a variety of pre-designed templates and start creating rich infographics. Non-profits such as World Wildlife Fund have used Piktochart to create meaningful content.

• Create a video for every story with Rocketium

Videos are one of the most shared content and engaging medium on the web. Creating a good video requires a lot of technical skills, and therefore it becomes difficult for non-profits with limited expertise to create their stories. This is where Rocketium, a video creation tool helps. The Nudge Foundation uses Rocketium to post videos on social media and on display units to raise funds.

Payment Processing Tools For Nonprofits 

Online donations are growing substantially because it saves both time and efforts at the donor’s end. Having a Donate button on each page of the website will allow donors to make a donation, as and when they wish.

Again, it is necessary that the transaction is secured, quick and accepts major online payment processes. Make sure that your check out process is not cumbersome. Non-profits can choose from the three payment processing options mentioned below:

1. Authorize.net
2. RazorPay
3. PayUMoney

All of them assure secured checkouts, accept major credit/debit cards for transactions and are user-friendly.

In conclusion, it is important that non-profits have an online presence and engage with the community. Again, since they face problems which are unique in nature, a single tool can not help solve the problems for them. The identification of both the problem and the solution plays a significant role here.

Translation Tool For Nonprofits

Get your content translated for free. TranslationServices.com provides pro bono translation to select nonprofits. Use these services to reach a wider audience and raise awareness about your cause. You can take advantage of pro bono translation to either communicate with those who are willing to support your cause or with those who need your help the most. All you need to do is contact the company and tell them what your translation needs are and you will receive all the necessary information on how the process works.

This article was originally a guest post on Rocketium.