QUESTION

What do I need to know about the 501tech online donation tool to determine whether or not we should adopt it? What steps are involved in using the tool? Please note that the tool only works with responsively designed (mobile friendly).


ANSWER


Technology is creating dramatic shifts in individual / household giving.

  • Giving by individuals / households will grow by 4% in 2016 and 2017. Individual / household giving makes up 70% of all giving nationally (according to a report published by Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy).
  • Online giving grew by 9.2% from 2014 to 2015. The volume of donations grew by 13% over the same period which means that not only more donations are being received online but that the number of individuals donating online is also increasing (according to Blackbaud’s 2015 Charitable Giving Report).
  • 14% of online giving originated from a mobile device in 2015 (also according to Blackbaud’s 2015 Charitable Giving Report). Use of a mobile device to make donations grew from 10% in 2013 to 18% in 2015 (according to Dunham+Company study published March 23, 2016).

Most small and medium sized nonprofits are ill-prepared to capitalize on the trends in both online giving and more importantly, giving from mobile devices.

  • Their donation forms are unnecessarily complicated and request too much information and time from the donor. Their resource development staff prioritizes capturing detailed donor information over providing a simple and quick donor experience.
  • Their donation forms are hosted by a third party (usually a donor management software provider like eTapestry, Blackbaud, DonorPerfect, etc.) where the nonprofit has limited control over branding, receipting, and the amount of donor information required. 
  • Their donation forms are not mobile friendly which is to say that they are not easily viewed and navigated by the donor using a mobile device.

Over the last four years (with funding from our donors totaling nearly $30,000) 501tech has developed an online donation tool that allows nonprofits to effectively capitalize on these trends. The latest version of the tool (version 3 was launched to all participating organizations in late 2016) provides for the following functionality:

  • Minimalistic, donor friendly mobile and web interface
  • Unlimited number of campaigns with seven suggesting giving levels and customized email receipt format specific to each campaign
  • Goods and services / net charitable donation reporting through customized email receipt functionality
  • Immediate email notification of gifts received by campaign
  • Recurring giving options including monthly, quarterly and annually
  • Freeform donor notes field for tribute gifts
  • Option for donor to cover the credit card processing fee
  • URL’s specific to each campaign to be used in email based fundraising
  • Donations for event sponsorships
  • DonorPerfect interface allowing for import of donors and donations


WHAT DOES A MOBILE FRIENDLY DONATION FORM LOOK LIKE?




WHAT DOES IT COST


At this writing, 501tech makes the tool available to Oklahoma based nonprofits at no charge (please note that as our cumulative investment in the tool increases that we may eventually have to begin charging a modest monthly fee ranging from $20 to $35 per month). The tool is based on Stripe which processes the transactions (rather than Network for Good, PayPal, etc.). Stripe charges 2.9% plus .30 cents per transaction with no monthly account fees (most of the aforementioned processors charge monthly fee in addition to transaction fees). Lastly, our partner in this endeavor Asemio (www.asemio.com) charges $500 for setup and incorporate of the form into your existing site.


WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO GET STARTED


If you have questions about or are interested in adopting the 501tech online donation tool, please email us at info@501tech.org. If you decide to proceed, we will ask you for the following to get the process started:

  • Create a Stripe account at https://dashboard.stripe.com/register. Forward credentials to us after the account is created so that we can complete setup of your forms.
  • Credentials for your site’s hosting account. This will allow us to access your site so that we can insert the form per your direction.
  • Contact information for your web developer. We will work with your developer to integrate the form(s) into your site and 
  • List of campaigns, events, etc. that you will want to setup initially. For each campaign, we will ask for the following information:
    • Your corporate logo and event logo if relevant (in .jpg or .png format)
    • Receipt language, formatting and additional images if relevant.
    • Seven suggested giving amounts, or in the case of a sponsorship, a single amount.
    • Contact emails for each campaign or event (this allows for staff, board members, or volunteers to be notified when a donation is received).
For more information, please email us at info@501tech.net.