4 New Revenue Streams Your Nonprofit Can Start Using Now

4 New Revenue Streams Your Nonprofit Can Start Using Now

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Fundraising can be a little unpredictable. While your nonprofit likely has a good idea of how much funding you can expect from month to month, chances are that a significant percentage of your support comes from individuals who can occasionally change their minds or act in ways you might not have predicted. 

Fortunately, there are a variety of resources your nonprofit can use to increase your funding’s reliability. Specifically, you can add new revenue streams to your fundraising strategy. Adding new sources of revenue may sound like a lot of work on the surface, but in reality, there are many your nonprofit can tap into almost immediately without disrupting any of your other fundraising efforts. 

From passive fundraisers to untapped philanthropy programs, your nonprofit can get started right away with these four revenue streams:

  1. Online Shopping Programs 
  2. Grocery Store Fundraisers 
  3. Matching Gifts
  4. Google Ad Grant

Keep in mind that these revenue streams are meant to supplement your main fundraising activities. After all, you’ll still need to perform your usual donor outreach and campaigning to alert donors to new ways they can support your nonprofit. With that in mind, let’s get started. 

1. Online Shopping Programs 

Do your supporters shop online? Chances are that many of them do, as research has shown there were 256 million online shoppers in 2020, and that number is only expected to grow over the next few years. Your nonprofit can make the most of this trend by encouraging your supporters to participate in an online shopping program. 

Online shopping programs have supporters essentially shop for your cause when they shop at participating retailers. A percentage of the sales total for each of your supporters’ purchases will be sent to your nonprofit. Plus, these contributions come from the retailers, which means your supporters won’t need to spend any more than they normally would while shopping. 

To launch an online shopping fundraiser, you’ll need to get in touch with your supporters and guide them through the following steps: 

  • Supporters download the app or browser extension. Send your supporters a link to download either your nonprofit’s online shopping program app or browser extension. If supporters prefer not to download anything, see if your shopping program has an online portal they can make their purchases through. 
  • Supporters shop at participating retailers. Ideally, your online shopping program should already be partnered with businesses your supporters already shop at, meaning very few of your supporters will need to change their shopping habits to participate. You may even be surprised at just how many different types of retailers participate in online shopping programs, from department stores and restaurants to online course vendors. 
  • Your nonprofit earns. As supporters start making purchases, your nonprofit will earn a steady stream of income through your shopping program. Shopping programs are designed to help nonprofits earn reliable revenue over time, so be patient and continue encouraging your supporters to participate in order to earn. 

Maintaining strong communication with your supporters is essential for a successful online shopping program. Unlike set-it-and-forget-it fundraisers, online shopping programs greatly benefit from regular promotion to attract new supporters to your program and remind current supporters to continue participating. 

2. Grocery Store Fundraisers

While it may be true that not all of your supporters regularly shop online, all of your supporters do need to make routine trips to the grocery store, giving them another chance to help out your nonprofit. Like online shopping fundraisers, grocery store fundraisers help nonprofits earn revenue by contributing a percentage of your supporters’ sales total to your organization. 

Many popular grocery store chains have fundraising programs that your nonprofit can apply to, allowing supporters to help your organization while they shop. Of course, many grocery stores have unique rules for their fundraising program, so be sure to research your local chains before applying. 

Once you join a grocery store fundraising program, be sure to promote it to your supporters. Let them know where and how they can participate, as well as any additional details they need to know to have their contributions count. For example, some grocery stores may need participants to join their rewards or membership program first, which often requires filling out a form in-store or signing up online. 

But don’t stop marketing your program after an initial email letting supporters know it’s gone live. Regularly promote it along with your other fundraisers to let new supporters know how they can make more ethical shopping decisions with your program, while also reminding your current supporters to continue shopping at your partner grocery store. 

3. Employer Gifts

Each time your supporters donate or volunteer, they can earn your nonprofit additional revenue through matching gift programs. Matching gift programs are contributions made by your supporters’ employers, meaning they won’t need to give any extra themselves to make their support go further. 

There are two main types of employer matching programs, and your supporters can make use of both of them to help drive additional income: 

  • Donation matching. When your supporters donate, employers with a donation matching program can match their gift, effectively helping your nonprofit earn double for each eligible donation. Help your donors discover if they qualify for a matching gift and fill out any necessary forms to apply for one. 
  • Volunteer grants. Volunteer grants can be an entirely new revenue stream for many nonprofits, as you’ll be able to collect contributions from your volunteers’ employers whenever they donate a few hours of their time. Companies that offer volunteer grants have a wide range of requirements and potential payouts. For example, Apple has no minimum for hours worked and will donate $25 per hour volunteered, whereas Pfizer requires employees to work at least 40 hours, but will then donate $500. 

While your nonprofit can encourage supporters to research if they are eligible for donation matching or volunteer grants, there are a variety of online fundraising tools that can make the process much easier. For example, matching gift databases allow supporters to enter the name of their employer and then be paired with the necessary matching gift forms automatically. 

4. Google Ad Grant

You can’t start using revenue from a Google Ad Grant right off the bat, but you can set your nonprofit up to qualify for one almost immediately. Google Ad Grants are specifically for online advertising, giving nonprofits $10,000 in ad credits a month. This can significantly change a nonprofit’s online outreach strategy and free up funds that might have previously been allocated to marketing. 

To get started applying for a Google Ad Grant for your nonprofit, ensure that you meet these three requirements: 

  • Have 501(c)(3) status. Google only allows nonprofits with a valid 501(c)(3) status to apply for their program. This means government organizations, hospitals, and schools are not eligible for the Google Ad Grant.
  • Agree to Google’s terms of services. Google has terms of service for how nonprofits will use the grant and Google Ads. Ensure you understand what is expected of your nonprofit to help maintain the grant if your nonprofit qualifies.
  • Have a valuable website with an SSL certificate. Google has a few clear and a few not-so-clear requirements for nonprofit websites. Your website must have an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate, only ads that relate to your mission, and limited commercial activity. More vaguely, your nonprofit’s website must also be high-quality. In most cases, this will mean having a clear layout, easy to find descriptions of your nonprofit’s mission, content that is unique to your nonprofit, and enough content to demonstrate that your nonprofit is a reliable, long-lasting organization. 

Nonprofits who already have accomplished these three tasks can jump straight into making their Google for Nonprofits Account and applying for a Google Ad Grant. Google will then assess a nonprofit’s website to determine if they are eligible, and, if so, they can begin designing and launching their ad campaigns with their new revenue.

Adding new fundraisers to your calendar can be easy. Explore options that are easy for you and your supporters to get started with, while also considering programs that might take a little while to apply for but can then start earning reliable revenue for the foreseeable future. Good luck!

Does Your Website Need Plugins, Add-Ons, or Custom Software?

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Picture this: you’re getting ready to launch a digital fundraising campaign, which means you need your website to be in tip-top shape. On top of that, you’re trying to get your donor database organized so that you know who exactly you should reach out to.

As you’re planning your virtual fundraising events for the campaign, you find that your technology can’t quite keep up. You know there’s a whole bunch of features out there that can help, but you don’t know which ones you need. What do you do?

The world of nonprofit technology and website building can feel overwhelming for anyone, but especially if you don’t consider yourself a tech wizard. Even when you’ve picked your theme, visual builder, and domain name, there still seems to be a ton of additional features you can download to enhance your website. From plugins to add-ons to custom software, it can be difficult to know what you actually need.

But don’t worry — we’re here to help! We’ve put together this guide to explain everything you need to know about the features you can download or create to enhance your website, including:

Whether you have a consultant on your side or you’re navigating this on your own, this guide will help you determine which features you should invest in and which ones you might be able to skip. Let’s dive in!

All About Plugins

First on our list is plugins. Plugins are downloadable features that you can add to your content management software (known as a CMS or website builder) that can enhance your platform. Plugins are most commonly used to add features or functionality to a web builder.

There are tons of plugins to choose from, so how do you know which ones are right for your nonprofit? Here are some tips for selecting plugins:

  • Be sure that you actually need the plugin: Before you start downloading all types of plugins, you should first ask yourself if you actually need the plugin. For example, you may need a plugin that makes your website menu easier to navigate, but you might not need one that also adds section navigation. Having a ton of plugins on your website can sometimes slow it down, so try to avoid installing every plugin that strikes your fancy!
  • Look at the reviews: Once you’ve determined if you actually need the plugin, be sure to read the reviews about the plugin. These can help you determine how well the plugin is supported and if the plugin will actually be helpful and perform how it’s supposed to!
  • Ensure that the plugin is regularly updated: The last thing you want is to download an outdated plugin that slows down your site. Check to make sure that the plugin is regularly updated and that a team of developers is available to resolve any issues.

Only you can decide which plugins are right for your site, but make sure you look at each option with scrutiny. If you’re already feeling the choice paralysis, check out this Cornershop Creative guide to WordPress plugins for nonprofits. They did the hard work of finding the best plugins so you don’t have to!

All About Add-Ons

Now you might think that plugins and add-ons are the same thing, but here we’re referring to  Add-Ons as features built-in as options or tools within the platform you are already trying to use.

It’s important to note that some plugins and add-ons may fulfill a similar purpose. As you’re looking for plugins, check first to see if the platform or program you’re using already offers the same feature in the form of an add-on. For instance, you likely won’t need a plugin to create a blog for your site. Your web builder will already have plenty of tools and add-ons to help you add a blog directly to your site.

Here are some examples of add-ons that your nonprofit might find valuable for your website:

  • Social media sharing tools: Adding a social media integration is a great way to help your supporters connect with you online. Pre-built social media integrations will also make it easier for your visitors to share photos, flyers, or videos with their personal networks, helping to spread the word about your nonprofit.
  • Online forms: Your nonprofit likely requires visitors to fill out a form if they want to make a donation, enroll in your volunteer program, or sign up for your email newsletter. Your web builder likely already has options available for you to easily build your own forms. However, this is also a good example of where plugins and add-ons can overlap — there are also a lot of plugin options you can download if your web builder’s form options aren’t quite enough for your nonprofit.
  • Visual editing tools: Your web builder likely has several add-ons that you can use to customize the appearance of your website so that you can make it your own! Some of these add-ons may also help to decrease the load speed of your graphics, which can improve user experience.

As you begin your noble quest for plugins, take a look at all of the add-ons that your web builder already offers. You may find that you already have everything you need and, if not, you’ll at least be able to minimize the number of third-party applications that you’ll need to download.

All About Custom Software

Custom software is a bit different from plugins or add-ons, in that it’s specifically designed to meet your needs and can take the form of a donor database, personalized plugin, a data integration, or anything else that you might need. Compared to plugins and add-ons, custom software may require a bigger investment, but there are plenty of reasons why you might want (or need) custom tech.

Here are a few reasons why your nonprofit might decide to invest in custom software:

  • Have software that grows with you: As your nonprofit continues to grow, you might find that your technology cannot scale up with you. For this reason, custom software might be the best tech solution to ensure that you don’t need to do a major overhaul every time that your nonprofit sees massive growth.
  • Cultivate stronger donor connections: Custom software can also help you build better relationships with your donors through more personalized data management. This NPOInfo guide to donor data management highly recommends keeping your donor data organized so that you can be more strategic with your outreach. Custom software might offer a better fit for your needs because you’ll be able to design your donor management software in a way that will be most helpful to you.
  • Use tech that is designed to fit your needs: Every nonprofit has unique needs that the generic tech marketplace can’t always meet. With custom software, you can engineer a solution that is designed exactly to meet your specific needs.

Custom software requires more time and energy to build, but the payoff can be higher when compared to other, generic applications. To get custom software, you’ll have to define your needs and find a tech consultant who specializes in nonprofits and popular nonprofit platforms to help. Ultimately, you should decide to build custom software if you have an important need that can’t be met by software that’s already out there!

There you have it: your complete guide to everything plugins, add-ons, and custom software. Hopefully this guide has helped you get a better understanding of what type of technology will be most useful for your nonprofit. You’ll have a fully optimized website or platform in no time!

ROI Exercise Explained

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At Getting Attention, we focus on helping nonprofits maximize the impact of their digital advertising. As part of our strategy, we value various outcomes within nonprofit ad campaigns to ensure that every effort translates to measurable success. Below, we’ve compiled our estimates for key ad account outcomes, backed by data from industry-leading sources.

The sum of these outcomes, minus your investment in Ad Grant management, represents your return on investment.

1. Clicks: $1.10

Clicks are an essential metric for driving traffic to nonprofit websites, and we estimate each click to be worth $1.10 on average.

How we got this number: According to Nonprofit Tech for Good, a major publication covering nonprofit technology and digital strategy, the average conversion rate for nonprofit websites is 1%. This means that around 1% of nonprofit website visitors will take a meaningful action such as donating.

M+R Benchmarks found the average donation value for desktop users to be $137 and $83 for mobile users. In order to be conservative, we used the middle of that range ($110).

With around 1% of visitors donating and an average donation size of $110, we can value a click at $1.10. This figure helps nonprofits understand the direct value of website traffic and its potential for conversion.

Sources:

2. Email Signups: $7.86

Email signups are crucial for building a nonprofit’s digital community, and we estimate each new email signup to be worth $7.86.

How we got this number: According to Care2, experts in nonprofit email fundraising, the average year one value of an email address is $7.86. This means every new email signup has ongoing potential to engage supporters and boost future donations. Since email is a primary channel for giving, particularly with older donors and male donors, growing your email list and keeping it fresh should be a focus of a comprehensive nonprofit marketing plan.

Sources:

3. Volunteer Form Completions: $1,590.00

Volunteer engagement is another critical outcome, and we value each volunteer form completion at $1,590.00.

How we got this number: Double the Donation, a leader in nonprofit fundraising, estimates the value of a volunteer hour at $31.80. On average, a volunteer donates 50 hours per year, according to VolunteerHub, a leading nonprofit volunteer management solution. This results in a total annual value of $1,590.00 per volunteer.

Volunteering not only strengthens your nonprofit’s community, but also deepens connections with those who may later become donors. In fact, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that 79% of volunteers donate to organizations they volunteer with, meaning the true value of volunteer forms is likely even higher; however, in order to keep this estimate conservative, we have not added donations into our calculation of volunteer value.

Sources:

4. Donate Button Clicks (One-Time): $165.00

Donate button clicks are one of the most direct indicators of donations attempted. We value donation clicks to a one-time gift form to be worth $165.00.

How we got this number: According to M+R’s 2024 Benchmarks Study, the average one-time donor contributes $165.00 over the first year. This figure helps nonprofits assess the value of their donation buttons and optimize campaigns to encourage more conversions.

Google Ads does not always reliably send individual donation information back from various donation platforms, so this figure gives us an average to start from.

Sources:

5. Donate Button Clicks (Monthly): $300.00

For monthly donation opportunities, a donation click is valued at $300.00 annually.

How we got this number: Double the Donation found that the average monthly gift is $25. Over a year, that translates to $300.00 in total value per monthly donor. Monthly donors offer reliable, recurring revenue, and understanding the value of these clicks helps nonprofits design campaigns that focus on long-term donor retention.

Sources:

6. Social Media: $5.04

Social media engagement is a powerful tool for nonprofits, and we value clicks to a client’s social media profile from Ads at $5.04.

How we got this number: According to Nonprofits Source, 55% of people who engage with nonprofits on social media go on to take some form of action, and 59% of those will make a donation.

GoodUnited, experts in social media fundraising for nonprofits, reports that the average donation made through social media was $11.50 for Instagram and $20 for Facebook.

To be conservative with our estimates, we assumed the middle of the range for donations ($15.75) and multiplied that by the percentage of people who will donate (59% of 55%, or 32%), giving us the final value of $5.04.

Sources:

7. Resource downloads: $7.86

Downloading resources can be a key part of a nonprofit’s advocacy. However, because the resources available to supporters can vary wildly across organizations, there’s not great external data on the average value of a resource download.

How we got this number: It’s common for resource downloads to be gated by an email capture; thus, to give us a starting number for resource downloads, we used the average value of an email address.

This number may be overly conservative. Depending on the type of resource being downloaded, you may see a greater return — for example, someone downloading a kit to start their own fundraiser may be worth closer to an average donor.

Sources:

Conclusion

Understanding the value of various outcomes in your ad campaigns allows you to make more informed decisions about how to allocate your nonprofit’s marketing resources. By leveraging these benchmarks and continually optimizing your digital strategies, you can maximize both short-term impact and long-term growth. At Getting Attention, we’re committed to helping nonprofits use these metrics to drive greater success through cost-effective, results-driven campaigns.