Getting the Most Out of Volunteers

Working with volunteers involves different dynamics than working with paid employees. With a paid employee, there are financial and career ramifications for doing the job well. With a volunteer, those motivations do not exist. Instead, the volunteer is motivated by a belief in the organization and the personal satisfaction of a job well done. Conversely, if volunteers become offended or dissatisfied, they can walk away without suffering any personal consequences. Here are four essential guidelines for leading the volunteers within your organization:

1. Convey a clear vision. For a volunteer to believe in your organization, you must clearly communicate why your organization exists. Talk about what has already been accomplished and about future goals. Describe the charitable benefits your organization offers to the community and to the world. When volunteers understand and embrace your vision, they will stop at nothing to see it accomplished.

2. Have defined expectations. No one enjoys doing a job without knowing what is expected of him or her. This includes volunteers. The volunteer positions within your organization or charity should have specific parameters that guide your volunteers. Volunteers can exceed those parameters, but they must first be able to identify them.

3. Express gratitude frequently. Even the most devoted volunteers can become weary of serving. When this happens, a simple "thank you" from you can be the shot in the arm that reenergizes them. Make expressions of gratitude a regular part your job. Find ways to say "thanks" in both formal and informal settings, taking advantage of email, cards, and conversations.

4. Solicit feedback. Provide ways for your volunteers to have input into your organization. If you do, you may discover new and better ways to accomplish your goals while improving the work conditions and morale of volunteers. From providing a suggestion box to conducting annual evaluations with your volunteers, you can allow ways for them to actively share in your dream.

By valuing your volunteers and communicating clearly with them, you can create an environment where they thrive. Then, instead of having a revolving door of volunteers, you will experience a team of volunteers that work together toward shared goals.

HDI Wholesale shares your goals, too. We are non-profit specialists that offer the lowest prices on supplies you need for every program, delivered right to your door. See our full selection at Shop.HDIforU.com. We look forward to being a part of your successful team.

13 Fundraising Platforms Your Non-Profit Should Check Out Right Now

There are dozens of online fundraising platforms available for non-profit organizations to utilize to raise money from supporters. We researched the current generation of fundraising platforms to assess which one’s non-profit organizations should consider in 2022.

About PLATFORM Fees

Most fundraising software companies charge fees to cover their costs. Some fees are charged to the donors and some are part of the costs your organization incurs. Before signing up, be sure to read the fine print so that you understand what you can expect to pay to use the platform. Some common fees include:

● Transaction/Processing Fees – A percentage charged for each credit card transaction

● Platform Fees – Monthly, annual, or one-time fees to use the platform

Best Online Fundraising Platforms for Non-Profit Organizations

With so many online fundraising platforms to choose from, it can be difficult to know where to start. Below is a summary of the best online fundraising platforms for non-profit organizations and charities, including strengths, integrations and fees.

Donorbox

Donorbox makes it easy for non-profit organizations to raise more donations on their own website through an embedded donation form or popup widget. The platform states that it takes only 15 minutes to set up and allows donors to control their giving and set up automatic recurring donations. Donorbox doesn’t charge upfront costs but has a low 1.5% platform fee plus fees for processing individual payments. There are optional integrations with popular tools such as Salesforce or Mailchimp for an additional charge. Donorbox is one of few fundraising platforms that allows donors to opt to cover processing fees to reduce your organizations costs.

Classy

Peer-to-peer fundraising programs, where individual donors can have their own donation pages, is a popular concept for social media. Classy makes it possible to launch these easily. There are also features to support one time events and crowdfunding efforts. With their pay-as-you-go option, you can try out the platform risk free to see if it would be a good fit for your organization’s needs. There is also a monthly plan starting at $299 a month. The website pages and campaigns created with Classy look great and have unified dashboards that simplify the process of updating many campaigns at once.

Donately

Donately is a fundraising platform with an easy-to-understand dashboard that makes it easy to manage a number of different campaigns and peer-to-peer fundraising efforts at once. It offers donation pages, donor portables, and embeddable donation forms you can use to integrate the tool on your non-profit’s own website. It has popular features like other fundraising platforms, including donor CRM tools, recurring donation capability, and data reporting functionality. There is no monthly fee associated with the smallest plan, though there is a steeper 4% platform fee on donations if you go that route. It offers a solid balance between cost and available features.

Handbid

Handbid is great for NPOs that host silent auctions and other fundraising events, such as text to give campaigns. The software integrates with popular donor CRM tools to make it possible to have a more comprehensive view of campaigns. The least expensive plan starts at $792 a year, plus transaction fees. For non-profit organizations that rarely host silent auctions, this may not be the best option. However, the platform claims to have helped raise more than $200 million for charities using its tools.

Fundraise Up

Fundraise Up utilizes machine learning to increase fundraising revenue from the types of campaigns that your organization already organizes. The platform claims that it doubles the revenue of a campaign and has a number of well-known non-profit organizations that use the platform including Unicef USA, Autism Speaks, and Stand Up To Cancer. It accomplishes this by converting a higher number of visitors to become donors through quicker load times and donation processes with fewer fields to complete and redirects. Fundraise Up starts at $99 a month.

OneCause

OneCause adds contests and badges to donation pages to increase engagement and giving. The platform offers a nice range of features and data reports, including auctions, event planning, peer-to-peer fundraising capabilities, and text-to-give campaigns. The cost will vary based on your needs, so they offer an initial consultation to assist with best options.

Jotform

Jotform can help organizations gather data through the fundraising process with customizable forms that integrate with various payment processors and send the data to tables. Jotform doesn’t charge additional fees for processing transactions, so collecting donations through Jotform means that your organization will only have to pay what the payment processor charges. It offers non-profit table templates to help you get started.

RaiseDonor

RaiseDonors offers unlimited donation pages and forms, with custom reporting to know how campaigns perform. It offers the ability to offer custom receipts and thank you pages to streamline the process and make it easier to create a stronger fundraising campaign. RaiseDonors can also integrate with your donor CRM tool and other popular software programs that non-profit organizations use. The price to use the program starts at $99 a month with a 1.5% platform fee.

Donate Kindly

An ideal solution for new non-profits or small non-profit organizations is Donate Kindly. This tool just charges $.30 plus 2.9% fee per transaction. This makes it possible for all non-profits to have access to fundraising platform tools that can help them get started for free. Donate Kindly sends encrypted forms that are safe and customizable to match your organization’s branding colors. Despite it being a free tool, it offers both donor CRM tools to manage supporter lists and analytics reporting tools.

iDonate

iDonate is an affordable fundraising platform best known for its donation shopping cart that transforms the online donation experience into impact stories. At the time of this writing, there is not an annual fee, but there a 2% platform fee based on your transactions. Non-profit organizations are required to commit to using the platform for three years through a signed agreement. iDonate offers ongoing coaching for users to learn how to solicit more online revenue, which is an added benefit for non-profits just getting started with this type of giving campaigns.

Double the Donation

Many corporate employers offer gift matching programs for employees that donate to non-profits. Double the Donation makes it easier for non-profit organizations to solicit those donations by providing an active database of companies that will match gifts. The cost associated with using Double the Donation starts at $799 a year for up to $10,000 in matches identified.

GoFundMe

No list of online fundraising platforms would be complete without GoFundMe. Launched in 2010, GoFundMe is a well-known site for DIY fundraising campaigns. Non-profit organizations can have their own campaigns, and individuals can host campaigns to give money to others, including non-profits. There is no upfront fee to host a campaign on GoFundMe, but transaction fees start at $.30 plus 1.9% per transaction. Its popularity means that many donors already feel comfortable donating through this platform. While it lacks some of the more advanced features, its affordability and success in helping raise money for the past 12 years keep it as a solid option for your non-profit.

Fundly

Fundly is a similar crowdfunding platform that both non-profit organizations and individuals can use. Like GoFundMe, users have to upload all of the information about their campaigns on their own. There are no fees associated with starting your fundraiser and no minimums that you must raise in order to withdraw the funds. There is a 4.9% platform fee and a separate credit card processing fee associated with each donation. What sets Fundly apart is its easy-to-use mobile app that lets you track and edit your campaign from a smartphone or tablet.

Fundraising platforms can have a significant impact on a non-profit’s fundraising activities. New and more feature-driven fundraising platforms are developed and released each year. It is a good idea for non-profit organizations to investigate new options to see if investing in a platform could help drive additional resources to your organization.

Once you have acquired these additional funds, stretch your dollars further! Sign up for a free account for non-profit organizations to gain access to exclusive, wholesale pricing on the products you need to run your programs.

Welcome to HD-IDEAs, our new blog!

HDI is a 100% women-owned wholesale distributor that partners with non-profit organizations to supply their product needs consistently, efficiently, and at a savings.

Imagine a future where you contact your personal HDI Product Consultant and tell them you are starting a new program. They have worked with other organizations offering similar programs, and know just what you need. Not only that, it's in stock and they can get it delivered to your door at a lower cost than any big-box retailer! You’ll do this without spending hours researching online. That's wholesale with heart...better prices, better service.

Our 39 years as a retail and non-profit wholesaler mean we have the connections to source products quickly. If we don't have it, we can get it! This allows you to focus on what really matters - your clients.

As we continue this blog, we will offer helpful content specifically for our non-profit partners! From fundraising ideas, to recruiting volunteers, to saving money, we understand your needs and want to help. We look forward to learning more about your programs. Our mission is to help you achieve your mission. Learn more about us, please register on our website!