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Nonprofit Leaders 3min read

Mobile Fundraising: Make Your Team a United Front

Mobile fundraising isn’t as easy as signing up for Givelify, creating your profile, and sitting back to watch the donations roll in. Just like any other fundraising activity, it requires planning, careful execution, and most importantly buy-in from your board and staff.

If your board, staff, and volunteers don’t understand what mobile fundraising is or how it works, you won’t see the results you could. Here’s how to get them all up to speed and create a unified front for maximum fundraising effectiveness.

Each One Teach One

When preparing to roll out Givelify for the first time at a fundraiser, it’s critical to train your staff and volunteers on using the app. You might even have them make small test donations so they complete the same signup and donation process as your donors.

At your event, staff and volunteers can then assist attendees with making their first donations. Left to figure it out on their own, many people will do just fine. Others will require more assistance, and a bit of hand-holding will go a long way. Clearly they’re ready to donate, so don’t let a potential gift slip away in the event someone is having trouble.

You’re the First Line of Mobile Fundraising Support

Your supporters will inevitably have questions about making donations with Givelify when they’re first getting started. Since you’re the organization that introduced the app to them, they’ll probably come to you first. While Givelify provides support seven days a week to both organizations and donors, if your supporters do reach out to you first you’ll want to be prepared.

This is especially true on social media, as it’s an immediate way to reach out with questions. Be sure to train the person or people who manage your Twitter and Facebook accounts on how the mobile fundraising app works. Provide them with link to our Support site so they can answer donor questions or steer them toward more help.

The same is true for the person or team who manages your blog and email marketing. You might get donor questions via blog post comments or in reply to emails, so make sure everyone who performs marketing functions is well-versed with the app so they can communicate about it effectively.

Board and CEO Endorsement and Understanding

All of this training and communication starts at the top. Your board and CEO must not only support using a mobile fundraising app, they must also understand it completely. The way to achieve this support is by being thoroughly educated on the benefits and usage of the app.

Once the executives understand Givelify and how it benefits your organization, they will become evangelists. If your CEO does a TV interview about an upcoming fundraiser, they will be able to speak intelligently on how your fundraising will work. This in turn will get attendees or others who may be interested in donating prepared to download the app and get the process started before they arrive at the fundraiser. You may even see donations roll in before the event begins.

When your leadership is on board, your staff and volunteers will be as well. This excitement will spread to your supporters, and your fundraising will be more successful as a result.

About the Author

Matt is dedicated to making the world a better place. He works passionately to help charitable causes use mobile technology to raise the funds they need. In addition to his role at Givelify, he volunteers with the Southside Animal Shelter and Kentuckiana Pug Rescue.

Matt Chandler