Pros and Cons of Common Mobile Giving Solutions
You’ve heard the calls: “Mobile giving is on the rise! Nonprofits must keep up!”
You’re being smart, and you’ve decided to provide mobile giving as an option, but sifting through your choices has become a bit of a headache.
Let us help you tease out the pros and cons and demonstrate why Givelify is the best option for you.
Text-to-Give
Description: Text-to-Give allows donors to text a dollar amount or text code to a number. Then, they receive an automated response, asking them to complete a form to confirm their donation.
Pros: Text-to-Give allows people to donate on the go. Wherever they see a fundraising ad, they can pull out their mobile devices and donate.
Cons: Text-to-Give requires donors to fill out payment forms, which can be time-consuming and frustrating. Also, your supporters can only give if they remember the number and/or text code — and that isn’t likely to happen when they don’t have it written down and aren’t looking at an ad.
Kiosks
Description: Donation kiosks are mobile giving machines, which allow organizations to customize the user interface to accept donations via credit cards.
Pros: Donation kiosks are great for donors who don’t carry cash. Donors can simply go to the kiosk at a fundraising event and swipe their credit card to make a donation.
Cons: To make a donation kiosk work well for you, you need to pick one that allows you to customize, secure, and transport it easily. Plus, you’ll need to find one that is easy to set up, is easy for donors to use, and provides useful data for you to track. Because kiosks can only be used where they are placed, they don’t provide a fully mobile experience.
Crowdfunding
Description: Crowdfunding allows organizations to cast a net over a wide pool of individual donors to support a specific cause. They typically rally people for a campaign with a firm start and end date.
Pros: Crowdfunding spreads easily on social media, having a personal spin to it as a result. People are more likely to donate to a cause that a friend has supported, so organizations might snag some new donors this way.
Cons: Crowdfunding can be a clunky way of fundraising, as they require you to customize an event for each and every fundraiser. Most crowdfunding platforms also charge user fees, either to the organization or to the donor. Some fees can be rather steep.
Mobile Giving App: Givelify
Description: Givelify is a mobile giving app for which organizations can register without contracts or up-front costs. Donors can download the app on their mobile devices for free and make donations with just three taps.
Pros: Givelify simplifies fundraising by streamlining data in one user-friendly place. It’s fully customizable, and makes it simple for donors to give from anywhere, at any time. Your organization can still receive donations from supporters who are ill or out of town. Your organization can run a “Givelithon” and project onto a screen real-time donations from people across the city, state, and nation. Funds are always deposited into your bank account by the next business day.
Cons: Let’s be serious… there aren’t any cons with Givelify. Givelify is the smartest choice in mobile giving.
- You won’t spend a penny to set it up, and the fees are low (2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction).
- You can customize it with your organization’s brand images and logo.
- You can keep track of real-time fundraising data.
- Your staff will spend more time focusing on your mission, and less time troubleshooting.
And best of all…
- Your donors will have a beautiful, effortless experience.
Perhaps the only con is that you had to read through descriptions of things that won’t work for you before you found the right choice — Givelify. But aren’t you glad you did the research?
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