Bright Idea: Year-Round Giving Can Help You Reach Your Goal - Fundraising Blog for Nonprofit, Educational, and Faith-Based Organizations

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Who they are:

The Veterans Heritage Project’s mission is to connect students with veterans in order to honor their legacies and help develop future leaders, while bridging the gap between military and civilian life. The idea for Veterans Heritage Project began in teacher Barbara Hatch’s classroom in 1998 when she was inspired to invite veterans to share their stories with her students. From that humble beginning, the program evolved into an after-school club and eventually became a nonprofit organization in 2009.

What they did:

Embed a Donation Form with Recurring Giving Options

To make it easy to support their mission and help with year-round giving efforts, Veterans Heritage Project embedded a donation form right on their website. The large, blue “Donate” button directs visitors to a form with one-time and recurring giving options. Recurring giving options are a great way to receive donations year-round.

This is an image of Veterans Heritage Project's website that features a donate button that links to an embedded year-round donation form — Veterans Heritage Project embedded a donation form on their website.

Image of Veterans Heritage Project's online donation form that features images, impact statements with dollar amounts, and one-time and recurring giving options — Veterans Heritage Project’s donation form has options for one-time or recurring donations.

Powerful Images and Donor Education

Veterans Heritage Project chose images that spotlight the veterans they support on their donation forms and detailed what certain donation amounts will help fund. Featuring these kinds of images in conjunction with specific donation amounts helps make prospective donors feel good about where their money is going — they know what their dollars will do! Since the donation form is embedded on their main website, it’s easy for donors to set up recurring gifts and give year round if they choose.

Another element we love about Veterans Heritage Project’s website is that they also created a page that details additional ways to partner with their organization, so if a potential corporate sponsor lands on their site, they can learn more.

Screenshot of the Veterans Heritage Project's Ways to Give page that highlights their numbers of community partners (55), individual donors (302) and the value of their volunteers ($1M)

Image of Veterans Heritage Project's website's ways to give page that features information on how to give an individual donation, a corporate sponsorship, or make a legacy gift. — Veterans Heritage Project’s created a page that outlines other ways to give.

Incorporate an Event

Image of Veterans Heritage Project's website's Signature Events Section. They listed past events and upcoming events including their Saluting Stories of Service gala on March 11, 2023. — Veterans Heritage Project listed signature events on their website, including their fundraising gala.

In addition to their embedded donation form, Veterans Heritage Project also featured an area on their site to inform donors about upcoming events that will contribute to their year-round fundraising efforts. They’ve chosen to highlight an upcoming gala with a silent auction.

This is an image of Veterans Heritage Project's Saluting Stories of Service fundraising gala website that features links to donate, view honorees, register, purchase a ticket, view event sponsors, and shows event details. — Saluting Stories of Service is one of The Veterans Heritage Project’s signature events that features a silent auction.

What you can do:

Build a Form with a Recurring Giving Option

If you don’t ask, the answer is always no! That’s why it’s crucial that you don’t make giving decisions on behalf of your donors. Make sure your form incorporates recurring giving nudges in order to encourage these kinds of donations that can help you hit your income goals.

Retaining loyal supporters should always be a focus since those donors tend to stay involved with your organization longer and give more. Check out this on-demand webinar to learn more about engaging and attracting recurring donors.

Powerful Impact Statements

Donors want to know who their gifts will help, so including images that make it more personal will inspire more folks to give. Visual interest is important when it comes to grabbing prospective donors’ attention. To learn more about how to create an impactful donation form, check out this blog.

Incorporate Events into Your Year-Round Fundraising Plan

It’s important that you not only have a great donation form to encourage one-time and monthly gifts but that you also include events that will engage your community and spread your mission to those they may not have otherwise heard about it. Events like peer-to-peer fundraisers or galas with auctions can really help when it comes to hitting your fundraising goals!

What’s Next?

Not a Qgiv client but want to learn more about online donation forms? Request a demo today or give us a call at 888.855.9595.

Request a Demo

About the Author

Caitlin Lipham

Caitlin has a special place in her heart for nonprofits and is passionate about helping them succeed. For seven years she served the American Cancer Society as a Senior Development Manager, successfully leading a variety of peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns and distinguished events. During her fundraising career, she focused on the Central Florida Market working closely with staff and volunteers to reach fundraising goals and expand mission awareness. At Qgiv she now creates resources and content to help thousands of fundraisers reach their goals and is honored to be a small part of so many missions.