I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a great time with my family, the turkey and all the trimmings.
On Black Friday, I sat down behind my computer and made donations to some 20 organizations. The same amount for each. Some I already donate to monthly, and some I only give to this time of year.
To process the 20 donations, four used PayPal, and two used Stripe, NetCommunity, Donor Perfect Weblink, Classy or Network for Good. Then there were the onesies: Click and Pledge, E-tapestry, Justgiving, Firstgiving and Donorbox.
Most of these were very easy to do, but in two instances, I was not able to process the donation, so I contacted the organization and let them know. Fortunately, they were checking their email, and they were able to fix it, so I was able to make my donation later on.
Do you know if your process works? When’s the last time you tested your own system? I highly recommend you take a minute today and do it, so you’re ready for tomorrow and this big giving season.
All processors had the monthly giving option built in—congratulations! Nine out of the 20 allowed me to pay for the credit card fees, so 100 percent of the donation goes to the organization. The fees ranged from $0.70 to $1.56 on a $35 donation. This of course depends upon the system you use, and there’s nothing you can do to change it now. But if at one point you’re looking to change your online processor, make that part of your evaluation process.
For each donation made, I saved the auto-responders and the subsequent thank-you emails and receipts. Now, I’m waiting to see what happens next. Are the organizations sending me a thank-you letter by mail or not?
I recommend you do! Yes, I made my gift online, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I don’t like receiving mail. Don’t assume. It’s better to do more than less!
Originally posted by NonProfitPRO Today on November 27, 2017
