New guide for charities on choosing online giving platforms
Howard Lake | 13 October 2014 | News
A new guide has been published to help charities choose from the wide range of online giving platforms available to them.
Published by the Institute of Fundraising and Charity Finance Group, and sponsored by audit firm Crowe Clark Whitehill, Making the most of digital donations: A practical guide to selecting and using online giving platforms is a free 30-page download.
It offers a clear introduction to the issues involved in fundraising online, some of the different models available, and some of the choices that charities will have to make, whether embarking on digital fundraising for the first time or moving to a new online giving provider.
Step-by-step guide
The guide is divided into seven sections:
- What are online giving platforms and how do they work?
- How to assess the right method of taking donations via a third party site
- Processes and considerations when using online platforms
- Understanding the risks: due diligence and security
- Implementation
- Case studies
- Conclusion and best practice tips
The guide explains that some online giving platforms are run by for-profit companies and others by charities. It includes flow-charts that demonstrate how donations are handled and then remitted to the charity.
The central section of how to choose the right online platform consists of a series of questions and answers to help charities assess the options available. Most of the advice is, appropriately enough, not about the technology but the processes, management and finance issues involved.
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No names mentioned
The guide explicitly chooses not to mention any particular online giving platform, even in the five case studies it features. This can be frustrating as it would be useful to see how different platforms perform against some of the criteria and functionality mentioned. On the other hand, there is utility in leaving brand names out of the advice, giving the guide a longer practical life, given that new platforms appear from time to time, and existing platforms modify or improve their services.
Pesh Framjee, Head of Not-for-Profits, Crowe Clark Whitehill said:
“Online giving will become an even more important channel as charities continue to look for different ways of raising funds for their vital work. With an increasing number of providers and different types of arrangements it is important that charities and donors understand the options and the arrangements and know what to look out for to ensure that they are making the right choices. There are important issues to consider and this publication will help understand what these are. We are pleased that we have been able to support this important and somewhat overdue initiative.”
Making the most of digital donations: A practical guide to selecting and using online giving platforms is available to download from the websites of both Charity Finance Group and Institute of Fundraising.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.