Hi Jenny, in searching for a fundraising platform that provides the features we need, is easy enough for our whole team to use, and fits in our budget, we have received offers from a Funraise competitor. While their monthly cost is estimated to be less than Funraise's, the scope of their offering is limited as well.

Can you put together Funraise's best offering, so that I can bring it to our leadership for evaluation?

Best,
A. P. Customer

The above is an email that I, as Funraise's VP of Sales, get frequently. It's pretty reasonable for nonprofits (or any company) to want the best deal for their dollar, and with Funraise's team coming from all corners of the nonprofitsphere, the team prioritizes making our tools accessible to nonprofits everywhere.

Here's how I respond to queries like these so that Funraise's true cost—and savings—is highlighted.

Hi A. P.,

I reviewed the offer we're competing against, and first need to point out a few things so we're looking at an apples-to-apples comparison. Which means this is a long email—I apologize in advance!

We advise nonprofits to take the total cost of ownership view when considering a commitment, as the cash cost of your investment should ultimately be the driver of ROI.

As such, consider the following:

Platform fees

With our competitor's transaction fees totaling 5.7% + 30¢ per transaction (platform + payment processor), and assuming a minimum of $200k/yr raised online, your cost will be $11,400+/yr in transaction fees alone—and that doesn't include the 30¢ per transaction. Combined with the annual fixed rate they're charging, that's a minimum of $15K/yr and will increase as you grow your online giving.

Donors Cover Fees

Funraise's model differs significantly and materially from our competitors'. Many online fundraising platforms offer an opportunity for donors to opt in to cover fees; that's different from Funraise's Donors Cover Fees. With others' standard donor coverage plans, whether donors opt to cover the fees or not, your nonprofit is responsible for all transaction and credit card fees.

When you choose Funraise, you're opting into a guaranteed 0% effective rate. When donors opt in to cover fees during the donation experience—which they do the majority of the time with us—that 2.2% Stripe fee is also covered, meaning you receive 102.2% of the intended donation amount.

Even if donors do not opt in to cover fees, with Funraise, you will not be charged a platform transaction fee.

As your partner, Funraise absorbs our service costs to limit your expenses and maximize your growth and impact. The costs do not grow as you scale your own revenue, saving you as much as $11,400/yr—more if your fundraising exceeds $200k.

Support

The support offered by Funraise's competitors ranges in scope, often involving a queue you enter through phone, live chat, or email. This is very different from Funraise's 1:1 dedicated support, which includes unlimited technical support and unlimited training and strategic support through one Success Manager personally assigned to your account.

Funraise customers do not sit in a queue. You are not restricted to technical questions only. In addition to the standard phone, live chat, and email, Funraise also offers texting and Zoom calls to maximize our availability and communication.

Funraise's award-winning, highly-recognized support team is the single biggest reason our net retention rates are 110%—Funraise's nonprofit partners are not only renewing their contracts, but finding additional value in our services based on this 1:1 relationship.

Fern Echevarria, Development Manager at Code2040, explains the value of Funraise's Customer Success team, noting,

“The support network and personal Funraise Customer Success Manager assigned to your organization make all the difference. Knowing there is someone to help you answer even the most basic questions and offer endless support has been game-changing.”

Team and Record (un)limitations

Funraise does not limit the number of admins or team members on your account. Funraise knows your entire team should have access to the platform, so we don't charge extra for that. To take unlimitations even further, Funraise does not limit the number of donor records in your account.

Growth and Sustainability

When you're choosing a fundraising platform, looking ahead to the future is a must. Questions like, "How difficult will it be to implement?", "Will my team be able to onboard with ease?", and "How quickly will the technology become outdated?" are some of the questions you should be asking.

With Funraise, you get a partner that is clearly proven to help nonprofits just like yours outperform your goals and outpace industry standards. Take a look at our growth stats:

• Organizations using Funraise grew online revenue 77% on average in 2020.
• Organizations using Funraise grew recurring revenue 53% on average in 2020.
• In 2020, the average monthly gift on Funraise was $40—double the industry average of $21.
• In 2020, the average P2P fundraiser on Funraise raised $913, double the average for top P2P programs.

I know you're looking for numbers, so let's take that $200k/yr raised online that I mentioned earlier in this email. If you came into Funraise raising $200k/yr and paced with our online revenue growth stat noted above, you'd be looking at $354k in online revenue—an increase of $154,000—in one year. Just by switching fundraising platforms.

“The results proved to be pretty amazing for us.”

I think the above quote from Andrew Chappell, Digital Lead at Action Against Hunger, says it all.

To cut to the chase: The value of Funraise's offering is much higher than our competitors', and as I have demonstrated, our total cost is much lower.

Hopefully, the value here makes switching to Funraise an easy decision! We would be honored to support your team and your worthy work.

Cheers,
Jenny

The value is undeniable, right? And that's just talking cost, not accounting for all the revenue that a streamlined, friendly donor experience brings, or the actionable visibility that transparent reporting offers, or the long-term value that a constantly-innovating platform like Funraise provides, or the hours your team will save by using efficient, easy-to-understand technology.

Reach out to my team, and I'll lay it all out for you—we'll build a package that makes Funraise the clear partner to enhance your nonprofit's growth and impact.