6 reasons your charity should have an online gift site

Why alternative gifts?

As a not-for-profit organisation, fundraising is always going to be an important issue. Grant applications and campaigning for donations take time and resources, but they aren’t the only way to generate new income for your organisation.

Reason 1: Ongoing income

Having your own online shop for alternative gifts that contribute to your work can provide your not-for-profit with ongoing income.

Your alternative gifts site is open for business 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and does not rely on telemarketing, direct mail or street collections to generate revenue.

Reason 2: Proven results

Not-for-profits around the world, including our long term client Concern Worldwide, have seen significant revenue generation from alternative gifts.

Concern have seen their gifts purchase conversions rise to an incredible 15% during the pre-Christmas shopping season.

Reason 3: Low overheads

Once an alternative gifts site is set up, it runs itself. Apart from a little technical support and hosting fees, very little management is required to keep the site working smoothly.

This is in contrast to the amount of overhead effort that is required for many other income-generating campaigns that not-for-profits rely on.

Reason 4: Low/no production costs

Many charities and not-for-profits sell physical gifts and branded items to raise funds and these can be good income creators.

However, there are large cost outlays in acquiring stock, getting it branded, storage, and postage materials and fees. With alternative gifts, you can keep costs very low by offering email gifts and/or a printable gift certificate.

Should you wish to add a physical element, adding a posted gift card is an easy and low-cost addition. Cards are inexpensive to source, store and mail, so this makes your alternative gifts a cost-effective option - even with a physical card in the mix.

Reason 5: Fast turnaround

With alternative gifts you can set up both a gifts site and individual gift items very quickly.

Whereas calendars and other physical products take a long time to design, create, print and ship, alternative gift creation can be completed in a few hours (including design) rather than several weeks.

Reason 6: Appeal to last-minute gift buyers

Whether due to an unexpected occasion, forgetfulness, or a spur-of-the-moment decision, there will always be last-minute gift buyers who will be happy to send an alternative gift to get something to the right person on time.

By offering online ordering and email delivery of your alternative gifts, you can benefit from last-minute gift hunters and maximize your donation revenue.

Get our free guide to alternative gift sites

We've created a 35+ page guide to what makes a great alternative gift site. It's free to download, so if you'd like to repeat the success of Concern, get your copy now.