With the rise of online giving, it’s no surprise that online fundraising is crucial for every nonprofit. It should be an integral part of your fundraising strategy, especially since 26% of people prefer to donate online directly to a nonprofit organization.
There are many fundraising platforms out there. They all have advantages, but the most cost-effective solution is using your own website.
When you have a website built with a platform like WordPress, you can install a free plugin that allows you to accept and collect online donations. You won’t have additional fees, privacy concerns, and content ownership disputes that come with third-party platforms.
Let’s explore what WordPress is, its benefits, and how you can use it for online fundraising.
What Is WordPress?
WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system (CMS). It’s free and open-source, so anyone can use it to build a website. It’s also scalable, flexible, and cost-effective for many organizations. It’s no wonder that nearly 60% of nonprofits build their websites on the platform.
WordPress also offers self-hosted and fully hosted solutions, plus themes and plugins.
WordPress.org and WordPress.com
Many organizations opt to use WordPress.org. It’s a self-hosted platform, meaning you can choose your own web hosting provider. As a result, you’ll have full control and ownership over your website.
On the other hand, WordPress.com also uses the popular CMS, but it is fully hosted. Fully hosted refers to another entity setting up your website and handling technical tasks. While it may save time, fully hosted WordPress websites cost more, and you’ll have less control.
Themes and Plugins
Themes and plugins are the most important pieces of the puzzle when it comes to WordPress websites.
Themes are essentially the design of your website. You can download or purchase numerous themes that modify how your website looks, from the layout to colors to fonts. Most themes can be customized, but the one you choose will be the foundation for your website’s look and feel.
Plugins give your website unique functionality and capabilities. You can choose from over 59,000 free and paid plugins that extend your site’s features in various ways. For example, if you’re looking for a way to display events in a calendar on your website, there’s a plugin for that.
Themes and plugins make a website truly yours, customized to fit your needs. The best part is many free options are available, and you don’t need coding knowledge to get up and running.
WordPress vs. SaaS and Third-Party Platforms
While WordPress is free and open-source, other online fundraising platforms are not.
At first, SaaS and third-party platforms seem ideal for nonprofits. They’re typically advertised as “all-in-one” solutions to help organizations and people raise money online. However, they come at a price, usually a large monthly fee, to keep your fundraising going. There are also concerns about who owns your donor data and your website content, but more on that later.
Benefits of WordPress for Online Fundraising
Now that you understand what WordPress is, let’s dive into the main benefits of using the platform for fundraising.
Cost
WordPress is ideal for nonprofits and online fundraising because it doesn’t require a lot of money. WordPress itself is free, and many plugins and themes, too. The only fees you would have are for the domain and hosting, but these costs are not high. Typically, you can get both for less than $100 a year.
If you do want to expand your site’s functionality further, you can purchase premium plugins and themes. These costs vary, but you don’t have to spend much for great themes and plugins. Plus, you only pay for the ones you need.
Unlike the low costs of WordPress, SaaS and third-party platforms require fees to use them, regardless of how much you fundraise. They may even require more fees based on donation amounts.
Content and Data Ownership
When you have a self-hosted WordPress website, no one owns your data except you and your organization. The same goes for open-source plugins that help you fundraise online.
However, third-party platforms own your data when you use them. In turn, these platforms can share donor data with their partners. Donors are then subject to marketing campaigns and outreach for fundraisers they never signed up for. This situation leads to a poor donor experience, distrust, and fewer donations.
Plus, SaaS platforms can hold your content should you ever want to leave the platform. When you stop paying for the platform, all of your content can be deleted without recovery. If a platform does offer to migrate your data, the process could be complicated or costly.
Ease and Flexibility
Most people find WordPress fairly easy to use. It offers an intuitive admin dashboard where you can access all of your site’s content and settings, plus theme and plugin information.
WordPress pages and posts are easy to create since WordPress uses a block builder, Gutenberg. This drag-and-drop builder makes creating content intuitive, simple, and flexible. You don’t need any coding experience to build a beautiful website!
Unlike customizing on third-party platforms, you can further customize your WordPress website without restrictions. Decide how you want your donation page to look or how your website’s menu is structured. Your website will be completely flexible and customizable however you see fit. There are no limitations with WordPress.
Donor Experience
The donor experience is an essential aspect of your fundraising strategy. It encompasses every touchpoint a donor has with your organization. By prioritizing and improving the donor experience, nonprofits can reduce donor churn, foster loyalty, and boost revenue.
A WordPress website gives you complete control over the main aspects of the donor experience. For example, you can make it easy to donate with online donation forms and tell stories on your website. You’ll also have control over how your website looks, from its images and graphic elements to the copy, which influences how donors view your organization.
Online fundraising with WordPress also reduces friction in the donation process. Offering donation forms directly on your website allows donors to go ahead and give. You can handle the entire donation process so donors can donate smoothly.
Community
One of the best parts of WordPress is its community. There is a diverse and helpful group of creative people passionate about the platform. This large community means you’ll have access to support and help when you need it.
Many plugins also have their own communities and support teams you can join. These groups help you get the most out of your WordPress tools. You can ask questions, share success, and exchange helpful tips. For example, GiveWP has a support team dedicated to our customers’ success.
How to Collect Online Donations
It’s easy to get started with WordPress as an online fundraising platform. Here’s what you’ll need to do if you don’t already have a WordPress website:
- Find and register a domain name (try to use .org – more donors trust it)
- Choose a web host
- Install WordPress
- Adjust your settings
- Choose a theme
- Add essential content like your home page and about us page
Once your WordPress website is set up, you can explore different donation options. You could simply add a PayPal donation button, but this won’t capture any donor information and causes donor friction. You could also try ecommerce plugins like WooCommerce. While these keep donors on your website, there aren’t many customization options for form fields.
Instead, try to use a dedicated donation plugin. These solutions offer simple payment integrations out of the box. For example, you can use Stripe or PayPal Standard with the free version of GiveWP. You’ll also access donor management tools, reporting, and a robust drag-and-drop form builder. In addition, try to look for a plugin that offers the following:
- Receipts
- Recurring donations
- Integrations
- Donor database
- Support for you
- Branded forms
- Dedicated donations
If you need a place to start, try GiveWP. It’s a free and powerful donation plugin for WordPress. There are plenty of robust features in the free version, but you can upgrade to a premium plan to take advantage of all features, like recurring donations and peer-to-peer fundraising.
After choosing a plugin for online fundraising, you can start collecting donations in just a few steps:
- Create your first donation form
- Pick a payment provider
- Place forms on your website
Start Fundraising Online With WordPress
There are many ways to fundraise online, but the best solution is to have a WordPress website and use a donation plugin. WordPress is a popular, powerful, and flexible platform for nonprofits.
Combining WordPress and a robust donation plugin gives you and your donors the best giving experience. You’ll retain more donors and boost your fundraising revenue by creating a frictionless donation process. Plus, it’s cost-effective, safe for data, and easy to use.
Are you ready to experience it for yourself? Download GiveWP for free now, or request a demo to see what you can do with GiveWP!
