fundraising
Unlike corporate businesses, nonprofits and NGOs have no direct means of making revenue. Staying afloat means having to rely on the crucial funding phase. Creative Commons/Howard Lake

Nongovernment organisations (NGOs) and nonprofits need proper funding to operate, but it’s not always easy for these groups to raise the money they need. To raise funds, they need to spend on marketing and other expenses. However, capital isn’t always something that NGOs have to begin with.

Nonprofit fundraising platform SchoolAuction.net, for instance, has to work on a new set of solutions that makes fundraising more efficient and effective.

SchoolAuction’s first order of business is to make the payment process easier for donors contributing to crowdfunding campaigns. The platform gives its clients the ability to choose from more than a dozen payment processors. This way, the organisations have more control over the additional fees that could come with each contribution.

SchoolAuction continues to expand its choices and it recently employed the help of WePay, which can help create integrated payment platforms that are compatible with all devices. This allows nonprofits to find payment platforms that are more suited for them, which can go a long way in terms of how much funds they can raise.

Engaging and retaining the audience is also an issue for nonprofits

Another common struggle for social organisations is that they have little means to engage and retain contributors. This problem often arises when organisations have no platform to reach out to and maintain the support that they already have.

Nonprofits have the daunting task of reaching out to communities and audiences at the same time.
Nonprofits have the daunting task of reaching out to communities and audiences at the same time. Creative Commons

By establishing a solid relationship with their donors, organisations are able to ensure the sustainability of their work. Having an established donor-base is already good in itself as these people can help promote the organisation willingly.

Juggling the fundraising phase and keeping in touch with an audience is tough work. However, one company has showcased its potential in doing both missions at once using a multi-pronged approach for the funding phase.

How XPO2 handles the major problems faced by nonprofits

French-American CEO and entrepreneur Dom Einhorn has stepped up to provide small- to medium-sized NGOs with the help they need through Exponential, Inc. (XPO2).

XPO2 offers a crowdfunding platform to Einhorn’s personally chosen NGOs free of charge. One nonprofit already benefiting from the company is the Bully Rehab Awareness Program, which has already raised US$1,790 (AU$2,486) through XPO2’s platform . Over in the African region, the Morani Preserve and Research Center Laikipia has successfully raised US$2,700 (AU$3,750) so far.

Aside from its free-to-use platform, XPO2 further strengthens its charity efforts with a rewards-based crowdfunding campaign that launched in July. It aims at raising US$500,000 (AU$694,000) so it can help more NGOs reach their funding goals and carry out their missions. As of this writing, the campaign has raised US$17,196 (AU$23,880). To raise enough money for the goal, XPO2 is offering materialistic and non-materialistic rewards for contributors. For the latter, the company banks on the prospect of “net social impact,” which is the amount of good that every dollar contributed can do.

XPO2 guarantees to make every dollar contribution count.
XPO2 guarantees to make every dollar contribution count. Creative Commons

On its website, the company reiterates that “the effect of net social impact is far-reaching — from your home to another country on the other side of the world, for instance — and is something XPO² is passionate about.” Going by its passion, the company wants to guarantee people that their contributions are going to get to where they want it to be so they don’t have to worry about the funds being slowly chipped away by executive salaries, institutional inefficiencies and overhead expenses.

XPO2 also makes cashless contributions possible through a special browser extension that interested contributors can install on their computers for free. With this installed, all they need to do is to shop for the things they need through participating merchants such as JC Penney, Target and Kohl’s if they want to contribute. A portion of their funds will be given directly to their chosen NGOs upon purchase.

Nonprofits often struggle to generate consistent funding support to execute their social causes. However, with the efforts of companies like SchoolAuction and XPO2, these organisations will be able to make ends meet while accomplishing the goals they set out to make the world a better place.

Products mentioned herein are not endorsed by IBTimes Australia. The article is based on press releases.

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