The article’s title, “Accept Donations Online: Tools + Steps to Raise More,” beside a donor sitting with a laptop and holding a credit card.

Accept Donations Online: 13 Tools + Steps to Raise More

Your nonprofit may have a loyal giving pool in your immediate area, but did you know that by using modern technology, you can grow your following tenfold? If you’re looking to fundraise and accept donations online, this means you can reach a wider audience than ever before.

According to the CAF World Giving Index, 4.2 billion people (72% of the world’s adult population) gave money, time, or helped someone they didn’t know in 2022. By collecting online donations, you can tap into the passion and generosity of a global community and raise more for your cause.

In this guide, we’ll walk through everything you need to know to accept donations online. Here’s what we’ll cover:

With the right tools and steps to follow, you’ll be well on your way to fundraising success.

Click through to start a free Fundly fundraiser and start accepting donations online for your cause.

The Benefits of Accepting Donations Online

When it comes to online fundraising, the possibilities are nearly endless. Whether you’re a nonprofit, an individual, an educational institution, or another organization looking to secure financial support, collecting online donations is one of the easiest and most effective ways to do so.

Accepting donations online brings a host of benefits to everyone involved, including:

The benefits of accepting donations online, as discussed in more detail below.

  • Increased donor convenience. The average internet user spends nearly seven hours online every day. Through online fundraising, you can meet donors where they already are—all they have to do is access your donation page on whatever device they prefer and submit their payment information to contribute.
  • Broader fundraising reach. When you accept donations online, you can allow people to give no matter where they live. Donors won’t have to worry about mailing in their contributions or attending in-person fundraising events to support your cause. Plus, if you add social media sharing buttons to your donation or confirmation page, you can encourage donors to spread the word about your fundraiser to their friends and family.
  • Reduced expenses. Online giving methods eliminate the need to budget for printing donation forms and mailing appeals to potential donors. Additionally, since everything takes place online, your staff have less manual data entry and record-keeping to handle.
  • Higher donor retention. Double the Donation reveals that 38% of online donors who make a gift one year contribute to that nonprofit again the following year. By adding a recurring giving option to your donation page, you can keep donors effortlessly invested in your cause year after year. With automated thank-you features, you can ensure that every donor receives a timely follow-up that expresses your appreciation.

Online fundraising often comes with enhanced tracking and reporting capabilities, so you can measure your performance in real time and improve your future results.

4 Essential Tools to Collect Online Donations

While accepting donations online is much simpler than offline fundraising, it’s important to equip yourself with the tools you need to collect and process online gifts. When researching potential platforms, follow these steps to pinpoint the right option for your fundraising needs:

  • Use your specific fundraising goals to guide you. Are you looking to start a crowdfunding campaign? Would you like to have peer-to-peer fundraising tools? Make a list of the must-have features you’re looking for and prioritize solutions that will keep your data and donor payment information secure.
  • Read online reviews. Explore online reviews written by individuals or organizations with causes similar to yours. Look for their insights into the platform’s user-friendliness, level of support, and whether there are any common issues faced by users.
  • Ask for recommendations. Consider reaching out to peers who are satisfied with the tools they use to accept online donations. They may be able to provide recommendations based on their personal experiences with fundraising platforms.

If you’re not sure where to start looking, we’ve got you covered. Jumpstart your search by exploring these top tools for accepting donations online:

Fundly: Crowdfunding Platform

Fundly provides a comprehensive set of crowdfunding tools for individuals and nonprofits of all types and causes. Whether you’re fundraising for a church, sports team, school, fraternity, or personal medical expenses, Fundly’s platform has everything you need to rally people around your goal.

A screenshot of Fundly’s home page, where you can start a free fundraiser and accept donations online.

Some of Fundly’s main features include:

  • Website and social media integration. Add a donation form directly to your website or your Facebook page to collect online donations wherever donors prefer to engage with your cause.
  • Giving levels and incentives. Encourage donors to give more by setting suggested giving levels and adding incentives for each level. For example, an art school might decide that $150 donations will receive a digital student art piece, while $300 donations will have a printed art piece shipped to the donor’s doorstep.
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising. Allow community members to fundraise on your behalf by creating individual donation pages that they can share with their networks. You can even organize fundraising teams and maintain momentum by viewing real-time updates of their progress.
  • Event management. If you’re hosting an in-person or virtual event alongside accepting donations online, Fundly has a built-in event module for creating sign-up forms, ticketing, managing sponsors, and more.
  • Donor heat maps. Embed a heat map onto your donation page to find out where the majority of your donors are located. Based on this information, you can adjust your fundraising messages to target donors in specific areas.

While some crowdfunding websites have an “All or Nothing” (AoN) approach, meaning you’ll only receive the funds you raise if you meet your fundraising goal, Fundly is a “Keep it All” (KiA) platform with 0% platform fees. This means that you’re guaranteed to take home the online donations you earn, regardless of how well your online fundraising performs.

Click through to learn how to start a Fundly fundraiser and accept donations online through crowdfunding.

NonProfitEasy: Donor Database

To secure long-term support for your cause, you need to focus on strengthening the connections you build with donors. By using a donor management system like NonProfitEasy, you can collect key donor details, target your communications, and increase your online donation revenue over time.

A screenshot of NonProfitEasy’s home page, which lists donor management features that will help you collect online donations.

NonProfitEasy comes with features that facilitate:

  • Online event ticketing
  • Email management and tracking
  • Pledge tracking
  • Grant management
  • Donor segmentation
  • Volunteer management

NonProfitEasy understands that all of your donors are unique. With smart tag and custom field options, you can customize the information you collect and sort through donor profiles according to communication preferences, average gift size, and other relevant characteristics.

360MatchPro: Matching Gift Software

360MatchPro by Double the Donation is built to help nonprofits make donors’ gifts go twice as far. Many companies, as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, run matching gift programs in which they’ll match the donations their employees make to charitable causes. However, 78% of donors are unaware that their company offers a matching gift program.

A screenshot of the 360MatchPro website, which describes how the software can help you earn more from online donations with matching gifts.

360MatchPro allows you to secure more matching gifts through:

  • An embeddable search field for donors to check their matching gift eligibility.
  • Automated matching gift email streams that encourage donors to submit a request.
  • An auto-submission feature that automatically completes matching gift requests on donors’ behalf.

Plus, if you have a donor management system like NonProfitEasy that integrates with Double the Donation, you can automatically store donors’ matching gift eligibility details in your database. This way, you can send follow-ups to eligible donors to ensure they’re aware of the opportunity.

Snowball Fundraising: Text-to-Give Tools

Worldwide, people send around 23 billion texts every day. With text-to-give software like Snowball Fundraising, you can take advantage of the popularity of texting and make it easy for donors to make online donations directly on their mobile devices.

A screenshot of the Snowball Text-to-Give page, which explains how the software helps with accepting donations online through mobile devices.

Snowball Fundraising’s features include:

  • Three types of text-to-give number choices (local, toll-free, or short-code)
  • Unlimited inbound text messages
  • Recurring donations
  • Affordable outbound text messaging

To participate in your text-to-give fundraiser, donors will text a specific keyword to the phone number assigned by your provider. Then, they can receive a link to your online donation page to make a gift.

9 Steps to Accept Donations Online

Once you’ve built out your toolkit, it’s time to start accepting donations online and promoting your fundraising efforts to potential donors. Follow these key steps to maximize your reach and inspire people to take action for your cause:

1. Create an online donation page.

A donation page is your number-one resource when requesting donations online. It should contain all the information donors need to know about your reason for fundraising, what funds will go toward, and how much you’re hoping to raise by a certain date.

To encourage giving, consider these donation page best practices:

  • Add suggested giving amounts. Help donors decide how much they’d like to contribute by adding suggested amounts that they can select with a single click.
  • Include a fundraising thermometer. Create a sense of urgency and progress by adding a fundraising thermometer or bar to your donation page, allowing donors to see how close you are to reaching your goal—especially for urgent fundraising campaigns like Giving Tuesday.
  • Ensure that the page is mobile-responsive. Access your donation page on a mobile device. Check that images are clear, text is readable, and your form is easy to fill out.
  • Enable recurring donations. For donors who would like to provide long-term support, allow them to opt into recurring gifts so they can effortlessly make donations to your cause on a regular, automated basis.
  • Incorporate social proof. People are interested in and influenced by the actions of others, especially their friends and family. Feature a combination of donor testimonials, comments, and names to motivate others to get involved.

The Eta Xi Alumni Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides scholarships and mentorship opportunities to support Black students through their higher education journeys, provides a stellar example of a strong crowdfunding donation page. Using Fundly, they exceeded their fundraising campaign goal of $113,000 well before their deadline:

Example of the Eta Xi Alumni Foundation’s crowdfunding page on Fundly, which the nonprofit used to collect online donations for its campaign.

As you can see from the example, the Eta Xi Alumni Foundation’s page includes a fundraising progress bar, a tab that displays supporters who’ve contributed to the campaign, a recurring gift option, and social sharing buttons to promote engagement.

2. Highlight the impact of donations.

Online fundraising provides opportunities for people to connect with like-minded individuals and join a community dedicated to a worthy cause. Inspire people to get involved by helping them visualize how their donations will make a difference.

For example, a high school sports team collecting online donations for its upcoming season might share the impact of specific gift amounts, such as:

  • “A $25 donation will provide an athlete’s game-day meals for a whole season.”
  • “A $100 donation will cover the team’s transportation costs to one away game.”
  • “A $300 donation will allow us to purchase new uniforms for the entire team.”

By getting more specific, you can boost transparency and build more trust in potential donors. They’ll feel much more comfortable giving when they know exactly how you’ll put their funds to good use.

3. Include multiple payment options.

With so many online purchases and transactions taking place worldwide, many payment options have emerged to provide convenience to users. By enabling these options when accepting donations online, you increase the chances that donors will find a method that appeals to them.

Some common payment options to provide include:

  • Credit and debit cards
  • Venmo
  • Apple Pay
  • Bank transfer

The more flexibility you provide potential donors, the more likely they are to give to push forward your cause.

4. Enable recurring gifts.

Pave the way for long-term support and increased funds by enabling recurring gifts on your donation page. Many platforms simply allow you to add a check box that donors can select to opt into the program.

While the default frequency is monthly, consider adding quarterly or annual options to appeal to different preferences. Additionally, make it easy for donors to adjust their frequency, update payment details, and opt out whenever they choose. This way, they won’t feel as though they’re blindly committing to something they might want to change later.

Since monthly online giving makes up 28% of all online fundraising revenue, recurring gifts can be a significant source of sustainable funding for your cause. Just be sure to follow up with recurring donors to maintain these relationships and express your gratitude for their continued support.

5. Encourage peer-to-peer fundraising.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising is an excellent way to collect more online donations by leveraging the power of your community. The process usually follows these general steps:

  • Recruit P2P volunteers to fundraise on your behalf.
  • Help P2P fundraisers set up their individual donation pages.
  • Support P2P fundraisers by providing messaging templates and relevant images.
  • Encourage P2P fundraisers as they promote their donation pages to friends and family.

P2P fundraising allows you to widen your fundraising reach even further by tapping into the personal networks of your supporters. Consider creating a dedicated social media group and organizing celebratory get-togethers to make your P2P fundraisers feel like a close-knit community.

6. Increase awareness of matching gifts.

Despite how matching gifts can double or even triple the impact of many donations, an estimated $4 – $7 billion in matching gift funds go unclaimed every year. To avoid missing out on this valuable revenue source, start by including a brief description on your donation page to make more donors aware.

Example of including matching gift information on your donation page.

Additionally, you can maximize awareness by promoting matching gifts in social media posts, text messages, and email newsletters. Briefly explain the process of determining eligibility and submitting a matching donation request so donors know what to expect.

Click through to start a free Fundly fundraiser and start accepting donations online for your cause.

7. Leverage text-to-give.

Through text-to-give, donors can support your fundraising efforts whenever they’d like, on whatever device they prefer. To start accepting donations online with text-to-give, follow these steps:

  • Find a text-to-give provider that is PCI-compliant and provides comprehensive support.
  • Choose a short and memorable keyword, such as “DONATE4DOGS.”
  • Build a text contact list by promoting your text-to-give fundraiser on social media and other channels.

To retain your text donors, you can set up automated thank-you messages that go out right after they complete a gift. In these messages, you can encourage further engagement by inviting donors to sign up for your email newsletter, follow you on social media, or become a peer-to-peer fundraising volunteer.

8. Promote your online donation page.

After you’ve prepared your donation page with all the features and elements to inspire giving, get as many eyes on it as possible by promoting it on various online and offline platforms. For example, you can include links and QR codes in:

Whether you’re adding QR codes or colorful donate buttons, make sure they stand out in your marketing materials. Maintain a consistent voice and branding across all of your content so donors understand that gifts will directly benefit your cause.

9. Prepare tax receipts and thank-you messages.

Your relationships with donors don’t end after you accept their gifts. Expressing your appreciation is not only polite but essential for retaining their support for your fundraising efforts down the road. Plus, according to the IRS, donors must have a record or written communication including your organization’s name, the date, and the amount to be able to claim a federal income tax deduction.

In addition to ensuring that donors can claim tax deductions, make them feel especially valued by going above and beyond a simple donation receipt. Consider:

  • Sending eCards.
  • Creating social media shoutouts.
  • Producing a thank-you video.
  • Making personal phone calls.

Whatever method you choose, reference as many details about each donor as possible. For example, mention their preferred name, specific gift amount, and past contributions to demonstrate that you value them as an individual.

Maximizing the Impact of Accepting Donations Online

With the right tools at your disposal, you’ll be well on your way to reaching supporters all over the world and raising significant funds for your cause. Be sure to choose a platform, like Fundly, that equips you with the features you need to collect donations, spread the word, and engage donors again and again. You’ll meet your fundraising goals in no time!

To learn more about soliciting and accepting donations online, check out these additional resources:

Click through to launch a Fundly fundraiser with no startup or hidden fees and collect online donations for your cause.

The article's title, "Top Community Service Ideas [with Examples!]," beside three volunteers planting and watering trees.

145+ Community Service Ideas [with Examples!]

What Is Community Service?

Community service has many definitions, but the general gist is that it is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people to benefit others. It’s typically organized by a larger organization such as a nonprofit, and people usually perform community service in the area where they live, allowing them to give back and help their local community.

The goal of community service is to help people or places in need and it doesn’t have to be a large planned event (though it can be). For example, you could drive senior citizens to doctor’s appointments or you could pick up litter from a local park.

It’s important to note that community service is not the same as volunteering. While very similar, volunteering is completely voluntary, whereas community service is sometimes compulsory. For example, some high schools may require students to perform a certain number of hours of community service to graduate.

What Makes a Great Community Service Project?

If you’re thinking of hosting a community service project, you need to understand what makes a service idea great. Your community service project should be:

A visual depiction of the elements that make a community service idea great.

  • Relevant: For example, if your neighborhood doesn’t have any green spaces, a park litter cleanup project isn’t very relevant. However, you can make this idea relevant by asking participants to pick up trash from sidewalks and parking lots instead. If you’re organizing a community service project on behalf of an organization like a nonprofit, make sure it’s directly related to that organization’s mission.
  • Meaningful: If you want people to volunteer and participate in any activity, it should be something that they’re interested in and care about. The same is true for community service projects. Choose an idea that’s meaningful to your community members so that they’ll be excited to help out. For example, if you have several young kids in your neighborhood, you might decide to host a youth sports camp that engages them and gives their families a break.
  • Necessary: Ideally, your idea should address a real need in the community and allow participants to make a difference. There are always people, businesses, and causes that require help. For example, if the public school has been wanting to replace their old playground equipment, you could start a crowdfunding campaign and ask for donations.
  • Engaging. Not all community service projects are fun, and that’s normal—after all, helping others isn’t always easy. However, the best community service ideas are engaging and fulfill a real need, as those are the ones that people want to participate in where they can experience a sense of purpose.

Although these are the main four components of a great community service project, we can’t overlook the importance of being well-organized. If you want to host a project of your own, you need to establish a team dedicated to it and map out all the details, including when and where the project will take place. Then, you can provide this information to potential community service participants, ensuring that they know everything they need about your project upfront.

Who Can Participate in Community Service?

Almost anyone can participate in community service—after all, helping others isn’t limited to any particular group. However, when your organization considers which programs to implement, you’ll need to consider what groups of people those projects would most appeal to.

For example, a community service project where participants donate new or used baby clothes and baby supplies would probably attract families with young children. This is great if you know there are many parents in need in your community, if not then it’s time to brainstorm other opportunities.

As you read through all of our community service ideas below, keep in mind which groups of people would be most interested in them. Ask yourself, does this align with my community’s interests and does it fulfill a relevant need? The answer to that question will help you determine if that’s a good community service idea for your unique community.

Crowdfunding: The #1 Community Service Idea
General Ideas Ideas to Address Housing or Food Insecurity
Ideas to Help Schools and Kids Ideas to Reduce Crime or Improve Safety
Ideas to Help Senior Citizens Ideas to Help People with Special Needs
Ideas to Help Animals and the Environment Ideas for Community Improvement

Crowdfunding: The #1 Community Service Idea

Crowdfunding is a method of fundraising that allows individuals to raise money by reaching out and asking for donations from their friends, family, acquaintances, and broader network.

With crowdfunding, individuals and organizations can quickly set up an online donation page through a platform and secure funding for a range of causes: special projects, financial expenses, charity, events, and more.

Why Is Crowdfunding Our #1 Community Service Idea?

Crowdfunding is our top community service idea because it is quick, easy, and effective. In a matter of minutes, you can have your campaign page up and running and raising money for your cause.

Whether you want to fund a program to help the elderly or need money to build a playground, crowdfunding is a great model to get you the money you need for your community service project.

Successful crowdfunding campaigns are built around community, just like your service project is going to be.

Click through to start a free Fundly fundraiser and start accepting donations online for your cause.

General Community Service Ideas

  • Participate in a charity walk or run
  • Clean up your local park or playground
  • Volunteer at a local nonprofit
  • Plant trees, flowers, or other plants
  • Organize a clothing drive
  • Volunteer at your local library
  • Participate in a national giving or remembrance day
  • Repair broken household items or appliances for neighbors
  • Ask for charitable donations instead of birthday or Christmas gifts
  • Write and send letters to soldiers and veterans
  • Host a fundraising event and donate the money
  • Adopt a stretch of highway and clean it regularly
  • Teach classes for a skill you have
  • Babysit for local families

How to Incorporate Crowdfunding

Some community service ideas require more than hard work and dedication.

Sometimes, you need to raise money to see your community service project through to completion.

If that’s the case, you should set up a crowdfunding campaign to supplement your community service efforts. Crowdfunding campaigns are easy to set up, and you can start raising money from your friends and family members almost instantly.

All you have to do is tell your story, upload photos, and videos, and share the campaign on social media and via email. Consider expanding your campaign to include direct mail as well to truly reach the largest audience possible. By partnering with a direct mail provider like GivingMail, you can jumpstart your crowdfunding campaign through personal letters to each and every one of your supporters without any of the hassle.

It’s that simple!

Example Crowdfunding Campaign for General Community Service

This campaign is the Dalat Junior Class of 2019’s Servathon. It is designed to raise money so that the class has the funding to participate in a servathon and support the community outside their school’s walls.

Here's a successful crowdfunding campaign for a general community service idea.

This community service project was successful because they reached their $7,500 goal with time to spare. The students running the campaign were able to make that goal because they were straightforward and transparent about why they needed the funding and how it would be used.

Community Service Ideas to Help Schools and Kids

  • Hold an egg hunt for school kids
  • Start a coat drive
  • Host a book party for kids in your neighborhood
  • Help teach a child to read
  • Help walk kids home from school
  • Offer tutoring services
  • Host an after-school program
  • Take a child Christmas shopping
  • Coach a youth sports team
  • Become a field trip chaperone
  • Start up a pen pal program for kids
  • Donate baby clothes and supplies
  • Teach kids a valuable life skill
  • Teach a child how to play an instrument
  • Volunteer at a youth shelter
  • Become a teen counselor
  • Become a field trip chaperone
  • Create a summer reading program
  • Donate used books to a children’s library
  • Join a group like Big Brothers, Big Sisters
  • Knit caps or scarfs for babies or children
  • Donate stuffed animals to kids in hospitals
  • Help build a playground for disabled children
  • Do demonstrations about health and exercise at schools
  • Donate your used electronics to a school
  • Organize a safe Halloween outing for kids in your neighborhood

How to Incorporate Crowdfunding

Whether you’re trying to improve your local after-school program or want to start teaching kids a valuable life skill, you’ll likely need money to help fund your endeavors.

Many community service ideas that help children, babies, and schools are much more effective when you get your friends, family, and community members on board with your idea! 

One of the easiest ways to recruit others to help you with your community service project is to set up a crowdfunding campaign and ask people for donations.

Your crowdfunding campaign can serve as the hub of your community service project; you can use it to upload photos and videos of your progress and write updates about how your project is coming along. 

Not only will your friends and family members enjoy seeing how you’re improving the lives of kids, but they can also support your efforts with monetary donations and words of encouragement!

Example Crowdfunding Campaign for Schools and Kids

This campaign was designed to benefit the TandemED program. It’s called “Communities at the Lead of Youth Education,” and its goal is to help fund the TandemED program that “supports local communities to self-design and deliver educational content that will instill youth with purpose and motivation as they engage in learning in public schools.

Here's a great crowdfunding campaign designed around community service targeting kids and schools.

This community service project is professional, targeted, and managed to raise more than double their goal for a program that helps both kids and schools.

Community Service Ideas to Help Senior Citizens

  • Take flowers to nursing home residents
  • Offer to pick up a neighbor’s medicine
  • Help elderly neighbors with chores
  • Offer to write letters for a senior
  • Cook a meal for a senior
  • Deliver cookies or snacks to elderly neighbors
  • Decorate doors at a nursing home for the holidays
  • Organize a senior citizen “field trip”
  • Host a holiday meal at a nursing home
  • Be “Santa” to a senior
  • Do a musical performance at a nursing home
  • Organize a “Senior Prom” at a nursing home
  • Start a grocery delivery service for the elderly
  • Organize a senior garden
  • Host regular game nights at a nursing home
  • Hold a clothing or food drive for a nursing home
  • Do a “Skills Swap” with an elderly neighbor
  • Help a senior citizen with a genealogy project
  • Teach an elderly person a card game or trick
  • Make quilts or blankets for senior citizens
  • Teach an elderly neighbor computer skills
  • Honor elderly veterans on Memorial and Veterans Day
  • Help senior citizens find companion animals
  • Help a senior citizen renovate their home
  • Adopt a grandparent
  • Start a walking or exercise program for seniors

How to Incorporate Crowdfunding

There are tons of community service ideas to help senior citizens in your area. But some of them require a bit more work than others.

If you’re planning a more involved community service project to serve the elderly in your community, you should set up a crowdfunding campaign page to supplement your service efforts!

When you center your community service project around a crowdfunding campaign, you can raise money and awareness at the same time.

A crowdfunding page can help you rally others around your undertaking and keep them updated about the progress of your project.

Your friends and family members can demonstrate their support of your community service idea by making a donation or posting a comment on your crowdfunding campaign’s wall.

Example Crowdfunding Campaign for Senior Citizens

This is a crowdfunding campaign designed to raise money for a senior citizen in the West Palm Beach community. Karen, the recipient of the funds, had to undergo multiple surgeries on her leg and didn’t have the funds to cover her care.

Here's a great community service project designed to benefit a senior citizen.

Smartly, this campaign’s organizer focused on Karen’s contributions to the community and what an impact she had made when she was healthy. That technique worked and enabled the campaign to exceed its goal, raising a total of $27,640.

Community Service Ideas to Help Animals and the Environment

  • Volunteer at an animal shelter
  • Plant trees in a local park
  • Raise money for retired police dogs
  • Clean up a stretch of highway
  • Offer a dog-walking service
  • Organize a riverbed or stream cleanup
  • Organize a spay and neuter program
  • Set up and maintain a butterfly garden
  • Sponsor an animal in your city’s zoo
  • Help train service dogs
  • Host a Puppy Day at a school
  • Adopt an acre of a forest or park
  • Build birdhouses for your neighborhood
  • Host an Earth Day event
  • Host an equine skills clinic
  • Spruce up a park trail or hiking area
  • Raise money for a local animal shelter
  • Bike to work or school
  • Encourage and promote conservationism
  • Create eco-friendly policies at home, work, or school
  • Foster dogs and cats that don’t have homes
  • Make purses and jewelry out of recycled materials
  • Collect pet food and supplies for a shelter
  • Get involved in local conservation activities
  • Volunteer at a local national or state park

How to Incorporate Crowdfunding

Are you planning a community service project to help animals or the environment? Did you know that you can use crowdfunding to supplement your charitable efforts?

In fact, crowdfunding is one of the best ways to raise money for your animal-related or environmental community service idea!

First, you’ll need to set up a crowdfunding page. Most crowdfunding platforms, like GoFundMe, require that you upload a few images and write a description that outlines why you’re raising money.

Then, you can share the crowdfunding campaign with your friends and family members via social media and email. The more you share your fundraiser with others, the more likely they’ll be to donate to your community service project.

Whether you’re trying to help out a local animal shelter or want to adopt a highway, you can use crowdfunding to give your community service ideas a boost!

Example Crowdfunding Campaign for Animals

This animal-based community service project popped up after the devastation brought on by Harvey. It’s a fundraiser to raise the money necessary to transport shelter animals out of Houston and into safe shelters.

Check out this community service fundraiser for animals and the environment.

This project succeeded because it is tied into the work of an established animal rescue, and the organizer was highly detailed and specific about exactly what needed to be accomplished.Click through to start a free Fundly fundraiser and start accepting donations online for your cause.

Community Service Ideas to Address Housing or Food Insecurity

  • Collect household items for a homeless family
  • Volunteer at and donate to your local food bank
  • Volunteer with a charity like Habitat for Humanity
  • Organize a health fair that offers free checkups
  • Give grocery coupons to a local food bank
  • Host a holiday meal for those without a home
  • Create care packages with essential items
  • Host free resume workshops for homeless job seekers
  • Donate toys and school supplies to a homeless shelter
  • Create portable first aid kits for the homeless
  • Organize a coat and mitten drive
  • Donate gently used clothing and shoes
  • Donate blankets to a homeless shelter
  • Spend time at a soup kitchen

How to Incorporate Crowdfunding

If you’re organizing a community service effort to help individuals and families who are homeless or hungry, you might discover that you need some extra funds to help you pay for your project.

You can set up a crowdfunding campaign and ask for donations from your friends, family members, and people in your community! Crowdfunding is one of the quickest and easiest ways to raise money for a community service project.

Simply set up an account, upload images and videos, write a description that explains why you’re raising money, and share your page via social media and email. It’s that easy!

Example Crowdfunding Campaign to Address Housing or Food Insecurity

This crowdfunding campaign is tied into the Christmas event hosted by Swords to Plowshares. The event is a night where homeless veterans are able to come and receive a warm meal, as well as a backpack filled with gear to help them endure the cold winter months.

See how this community service project helped feed the homeless.

“Cold Nights, Warm Hearts” did a great job of including compelling images that put community and service first. Its “More Info” section was also filled with helpful information that surely inspired a number of donors to contribute to their $11,615 fundraising total.

Community Service Ideas to Reduce Crime or Improve Safety

  • Teach kids about safety and first aid
  • Volunteer as a lifeguard
  • Volunteer at or donate to a battered women or youth shelter
  • Become CPR certified
  • Volunteer at a fire station
  • Join an organization like DARE
  • Teach self-defense lessons
  • Paint over graffiti in your neighborhood
  • Host seminars about drug and alcohol use
  • Help develop safety procedures for schools
  • Volunteer to be a crossing guard at a school
  • Help teach safe driving by becoming a driver’s ed instructor
  • Become part of your neighborhood watch group
  • Start a violence protection group in your community

How to Incorporate Crowdfunding

If your community service idea is focused on reducing crime and promoting safety in your local neighborhood, you may find that you need more help to accomplish your goals.

For instance, you might want to help renovate a battered women’s shelter in your area, but you don’t have enough funds to finish the project.

Crowdfunding can help! Set up a crowdfunding campaign, tell your story, add visuals, and share it with your friends and family members to raise money and awareness for your community service project.

You can also use your crowdfunding page to keep people in the loop about your project’s progress.

Example Crowdfunding Campaign to Reduce Crime

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Police Department coordinated a fundraiser leading up to the annual “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” charity walk that is geared around raising awareness of and preventing sexual assault.

Check out this community service campaign to reduce crime.

The organizer of this campaign more than doubled his campaign goal by foregrounding the cause, preventing sexual assault and domestic violence, above all else.

Community Service Ideas to Help People with Special Needs

  • Host free reading sessions at the local library
  • Work with children with special needs on an art project
  • Volunteer with a local care center
  • Hold a crayon and marker drive
  • Volunteer with the Special Olympics
  • Collect school supplies for special needs classrooms
  • Volunteer with a Hippotherapy program
  • Help make sure your neighborhood is handicap accessible
  • Create materials to teach people in your community about respecting and supporting those with special needs
  • Raise money to donate to a care center in your community
  • Set up a buddy program through the special needs program at the school
  • Set up a library at the local children’s hospital

How to Incorporate Crowdfunding

If your community service idea is based around serving individuals with special needs, there’s a good chance a portion of your project will involve raising money.

For example, you might want to volunteer with the Special Olympics athletes but also need money to travel to the competitions.

Crowdfunding will help with your fundraising needs! Design a campaign around the individuals you’re serving, and emphasize exactly what the money will accomplish.

Make sure your campaign features compelling copy and visuals and is promoted heavily, and you’ll be in good shape!

Example Crowdfunding Campaign for People with Special Needs

“A Ray of Hope” is a fundraiser organized by Lee Morgan in order to fund the construction of an educational and therapy center for special needs children in Tiruvannamalai, India.

A Ray of Hope is well on its way to its massive crowdfunding community service project goal.

This project has succeeded and will continue to succeed for a number of reasons, including: updates with photos, a well-written description, customized giving levels, and a worthwhile cause at its core.

Community Service Ideas for Community Improvement

  • Get speed bumps added to residential streets
  • Pick up trash around the neighborhood
  • Assist with home painting
  • Start a community garden
  • Work with neighbors on modest home repair
  • Raise money to build a playground
  • Offer a lawn mowing service
  • Collect supplies for families who have lost their homes in fires
  • Teach a class at the community center
  • Rake leaves in the fall
  • Campaign for more bike lanes and sidewalks
  • Join your neighborhood watch group
  • Reach out to local government about lighting streets better
  • Help people clean their gutters

How to Incorporate Crowdfunding

If you’re looking to organize a community service project around bettering your neighborhood, it is likely that you’re going to need to raise money. Simply put, more community improvement projects require funding.

Crowdfunding can get you the money you need. You can leverage your online fundraising page to reach members of your community who would have otherwise never known about your project. 

For instance, you might be looking to launch a community garden in your local park. While it will eventually sustain itself, you’ll need the initial investment of funds to prepare the land and plant the seeds.

With a successful crowdfunding campaign, you can get the money you need and more.

Example Crowdfunding Campaign for Neighborhood Betterment

The “Neighbors Helping Neighbors Garden” was a simple project designed to raise $150 and build a fence around the garden.

This low-stakes campaign was all that was needed to fulfill this neighborhood's community service needs.

This campaign proves that projects don’t have to have massive goals to be considered a success. The organizer smartly created a campaign that would meet her community service needs and was able to reach her goal with just four donations.

Additional Resources

Click through to launch a Fundly fundraiser with no startup or hidden fees and collect online donations for your cause.

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3 Crowdfunding Campaign Page Writing Tips to Captivate Donors

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