Giving Platforms Can Do More for Nonprofits

Read time: 3 min

👋🏾 Hey! I’m Sid and this is The Philanthropy Futurist, a weekly advice column preparing you for the future of the nonprofit sector. Each Friday, I tackle reader questions about measuring impact, driving growth, and managing your nonprofit.

This Week’s Newsletter at a glance:

• Giving Platforms Can Do More for Nonprofits

• Philanthropy News From This Week

• Sid’s Book Recommendation

Giving Platforms Can Do More for Nonprofits

"Third-party giving platforms" have a serious nonprofit problem.

But not because nonprofits don’t want them, it's because nonprofits want more from them.

A new survey from Candid of roughly 6,000 nonprofits shared a pretty interesting look at the relationship between nonprofits and the giving platforms helping facilitate their charitable giving.

According to the survey... on average, third-party giving platforms account for 17% of nonprofit revenue. For 8% of nonprofit orgs surveyed, third-party giving platforms account for most of their revenue.

I think its safe to say... these platforms matter.

But here’s the even more interesting part:

Nonprofits are almost evenly split between wanting more visibility and wanting more control over where and how their org appears online.

In my opinion, that tension says a lot.

Nonprofits want the opportunity to reach new donors. But they also want a say in how their org is represented, where their name appears, and what information donors see.

And when Candid asked nonprofits to share their broader experiences, the feedback got that much more interesting.

Of the roughly 1,800 nonprofits that responded, 42% expressed negative sentiment, compared with just 4% that were positive.

The concerns included profiles being created without consent, outdated information, slow payouts, additional administrative work, too many platforms to manage, and uncertainty about whether a platform would actually generate meaningful donations.

None of this means third-party giving platforms aren't valuable.

It just means the bar needs to be set higher.

A giving platform shouldn't just make it easier for someone to donate.

It should make it easier for nonprofits to raise more, build trust, reach new audiences, maintain control of their story, and spend less time managing the machinery behind the donation.

Personally, I feel like that's the bigger opportunity.

The future of giving platforms shouldn't simply be about becoming another place where nonprofits can collect money.

It should be about becoming better partners to the nonprofit orgs doing the work. Because if third-party giving platforms are going to play an increasingly important role in how charitable dollars move, nonprofits should expect more than a donation button... they should expect a true value-add.

Also, huge shoutout to Candid for a great survey!

Until next time y'all ✌🏾

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Philanthropy News From This Week

• What do nonprofits want from giving platforms?

• How nonprofits can spend less time reporting to funders

• Why giving away your company is the ultimate legacy power move

• Why GiveWell’s backing this group with a mission to boost birth control access

Sid’s Book Recommendation

Each week, I recommend a book or film that has impacted my life in a positive way. My recommendation this week is:

The Partnership Economy by David A. Yovanno

This book is an actionable guide to understanding and leveraging the modern landscape of business partnerships to grow a company's revenue significantly. The author explains how the nature and growth potential of partnerships have transformed in recent years, highlighting how leading brands like Fabletics, Target, Ticketmaster, and Walmart effectively use partnerships for business growth. Learn more.

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