Fundraising Websites

Fundraising Websites or a fundraising page is one of the most important things a cause can have and opens up so many fundraising possibilities!

Fundraiser websites give charities and even individuals the most amazing opportunities to fundraise and gain supporters worldwide.

Of course, there are other options to use on the web other than a website.

But with a website, the fundraising possibilities are endless, even if your fundraisers are offline!

So please take this recommendation of mine very seriously. And here is...

Why Fundraising Websites Are So Effective:

Fundraising websites provide the opportunity to increase your supporters' base and to gain supporters from across the globe.

The network buzz that you can create over the internet about your cause and fundraisers is really exciting!
An organization website enables you to easily accept donations without the hassles of cash and cheques! I did a sponsored cycle in 2008 and received all my donations through my website, and wow did it make everything so much easier!

A Fundraising Website will help develop relationships and will increase your fundraising potential! (Photo by Ryan Hyde / Flickr)

It is a place to provide information about your cause that people can easily find.
It's somewhere you can advertise your fundraising campaigns and efforts for your supporters to read about and participate in!
Fundraising sites make advertising and marketing of your cause and fundraisers a much cheaper venture.
Provides an endless amount of fundraising potential and possibilities! Trust me, you are only limited by your imagination.

(Depending on your cause, you could quite easily just fundraise online and still have an extremely profitable fundraising campaign! An exciting prospect right?)

Jump further down the page to look at some fundraising ideas for your website!

These are of course only a few reasons why you should have a website. I could easily expand on the reasons above and also add many more... but I don't want to bore you.

The important thing to remember is how much of a positive impact a website can have on your fundraising capabilities.

You could quite possibly double your fundraising income. Now wouldn’t that be encouraging!!!

But please remember (And the same goes with all fundraisers and even businesses): Fundraiser websites don't just automatically provide success... For you to succeed it's going to take a bit of effort, sweat and determination.

Another, non-organization option to a fundraising website is a Content Website. It's a really unique fundraising idea that you should definitely look into!

Let's get started...

The Best Website Hosting Companies:

Before you can post a website on the net you are going to need a webhost, a company that will host your site.

There are many different companies, some cheap, some more expensive, and all with different deals and packages.

Before you decide on the one you'll use, do your research and review as many of them as your available time permits.

I personally use Site Build It! and am extremely happy with them... To be honest I get a bit excited when talking about them; they have completely changed my life on the web.

If you don't have the time or need someone else to build your website for you then I would definitely recommend SiteSell's Services, if you want to get the best results from your site!

Some other hosts are Homestead, Vodahost and Hosting Zoom.

Fundraising Specific Web Hosting:

For a specific fundraising website host I would recommend DoJiggy. They have a fully integrated platform for accepting donations and setting up recurring donations...

Not to mention some of the many other Fundraising Software products and services they offer, like Event Management and a Custom Online Auction platform! Definitely check them out and try one of their FREE trials.

Hosting Criteria:

Before you start looking into any particular host, be sure to read my guidelines on choosing the best website hosting company for your website.

There are a few things your host must provide for your site to work really well.

Free Fundraising Websites & Pages:

What you must also remember is that some of your fundraisers will provide you with free website or webpage hosting for that fundraiser. Like the following fundraisers...

Fundrazr provides you with a free fundraising donations page to run your Crowdfunding fundraiser off. Easily accept online donations and promote through Social Media, etc.
Custom Online Apparel Store - You can set up a fully customizable Online Apparel Fundraising Store through SSA Stores.
And the Online Product Fundraiser through GA Fundraising. Also perfect for Schools!

All of the above sites are free to use, and you can use them on their own, without your own website if you wish... BUT it is highly recommended that you integrate them into your main website!!!

You'll be able to promote your those fundraising webpages/stores above far more effectively with the help of an organization website!

And onto the next few things to consider...

Learn the A to Z of a successful Fundraising Website from Designing to Marketing, to ingegrating fundraisers!

Website Design:

Your fundraiser website's design needs to be simple and clear, and have an easily accessible navigation system.

Why?

To be most appealing to your visitors' eyes. And for some other very good reasons as well!

A must read.

Building Your Website... SEOing From The Beginning!

Search Engine Optimization is something you need to do while you're designing and building a webpage, and not after.

SEO is both part of the designing of your fundraising website and the marketing of it, and is very important.

Marketing Your Sites:

Obviously you will need to implement a few marketing strategies to start gaining supporters online and putting out the word about your fundraising campaigns.

But don't worry, this isn't rocket science and can be easily done! Read both the part 1 and part 2 of this section, as well as the extra info on listing fundraising websites at directories.

If you have any website marketing ideas you would like to share or would like to find out how other visitors market their fundraising sites check out the 'your website marketing ideas' page.

Fundraiser Website
Visitor Retention:

Also known as site stickiness. Once you've done some marketing and have visitors coming to your site, you'll want those visitors to keep coming back, and so gain permanent supporters.

You'll find some excellent ideas to keep your visitors coming back to your site time and time again, supporting your cause!

Other Website Options:

There are of course other options to having a website like using a facebook page or having a ning website!

If building a full scale website is too much for you, could always consider one of these options, which can be very effective in themselves!

These other options can also work well as additions to your fundraising site!

Fundraising Ideas For Your Website:

Here are a few great fundraising ideas for your organization or fundraiser website...

Obviously (and firstly) through Donations. Which includes the next idea...
A Supporter/Donor wall. Recommended for every fundraising website.
Affiliate Fundraising
Webmaster Affiliates
Get Paid Per Click Fundraising - Contextual Advertising!
And don't forget your Charity Badge!

Ending Off:

Once you've finished reading through the above pages, you'll be well on your way to launching your own fundraising website and opening up an endless amount of fundraising possibilities... A very exciting prospect!

And always remember to bring some excitement, creativity and determination to the table. The formula of success.

Fundraising websites are definitely the way forward! So get excited and open that door to online fundraising potential...