Best Fundraising Platforms
Fundraising grew to a whole new level due to the advance of technology and information sources. The door-to-door or event fundraisings are a thing of the past, because now we have access to a large choice of online platforms, but that’s not the only change. Fundraising is the process of a non-profit organization, through strategies, reaching to people and businesses, in order to try and raise money for a cause, an association, or even a project. That’s also where we can see some other changes, as we were used to only seeing fundraising essentially for causes or even local issues, but times change and needs too.
There are tons of platforms dedicated to fundraisings, be it for education, helping people, agriculture or even to help someone’s business – the idea is that there’s a wide range of situations that people can help support others and today I’m getting into the best platforms for fundraising, so stick around!
Kiva
Like many fundraising systems, Kiva works on micro-funding. Founded in 2005, Kiva is a non-profit organization that lives out of donations and partnerships with big companies, helping, especially, initiatives coming from “third world countries”. How does this work? Basically, the person asking for help contacts Kiva and gets a loan from someone. After using it for its , they have the responsibility to later pay that person back, as this helps the raiser and gives the donator the trust to aid more, while also encouraging others to help too. It doesn’t matter if it’s for health, agriculture, business, or any other situation, what matters is that it can make a huge difference in someone’s life.
Fundly
There are a lot of causes out there asking for help, but sometimes people are suspicious or afraid it’s not true, and that’s why it’s necessary to know the best website to help, like Fundly. Launched in 2009, it’s a platform where any cause can join, like charities, churches, schools, politics, and many more. It’s even possible to help through many other networks, like social media, emails, and google. With an easy learning process and no initiation fees, anyone can start up fundraising, in no time, while also having an advantage for media creators, for example, by creating an explaining video or social media posts. The not so fun side is that for every donation there’s a 4.9% fee, a 2,9% processing fee, plus a 0,30$ charge on every dollar per transaction.
IndieGoGo
Created in 2008, IndieGoGo was one of the first websites to offer crowdfunding. This fundraising platform is mostly focused on tech projects, creative work, and community services, which makes it the perfect website for anyone trying to put their product in the market.
In addition, there is a lot of fundraising for different causes besides products, like medical bills, emergencies, and social causes – for these ones, there are no platform fees, but for entrepreneurial projects, the maximum amount IndieGoGo takes is 5%. If you are looking for a platform to launch your brand new project or to find help for your cause, IndieGoGo is definitely one to take into consideration.
Patreon
It might be one of the most popular ones to this generation, and it was released in 2013 by the musician Jack Conte and developer Sam Yam. Patreon is famous around content creators, podcasters, YouTubers, and even writers. Basically, any creator can pledge for financial help from supporters and anyone who wants to help, as a way of being able to keep creating their content.
Patreon is divided by categories, which include different types of content. This way, the pledgers establish their own page on the website about their work and the donors can pay a fixed monthly payment. Although it’s not exclusive to that method, creators can make a monthly goal or place the option of donating only when something is released, like on a youtube channel, every time a video comes out, or a digital designer, when an art piece is published.
Kickstarter
Among the best fundraising websites offered to us, Kickstarter was founded in 2008 and helps people bring their creative projects to life. Having specific fields, this platform focuses on more artistic projects, like fashion, comics, dance, music, and many others. In 2014, Kickstarter reached 1 billion dollars donated to new projects and kept on bringing ideas to life, till in 2015, when it officially became a public benefit corporation. For everyone who pledges for any project, there are rewards in exchange for helping. If you are looking to show your creative ideas, Kickstarter might be the way to go.
And Last, But Not Least
There is a huge range of online platforms for anyone who wants to help or for anyone who needs help. Be it charity fundraisers, or new business launches, these websites make it so much easier than the typical offline fundraising. Although every platform has its rules, fees and specific purpose, it’s important to learn more about each one in order to find the most suited for your project. I hope this article helped you learn a bit more about some of the most prestigious fundraising platforms and their purpose and always remember that, even in times of physical distancing, unity is what makes us strong! Thank you for reading.