Charity fundraising on mobile: 6 apps to get your nonprofit started

Gone are the days when charities relied solely on mail solicitations and gala dinners for their fundraising. In today’s digital age, they also have the option of crowdfunding, asking for support through hashtags, pulling a social media stunt that has the potential to go viral — or simply signing up to be part of a mobile application that encourages charity donations. There are a multitude of mobile apps available in the Apple Store and Google Play catering to charities. Take, for example, Charity Tap, a simple gaming app that donates to the U.N. World Food Program the amount of rice grains a user successfully puts into a virtual bowl. These platforms are no substitute for an organization’s traditional sources of funding. But for those interested in trying their hand at these mobile applications as an additional resource, here are six apps to get you started. The following are available in both the Apple Store and Google Play, have at least 500 downloads and at least one large nonprofit as a partner. 1. Charity Miles How it works: The app tracks users movement — the miles they’ve covered — and matches that with a donation coming from revenue from its sponsors, which include Humana, Johnson & Johnson, Timex Sports and Kenneth Cole. The app is accessible outside the United States, but donations are in U.S. dollars. Donation range: Charity Miles disburses donations to featured charities on an annual basis. Founder Gene Gurkoff told Devex they split in half the app’s annual revenue — 50 percent going to charities and 50 percent for operations. How much each charity gets is based on the miles their supporters have accomplished throughout the year. The app gives up to 25 cents per mile of walking and running, and 10 cents per mile of biking. Gurkoff said support from app users and sponsors have allowed them to give $1.2 million in donations to charity to date. How your organization can get involved: The team behind the app evaluates charities based on three criteria: Is the charity doing “truly excellent work,” does it have the potential to gain a huge following via the app and the availability of sponsors. There is however a long queue for interested charities, given the app’s popularity. The team therefore advises charities on the waitlist to create teams within the app and encourage supporters to join to increase their chances of becoming a Charity Miles partner. Interested organizations can apply here. Organizations onboard: There are currently more than 30 organizations listed in the app, including Save the Children, Habitat for Humanity and The Nature Conservancy. 2. Repz for Charity How it works: The app challenges users to do a task, which can be anything from push-ups or squats to headstands. Users are asked to record themselves doing the challenge for 20 seconds. Once completed, the app notifies them that a donation has been made for one of the eight listed charities. Donation range: The app does not immediately disclose the amount donated following the completion of a challenge, and users cannot choose the organization to donate to. But Founder Elisa Klein said the equivalent donation of each completed challenge is dependent on agreements with advertisers, but usually it’s anywhere from 15 cents to $1. The team behind Repz for Charity notes they “try to equally fund” the organizations currently listed in the app. A total amount of $475 has been donated to charity as of this writing. How your organization can get involved: The app currently features U.S.-based charities, but Klein said they are open to accepting those outside the United States. They are however leaning toward those organizations working in the health industry, for example, as it closely aligns with their mission of getting people “in shape.” In addition to that, they evaluate charities’ community presence and impact. Repz for Charity is also open to work with local charities on an event-based basis, according to Klein. Interested organizations may contact the app developers via info@repzforcharity.org. Organizations onboard: The app currently supports eight charities, including Partners in Health, the American Red Cross and United Way. Repz for Charity however noted the organizations listed “may or may not be officially partnered with Repz.” 3. SnapDonate How it works: Users can donate to a charity of their choice by taking a photo of its logo using SnapDonate, or searching their favorite charities’ names. The app automatically prompts donations in different denominations, and depending on a user’s preferred currency. Donations are processed by fundraising platforms JustGiving and Virgin Money Giving. Donation range: The app’s payment platforms carry multiple currencies. For those donating in British pounds, they can donate a minimum of 2 pounds and up to a maximum amount of 50 pounds. SnapDonate does not charge any fees per transaction, according to SnapDonate Foundation Co-Founder Alex Pell. But JustGiving takes 5 percent off donations. However, if a donor is a taxpayer in the United Kingdom, where all the charities featured in the app are located anyway, the 5 percent is taken out of Gift Aid, a U.K. tax incentive that adds 25 percent to the total value of a donation. Check JustGiving’s explanation here of how the math works. How your organization can get involved: Interested charities need only contact the foundation via their website to be added to the waitlist of charities looking to be featured in the app. At the moment though, they are only accepting charities registered with JustGiving in the U.K. Organizations onboard: The app currently features almost 100 charities, and new causes are being added regularly, according to Pell. Some of the notable ones are Comic Relief, Medecins Sans Frontieres U.K. and WaterAid. 4. Forward How it works: The app allows users to upload items they no longer want or are using, like old clothes, books or toys, put a price on it and then pick a featured charity in the list. People interested in the item pay for it, and the money goes to the user’s charity of choice. The app can only be used in places where it has enlisted charities. Donation range: The app’s developers currently do not charge any fees in processing the donations, so charities get the full amount of donations. But Peter Theill, founder of Commanigy, the Copenhagen-based software company behind Forward, told Devex they are planning to add a fee on top of the donations “to keep the service running.” Prices for items uploaded in the app are currently fixed. For example, an item uploaded by a user in Denmark can only be sold for 10, 25 or 100 DKK, while an item in the U.S. can be sold for $2, $5 or $10 only. How your organization can get involved: Theill said they are open to accepting charities with legal status outside the four countries featured in the app, but that they are are currently focusing their efforts on a short list “because we have a limited team.” Interested charities need only submit basic information about their organization, including a logo and a short description for the app. Contact information here. Organizations onboard: The app features organizations based in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the United States. The list includes the World Wildlife Fund, SOS Children’s Village, Amnesty International and Feeding America. 5. Donate a Photo How it works: The app encourages users to upload one photo a day, share it on their social media channel, and Johnson and Johnson Services, Inc. will match each photo with $1, provided it fits the app’s photography guidelines. The money will go to a user’s chosen charity or cause. Donation range: Each charity or cause featured in the app has a different goal and time limits. Born Free Africa, for instance, has a goal of training 500 health care workers in Kenya to help stem mother-to-child HIV transmission in the country. To reach that goal, the nonprofit or cause needs to receive 40,000 photos before Feb. 20, 2016. Regardless of what happens by the end date, however, Born Free Africa will receive a minimum of $20,000. The minimum amount a charity or cause receives vary, but among those already featured, the smallest amount a charity received was $5,000. How your organization can get involved: The app is only available to users in the U.S., U.K. and Japan, but Jacob Lepiarz, manager of digital strategy and engagement at J&J, told Devex the company does not limit its support to nonprofits within these countries. But that said, the company chooses to focus on its large pool of existing J&J nonprofit partners for strategic and administrative reasons. J&J knows the organizations already align with their philanthropic objectives. In addition, they have already been vetted by the company previously, freeing the team managing the app from the rigorous process. Lepiarz however noted the team “always welcome feedback from our community including ideas on possible future partnerships.” Organizations onboard: Only charities based in the three countries where the app is accessible are currently featured in the app. Some of these organizations are Operation Smile, Japan Heart and Teenage Cancer Trust. The Donate a Photo team hopes to expand the app to at least two more countries by the end of 2016, and further grow its users currently at more than 100,000, Lepiarz said. 6. One Today How it works: The app highlights one cause each day, and users can choose to donate $1 to that cause or search for other causes within the app. One Today gives users an idea of the impact of their $1 donation. Individuals can increase their donations by matching friends and other users’ donations to the same charity. Donation range: Charities are asked to set their own fundraising goals, and for how long they want the campaign to run. The team behind One Today however suggests charities limit their fundraising goals between $500 and $10,000. Google releases donations on a monthly basis. How your organization can get involved: At present, the app is only accessible in the United States. Interested U.S. organizations need to apply to Google for Nonprofits, which requires an organization to hold 501(c)(3) status. Organizations onboard: A different organization is featured every day, but some of the featured organizations include Sea Save Foundation, Kopernik, Kids Against Hunger and Worldreader. Devex Professional Membership means access to the latest buzz, innovations, and lifestyle tips for development, health, sustainability and humanitarian professionals like you. Our mission is to do more good for more people. If you think the right information can make a difference, we invite you to join us by making a small investment in Professional Membership.