How to Work Smarter, Not Harder with Fundraising Automation

Between developing programming, serving beneficiaries, and launching campaigns, you likely have a lot on your plate. Any time you can save on administrative tasks is incredibly valuable.

Fundraising automation saves your nonprofit valuable time and resources by streamlining time-consuming tasks. That way, you can devote more time to advancing your mission.

In this guide, we’ll explore the perks of fundraising automation and how to automate some of your processes at your nonprofit:

• What is fundraising automation?
• Why is fundraising automation important?
• 8 examples of fundraising automation

What is fundraising automation?   

Fundraising automation involves using tools to complete repetitive fundraising tasks with minimal human intervention. It encompasses many ways to make the fundraising process easier for your organization, including collecting data, sending communications, and sharing donation receipts. Automating these tasks saves your nonprofit time, allowing your personnel to engage in more meaningful work at your organization.

Why is fundraising automation important?   

Fundraising automation is valuable for nonprofits because it:

• Conserves time and resources. The ability to cut the number of hours it takes to complete a task can save a lot of resources. Even if you can’t completely automate a process, decreasing the manual labor that goes into that process frees up more time for your team to do what they do best—raise funds for your organization.
• Reduces the time between donor interactions. Fundraising automation makes sending out communications faster and easier for your organization, increasing the number of touchpoints and connections you can make. By automating thank-you emails and other interactions to get to your donors quicker, you can increase your donor retention rate, ultimately boosting your fundraising efforts.
• Simplifies the donor experience. Make the giving experience easier for your donors by automating their recurring donations. With built-in tools for personalization, you can also automate your donation appeals without giving up the personal aspect that inspires donors to give in the first place.
• Increases revenue. When you automate parts of your fundraising campaigns, like an email drip or text series campaign, you can ask donors for support automatically. The ability to reach more donors more quickly will support your bottom line.

8 examples of fundraising automation

Now that you know what fundraising automation is and why it’s important, let’s take a look at some examples of fundraising automation you can incorporate into your strategy to help you save time and raise more money.

1. Software integrations   

Software integrations are a great first step in automating your fundraising. With the right integrations, you can send your donor data to the following solutions without the need for any manual data entry:

• CRM
• Email service provider
• Accounting software
• Marketing platform

For example, you may integrate your CRM and email platform to automate new donor email campaigns. When you add a new donor to your CRM, this data can flow to your email platform and trigger a welcome email series. That way, you don’t have to manually email each individual supporter and can engage new donors without even thinking about it.

2. Matching gift auto-submission  

Although matching gifts can significantly increase revenue, 78% of donors are unsure whether their employer offers a program. Making this process easier through automation maximizes the funds your nonprofit can raise.

With a matching gift tool embedded on your donation page, donors can search for their employers to determine if they match donations made to nonprofits. If they do, this integration can automatically supply your donor with the paperwork they need to complete to make the matching gift happen.

However, matching gift auto-submission takes this a step further by allowing them to automatically submit matching gift requests right from your donation page. By offering this option, you make the matching gift process more convenient for donors, encouraging them to follow through and help you earn more for your cause.

3. Direct mail and email list building

Another way you can engage in fundraising automation is with your mailing lists. Instead of searching for individual donors to send communications to, you can automatically pull a list of donors who meet the criteria you’re looking for.

Your CRM should allow you to filter search results and export the list of donors that meet your criteria. Then, simply upload the list to your email service provider—or envelope printer for direct mail appeals—and you’re all set!

4. Recurring donations  

Recurring donations are a common form of fundraising automation. When donors set up recurring gifts, they choose to automatically contribute to your nonprofit each month. This allows you to raise crucial funds without regularly sending additional appeals or seeking new donors, which can cost your organization more money.

Encourage more of your donors to set up recurring gifts. Explain that not only does their regular support help your nonprofit grow consistently, but it’s also more convenient for them to navigate to your donation page once and automatically make an impact on a regular basis.

You can also automate recurring donor stewardship. When it comes time to ask your recurring donors to upgrade their support, pull a list of your recurring gift supporters and send an appeal via email or direct mail asking for the upgrade. The process is simple and supports your fundraising efforts without requiring significant time or energy to complete.

5. Donation receipts  

Typically, fundraising experts recommend sending a receipt or acknowledgment within 24-48 hours of receiving a donation. With fundraising automation, you can impress your donors with an almost instantaneous receipt.

Use an online fundraising platform that supports automated receipts. Then, when your donors provide an email address during the donation process, they’ll automatically receive the receipt after they complete the transaction.

Customizing these automated donation receipt messages can help you create a more personalized thank-you experience for your donors. This will make them feel more connected to your nonprofit and encourage them to continue giving.

6. Artificial intelligence (AI) 

As technology advances, more fundraising professionals are using artificial intelligence to automate writing and other communication efforts. You may incorporate AI into your fundraising process to more efficiently:

• Analyze donor data.
• Personalize donation asks.
• Answer supporter questions via chatbot.
• Generate email and social media content.

Consider using tools like ChatGPT and Bloomerang’s AI Content Assistant to streamline different aspects of fundraising content creation and save time for more mission-focused activities.

7. Text fundraising 

Text fundraising allows your donors to donate wherever they are, and you can use fundraising automation to make it even easier. Schedule messages to send to your supporters automatically throughout major campaigns.

With the right fundraising software, your staff can automate text reminders for donors who have sent a text to pledge their donation but put their phones down before they completed it. This fundraising automation saves your team time while reminding your donors of their planned gifts. Your staff can also prompt donors to make their gifts recurring to further embed automation into your donation process.

8. Auctions and events  

When you host an auction or event, you don’t want to have to manually input your donor data from a separate software. With a comprehensive fundraising software like Bloomerang Fundraising, your nonprofit can run any type of fundraiser from one platform, keeping all your donor data synced up and making it easy to export to other software integrations. Manage your events, set up auction items, sell merchandise, and collect donations, all in one place.

Final thoughts   

Fundraising automation can save your organization time and resources, allowing your team to engage in more meaningful work at your nonprofit. From communicating with donors to planning effective campaigns, you’ll be able to raise more to further your mission with fundraising automation processes in place.

Bloomerang Fundraising is equipped with fundraising automation tools that allow you to streamline your strategy, including:

• Communication templates
• AI Content Assistant
• Automated reporting
• Automated text fundraising reminders
• Fundraising intelligence
• AI-powered fraud protection
• Automatic National Change of Address (NCOA) processing
• Automatic card payment data updater

Schedule a Bloomerang Fundraising demo today to explore how our fundraising automation tools can save your team time and help you raise more.

To learn more about the tools you can use to automate fundraising processes, check out these additional resources:

• 15 Nonprofit CRMs Your Organization Should Consider for 2025. Explore different CRMs you can use to streamline data entry and communications.
• 8 Text-to-Give Platforms to Mobilize Your Donors. Discover text-to-give platforms that empower you to reach your supporters instantly.
• How to Create a Donation Page that Catapults Fundraising. Develop an effective donation page with features like recurring giving and matching gift automation.