There never seems to be enough opportunities to raise money for animal organizations, so when we find new ones we get a little excited.

GivingGrid is a unique opportunity to fundraise that actually costs nonprofits NOTHING! Yes, you read that right, there are no fees at all to your organization.

One thing I really like about it is that it is very visual in nature. People love visual elements. They tell a story and tug at the heartstrings – the two things that will make them more likely to donate.

So, what is GivingGrid and how does it work? Well, you are about to find out!

What Is GivingGrid?

GivingGrid launched in 2015 and is a user-friendly way to get started on your next fundraising campaign.

The GivingGrid service is available to all nonprofit organizations as well as for personal fundraisers. Organizations can create their own fundraisers – or supporters can create a fundraiser on their behalf to maximize the results!

The goal was to really unite people in a fun way to support those in need! The ability to create a fundraiser in just minutes and be able to keep 100% of the funds raised (less PayPal or merchant fees) is pretty amazing.

When I spoke to the owner, Dan, this was his reason for starting GivingGrid.

“My wife Katherine and I have always been huge supporters of animal rescues, both volunteering our time and donating.  GivingGrid was created in large part to take my love for animals to another level and help rescues and shelters become much more effective at fundraising.  So far, so good…”

So, with GivingGrid you have a virtual fundraiser that can be done in minutes – and with the right marketing can raise quite a bit of money.

While doing fundraising events like Tits For Pits (sorry for that I offend) or a Triathalon Fundraiser (I swear no atheletes needed here!) are often hugely successful, they are time consuming. They also take a lot effort, monetary output and in come cases might not bring a good return.

With GivingGrid you are putting risk aside!

Is It Really Zero Fees?

Why yes, it is really zero fees! Unlike many of the other crowdfunding platforms out there (we won’t mention names, but you know who you are), GivingGrid has committed to not taking any fees from the charities that use it.

Some of the other platforms take not only a percentage of the fees raised, they may also charge a charity for the credit card fees.

So that $5,000 you raise might lose 5% ($250.00) for the platform fees and then another 2-3% for the credit card fees.

With GivingGrid that same $5,000 will only result in the credit card processing fees which is taken out by the processor. To a rescue, $250 can buy a good amount of food!

GivingGrid does not make a cent from any donation!

So how do they do it then if no money is coming in?

Well, I did not say no money is coming in, but they do it in a much better way in my opinion. They offer donors the option to leave a “tip” when they make a donation. If every donor even gave $1 it would help them tremendously!

Remember, it takes money to run a website! Development fees, hosting fees and so much more to make it amazing.

Fundraise For Your Favorite Charity!

One of the features I love is how easy it is to fundraise for a charity that you are passionate about. They have a database of charities that you can search through and easily start your own fundraiser for that organization.

Below I did a quick search for one of my favorite groups – Eleventh Hour Rescue in NJ. The list returned a few options that also had similar names, but the one I want is right at the top.

From here you select the fundraise button to get your fundraiser activated. You will then be brought to a form where you can signup with Facebook or create a login.

Once you create your account you will then be asked for your zip code. Once you click the complete signup button you will then receive a verification email to confirm your account.

Once you confirm your email, you will take to a page that allows you to choose the type of campaign that you might be interested in creating.

Types Of GivingGrid Campaigns

Now that you know you have options – let’s talk about them in a little more detail so you know which option may be best for you.

Standard GivingGrid

The Standard GivingGrid is my favorite by far! After all, who does not love the idea of a wall full of animal pictures!

With the standard GivingGrid there are 2 grid options:

• Blank Squares: Allows the donor the ability to select a square and the amount they want to donate. They can also choose to upload an image or leave a message.
• Preset Squares: Allows you to add preset donation amounts in the squares and then the user can choose the amount they want to donate and add an image or message.

This is a perfect option for a basic fundraiser! There are a few options for the design of your pages including icons – you can even upload your own icon.

Below is an example of a standard grid with custom icons added. Set-up charges may apply if you are looking for some additional customizations.

Urgent Help For Animals

A special campaign option just for rescues and shelters to help with emergency vet care fundraising. The format is a standard grid, and it just take few minutes to setup.

$5 Friday

Make this part of a weekly or monthly event with your supporters! The $5 Friday is a grid where each day is $5. So a donor can click on any block, donate their $5 and leave a message or image.

Wall of Love

Another one of my personal favorites! The Wall of Love allows supporters the opportunity to buy a heart and leave a message on a fundraising wall.

They can share a birthday message, remember a pet, share an I Love You, or any message they want!

Like all the other fundraisers, they make it super easy to setup a campaign. Create your account choose the Wall of Love option and get filling out those fields.

Below are the required fields and optional ones available to get your fundraiser started:

• Campaign Title
• Custom URL (optional)
• Intro Statement
• Campaign Overview
• Fundraising Goal
• Minimum Donation Amount ($5 is the minimum you can choose)
• Fundraiser For This Campaign Button (optional)
• Select Theme Color
• Select Heart Color Type (yes, there are paw print options!)
• Upload Images and Videos
• Connect Paypal
• Setup custom emails to send to those that make a donation
• Send an update to all of your donors email option
• Basic organizational details to add to your page (location, EIN, email etc.)
• Grab a widget to promote on your own website
• Enter offline donations
• Set start and end dates for the campaign

Below is a sample of the test one I built for Eleventh Hour Rescue! Took me less than 5 minutes to put this together.

Below is what a donor will see if they choose any of the hearts with the cat ears to make a donation. This is where they leave their message and note the amount they would like to donate.

1,2,3

The 1,2,3 GivingGrid option offers grid with boxes that will go from $1 up to an amount you decide on. You can create a grid with as few as 60 squares and as many as 200.

The grid will always start with $1 and the largest possible amount will always be the center of the grid. You can view an example of the 1.2.3 GivingGrid that has 60 squares here.

The page layout allows supporters to click a box to donate, or just donate without actually selecting a box. This is easy setup as well! Just enter a title, the number of boxes you want, add a description, image, and optional video and you are ready to fundraise.

Blaze

The option that needs the least amount of work, making it perfect for those immediate fundraising needs. Once you create an account, you can choose the Blaze option then note that fundraiser is for an animal rescue and enter the name of the organization.

Just give your fundraiser a goal (minimum is $200), title, and description and you are ready to promote it! You can also add an image and even a link to a video. You can view a sample of a Blaze fundraising page here.

Payments will be made to the Paypal account that you connect to the account or to a Chase/WePay account.

Success Stories

Curious about how much some campaigns have raised? Yep, thought so!

Here are few we found to inspire you to get started with GivingGrid.

Peak Lab Rescue raised $26,960 – well over the $20,000 goal they had set for themselves.

Pawtcake Refuge raise $70,370 to transport 76 dogs off the island of Bahamas.

Now, keep in mind the success you have will come in how much you promote your fundraiser and the support you have from your community!

Writing amazing stories, creating compelling images and following up with every donor that supports your organization can all make a big difference.

Take A Tour

I thought it would be helpful for you to see the backend of the platform so you can see just how easy it is to use. This short video shows the steps to create a GivingGrid campaign and some of the options that are available.

If you have questions – please feel free to leave a comment – or contact the GivingGrid team who would be glad to assist you!