Fundraising on a budget: 9 free or low-cost tools and platforms to try

Are you looking for ways to fundraise on a budget?

If so, you’re in luck.

There are a number of great free fundraising tools and platforms available on the market.

In this blog post, we will discuss the top 9 free fundraising tools and platforms available to clubs or organisations. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of each tool, and help you decide which one is right for your club or organisation. Read on to learn more about these amazing fundraising tools.

9 of the best fundraising platforms

GoFundMe

GoFundMe is a fundraising platform that can help you raise money. It’s free or low-cost and can be used by clubs or organisations. The good thing about GoFundMe is that it helps you reach a lot of people who might donate to your cause.

GoFundMe is a free platform for fundraising, with the option to upgrade to a more premium plan. The basic plan is absolutely free and offers the ability to create a campaign page, accept donations from most major credit cards and PayPal, communicate with donors, post updates about your campaign, and withdraw funds.

The premium plan has more features and allows organisations to accept larger donations, host matching campaigns, add team members to help manage the campaign and gain access to analytics.

Facebook Fundraising Pages

Facebook fundraising pages are free to set up and allow organisations to quickly and easily raise money from their existing network of friends, family, and colleagues. Setting up a page is simple, and it allows you to post updates about your campaign, receive donations from major credit cards and PayPal, track progress with analytics, and communicate with donors.

Givey 

Givey is an online platform that helps organisations easily collect donations from donors. It allows donors to give quickly and securely without any transaction fees taken by the platform, meaning 100% of their donations go directly to their chosen cause. Donation pages can be set up for free and once created, can be easily shared with friends and family on social media. Givey also offers additional features such as donation matching, scheduled giving and tax-efficient donations – enabling fundraisers to maximise their donation intake from supporters.

JustGiving 

JustGiving is an online platform for raising money for charity and personal causes. It enables individuals and organisations to set up donation pages, with options for donations to be made either one-off or on a recurring basis. The platform provides users with a range of fundraising tools, including giving targets and progress bars as well as integration with social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter. 

Donations are processed securely and users pay no subscription fees. They do, however, incur a transaction fee of 5% + 20p per donation plus a small payment processing fee of 1.9%. JustGiving also offers the option of adding Gift Aid which the user pays no extra fee. All in all, JustGiving is a great way to help raise funds quickly and securely with minimal cost. 

Donorbox

Donorbox is another free tool designed for organisations that need to raise funds quickly and easily. It’s simple to set up an account, and it allows you to accept major credit cards, PayPal and ACH payments, post updates about your campaign, communicate with donors, track progress with analytics, and withdraw funds when you need them.

Charity Choice

Fundraising with Charity Choice is simple, efficient and cost-effective. Charities can easily set up their own personalised microsite with no registration or admin fees. Donors have the choice of bearing a 25p card transaction fee which comes out of their total donation amount or passing it on to the charity – allowing them to receive 100% of the total donation. Gift Aid adds another 25% on top, so from a £10 donation with £2.50 Gift Aid, charities would receive either £12.50 or £12.25 depending on whether the donor pays on the card or not. 

Wonderful.org

When fundraising through Wonderful.org charities don’t need to worry about any fees or contributions – the platform is funded by corporate sponsors. All donations are made via Open Banking technology directly to the charity’s bank account using donors’ online / mobile banking facility without any additional charges. Gift Aid can also be claimed on eligible donations with charities responsible for submitting the claim forms using data provided – increasing the value of a £10 donation with £2.50 Gift Aid to £12.50.

BT MyDonate 

BT MyDonate is a free online fundraising platform, provided by BT, offering charities, organisations and individuals the opportunity to raise vital funds through donations from friends and family. MyDonate is free to register for and has no setup fees or ongoing charges for either fundraisers or organisations – making it easy and efficient for them to meet their fundraising goals. Donating is also easy with the ability to donate using debit cards, credit cards and Paypal. 100% of donations made go directly to the chosen cause. 

KindLink

KindLink provides a way for people to make donations seamlessly. It offers an online platform where charities, organisations and individuals can create their own fundraising pages with ease, enabling donors to donate quickly and securely without any transaction fees for either the fundraiser or charity. To help give back more to the cause, KindLink allows fundraisers to make sure all donations are eligible for Gift Aid at no extra cost. As well as being free to register and use, KindLink also offers a range of additional services such as analytics, donation management and crowdfunding tools – making it easier than ever before to track progress and reach fundraising goals.

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These are just a few of the free or low-cost fundraising tools and platforms available to clubs or organisations. With careful consideration, your club or organisation can determine which tool works best for their needs. Evaluate each one carefully and make sure that it fits your specific goals and objectives. Good luck!

For more information about fundraising, please check out our recent blog: 10 steps to creating a fundraising plan.