The Cost of “Free” Fundraising

5 Hidden Costs to Consider When Choosing a Fundraising Solution

Many fundraising solutions are advertising that they are completely free to use. Competitors love to point at our service fee and try to make it out as a bad thing. The simple truth is that you get what you pay for. When a fundraiser claims it is “free,” there are many hidden costs and drawbacks that you need to be aware of as a coach, group leader, athletic director, or parent. Here are 5 costs you need to consider when choosing the online fundraising platform you want to work with: 

1. Selling data:

If you’re not paying for their service, chances are that you’re not their customer – you’re their product. All businesses need to make money somehow, and we’ve discovered that many “free” online fundraisers make their money by selling user data. They take the information they get from you, your participants, and your donors and sell it to advertisers, data brokers, and other businesses. This is how you end up in random mailing lists or getting endless spam calls. It is especially risky behavior for any team or group with participants under the age of 18. No child (or any adult, in our opinion) deserves to have their personal information sold under the guise of fundraising. That’s why Snap! Raise is committed to never selling or sharing user data. And because we have a straightforward service fee, we’ll never need to, which means your program’s data is always safe with us. 

2. Co-mingling funds:

Do you know how funds are managed by the fundraising platform you work with? Some Snap! Raise competitors are known to co-mingle funds. That means that when you raise money with them, it goes into a pool with every other team and program they work with all over the country. Then, they pay you from that pool of funds, instead of directly from the donations made to your program. This is a safety risk for your funds. You wouldn’t set up a shared bank account with the school next door, so why would you do that with your fundraisers? At Snap! Raise, we ensure that the dollars donated to your program are the same ones you receive in your final check. We set up individual bank accounts for each fundraiser to ensure security and clear reporting on the funds you receive!

3. No outreach:

Many “free” online fundraisers create a webpage for your program, but don’t help promote it or connect your program to donors. This means a lot more time and effort on your part to get donations! You will have to handle all the outreach, write the messaging, and share the link everywhere. Participants will have to use their personal email and phone number to share their fundraiser. At Snap! Raise, we have a proven approach to fundraising that has been fine-tuned over a decade of working with teams like yours. Our dedicated reps help you set up your campaign and guide participants through the process of adding donor email addresses and phone numbers. We handle the rest with automated email and text message outreach and payment collection. 

4. No support team or dedicated reps:

No one wants to waste their time chatting with a bot or waiting on hold with a call center. “Free” fundraisers typically don’t have the money to have in-house support teams, dedicated sales reps, or account managers. Snap! Raise is known for our high–quality, responsive support team, made up of real people ready to help you with your fundraiser! When you work with us, you also build relationships with our sales reps and account managers, who care deeply about your program and getting you the funds you need.  

5.  No improvements:

“Free” fundraising companies are not focused on the longevity of their business or on making improvements for their customers. If they make their money by selling your data, they only need to make it easier for them to get more info from you and your program, so they don’t invest in tech improvements for the customer. Snap! Raise is continually striving to build the best technology for online fundraising. With the release of the Snap! Mobile app earlier this year, the addition of new features like guardian-led fundraisers and digital discount cards, and improvements to the participant and group leader experience in our platform, we set a high standard for tech innovation in the athletics and activities space that free fundraising companies simply can’t keep up with. 

Conclusion

Value goes beyond price. With how many online fundraising alternatives are out there, it’s hard to know the real costs of some of the cheaper tools, but we hope the info we shared here helps you make the best decision for your program. Choosing Snap! Raise is the safest, most secure solution that delivers the most bang for your buck, and we’re ready to help you start fundraising today! Connect with one of our fundraising experts to learn more about Snap! Raise. 
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