5 Key Features to Look For in a Team Fundraising App

Groups planning team-based fundraisers (such as nonprofits or sports teams) often find that standard online donation software may not fit their needs. Whether you’re hosting a peer-to-peer campaign or a group product fundraiser, you need technology that supports large numbers of participants fundraising on their own and makes it easy to track all progress centrally. That’s where a team fundraising app comes in.

But with so many options on the market, how do you know which platform will best support your goals? What exactly should you look for? In this article, we’ll explore the most important features of a team fundraising app that will enable you to run smooth, successful fundraisers.

1. Personalized Fundraising Pages

Individual fundraising pages are a cornerstone of peer-to-peer efforts—you can’t run a team-based fundraiser without them. 

According to Bloomerang, peer-to-peer campaigns work so well at attracting and engaging new donors because of the personal touch that individual fundraising pages offer:

“This specificity and individualization further encourage new supporters to give to the campaign due to their relationship with your volunteer fundraisers. In fact, 39% of Americans say they’ve donated to a cause because of a request from a family member or friend.”

Personalized pages enable fundraising participants to foster emotional connections with potential donors. Plus, having their own page gives fundraisers a sense of ownership over their campaigns and makes them more invested in helping you. They can explain why they support your cause, how your organization has impacted their life, and why they believe their friends and family members should get involved, too.

To access these benefits, you need software that allows each participant to create a page that includes:

• A personal story or message to donors
• Their photo or video
• A personal fundraising goal and live progress bar
• Lists of donors and contributions that update in real time
• Chat or comment functionality for supporters to engage with each other
• Consistent, branded page design that’s professional and mobile-friendly

Your team fundraising app should come with pre-built, easily customizable fundraising pages so peer-to-peer participants don’t have to put in much work to start a fundraiser. Page creation and customization should be intuitive and straightforward for all users, with little to no technical knowledge required.

2. Real-Time Donation Tracking

Your platform should enable automatic, real-time donation tracking for individual team members and the entire campaign. At any point during the campaign, organizers and participants should be able to easily find out how much money they’ve raised and where those donations came from.

This requires more than just tracking fundraising totals. Look for an app that offers real-time tracking of:

• Donations: Individual gift amounts, donor names, which participant they donated to, time and date of the gift, etc.
• Pledges: Who pledged to donate, how much they committed, when they plan to give, the status of the donation, and any stipulations (such as $50 for each hour their participant spends reading for a read-a-thon)
• Purchases: Which products a donor purchased, the total amount spent, the item delivery status, and the percentage of the proceeds your organization gets to keep
• Donor information: Each donor’s name, email address, gift amount, engagement with the campaign, etc.

Your platform should highlight some of this data directly on your fundraising pages through progress bars, fundraising thermometers, and leaderboards. For instance, it might have a widget that automatically publishes donors’ first names and gift amounts, along with any comments they left for the participant.

Other information, however, should only be available to your nonprofit. This includes sensitive data like donors’ full names and contact details. When choosing a team fundraising app, verify that the solution has sufficient privacy and security measures to ensure all of your supporters’ data is protected.

3. Easy Campaign Setup

According to Team Butter’s fundraising platform guide, the number one feature to look for is easy, fast setup. The quicker you can launch, the sooner your team can start earning the money it needs. Reducing the technical barrier encourages participation and means your organization can focus more on engagement and less on logistics.

Choose an app with simple registration and setup. Ideally, your team should be able to launch a fundraiser in minutes without any technical assistance. Participants shouldn’t struggle to join the campaign or create their personal pages, either.

The best platforms will walk administrators through basic tasks like setting goals, uploading visual assets, choosing brand colors, enabling integrations, and sharing the campaign with participants. A truly user-friendly team fundraising app will have all the essentials of your campaign already set up—you just have to customize the fundraiser to reflect your team’s goals and personality.

4. Team Management Tools

To reduce administrative headaches and stay on top of everyone’s progress in your team fundraiser, you need a solution that comes with team management and communication features.

These tools allow organizers to monitor participants’ performance, send reminders, and celebrate milestones with their teams. Management features can vary, but they might look like:

• Custom invitation links that streamline the sharing and setup process for individual team members.
• Volunteer communication features like in-app messaging, automated email updates, and periodic check-ins.
• Accessible resource libraries where you can host social media toolkits, appeal templates, and more fundraising resources for participants.

Having a centralized hub for communications and team management helps you engage participants and minimize confusion, giving team members a more positive experience overall. The more seamless and supportive you can make the fundraising process, the better your chances of retaining donors and inspiring them to participate again.

5. Built-In Engagement Features

Your fundraisers need support and encouragement, and engagement and gamification features can motivate them to stay active and push toward their goals. Prospective donors, on the other hand, need incentives to give and spread the word about the campaign. Your fundraising pages should be as engaging and interactive as possible to inspire them to take action.

Look for an app that provides fun, engaging features like:

• Participant achievements and badges
• Automated thank-you messages and emails
• Easy social media sharing buttons
• Live leaderboards and fundraising thermometers
• Participant updates and announcements

In addition to these basics, you may need specific engagement features depending on the type of fundraiser you’re hosting. For example, if you’re running a popcorn fundraiser, your team fundraising app should include interactive online stores or catalogs designed to showcase popcorn flavors and facilitate easy browsing.

Ultimately, the right team fundraising app will be intuitive for users and robust enough for organizational needs (and fit easily into your budget!). Whether you’re planning a walk-a-thon, giving day, or virtual challenge, these features will help you empower your team and boost fundraising success.