Hi there! You’re likely here because you have questions about creating or expanding the digital presence of your nonprofit. Well, good news—we're here to help.

What is a digital presence, you ask?

It’s your organization’s website, social media profiles, and fundraising pages. All of the virtual content that your donors interact with using the internet makes up your unique digital presence.

And that unique presence is important. It’s the backbone of successful fundraising campaigns and donation management. It’s also where you connect with new donors and build relationships. That digital presence works for you—even when you’re not working—by engaging, informing, and broadening your organization’s audience.

If the idea of building out a robust digital presence feels daunting, don’t worry! We have an easy step-by-step guide that will make climbing that hill a breeze. But first, a little more background info.

How Digital Makes Your Job Easier

The basic component of your nonprofit's digital presence is information. Your website and social profiles all work to inform people about a nonprofit’s mission, strategic plan, and fundraising ideas. But it shouldn’t stop there—your organization’s digital presence can do a lot more than simply inform people. It can launch fundraising crowdfunding events, help donation management, capture donor and visitor information, and provide helpful automation (such as thank you emails and donation receipts). ‍

Sincere question: What's your organization’s digital presence accomplishing for you right now?

If you’re not sure, there’s an easy way to find out: Ask a friend to go to the website and record their experience. Can they find answers easily? Is the mission presented clearly? Do they know where to make a donation and how the donation process works? Ask them to note how easy it is to make a donation and whether or not they trust their information is secure. And don’t forget to ask your friend to check out your social media pages, too. Most people will discover there are maaaaany ways to improve the donor experience.

If you find a multitude of ways to improve, that’s great news! It means you've got room for improvement—and that translates to tangible growth. We know implementing big changes feels overwhelming, but we'll take it slow, and with a little extra work at the beginning, you’ll have your digital platforms working for your nonprofit nonstop. Then, you’ll have time to do fun things like relationship building, event planning, and taking vacations again.

Show and Tell: Successful Digital Campaigns

We can tell you how important establishing your organization’s digital presence is, but it’s more fun to see an example of how it translates to actual growth.

BeLoved used Funraise to connect with supporters using fundraising sites that integrate with the BeLoved website. This made capturing meaningful donor data easy (just one platform = no more data entry in Excel!) and meant BeLoved saw big digital donation growth: after integrating with Funraise, they had 32% more dollars donated online and 69% more online donations.

BeLoved isn't the only organization that harnessed the power of their digital presence for donation success. The innovative nonprofit Dressember used Funraise’s Facebook integration to turn Giving Tuesday 2019 into a social fundraising dream: they raised $340,000 in 8 weeks!

We love sharing success stories like these because it shows that success through your digital presence is attainable; it's not an exception. Having a strong digital presence literally pays.

How Funraise Works With Your Digital Presence  

One way to think of any organization’s digital presence is to think of a garden. Your digital elements are the nutrient-rich soil that works 24/7 to grow the seeds you plant. You can’t ignore your plant babies, once they're in the ground, though. The garden still needs tending, updating, and sometimes a little weeding, but if you build in a bed of rich soil, you’ll have a bounty that keeps on growing.

Funraise helps sync and automate all of those different elements of your garden. You have your cause and the drive to make real change in the world; Funraise has the software to seamlessly integrate virtual fundraising with personalized fundraising pages and your digital presence.

Now that you're armed with all the Why, let's dive into the How! Take the next step and build or review your current website situation, then follow the rest of the steps in our Let's Get Digital! series.

• Your Nonprofit Needs More Than a Website–It Needs a Good One
• The Power of Social Media for Nonprofit Fundraising
• Payment Processors for the Win
• Using Donation Buttons to Empower Giving (Plus lots of donation button examples!)
• Step Up Set Up Your Nonprofit's Email List
• A Donor Database You Can Depend On
• How to Fundraise: 3 Things You Can Do Now to Start Digital Fundraising