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We’ve been working alongside food banks since 2012 and have seen hundreds of different fundraising strategies along the way. Core social service nonprofits tend to be the most resource constrained because operational efficiency translates into lives affected, but that can lead to a culture of perpetual desperation — which can trap development teams in cycles […]

  One of my favorite examples of sustainable fundraising is Radiotopia, a nonprofit that funds the operational costs for podcasts like 99% Invisible, Criminal, and The Heart. They launched on Kickstarter in 2014 and raised over $620,000 in one-time donations; then they realized that Kickstarter wasn’t going to be sustainable for ongoing fundraising. They reached […]

Since 1997, San Mateo Police Activities League (PAL) has provided recreational, educational, and leisure activities thousands of San Mateo youth. Supported by a volunteer board of directors and a staff consisting of police officers and city employees, PAL is building a stronger and safer community through San Mateo’s most valuable asset: kids. CommitChange recently spoke with Fund […]

Example donation processing systems for nonprofits. L to R: CommitChange, Ejoinme, and unknown. Overview: Collecting Donations Online Nonprofits raise over $20 billion every year from individual donors and that number is growing rapidly as internet usage becomes ubiquitous and smartphones proliferate, even among older supporters. In the midst of this cultural upheaval, it’s critical that […]

Note: This article assumes you have a basic understanding of online donation processing. If you’re brand new to the concept, read our Donation Processing Guide for Nonprofits. Donation processing is a surprisingly complex subject, and one of our biggest ongoing challenges here at CommitChange. By focusing rigorously on the giving process, we’ve been able to increase […]