Tech resources to help fundraisers amid the coronavirus outbreak
Howard Lake | 18 March 2020 | News
A number of technology companies are offering free or discounted access to their tools to help charities and fundraisers. These are not specifically fundraising tools (we’re covering those elsewhere), but they are data, social media and security tools that might help charities in their new remote working setups.
These are the tools we’ve come across first. Most of these are specifically offers for charities and nonprofits but we shall also include offers relevant to charities that are open to commercial organisations as well.
We’ll update this page and/or link to other more comprehensive lists as we come across them.
1. Encrypt.me
Encrypt.me is offering three months of its virtual private network (VPN) service for free, enabling you and your colleagues to connect securely.
2. Newswhip
Not fundraising specifically but all NGOs benefit from efforts to tackle misinformation. Newswhip’s discounts for nonprofits might be useful for health organisations for example that have to counter misleading health information online, or indeed any nonprofit that faces trolling or widespread misinformation campaigns designed to hinder their work.
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The @newswhip folks have developed some seriously powerful tools for those looking to track and understand the spread of mis/disinf; they're now formalising their support of public interest projects who can benefit from their (usually only commercially available) tech &intel 👏🏻👏🏻 https://t.co/pGQwH7wGeY
— Liz Carolan (@LizCarolan) March 11, 2020
3. The Coronavirus Tech Handbook
Collaboration at its best, inspired by Ed Saperia, and built in very short order too.
This is when I love the internet and people who work in the open. Thank you @nwspk https://t.co/7KwTq4c7tI
— Lauren Currie OBE (@_laurencurrie_) March 12, 2020
4. Social wall from Walls.io
Walls.io is offering a free one-month social wall to all nonprofit organisations that need to use a social wall for communications related to the COVID-19 crisis.
A social wall is a tool that helps you curate and present a range of social-media based content, in an attractive and easy to scan way.
UK Fundraising has used walls.io’s tool for several years for its Fundraising Camp events.
The offer is not available to existing customers.
https://blog.walls.io/product/social-media-wall-for-nonprofits
5. Social media management tool Swat.io
Swat.io is offering free licenses for its social media management tool for charities and nonprofit organisations “to handle their social media communication during these difficult times”.
Swat.io’s communication is primarily in German, so the info page and application form are in German, but the app itself is available in English. “If you have any questions at all, the Swat.io support team will be happy to help you.”
6. Data tool Airtable
“Part spreadsheet, part database” tool Airtable is offering three months free of its Pro version to “any humanitarian, non-political project using Airtable to help support COVID-19 response efforts”.
Look in the comments of this LinkedIn announcement and you’ll also find a consultant offering free setup for Airtable.
7. Social media listening from SocialBakers.com
Socialbakers help companies manage all their social media operations from just one hub.
It is now offering NGOs (charities) free access to their platform, including its “now vital community management tools”, free of charge for the next six months. Specifically they are offering the Socialbakers Smart package with 5 Pages service until September 2020.
To get started, just contact them at su*********@so**********.com.
8. Remote work platform Slack
The Slack for Charities programme offers free or discounted subscription upgrades to eligible organisations:
• Standard subscription offers workspaces with 250 or fewer members a free upgrade and an 85% discount for workspaces above that size
• Plus subscription offers workspaces of any size an 85% discount.
9. Facebook Workplace
Facebook Workplace is already used by charities such as RNIB, UNICEF and Comic Relief. It is available for free or at significant discount to all eligible charities under its Workplace for Good programme.
10. Hootsuite social media management
Hootsuite will provide free access to its professional plan until 1 July 2020 to nonprofit organisations and small businesses most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
Organisations can use Hootsuite to engage with their audiences, create content, manage crisis communications, and access a library of social media training courses free of charge.
Ryan Holmes, CEO, Hootsuite, said: “We are also concerned about the profound impact on small business owners and nonprofits everywhere. These organisations are at the core of our communities. The people who bring us the products and services we love are the people most at risk of being directly impacted by the societal changes stemming from social distancing.”
In addition Hootsuite has created an employee gift card matching programme in support of the communities around Hootsuite’s global offices.
11. CircleLoop’s cloud-based phone service
CircleLoop, a cloud-based phone system for businesses, will provide free business telephony to any charity currently facing remote working challenges due to the coronavirus outbreak.
It operates as a self-service tool and works anywhere over the internet in desktop and mobile applications instead of using traditional desk-phones.
12. NationBuilder
NationBuilder is offering free software and services for the course of this period to those organising essential services and
provisioning emergency response for the global pandemic.
You can find out more and activate your free account.
You can also read their post about how NationBuilder can be useful.
13. Slack
Slack has made changes to its Slack for Nonprofits Programme. Charities and nonprofits can now access free Standard and Plus upgrades for the next three months.
Nonprofits get access to paid @SlackHQ accounts for free.
âś…Communicate virtually with your team.
âś…Create channels for donors, volunteers, and your board.
âś…Integrate with Google Docs & more.#nonprofits https://t.co/sakBFa1H11— GiveWP đź’š (@GiveWP) March 21, 2020
To be clear, the above list is editorial. None of the above companies have paid to be listed.
Main image: Red heart on keyboard – photo: asharkyu on Shutterstock.com
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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.