You might’ve played Super Mario, Candy Crush, GTA or Temple Run as a kid. What’s that got to do with fundraising, you ask? Just like there are different rounds in the game, fundraising challenges are a sign that you’re leveling up into a more experienced organization.

To help you overcome the hurdles, we’ve created a cheat code and compiled a list of ideas that, when used with fundraising tools, to ace the new level your organization has achieved.

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What This Article Covers

• Fundraising Challenges
  • Finding Donors
  • Lack of Consistent Branding
  • Telling Your Nonprofit’s Story
  • Singular Revenue Streams
  • No Multiple Payment Options
  • Donor Retention
  • Lack of Resources
  • Not Using Social Media
  • Lack of Social Proof
  • Seeking Sponsorships
  • Creating Brand Ambassadors
  • Not Leveraging Technology
• Fundraising Ideas
• Next Steps

Fundraising Challenges

Fundraising has never been easy, and many factors can make it difficult to execute your fundraising plan. Some of these challenges could be:

Finding Donors

One of the most challenging, if not the most difficult, tasks a charity has to do is finding new donors. So much planning and delegation is needed for a campaign to be successful. Asking for donations may seem simple on the surface, but it’s important to understand givers’ thoughts and actions before making such a request.

Fortunately, there are many things you can do to make your job easier. For starters, unique fundraising ideas can help you stand out amongst competitors, and a well-thought-out fundraising plan will encourage donor acquisition. Some campaigns to make use of are:

• Capital campaign
• Advocacy campaign
• Text-to-give campaign
• Peer-to-peer fundraising
• Annual giving campaign
• Giving Tuesday campaign

Lack of Consistent Branding

Imagine a nonprofit emailing you a professional-looking and earth-toned brochure. But when you open the donation form, it has a playful style with a bright yellow and pink color palette. It would seem confusing and even sketchy, wouldn’t it?

Whether sending emails, posting on social media or hosting offline events, consistent visual design elements help donors immediately recognize that the campaign belongs to your organization.

Inconsistency can confuse potential donors and question your nonprofit’s legitimacy, whereas uniform branding across various campaign elements can help build trust.

To ensure brand consistency, you can create a unique campaign logo that complements your organization’s original logo. It should still use your organization’s color palette, tone and typography. This also enables multi-channel marketing, as you can use the same content for various platforms by making minimal changes.

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Telling Your Nonprofit’s Story

We all face a psychological phenomenon called psychic numbing. This means when the number of people suffering due to an issue increases, our ability to empathize with them decreases. In a nutshell, we don’t respond to numbers. But we thrive on stories due to their singular focus on a subject.

Nonprofits must consider their narrative quality during campaigns. Compelling stories can encourage donors to give more and make them feel involved in a worthwhile cause. Pick a beneficiary’s story and write it in a concise but engaging way. You can use some of these tips for dynamic storytelling.

Singular Revenue Streams

Relying on one main revenue source is not a terrible idea. But relying solely on singular revenue sources like individual contributors or few major donors is as durable as a crème brulée — one major hit and it’s putty.

Especially in a post-pandemic world, the economy can crash, and the tide can change anytime. But diversifying your revenue sources can save you from drowning. It will also help you tackle various ups and downs nonprofits face in the fundraising process. To make your finances more secure, you can explore options like:

• Asking for grants from federal, state and local governments
• Asking for grants from private organizations
• Hosting a fundraising event or gala
• Finding corporate sponsors
• Charging membership fees for certain benefits
• Starting a crowdfunding campaign

Limited Payment Options

What’s the point of escalators and elevators? Why do we drive cars to our workplace every day? Because we like convenience, of course. And so will your donors. The bottom line is that donors are more likely to contribute if the process is hassle-free. And ignoring technology is no longer something you can do if you’re serious about raising sufficient funds.

Give your donors multiple payment options and make it easy for them to give. It will help you cater to diverse donor preferences and boost your fundraising efforts. If your team is not tech-savvy, you can always hire a professional or ask a volunteer for help.

Some methods you can use are:

• Enabling recurring payments
• Using Facebook’s fundraising tools
• Providing text-to-give options
• Offering multiple payment platforms like Venmo and PayPal
• Inserting a “donate now” button in your emails

Donor Retention

Many nonprofits already know that retaining current donors is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. Yet, it’s easier said than done and can be one of the trickiest things a charity has to do. How do you encourage donors to keep giving to your cause?

Fortunately, there are many things you can do to make your constituents feel appreciated and valued. To build trust and strengthen donor relationships, you can:

• Use email newsletters, blog posts and social media to engage the audience and share impact stories related to your campaign.
• Do post-campaign communication — donors appreciate knowing the outcome of their contributions.
• Thank donors for their support.
• Conduct interviews and surveys and let donors know you care what they think.
• Use CRM solutions to track donor engagement.

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Lack of Resources

Most people don’t realize the expenses involved in running a charity. While much of the gifts go towards the main goal, there are still operational costs and administrative fees to take care of. And a lack of optimal resources can bleed you dry, making it difficult to sustain your growth.

One of the most effective things a nonprofit can do is to be transparent about the money it needs, encouraging donors to give more. Remember that just because you’re a nonprofit doesn’t mean everything you do has to be for free. You can maximize assets by renting your space to individuals or like-minded organizations.

Conduct workshops and share your knowledge for a small fee. A membership program with insider benefits can bring in some much-needed cash flow. You can also sell some items your beneficiaries make to help support your organization.

Not Using Social Media

It’s not 1999 anymore. The world’s technology has moved on to AI, and if you’re still not leveraging social media, you’re missing out. Social media can provide you with a wide reach and let you interact with people from the other side of the globe at a low cost and with fewer restrictions.

You can use short-form content like Instagram reels and TikTok videos to garner audience attention. While the content, i.e., what you post, is crucial, it’s equally vital to monitor the when, i.e., your timing and consistently posting according to schedule. Make sure to engage with potential donors by replying to their comments and direct messages so they feel valued.

Milwaukee Public Library’s Instagram page is a great example you can follow. It has a huge following from young people because its content keeps up with current trends and taps into the peculiar Gen Z humor people are so confused about.

Lack of Social Proof

Social proof, the psychological phenomenon where people conform to the actions of others, can be a powerful tool in fundraising. You can leverage this by featuring testimonials from past donors or beneficiaries on your campaign page. When people see that others have supported your cause and experienced tangible outcomes, they’re more likely to donate.

Ensure to highlight any partnerships or endorsements from recognized organizations or public figures. Such acknowledgment can make your campaign more credible and attract a broader audience.

Quotes, video messages or even simple tweets can serve as social proof. A “donation ticker” or “live update” feature on the campaign page can do the same, showing potential donors that others are actively contributing. It builds a sense of urgency and community around your campaign that’ll certainly help the cause.

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Seeking Sponsorships

Apart from donations, you can partner with organizations that share a similar mission to yours to multiply the impact you both have.

Seeking out sponsors is another great way to boost your finances. Big corporations often have some money set aside for sponsoring, and partnering with them would be akin to hitting a jackpot. However, you may not be able to bag the top firms right away, so starting small with lesser-known organizations is not a bad idea.

Creating Brand Ambassadors

Help your donors do what they do best — support you — and tell them what exactly they need to share to help your nonprofit. An ambassador can be anybody, but the best ones are the closest to home, i.e., your employees, board members and volunteers. They don’t need to have a huge following for them to create an impact. Just sharing what your charity does with their personal and professional networks can help a ton.

Conversely, seeking out people with a large following can also greatly help. While getting “celebrity” and “influencer” ambassadors may be difficult, it doesn’t hurt to try. You need to be persistent and persuasive, and you might just convince them to support your cause. And just like that, you will quadruple your clout, and your posts will reach millions of people.

Not Leveraging Technology

If technology is not integral to your strategy, you’re missing out on valuable insights and donor relationships. Consider using campaign management software to improve your campaign’s reach and efficiency.

Data analytics software can help you understand donor behavior, optimize campaign elements and predict future giving trends. This data can inform everything from email communication to the best times to post on social media.

Investing in fundraising software can seem like an extra expense, but its long-term benefits often outweigh the costs. Tools that automate repetitive tasks free up staff time for more complex activities, enhancing overall campaign performance. Moreover, they can help you maintain a cleaner data set, making future campaigns more targeted and effective.

Fundraising Ideas

Here are some effective fundraising ideas that can help spice your campaign:

Marathon/Hiking

A 5k race, marathon or walk-a-thon is a surefire way to raise money for your cause. You can set a revenue goal and implement peer-to-peer fundraising so participants can raise donations upon registration. Charge entry fees, prepare incentives and promote the campaign vigorously on social media.

You can also organize it virtually, like the Hike for Haiti virtual challenge, encouraging students and families to climb 200 flights of stairs. This distance represents how much the students of Marre à Coiffe need to travel to access clean water and other necessities. People worldwide posted photos of them doing this challenge and managed to raise over $344,000.

Street Art

Street art is a creative way to engage the community while doing something worthwhile. You can get permission to use a street wall for mural painting and charge a small fee for the public to show their artistic talents. Street art for mankind is a great example of being involved in social justice causes while painting the town red.

Paper Plane Party

Take your audience right back to their childhood days with some origami glory. You can sell brochures that can be converted into paper planes. Reserve an enclosed area for the match, and the one whose plane goes the farthest wins. This idea will surely attract a lot of people as it doesn’t require any prerequisite skill and is all around super fun!

Pet Contest

There are two things the internet will never get enough of — memes and animal videos. Everyone thinks their pet is the cutest, so why not give them a chance to prove it? You can hold a pet contest in person or ask people to submit pictures online. Charge an entry fee and watch the adorable little furballs brighten everyone’s day.

Upcycling Party

By now, you would’ve noticed that skinny jeans are out and it’s baggy all the way. But don’t throw away your old clothes yet. Transform or upcycle them into something trendy — turn old jeans into a midi skirt, make patchwork denim, create shrugs out of old tops and so much more. An upcycling party will attract many young people, and it’s also sustainable and eco-friendly, which is something Gen Z values.

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Next Steps

Whenever you’re trying to solicit gifts, there are bound to be fundraising challenges that pose hurdles to your campaign. However, with proper planning and execution, you can overcome them and encourage more people to support your cause. Along with tackling challenges as they come, it’s helpful to use fundraising software to track project performance and predict donor trends.

Unsure of which software will be the right fit for your nonprofit? We’ve got you covered! Our free requirements template can help you speed up selection and narrow down potential vendors so you make an informed choice. After determining your requirements, our free comparison report makes it easy to assess different systems based on their features, benefits and limitations.

Which fundraising challenge do you consider the toughest? Which fundraising ideas are the most feasible for your nonprofit, keeping the limitations in mind? Let us know in the comments!