The best webinar platforms for charities

Webinars – virtual seminars which are held online – are a very valuable tool for charities. That’s because they are much easier and less costly to organise than traditional seminars. With traditional seminar formats off-limits due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent introductions of social distancing guidelines and lockdown restrictions, we have seen a marked uptick in the popularity of the webinar format.

 

Charities may want to hold a webinar for many different reasons. They are a good way to introduce new services; they can be used as part of fundraising efforts; they can be an effective way of staying in contact with constituents, and they offer a means of publicising case studies of the charity’s activities.

 

The best way to hold a well-organised and effective webinar is to make use of one of the many webinar platforms that are available. These offer features including:

 

1. Enrolment, registration and authorisation
2. Screen sharing
3. Video streaming
4. Slide presentations
5. Questions and answer sessions
6. Easy communication between participants
7. Recording of the entire event for later playback on demand.

 

The name "webinar" comes from the idea of a seminar held on the web, and some webinar platforms do allow participation with nothing more than a web browser. However, with the increasing sophistication of webinar platforms, many now require that users download a program or mobile app to enable them to use the platform.

There are a bewildering number of webinar platforms out there, but here are some of the best ones for charities and other non-profit organisations:

 

 

Adobe Connect

 

Good for: Charities that hold webinars regularly

 

This is software giant Adobe’s webinar offering, and it is one of the best out there.

 

The platform has a very full feature set including open chats, polls and surveys, and you can create your own registration page, send out invitations and reminders, and even create follow-up communications, which is a very useful feature for charities using a webinar for fundraising purposes.

 

Pros:

• Support for HD video and audio
• VoIP functionality included
• Unlimited events for a fixed monthly (or annual) fee
• Free trial offered
• Integrates with several popular CRM systems
• 30-day free trial

Cons

• Some functions are more intended for marketers and may not be relevant to charities
• One of the more expensive webinar platforms

Pricing: Pricing is based on number of participants, ranging from $50 per month for up to 25 participants, to $580 per month for up to 1000 participants. Unlimited webinars.

 

 

Webinar Jam

 

Good for: Charities starting out with webinars.

 

One of Webinar Jam’s key selling points is that it is extremely easy to use, making it ideal for charities which are just starting out with webinars, or who have little in-house technical expertise.

 

Webinar Jam offers live chat as well as virtual whiteboards and polls alongside core webinar functionality. It also allows attendees to sign up to charity services directly from the webinar.

 

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Allows up to six co-presenters
• Webinars are automatically recorded for later publishing on your charity’s website or social media pages

Cons:

• Relatively expensive
• Lack of customisation possibilities

Pricing: From $499 per year for up to 500 attendees, to $999 per year for up to 5,000 attendees. Unlimited webinars

 

 

ClickMeeting

 

Good for: Getting the audience involved.

 

ClickMeeting comes from the videoconferencing world, and it is an effective videoconferencing platform.

 

But it also contains many features that are useful for webinars including a meeting room where information can be made available to attendees before the webinar starts, and polls and surveys which attendees can take even if they are watching a recording of the event.

 

A whiteboard can also be activated during the webinar and afterwards for question and answer sessions.

 

Pros:

• Low cost
• Free trial
• Works in YouTube and Facebook

Cons:

• Requires high bandwidth for HD video

Pricing: Prices start at £20 per month for unlimited webinars