Finding donors for any nonprofit is a constant, uphill battle. Fundraisers are often pulled in different directions, needing to split their time between dedicated donors and sourcing new donors. Though many donors may be moved to get involved with an organization, often they refrain for one reason or another. For example, overwhelmingly, nonprofits have seen that their contributors, both new and old, want to give on their own time. Creating an e-giving platform is half the solution to this issue – the other half is encouraging people to use it.

The question for many nonprofits, whether they’ve chosen to utilize online giving or not, is how to source users who are likely to contribute to their nonprofit. Often fundraising and marketing go hand-in-hand, utilizing many of the same principles, such as audience identification and message crafting. In order to source the best leads to your e-giving platform, it’s important to reach out on the mediums potential donors are already using. Take a look at the tips below for an idea on how to begin.

Are You Mobile?

According to Pew Research Center, in January of 2014 over 90% of adults in the United States owned a cellphone. Among those with a smartphone, a large portion – particularly younger adults – relied heavily upon their device for internet access. With these statistics in mind, it’s safe to assume that an increasing amount of web traffic is coming from mobile devices. Is your nonprofit’s website optimized for mobile? If not, now is the perfect time to make the necessary changes to take your users’ mobile experience to the next level. When you incorporate a link back to your e-giving page, take the time to evaluate the experience. Is the link easily accessible? How does the donation platform appear on a mobile device? Answering these questions will help to ease the donor’s experience and encourage them to continue utilizing the platform.

Be Social

Now, more than ever before, consumers of all types, donors included, go to social media to find an established and engaging presence for a business or organization. According to the 2012 Local Search Study conducted by Localeze and ComScore, 72% of those who were surveyed said that they would be more likely to patronize an organization if one of their connections previously recommended it. Because connecting with donors is integral in creating lasting relationships, nonprofits should interact with them in as many means as possible. Share nonprofit updates on social, interact with your dedicated followers and be sure to keep the tone conversational. Keeping users engaged online is one of the first steps to encouraging them to give online.

Promote Monthly Giving

Though initially a giver who pledges to give a set small amount on a monthly basis seems less exciting to fundraisers than a large one-time donor, the opposite is actually the case. Network For Good reports that, on average, monthly donors give 42% more than one time donors. Scheduling a recurring gift through the e-giving platform simplifies the giving process for donors by taking the pressure off of them to remember to give periodically. This method of giving will also benefit your nonprofit in that, the annual net contributions from an individual may increase, as well as the length of time that they’re involved with your organization.

Though increasing competition from other organizations has made sourcing and retaining donors more difficult than ever, there’s hope for your nonprofit. Using the above tips to engage with legacy and prospective donors will help you to breathe new life into your e-giving campaign.