Fundraising Across Borders

Fundraising across borders, geographical or otherwise, has never been easier or perhaps more important.

The COVID pandemic has been a stark reminder that problems don’t respect borders. A simple yet impactful example: it’s no good one nation being vaccinated if the rest of the world isn’t. 

Complex problems require collaboration, bringing the best expertise and minds to a problem, regardless of their physical location. 

Complex problems also cost money to solve so being able to channel funds from all four corners of the globe is a game-changer. 

The fundraising landscape is changing and campaigns that are able to operate across borders will see their message gain cut-through where others are drowned out in the noise.

One effective strategy is to foster better collaboration between business and charitable organisations. To really leverage the power of business, particularly large multi-nationals, we can develop a central theme with which to engage their community of employees across the globe.

Physical borders in a digital world 

Digital technology has made the world smaller. We can have meetings with someone or support causes on the other side of the world without ever stepping onto a plane. COVID has made the world more flexible. We can work from home or even, as the world opens up again, remotely from a beach in Barbados.

Maybe this wanderlust, the sense that life is too short to stay in one place, is a reaction to two years of lockdowns and restrictions. Whatever its cause, many of us are on the move and this inevitably impacts how we approach the challenges that we face.

The good news is that digital capabilities make it possible for fundraisers to spread word further than in the past. The bad news is that this busy digital world makes it harder than ever to really cut through the noise, stand out and establish meaningful connections with supporters. 

Ethical motivations in the business world

Smart organisations are increasingly recognising a generational shift in values around rewards, recognition, and altruism. The demands of the younger generations have encouraged big businesses to embrace CSR, not only to make a difference, but to build a positive brand image with a view to attracting and retaining talent.

An effective way to do this is to harness the collective interest of the workforce around one or two central causes. By sharing and celebrating the community’s collective achievements (perhaps encouraging some friendly competition between departments or branches), the collective, concentrated energy works to benefit the corporation, the workforce and the charity. Everybody wins!

And of course, where a business is global, that collective impact just gets bigger. 

Can today’s fundraiser connect with a digitally dispersed community while harnessing the power of big business? 

Absolutely! In fact it’s possible to do so in three deceptively simple steps:  

• Bringing communities together around a central cause

• Ensuring digital payment capabilities

• Enabling international donations

Let’s look at these in detail.

Bringing communities together around a central cause

If you can’t pull everyone in your community together, the impact of what you’re doing is diluted. There’s power in collective action.

StockCrowd is designed to bring different networks together virtually so that they’re able to flourish, even across geographical borders.

Here’s an example of how this can work.

Imagine a UK charity dedicated to dementia research - an issue that doesn’t respect geographical borders. In the past, the charity has been limited to fundraising nationally. The people who support the cause know it’s important but may not understand how far-reaching the research is starting to be.

By telling the story of how the research is making a difference around the world, the charity can show their donors that they’re part of something far bigger. The individual’s donation is no longer simply sponsoring a friend or family member via a generic third party fundraising page. Instead it becomes part of a collective action to change what a dementia diagnosis means for future generations everywhere. 

The emotional experience of the donor is greater. As a result, word travels. Now someone in the US, for example, who has been profoundly impacted by dementia can find out about and support a world-leading research team based at a UK university.

This is the power of cause-driven fundraising. 

Breaking down payment barriers 

Charities that offer digital payment options no longer have to be physically in front of their supporters to secure a donation.

This is so important for fundraising across borders.

Our client Tusk Trust is a UK charity that, given its important and impactful work around the world, attracts strong international interest, particularly from the US. Our partnership with CAF America enables Tusk Trust to harness that interest and accept donations from around the world.

But ensuring digital payment capabilities isn’t just about international connectivity. 

It also takes the burden of international tax administration off the charity, freeing them up to focus on community building and campaign management, i.e. tasks that grow the organisation - and what it achieves - to new levels.

Accepting all currencies 

Let’s go back to our hypothetical UK dementia research charity - the typical scenario would be that anyone from their UK supporter base could go to their donation page and donate in pounds sterling. 

But what if the charity wanted to mobilise the communities in other countries as well? Imagine the collective impact (not to mention the emotional impact) of having donors, sponsors, supporters, volunteers and local communities on the ground, all pouring their energies and donations into one single space but with donations in multiple currencies? 

StockCrowd makes this possible today, enabling charities to accept donations in approximately 180 different currencies. This offers local donors a tax efficient way to give so that they can get local tax relief. Tax certificates can even be provided to donors on a real-time basis so that they can claim an income tax deduction.

(Of course, each country has its own tax rules and arrangements but this is something we can help our clients to understand and navigate with confidence).

Getting ‘cut-through’

A strong brand will only get you so far in a busy digital landscape – and less so in the physical world! As we said before, where the effort is scattered, it’s weakened. 

StockCrowd will give you and your fundraising cause that all-important power of collaboration and connectivity. 

You can show people how they contribute to a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. And if you can make it easy, accessible and convenient, borders become meaningless.

StockCrowd is a one-stop digital fundraising software that can help your charity unite across the globe and tell your amazing story.  Drop us a line to discuss how we can help you bring your fundraising campaigns to life.

Come and chat to us