8 Ways Nonprofit Mobile Apps Can Boost Benefits for Your Organization and Your Sponsors
Who knew 20 years ago that the world would so quickly adapt to technology. Yet, now the majority of the population has a smartphone in their back pocket.
And with it comes plenty of apps to help their days get easier.
But apps aren’t just for the for-profit world. Nonprofit mobile apps are a great way to engage with your community.
We’re talking all about nonprofit apps and the benefits they give your organization and your sponsors.
Can a Nonprofit Have an App?
Absolutely! If your nonprofit organization is considering a mobile app, but you’re not sure if you can have one, the answer is yes.
Nonprofit mobile apps are an excellent way to stay connected with your community of supporters.
And thanks to the rise in technology, getting a nonprofit mobile app developed is easier than ever.
Why Should an Organization Consider a Nonprofit Mobile App?
There are plenty of benefits to having a nonprofit mobile app. But before we even discuss those, let’s take a look at the open door your nonprofit has before it.
According to Pew Research, 81% of the U.S. population now has a smartphone. And from a Mobiloud report, people spent more time on their phones than they did in front of the TV for the first time.
So while there are benefits to having a mobile app, the nonprofit statistics also show that now’s a greater time than ever to develop one.
Benefits of Nonprofit Mobile Apps for Organizations
So what are the benefits of nonprofit mobile apps for organizations? They’re plentiful, but these 6 are our favorites:
1. Donor Information for Your Donor Database
Nonprofit organizations run on donor databases. All of the information you get from your supporters helps you narrow down your fundraising efforts.
And nonprofit apps are another tool to help you collect that donor information. Through that information, you can create a more personalized experience for your donors.
Once they download your nonprofit mobile app, their information can go directly to your CRM software.
From there, you can use that information to support your donors’ experiences. Whether it’s tailoring direct mail efforts or it’s reaching out through email marketing, your nonprofit mobile app can help you do it.
2. An Engaged Community
Nonprofit mobile apps are more personal than visiting a nonprofit’s website. You can use that to your advantage by creating a more engaged, supportive community.
Create a tailored experience with your nonprofit app, by adding in their name where it makes sense to do so. Or you can use features, such as remembering their donation information, including how much they donated last time. You can even use message boards so they can engage with your organization.
By doing that, you’ll create an interactive, supportive community that’s more likely to give to your mission.
3. Push Notifications to Keep Your Nonprofit Top of Mind
Get the word out immediately with push notifications. At the right time, you can send out a message to your nonprofit app users. This is great for nonprofits that rely on quick donations due to unforeseen circumstances, like natural disasters.
You can also use push notifications periodically to keep your nonprofit top of mind for your users. Remind them every so often that, hey! Your organization is working towards something great.
4. Boost Fundraising for Your Nonprofit
You can set up nonprofit mobile apps with an online donation page, just like you can set up your website with one.
Your donors can send a secured contribution to your nonprofit just from a few taps on their phones.
And, these apps can use things like peer-to-peer fundraising or gamification to encourage more donations.
5. Send Out Updates in a Timely Manner
Nonprofit mobile apps don’t have to only be for fundraising. They’re also a great tool to use to send out news and updates for your organization. If you want to remind your users of an upcoming event, or if you need to report something about your mission, you can use the mobile app to do it.
6. Keep Your Volunteers in the Loop
These apps don’t have to just be for your donors! They can be for your volunteers, too! Some apps may include a login page so your volunteers can use their specific credentials to access a private portal.
From there, keep your volunteers in the know of upcoming changes or events for your nonprofit. You may even offer scheduling and hourly logs through the app, too!
Benefits of Nonprofit Mobile Apps for Nonprofit Sponsors
The benefits of nonprofit mobile apps aren’t limited to your organization. You can support your nonprofit sponsors with these apps, too!
If you have sponsors that work directly with your organization and donate funds based on their own sales, then creating a mobile app may be worthwhile.
Here’s how they can benefit your sponsors:
1. Push Notifications for Sponsors
We mentioned how awesome push notifications are for your nonprofit organization. But they’re also a great benefit for your nonprofit sponsors!
If there’s a great event going on, and your nonprofit sponsors will be there, remind your users of that through push notifications.
Or if your nonprofit sponsors are running a promotion where proceeds go directly to your nonprofit, use those push notifications to get the word out!
2. Geo-Tagging
Geo-tagging keeps sponsors top of mind at the right time.
Our phones always know where we are – like it or not. So why wouldn’t your nonprofit want to use that to its advantage when it comes to giving your event sponsors or other major supporters more bang for their buck?
With mobile apps, you can.
When someone downloads and registers with your mobile app, they provide the data you need to reach out with specific information at specific times and in specific places. They identify themselves as part of one or more of any number of audience subsets: donors, sponsors, volunteers, board members, clients you serve, etc.
After that, the same location services their phones use for navigation, etc. can let “you” know where they are and when.
How does that translate into additional benefits for your event sponsors or other supporters?
Say you’re having a holiday party for the children at the shelter your organization runs for homeless women, and you’re looking to restaurants and other businesses to provide refreshments, toys, entertainment, etc. You have a sponsor package that promises credit on signage and media releases for those businesses that contribute.
But what if you could offer them more? Like a push notification to the phone of any of your mobile app users who walk within two blocks who signs on to provide pizza? Something like, “Joe’s Pizza supports the Broad Street Shelter. Stop in and try some of their delicious pizza. It’s right up the street!”
Or if you partnered with a local clothing store, mobile app users can get a notification – “Today only! 10% off every sale at Bradley’s Kids Clothes benefits the Broad Street Shelters!” – just as people are walking by Bradley’s.
You can set the radius – 50 feet, 50 miles, whatever makes sense – and the length of time. That might be permanently or for a day or weekend. Again, whatever makes sense depending on the sponsorship level.
It’s a tangible benefit that can figure prominently in your sponsorship letters and brochures, deepens the sponsor value, and brings the sponsor’s generosity to life.
How to Get Started with Nonprofit Mobile Apps?
Sure, a nonprofit app sounds great! But do you need an entire development team to make it a reality?
Nope, you don’t! Services like LetsAll DoGood offer an easy option to help you create your nonprofit app. With a simple and intuitive platform, you just fill in the prompted information, and you’re good to go!
They offer a private and secure platform so you can trust your nonprofit’s data, and the data of your donors isn’t shared, sold, or mined. Nobody else has access to your members or supporters! And only you have control over what your supporters see and receive through the app.
Plus, you can brand your nonprofit app so it truly looks and feels like it’s a part of your entire organization instead of a third-party hosting provider.
Of course, the more people who are signed up in your mobile app, the sweeter the pot for your sponsors.
Do you see? Mobile apps can boost benefits for your nonprofit organization and your nonprofit sponsors!
And if you want to see more of what a nonprofit mobile app looks like, make sure to take a look at our on-demand FREE webinar on a mobile app for your nonprofit. You can start your app for only $99 per year. That’s ONLY $8.25 per month!
Watch a Free On-Demand Training from LetsAllDoGood’s Mobile App Service!
Until then,
-Your friends at NonprofitLibrary