Last Updated on January 12, 2021 by Sunny Staff
If you’re running a charity, relief, or nonprofit website on WordPress, you’re already providing plenty to the world. Your ideas and activism help the world get a little better every day. But, sometimes, your passion project could probably use a little push.
This is where donations come in helpful. Maybe your charity is now ready to start making money like a regular business? Or perhaps you’re just trying to plan ahead?
Either way, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll reveal our favorite WordPress donation plugins and seven ways to use them.
Let’s dive in!
What’s a WordPress Donation Plugin?
WordPress allows you to create your own blog and website, and expand your domain’s functionality, endlessly with numerous widgets and plugins.
While many use this to fulfill their blogging or e-commerce dreams, many users also create charity websites on this platform.
This is where WordPress donation plugins come in handy. They allow you to accept payments via several gateways so that the community can give back to you and your cause.
High-quality donation plugins usually charge a monthly or annual subscription, so your nonprofit needs to consider whether it’s ready to make this investment.
At their core, these plugins allow you to accept donations securely. However, they often do much more than simply allow people to throw some dollars your way. Typically, they cover a range of tools that are vital to fundraising campaigns.
We’ve listed seven of them below:
1. Add Payment Gateways to Your Website
Payment gateways allow you to process payments on your website securely. These include Paypal, Authorize.net, Stripe, Google Wallet, and many more.
The greater variety of payment gateways you accept, the easier it is for a broader audience of donors to make a payment.
It is, therefore, good to have some options available here. This is the basic functionality needed to start monetizing your blog or nonprofit website.
2. Understand Your Performance
WordPress donation plugins often come with analytics features that can help you track your fundraising campaigns’ performance.
They can indicate:
- How much has been raised
- Who your key contributors are
- Who your campaign resonates with the most
- The percentage raised towards your target
…just to name a few.
3. Manage Your Donors
WordPress donation plugins often allow you to track your donors from your WordPress website directly. They act a little like a CRM, so you can keep track of your donors, their contact details, and other important information.
This helps you reach out to these donors in the future and personalize your campaigns towards them.
4. Create Forms
Forms are a great way to start collecting payments, registering new subscribers to your cause, and sending out newsletters. Surveys can also help you better understand what motivates your donors and what they would like to see from you.
Many WordPress donation plugins also offer various form templates so you can start collecting donations and information from your visitors.
5. Accept Recurring Donations with Subscriptions
Your cause might not be accomplished with a single fundraiser. Use your WordPress donation plugin to accept recurring donations through subscriptions.
This means your audience can contribute monthly or weekly with custom frequencies and payment amounts. Grow a list of supporters that are with you every step of the way.
6. Market Your Fundraiser
Any WordPress donation plugin worth its salt should come with a few nifty marketing features, for instance, being able to:
- Display a bar on your website indicating how much you’ve raised
- Create various donation forms
- Write and send engaging newsletters
These are just a few examples, but you get the idea.
7. Integrate with Other Plugins
Donation plugins are handy tools to have, but their true potential is best unlocked when combined with other plugins and tools.
For instance, you might want to integrate with bookkeeping software to keep track of your finances or integrate with an email marketing solution to reach out to your donors.
So, do your research first to ensure any potential donation app seamlessly integrates with your current tech stack.
The Best WordPress Donation Plugins
Now you know the typical features most WordPress donation plugins boasts and the seven ways you can use them to boost your fundraising campaign.
But of course, we wouldn’t want to leave you without letting you know some of the best WordPress donation plugins that could achieve this for you:
WPForms: This affordable plugin is all about adding forms to your WP website, including payment and donation forms, surveys, and registration forms.
GiveWP: One of the most comprehensive WordPress donation plugins. GiveWp allows you to take payments, manage your donor base, create forms, manage your fundraisers, and track your goals!
Easy PayPal Donation: This free WordPress donation plugin allows you to accept donations using Paypal or credit cards. You won’t find many other features, but it’s an excellent choice if you just want to start taking payments.
WP Crowdfunding: This impressive plugin allows you to create fundraising backer sites like Kickstarter or GoFundMe. It integrates with a variety of payment gateways and lets you track pledges for each campaign.
You can distribute funds accordingly to individual stakeholders. A great tool if your charity is based on encouraging individuals to take action and manage their own campaigns!
DonorBox: This is another powerful donation form plugin for WordPress and standalone sites. It allows you to take payments, set up subscriptions, use goal meters, donation form popups, multi-currency support, and donor walls and profiles.
Are You Ready to Start Using a WordPress Donation Plugin?
WordPress donation plugins allow you to accept contributions to your cause. But, depending on which plugin you choose, you might be able to accomplish much more than that.
From nurturing relationships with your audience to creating profiles, measuring your campaign goals, and driving conversions, you’re bound to find a WordPress donation plugin that meets your needs.
At Sunny HQ, we provide solutions that make your nonprofit WordPress site shine. Please feel free to contact us today for more information!
