There are a variety of steps and methods to secure one-time and continuing gifts through online fundraising. Below are some of the keys to our online fundraising efforts at Orange Coast College (OCC).
The first step in online giving is having a landing page where donors can make gifts via credit card. Having a landing page sounds easy, but it can be challenging to set up. All of the major fundraising CRMs have the means of accepting online gifts.
When setting up your page, here are items to be mindful of include:
- The page is simple for donors to use but collects all of the necessary address information needed to acknowledge and track gifts. It also should link to your accounting and banking systems. This was one of the more difficult aspects of setting up our initial online landing pages.
- It accepts one-time and recurring gifts.
- There is a pull-down menu of the most common gift funds you receive gifts for and the option to easily specify a fund not listed.
- Donors have the option of paying the credit card and gift processing fees. Our fees are about 3% and more than 80% of our donors pay the fees. On a $1,000 gift, the $30 fee is a nice addition to the net gift. Make sure that your system accepts all of the major credit cards.
- Have an easy-to-find phone number for the donor to contact you. Electronic gifts delivered 24/7 are great, but I have found personal contact often results in bigger gifts.
- It automatically sends an email notification of all gifts. This allows staff to immediately thank or respond to a donor, especially those making significant gifts.
- Make sure your organization’s name and address are prominently displayed on the gift form along with who to make a check payable to. While we are receiving a growing number of online gifts each year, there are still donors who want to write a check and mail it. Also, business and organizational donors need an address.
This articles comes from the February/March 2025 edition of the Community College Journal, which is published by the American Association of Community Colleges.
At Orange Coast College Foundation, we create customized landing pages for campus programs and events. This allows for a unique link in marketing and promotional materials that allows donors and program attendees to pay online.
We also can set up memorial-giving pages. When someone dies, families and friends often want to have memorial gifts in lieu of flowers. We respond immediately to these types of requests and, when necessary, we can create a memorial gift page that includes a picture or graphic. Recently, we created a link the same day it was requested and received more than $40,000 in gifts in memory of an alumnus who passed away.
Another tip: Ensure you have a good relationship with the manager and staff in your accounting office. While the OCC Foundation is a separate 501(C)3 non-profit organization, it also is an auxiliary of the college and we are required to follow the accounting rules of the college.
Understand PCI compliance
In recent years, one of the issues we have had to deal with is PCI compliance, or Payment Card Industry compliance. That’s a set of regulations that businesses must follow to ensure the security of credit and payment processing. The regulations are set forth by the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), which includes representatives from major credit card companies.
PCI compliance is important because it protects customers from fraudulent attacks, protects banks from large losses and maintains conformity to privacy and security laws.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding for nonprofits is a great way of raising money for a cause or organization by collecting small or mid-sized donations from a large group of people, usually online. The OCC Foundation acts as a social fundraiser for crowdfunding by athletic teams, clubs, and authorized support organizations.
There are a variety of platforms available for crowdfunding. OCC Foundation uses the eTeamSponsor platform. Our teams and clubs solicit names, emails and phone numbers from friends and families for their groups and the potential donors then receive an email or text with a link to a customized video and a gift request. In 2023-2024, we raised more than $200,000 in gifts, mostly in the $25 to $100 range.
