These 9 Nonprofit Fundraising Apps Help Boost Donations & Giving

Cassidy Jakovickas

May 15, 2024

Working in the nonprofit sector is incredibly rewarding. However, to do the job right, your nonprofit needs a substantial level of financial support. Income is necessary for your nonprofit workers to provide the materials, support, and services needed to fulfill your organization’s mission.  

So, how can your nonprofit collect donations easier? A lot of the pressure falls on fundraising campaigns to provide the necessary financial support to keep the nonprofit going. In the age of modern technology, bake sales don’t work to deliver the level of fundraising needed to keep a nonprofit above water.

Many nonprofit organizers are using nonprofit fundraising apps to make it easy for donors to contribute to their organization. If you’d like to accept donations with an app instead of a donation form, check out this list of 9 nonprofit fundraising apps.

GiveLively: Let Your Donors Text Their Donations

Give Lively is a free nonprofit fundraising app that lets donors donate to nonprofits through SMS messages.
Give Lively is a free nonprofit fundraising app that lets donors donate to nonprofits through SMS messages.

Founded by the Soros Foundation, Give Lively is a free fundraising software platform that lets nonprofits build a donation page, accept donations through SMS messages, set up fundraising pages, or sell tickets to fundraising events. Plus, the platform is entirely free of charge. This is possible because the Soros Foundation funds the platform, paying all the monthly fees for credit card payment processing.

If your nonprofit has a Facebook page, you can link your Give Lively fundraising page to improve peer-to-peer fundraising efforts on social media. Whether you’re involved in event planning or need to raise money, Give Lively is worth considering as your browse fundraising solutions.

Facebook Fundraisers: Accept Donations On Live Videos

Best Friends Animal Society uses Facebook nonprofit fundraiser app's live video feature.
Best Friends Animal Society uses Facebook nonprofit fundraiser app’s live video feature.

Facebook provides many features that allow nonprofits to use their Facebook profile to raise funds and accept donations through social media. You can start a fundraiser on Facebook and accept donations on behalf of a charity or for a personal cause. Additionally, Facebook has introduced a feature that allows you to display a donation button on live videos.

There are many great features available on Facebook for your nonprofit. However, to use these features, your nonprofit must meet the requirements specific to your area. Nonprofit organizations in the United States must:

  • Be registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization
  • Have a tax ID number
  • Have an active bank account with a licensed financial institution
  • Provide the birthdate and address of the nonprofit’s CEO or executive director

You can learn more about the nonprofit requirements here.

Instagram For Nonprofits: Engage Donors With Visuals

The ASPCA shows Instagram's donate button on their profile. This is one of the features that make Instagram a great nonprofit fundraising app.
The ASPCA shows Instagram’s donate button on their profile. This is one of the features that make Instagram a great nonprofit fundraising app.

Like its parent company Facebook, Instagram also allows nonprofits to use social media for their fundraising campaigns and donation strategies. After setting up an account for your nonprofit, you can raise funds for your Instagram Stories, exclusive donation stickers, and a donate button featured in your profile.

Tiktok: Spread Your Impact With Bite-Sized Videos

Creators can use TikTok Donation Stickers on their videos to solicit donations for their chosen charities.
Creators can use TikTok Donation Stickers on their videos to solicit donations for their chosen charities.

Like Facebook and Instagram, Tiktok released Donation Stickers to make it easier for people to give to their favorite nonprofits. TikTok creators can use these stickers on their live streams and videos to solicit donations for their preferred charities from within the TikTok app.

When viewers click on a Donation Sticker, a pop-up window lets them donate to the creator’s chosen charity – without leaving the TikTok app. The donation transactions and payment processing are handled by Tiltify, a former long-time donation platform partner with Twitch.

Charity Miles: Turn Exercise Into Money

Charity Miles is an app that encourages people to donate their energy to a charity of their choice. After signing up, donors can choose your nonprofit from the apps growing list of nonprofits and causes. Next, the app makes donations to your nonprofits on behalf of users as they engage in physical activities like running, biking, dancing, and walking.

As a nonprofit, you can sign up and set the number of charity miles needed for your nonprofit fundraising efforts. Then, the app will make donations on behalf of the user for every mile they walk, bike, or run. Charity Miles also works as a basic workout app by counting steps and logging miles.

In short, donors aren’t required to donate funds out of their pockets, but your nonprofit receives all the same funding. Cool, right?

Prizeo: Create Sweepstakes For Small Donations

Prizeo lets you create amazing sweepstakes that people can enter by making a small donation
Prizeo lets you create amazing sweepstakes that people can enter by making a small donation

Prizeo lets you create amazing sweepstakes that people can enter by making a small donation. To start, you create an account and choose a sweepstakes prize available through celebrity partnerships. Then, you share a unique link with donors to encourage people to enter for a small donation.

Pledgeling: Connect With Do-Gooder Brands

Nonprofit fundraising app Pledgeling makes corporate giving easy by connecting companies with their favorite nonprofits.
Nonprofit fundraising app Pledgeling makes corporate giving easy by connecting companies with their favorite nonprofits.

Pledgeling makes corporate giving easy by connecting brands and consumers to their favorite causes and nonprofits, including yours. By encouraging employees to give to your nonprofit, Pledgeling aims to increase the spread of corporate giving.

Learn how to join Pledgeling’s nonprofit database and start raising money for your organization.

PayPal: Power Giving With A Leading Payment Platform

PayPal provides tools and features that let your nonprofit accept and securely process financial contributions.
PayPal provides tools and features that let your nonprofit accept and securely process financial contributions.

Global payment processing platform PayPal provides tools and features that let your nonprofit accept and securely process financial contributions. After you add PayPal’s Donate Button to your website’s homepage, you can let donors choose their preferred payment method to donate to your organization.

With PayPal Payments Pro, you can accept numerous currencies outside of the U.S. dollar and provide donors with the option for recurring donations. You can also accept donations made by phone with PayPal’s virtual terminal. PayPal Payments Pro also lets you customize the checkout process, so donors never have to leave your site.

PayPal also helps you keep the payment processing costs down by discounting transactions with no monthly fees and only 2.2% and $0.30 charged per transaction. There are no additional setup fees or fees for withdrawals, statements, or cancellations.

Budge: Dare people to do good

Budge fundraising service lets people challenge their friends to dares. The loser must donate to a nonprofit.
Budge fundraising service lets people challenge their friends to dares. The loser must donate to a nonprofit.

Budge is a nonprofit fundraising app that turns donating and charitable giving into a game. The app lets people challenge their friends and family to dares like chess games, eating competitions, and anything else. Whoever loses the challenge must donate to a mutually selected charity.

Nonprofit fundraising apps are a great way to raise public awareness about your organization and build a strong fundraising campaign. Although fundraising campaigns are a lot of work, the apps in this article can help you engage donors and inspire people to support your cause through engagement and financial support.