The Importance of Diversifying Your Fundraising Efforts

Just relying on one or two sources of donation revenue can put your nonprofit in a tricky situation if they should dry up.

Diversifying fundraising efforts means that you offer multiple ways donors can give.  Some of our favorite ways to diversify giving options are: monthly donations, SmartAskTM, Text-to-Give, and most importantly (what we're going to cover today) Round-Ups!

When you diversify your giving options you:

• Mitigate risks. Just relying on one or two sources of donation revenue can put your nonprofit in a tricky situation if they should dry up. Diversifying your fundraising efforts helps mitigate this risk and it contributes to your nonprofit’s financial stability.
• Increase Revenue. Round-Ups provide an easy and engaging way for supporters to give (especially for those millennials who prefer to “set and forget” subscriptions).
• Improve Engagement. Easily integrate Round-Ups into your fundraising programs by adding a button to your website or promoting your round-ups landing page.
• Promote Adaptability & Flexibility. Let your donors give how they want to give.

Round-Ups are the easiest solution

Now, we told you that Round-Ups solve some of the problems nonprofits face. So, let’s dig into how Round-Ups can do this for YOU:

• Help with competition amongst nonprofits
• Help reduce donor fatigue, and
• Help overcome the donor’s feelings of having limited resources to give.

1. Round-Ups help with competition amongst nonprofits

Round-Ups helps with competition amongst nonprofits because when a donor signs up for your nonprofit program, they’re signed up for your nonprofit program. Even if they make one off donations to other nonprofits, every time they swipe their card, be it for a haircut or groceries, your nonprofit will get that Round-Up change.

2. Round-Ups help reduce donor fatigue

Round-Ups help reduce donor fatigue because a donor doesn’t have to make a decision every time a donation is made. There’s no ask. Well, there is one, but just one! When the donor initially signs up on your donate page they simply have to create an account, link their card, and add a max monthly giving cap. And just like that, they’re good to go!

3. Round-Ups help overcome donor’s feelings of having limited resources to give

Round-Ups help overcome donor’s feelings of having limited resources to give because they allow donors to make small, manageable donations that can create a substantial impact over time.

For example:

• if someone spends $4.50,
• the program would automatically round up to $5.00
• and donate the extra 50 cents to the non-profit organization.

This adds up overtime. If that $4.50 covers a daily latte on a workday commute that would mean your nonprofit gets an extra $2.5 a week, $10 a month, and $120 a year!

Because it breaks up these donations into spare change roundups, donors are less likely to feel the financial burden of supporting your nonprofit organization. Plus, they get the joy of making a difference each and every day.

Let's talk about Harness Round-Ups

Round-Ups is one of our most popular services that lets donors passively donate their spare change from their everyday credit/debit card purchases to YOUR nonprofit.

Okay, let's break this down:

1. If you were to set yourself a goal to grow your donor base by 5 Round-Up donors per month,
2. donating at least $10,
3. you should have 60 donors contributing to your organization monthly (by 12 months),
4. at $10 a month from Round-Up donations,
5. equalling $600 per month, EACH month after.

*keep in mind there is always a leaky bucket, and that's where retention and stewardship come into play - read our stewardship blogs to learn how to keep your donors.

This is similar to the roundup prompts you might be familiar with at some grocery story and business checkouts. The reason you see these everywhere is, again, that they work! Panera Bread, for example, in 2020 reported that their roundup program raised over $2.5 million for charity.

But unlike at Panera Bread with Round-Ups, donors don’t have to accept a prompt to donate with each purchase. All they have to do is swipe that card. Suddenly, that afternoon latte does double the good—for the donor and your nonprofit.

Why we love Round-Ups

Round-Ups work.

Not only that, but also Round-Ups allow for a consistent donor-gratification, which increases the life-time of individual donors and the likelihood that they’ll  share with their friends and family this new, simple and unique way that they can donate to your organization.

Discover how to maximize your impact and how to choose the right Round-Up program for your nonprofit.