A Different Kind of Tech Company Offering Nonprofits a Cost-Free Fundraising Platform

Online fundraising has taken our nonprofit world by storm. And, a great online fundraising platform offers donors an easy, accessible way to give to their favorite nonprofits—all without the tedious paperwork. In fact, according to the “2018 M+R Benchmarks Study,” online revenue increased a whopping 23 percent in 2017, and nonprofits in the study received an average of 28 percent more online donations in 2017 compared to the year prior.

The ease and accessibility of online fundraising brings more donors to a nonprofit’s doors, so having a website that not only allows donations, but also one that is mobile-friendly, should be top of mind for any every nonprofit. Online fundraising can be done through a multitude of ways:

• Donations through peer-to-peer fundraising
• Donations through the nonprofit’s website
• Donations through a mobile app
• Donations through texting
• Donations through email

With this said, in order for nonprofits to have a well-oiled machine for online fundraising opportunities, they have to find a vendor/tech company that meets what they’re looking for in terms of an online fundraising platform.

We recently met a new tech company called Give Lively that presents a new kind of partnership opportunity for nonprofits. We sat down with an interview with CEO David DeParolesa and media and communications manager Molly Trerotola to talk about online fundraising and what Give Lively offers.

Give Lively is a fundraising technology company that offers their products to nonprofits for free—and, no, that’s not a typo. Philanthropists created Give Lively as a way to “help usher nonprofits into a digital age by providing the, easy-to-use, best-in-class technology at no cost,” Molly told us. Give Lively’s technology platform offers nonprofits the ability to customize multiple donation pages, facilitate on-site fundraising with text-to-donate, create a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, sell tickets to events and embed a donate widget on their website.

“What we think is a great mix is a great user experience that is built for the needs and desires of the nonprofit public—married with the fact that it doesn't cost anything. [T]hat differentiates us—we don't charge anything. [It gives] nonprofits a chance to experiment with different online fundraising functions,” David said.

Oftentimes, nonprofits are strapped for money, so they hesitate to invest in an online fundraising technology because fundraising technologies can be extremely costly, and they don’t know its payoff. And there are different technology strategies that nonprofits want to try out, but maybe don’t have the financial means to do so.

“What we've been able to do is giving those nonprofits a chance to participate in the digital fundraising revolution and see success in their use of it—and continue that trend. You know, helping those nonprofits sort of emerge out of those traditional methods,” David said.

What differentiates Give Lively from other fundraising platforms is its focus on the donor experience. People who donate are doing something good and generous and should receive a joyful experience from giving—and not feel like they’re filling out a tax form. Give Lively has really focused on giving donors a great experience from donating, which is effective and aspires future and frequent giving.

Nonprofits interested in Give Lively’s platform need be a 501(c)(3) listed on GuideStar’s nonprofit database, and then they can apply. To learn more about Give Lively, click here.