Why Non-Profit Organisations Should Opt For Crowdfunding for Raising Funds Online

by Kanan James NGO INDIA

Senior citizen homes and their presence are always debated but one should not hold back when it comes to donating money, or for that matter anything as a charity to these organisations. Senior citizen homes are working to provide amenities to senior citizens which include mobile health care systems, well-balanced meals, ambulances, nurses, and shelters.

Aged people residing in retirement homes require clothes, food, and shelter which are provided with the help of funds. Funds are raised in the form of donations which can be online as well as offline. Earlier, traditional methods of fundraising such as Banks, Venture Capital firms and Angel Investors were used but now the scenario has changed. Donations Online is now the preferred choice by most of the people as it is secure and hassle-free. Lately, many non-profit organisations have started using Crowdfunding as a source of raising funds online.

Crowdfunding involves raising funds online through the collective efforts of individual investors, friends, and family, which often takes place on social media and crowdfunding platforms. In this type of funding, organisations can also leverage the network of the already existing investors. Let's read through some of the benefits Old age homes will avail of after raising funds through crowdfunding:

Wide Reach - Senior citizen homes, when raising funds for a cause, should raise funds through crowdfunding because crowdfunding platforms have a wider reach. There are certain crowdfunding platforms with a large number of respected investors where non-profit organisations can create their campaigns. Organisations use a captivating headline and attractive pictures which helps in grabbing the attention of the audience. Posting multiple photos related to the cause allows investors to sympathise, and as a result, the number of donors increases.

Apart from the crowdfunding platforms, one can get in touch with patrons through social media platforms and emails. This helps in increasing the social circle and also the number of investors.

Donors donating to senior citizen homes can also have a look at the goal and how far the organisations have reached in achieving it. Crowdfunding platforms allow non-profit organisations to follow up with donors time and again, which ensures that the donors become permanent.

Peer Pressure - Crowdfunding allows old age homes to set up an online fundraising campaign on the fundraising page which helps in garnering attention and attracting donors. Supporters of the campaign also set up a few pages related to the campaign which helps in the popularizing the content. In such cases, donors who were earlier not interested in donating money for the cause also start donating. The urge to support the same cause creates peer pressure on those individuals who are not participating which in turn helps in increasing the number of donors.

Use Incentives to Attract Donors - Organisations posting about campaigns have the opportunity to offer incentives to donors which will help in increasing their size. Incentives can be given to donors in the form of social media shoutouts, baked goods, tickets to an event, hamper prizes, etc. Offering incentives will ensure that the donors stay for long with your campaign, making sure that they donate in the future as well.

Viral Campaigns - Online content has the propensity to go viral quickly. Individuals start sharing the same content which their peers are sharing and the content becomes viral. In case of tragic incidents, individuals post content on their pages in order to show concern and also to receive more likes. This leads to an increase in the popularity of the cause and the content gets shared on an infinite number of walls at zero cost. Charity in India has entered into a better phase after the option to donate and contribute has started online.

Exposure and Support - When non-profit organisations running retirement homes sign up on crowdfunding platforms, some intermediaries provide training on how to run their projects successfully. Intermediaries also strive to fill the information gap that exists between the organisation and the donors. In short, such mediators work to improve the visibility of the organisation and also gives assurance to the donors that their money is being put to good use. In such cases, raising donations online becomes easy and feasible for senior citizen homes.

Tax Exemption on Online Donations - Section 80G of the Indian Income Tax Act, 1961 allows donors to avail of tax deductions on the contributions being made by them online as well as offline. Donation Tax Exemption is only applicable to donations up to Rs 2,000. Under the 80G Act, tax from donations made to the charitable institutions is deducted from the gross total income before arriving at a taxable income.

The only thing donors have to keep in mind is that the contribution has to be made in cash/cheque and not in any other form which may include clothes, blankets, etc. Therefore, non-profit organisations will be able to raise more money online since individuals prefer donating online when their tax is being exempted.

In order to eradicate poverty and make living conditions better for the aged generation, you should donate. Donating for NGOs and other non-profit organisations has its own perks. A donation is an act of kindness which can save the lives of thousands of people and give them hope to live. Donating will remove problems such as hunger, early deaths, depression, etc.