The perfect P2P fundraising tech stack for European charities

Welcome to your go-to resource for assembling a top-notch P2P fundraising tech stack, specifically curated for medium to large charities across Europe.

In today's digital landscape, P2P fundraising offers an incredible opportunity for charities to engage supporters and raise funds. However, the challenges of reducing complexity and managing costs can be daunting. This blog post will guide you through selecting a cost-effective, GDPR-compliant tech stack to optimise your P2P fundraising efforts.

Why a tech stack is essential for P2P fundraising

Peer-to-peer fundraising is more than just asking for donations; it's about creating a community of supporters who can amplify your cause. While the digital age has made it easier to reach a wider audience, it also brings its own set of challenges—chief among them are reducing complexity and managing costs. 

A well-designed tech stack serves as the backbone of your P2P fundraising efforts. It streamlines operations, automates repetitive tasks, and provides valuable insights into donor behaviour. Think of it as your digital toolkit, equipped with various tools that work in harmony to achieve your fundraising goals. 

Moreover, as European charities, compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is non-negotiable. A robust tech stack not only helps you raise funds effectively but also ensures that you're doing so in a manner that respects data privacy laws. 

In summary, a tech stack is not a luxury; it's a necessity for any charity looking to succeed in P2P fundraising. It simplifies complex processes, cuts operational costs, and keeps you on the right side of the law.

Key components of a cost-effective P2P fundraising tech stack

When it comes to building a cost-effective tech stack for P2P fundraising, several key systems are indispensable. These components work in tandem to streamline your operations, engage donors, and ensure GDPR compliance. Let's delve into each of these essential elements to understand their roles and features better.

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CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

A CRM, or Customer Relationship Management system, is essentially your charity's digital Rolodex. It stores and manages donor information, interactions, and other data related to your fundraising efforts.

Features to look for in a CRM tailored for P2P fundraising

When selecting a CRM for P2P fundraising, consider these specialised features:

• Soft credit functionality: The ability to soft credit fundraisers for donations coming in is crucial for tracking and attribution.
• Fundraiser object creation: Look for CRMs that allow you to create fundraisers as distinct objects or campaigns, making it easier to manage and analyse your P2P efforts.
• Possibility to integrate your CRM to your P2P fundraising tool. Integration through APIs eliminates the need for manual data imports, saving you time and reducing the risk of errors. 

Importance of P2P data in CRM

Having your P2P fundraising data in your CRM is not just about organisation; it's about strategy:

• Increased engagement: Creating a P2P fundraiser often indicates a higher level of engagement and loyalty from your supporters. This is important data for creating segments of potential high-value donors.
• Donor retention: Donors who contribute through P2P campaigns can be potential leads for recurring donations and memberships, making them valuable assets to nurture.

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P2P fundraising tool

The primary role of a P2P fundraising tool is to empower, not hinder, your charity. It should allow supporters to easily create fundraising pages while providing a seamless user experience. Simplicity and user-friendliness are key.

Key results to aim for

• Optimised fundraising: The tool should aim to maximise both the average and median amounts raised per fundraiser.
• Repeat engagement: A great user experience should make supporters eager to fundraise again in the future.

Key features to look for

• Ease of use: Creating a fundraising page should be straightforward yet guide the fundraiser in crafting an effective page.
• Fundraiser support: The tool should offer guidance and resources to help fundraisers succeed.
• Team and gamification elements: Features like team creation and gamification can boost engagement and fundraising.
• Sensitivity options: The ability to remove gamification elements for sensitive fundraisers, such as in-memory fundraising.
• Versatility: Support for various types of fundraising, including live streams, birthdays, and events.
• GDPR compliance: Fine-tuned settings for consent statements, privacy policies, and cookies. All data needs to be located within the EU.
• Integration and export: Easy export features and the ability to integrate with other systems through webhooks and APIs.
• Payment methods: The tool should support all major local payment methods.

Supplier aspects to consider

• Customer support: Look for suppliers that offer fast and efficient customer support.
• Documentation: A well-documented system makes implementation and troubleshooting easier.
• Open API: An open API allows for greater flexibility and integration with your existing tech stack.

Our suggestion: consider BetterNow

While there are many tools available, BetterNow stands out by offering all the above features and more. It even utilises machine learning algorithms to provide personalised recommendations for each fundraiser, going above and beyond standard offerings.

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Marketing automation tools

Marketing automation tools are software platforms designed to automate repetitive marketing tasks, ensuring consistent and personalised communication with supporters and donors.

What is the tool's role within P2P fundraising?

Marketing automation plays a pivotal role in P2P fundraising, especially in the following areas:

• Stewardship of New Donors: Once a donor has contributed, it's essential to nurture that relationship. Automated thank-you emails, updates on how their donation is making an impact, and other personalised communications can help retain and engage them.
• Stewardship of Fundraisers: While some P2P tools offer stewardship features (hint: BetterNow has you covered here), marketing automation tools can fill the gaps. They ensure fundraisers feel appreciated, informed, and motivated to continue their efforts.

Key features to look for:

• Email automation: The ability to set up automated email campaigns that trigger based on specific actions or timelines is crucial. This ensures timely and relevant communication with donors and fundraisers.
• Segmentation and analytics: Segmenting your audience based on behaviour, donation history, or other criteria allows for more personalised communication. Coupled with analytics, you can track the effectiveness of your campaigns and refine your strategies for better results.
• Easy integration. Data needs to be sent from either your CRM or the P2P fundraising tool to the marketing automation tool. Look for systems with Zapier integrations, as this will have you covered in most cases.

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Event management software

Event Management Software is a specialised platform designed to assist organisations in planning, organising, and executing events. It streamlines the process of event registration and management..

What is the tool's role within P2P fundraising?

In the context of P2P fundraising, event management plays a significant role especially sports fundraising type events, but also in other events where participant registration is needed.

• Registration: While some P2P tools might offer event sign-up features, many charities rely on event management software for this purpose, ensuring a smooth registration process for participants.
• ‍Ticketing: Whether it's a 5k running event, a charity concert, or a challenge event, efficient ticketing is crucial. The software can handle ticket sales, reservations, and even waitlists.‍
• Time tracking for sports events: For charity runs, marathons, or other sports events, some event management tools offer time tracking features, ensuring accurate results and a professional experience for participants.

Key features to look for:

• Integration with P2P Tools: To avoid a cumbersome double sign-up process, it's essential that the event management software integrates seamlessly with your P2P tool. This ensures data consistency and a smoother user experience.

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Analytics and reporting tools

Analytics and Reporting Tools are software platforms that collect, analyse, and visualise data. They provide insights into various metrics and trends, allowing organisations to make informed decisions based on data-driven insights.

What is the tool's role within P2P fundraising?

In the realm of P2P fundraising, these tools play a crucial role in several areas:

• Analysis of recruitment channels: By understanding which recruitment channels yield the best results, charities can allocate resources more effectively and maximise their outreach efforts.
• Opportunities for better stewardship: Analytics can identify patterns in donor behaviour, helping charities recognise opportunities to nurture relationships and increase fundraiser retention.
• Incentive analysis: By analysing donation amounts and frequencies, charities can determine optimal thresholds for offering incentives, such as merchandise or prizes, to motivate and reward fundraisers.

Key features to look for

• Unified data analysis: The ability to collect and analyse data from various sources in one centralised platform is essential. This ensures a holistic view of your fundraising efforts, recruitment channels, marketing costs etc.
  
• Integration capabilities: The tool should be able to integrate data from all your fundraising tools, ensuring consistency and providing a comprehensive overview of your P2P fundraising landscape.

While advanced analytics tools offer a plethora of features, sometimes simplicity is key. For many charities, exporting data into a spreadsheet tool like Excel and performing basic analysis using simple formulas, graphs, and pivot tables can be sufficient. It's not always about having the most advanced tool, but rather the right tool for your specific needs.

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GDPR compliance

For European charities, adhering to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is not just a legal obligation but a testament to their commitment to safeguarding donor and fundraiser data. Ensuring GDPR compliance builds trust, fosters transparency, and protects charities from potential legal repercussions.

Tips to ensure GDPR compliance in your tech stack:

To navigate the intricacies of GDPR and ensure your tech stack aligns with its mandates, consider the following recommendations:

• Cookie Management: Ensure the possibility of blocking cookies until they are accepted by the user. Consider integrating with various cookie blocker providers for enhanced control.
• Privacy Policy Customization: Equip your platform with the ability to set a personalised privacy policy acceptance text. Clearly inform donors and fundraisers how their data is used, ensuring transparency.
• Consent Statements: Incorporate customisable consent statements. This ensures that you obtain explicit permission from users before processing their data, aligning with GDPR requirements.
• Data Storage within the EU: While certain data transfer frameworks exist, they can be revoked, as seen in the past. To avoid potential complications, it's prudent to require all data to be stored within the EU.
• Security Measures: Assess the security protocols of all your suppliers. Key questions to consider: Do they offer two-factor authentication (2FA) for charity admins? Is data encrypted both at rest and during transit?

A trustworthy solution

BetterNow ensures GDPR compliance by ticking all the boxes mentioned above. For a detailed overview of our commitment to data protection and security, visit our trust center.

How to choose the right tools

When selecting the right tools for your P2P fundraising tech stack, several factors come into play:

• Budget: What is your budget for the tech stack? Make sure it aligns with your fundraising goals and operational costs.
• Scalability: Does the tool's pricing scale with usage? If you aim for a positive ROI in year one, opt for tools that have pricing models which scale with usage rather than having high fixed costs.‍
• Future-Proofing: If immediate ROI is not a concern, you might consider negotiating pricing that has a higher fixed cost but lower marginal costs, setting you up for long-term success.‍
• Integration Capabilities: How well does the tool integrate with your existing tech stack? Seamless integration can save you time and reduce complexity.‍
• Compliance: Ensure that the tool is GDPR-compliant, especially if you're a European charity.‍
• Payment Method Availability: The support of local payment methods can be essential, especially for charities that operate in specific regions or countries.‍
• User Experience: A tool that offers a great user experience can significantly boost engagement and, in turn, donations.

How to evaluate tools

Quality is worth paying for. A tool that costs 10% more but results in 25% more donations is a wise investment. Evaluation can quickly become very subjective. So, try to find objective metrics to evaluate.

Metrics for Picking a P2P Fundraising Solution:

• Median fundraised: Instead of looking at the average amount fundraised per fundraiser, focus on the median as it is less prone to outliers.
• Self-donation percentage: Consider the percentage of fundraisers who self-donate as an indicator of engagement and potential success.
• Payment processing costs: Different suppliers may offer different payment processing options, and the costs can vary substantially. Make sure to factor this into your budget.
• Feature evaluation: Be critical when evaluating features. Ask yourself, will this feature result in more donations, or is it just a nice-to-have?

Collect referrals

Quick and effective support is crucial. A delayed response from a provider could result in lost donations and opportunities. The best way to assess the quality of support is to speak with existing users. If you don't know any, ask the provider for references.

General tips on evaluating and comparing tools

• Cost-effectiveness: Always consider the ROI. A tool that is slightly more expensive but offers better features and results may be a better long-term investment.
• In-House development: If you're considering building a tool yourself, assess whether you have the internal capabilities and time. Remember, internal resources have opportunity costs that should be accounted for.
  

Conclusion

In this comprehensive guide, we've explored the essential components of a P2P fundraising tech stack tailored for medium to large European charities. We've discussed the importance of a CRM system, the role of a P2P fundraising tool, the significance of marketing automation, event management software, analytics and reporting tools, and the critical need for GDPR compliance. We've also delved into key decision factors like budget, scalability, and integration capabilities, offering tips on how to evaluate and choose the right tools.

The importance of a robust tech stack 

Building a robust, cost-effective, and GDPR-compliant tech stack is not just a good practice but a necessity in today's digital landscape. It enables charities to optimise their P2P fundraising efforts, engage supporters effectively, and ensure compliance with data protection regulations. 

Key takeaway 

The key takeaway is to start by evaluating your current tech stack and identifying gaps or areas for improvement. Once you have a clear picture, you can implement the suggestions and best practices outlined in this blog post to prepare your tech stack for successful P2P fundraising. 

Now is the time to act. Start by evaluating your current tech stack against the criteria and recommendations provided in this guide. 

Consider implementing the suggestions to build a more robust, efficient, and compliant P2P fundraising tech stack. Your future fundraising success depends on the choices you make today.

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