How to get started with digital fundraising platforms

JustGiving

As one of the earliest and biggest online fundraising platforms, JustGiving’s draw is its large audience. The platform has collected over £4 billion for charities since its launch in 2001, and says it helps charities add momentum to their campaigns by putting them in front of its enormous supporter community.

The platform charges a 5% fee for its Gift Aid Service, which is taken from the amount of Gift Aid claimed on a donation, along with a payment processing fee of 1.9% + 20p per donation.

For setting up campaign pages, the platform charges under monthly plans starting at £15 per month +VAT.

It also has a free, basic option for campaign pages, however, this is less customisable to your brand and doesn’t include a fundraise button for people to link their own individual fundraising pages to your charity’s. The free plan also doesn’t include data and reporting so you have less insight into how well your campaign is performing and the tweaks to make to drive more funds.

Virgin Money Giving

Virgin Money Giving is the second-largest fundraising platform in the UK, having helped raise over £685 million for 14,000 charities since its launch in 2009.

Unlike with JustGiving, there is just the one price plan for all campaign pages and charities can get all the same features as a paid-for JustGiving campaign plan.

There are no monthly charges, but a one-off membership fee of £150, and a 2% processing fee on donations.

However, in a feature introduced last year, anyone donating to a campaign page can choose to cover the payment processing fees as well as the platform fees.

How to set up a winning campaign page

These type of campaign pages are ideal for charities that want to fundraise around an awareness week, towards a specific beneficiary such as a person or animal, a project or a needed item. Being as specific as possible helps people understand exactly what they’re being asked to give towards.

Once you’ve filled in your online application form, set up your campaign page to include a target amount- JustGiving highly recommends this as their metrics say charity campaigns with clear targets are more successful. Including a deadline also adds a sense of urgency that spurs donors into action.

It’s also recommended that charities give options for donation asks and payment types, such as Credit/Debit card, with digital payments like PayPal and Apple Pay.

Add a gallery of relevant photos, along with either your charity’s logo or a campaign logo, and remember to choose a strong cover photo – preferably an authentic image, not a stock image.

You should also use the text space on the campaign page to tell a compelling story about your cause – take a look through some examples of great campaign pages to inspire you. You can even include videos and quotes, and links to campaign resources like fundraising guides and printable materials for your fundraisers. Don’t forget to include an obvious link for fundraisers to sign up and make their own pages.

Finally, make sure you link to your campaign page from your website and from social media channels (both platforms offer options for a button which can be included on charity websites linking back to the campaign), and be as proactive as possible in using social media and email marketing to put the word out – don’t wait for donors and fundraisers to come to you.

JustGiving’s free webinar includes tips on making your campaign page a success.