By Kaley Aposporos, Content Writer at GoFundMe Charity
As a nonprofit, there are certain ways you can encourage your donors to use their phones for good. With these methods, your nonprofit can advocate for general philanthropy and altruism. In a few different instances, you can even point donors toward helping the cause that your nonprofit champions. Ready to get started? Let’s dive in together.
Put your time to good use
Do you know how much time you spend on your smartphone? The truth might make you uneasy. According to The Guardian, people are spending an average of three hours and 15 minutes on their phone per day. The Guardian goes on to note that this may not feel like a huge loss in your day-to-day life, but it accumulates to 49 days per year spent on your phone.
Now, what if you learned that you could use your smartphone for good by making small adjustments to the way you’re spending those 22 hours and 45 minutes each week? Your supporters can benefit from this information, too. They can use these extra hours to rally behind your cause—little actions can truly make a large impact in the long run. Below are a few simple ideas you can pass on to your nonprofit’s supporters to help them create positive change with their mobile devices.
1) Use an app that gives back to charity
In the age of apps, the options are endless. That said, the three apps listed below are all free and help benefit different charities. Make sure to get your nonprofit added to the list of benefiting charities through these apps, then let your supporters know how they can use them to help your nonprofit reach its fundraising goals.
RoundUp App
With the RoundUp app, supporters simply select the nonprofit they want to benefit and link their debit and credit cards. From there, the app will automatically begin rounding up their purchases to donate the remainder of each dollar to charity. If the budget is tight, users can choose to donate a specific amount each month by placing a cap on their donations. Make sure your charity is listed as an option on the app.
Download the app: ios | Android
Forward: Re-use for charity
It’s simple to receive in-kind gifts from supporters with the help of apps like Forward. Forward allows users to put any old items they no longer want up for charity. All they have to do is simply take a picture, list the item on Forward, determine a price, and choose the charity that they would like to benefit. From there, anyone who wants the item can select it, make the donation to the selected charity, and pick the item up. Think of this like Craigslist, except all proceeds will go to charity—brilliant, right? This is certainly an easy way to start bringing in extra donations to your charity.
Download the app: ios
Charity Miles
If your nonprofit audience is generally made up of exercise enthusiasts, you’ll want to share Charity Miles with them after your nonprofit gets added to the benefiting charity list. Once downloaded, supporters using Charity Miles simply choose which charity they would like to benefit from the miles they walk, run, hike, or bike. From there, supporters will simply open the app anytime they exercise and funds will start adding up for your nonprofit. Charity Miles matches with corporate sponsors who donate an amount for every mile completed.
Download the app: ios | Android
2) Donate to a charity fundraiser or start one of your own
With crowdfunding, it’s easier than ever before for nonprofits to meet their fundraising goals. Huge advancements in peer-to-peer fundraising platforms have made it simple for individuals to start a fundraiser for a charity they care about. Once supporters choose a charity to fundraise for, they can share their fundraiser with friends and family on social media to rally around their cause. Supporters will be able to effortlessly raise money for your cause once your charity is enrolled with major crowdfunding sites.
3) Join a charity walk, bike, or run
Registering for a charity walk, bike, or run just takes a few minutes and participants can do it right from their phones. With the huge number of charity events that take place each year, help your supporters choose the right event for them. Make it incredibly easy for participants to sign up for your next charity event by making sure your event registration page is mobile friendly and easy to find. Don’t forget to encourage supporters to make an extra impact by starting a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign before the event to raise awareness and donations for your charity.
4) Schedule in time to volunteer
Nowadays, most people use the calendar on their phone to keep track of daily appointments and reminders. However, our mobile devices can also be used to plan in advance and block off time to volunteer in the local community. Share upcoming events that your nonprofit is organizing with your audience through social media and email marketing campaigns so that they can schedule the upcoming month accordingly.
5) Register to vote or call your local representative
Many charities are dedicated to causes that are impacted by public policy. If your supporters aren’t able to financially commit by donating money, share the policies that your charity is advocating for. Some charities, like the ACLU, do a wonderful job of educating their supporters by hosting a dedicated page to helping their supporters take action in their local community.
This could mean writing an email or making a phone call to local senators and representatives to let them know how your organization feels about certain policies that are in place. Lastly, motivate your supporters to register to vote so that they can make an impact in upcoming local elections.
Start turning screen time into a philanthropic pastime
If you are a charity looking to inspire change among younger generations, it’s important to look for new ways to reach your audiences. Share the above ideas with your supporters to make sure your audience knows that they can support your charity through a simple app download or text message. If we all committed one hour of time spent on our phones each week to making a positive impact on the world, think of all social good we could do. From changing public policy to supporting the charities we care about most, the power truly is in the hands of each and every one of us.
Launched in 2010, GoFundMe is the world’s largest free social fundraising platform, with more than $5 billion raised by tens of millions of donors. In November 2019, GoFundMe expanded their platform to nonprofits in the United States and Canada with the launch of GoFundMe Charity™. For nonprofits looking to expand their crowdfunding campaigns in 2020, here are four key features of the new GoFundMe Charity™:
