Back
Donations are the bread and butter of successful nonprofits, providing the funds you need to fulfill your mission. Thanks to modern technology, it’s easier than ever for donors to give online, no matter where they are or what device they’re using. How those online donations reach your nonprofit, however, can seem like a mysterious process.
If your organization uses (or wants to use) Salesforce, understanding Salesforce donation processing tools can be a game-changer, enabling you to build stronger donor relationships and generate more revenue over time. In this guide, we’ll cover:
- Salesforce Donation Management and Processing: The Basics
- Collecting Donor Data Through Salesforce Donation Forms
- How to Integrate Donation Processing Tools with Salesforce
Donation processing impacts every aspect of your nonprofit’s strategy, from data collection to outreach. Learning more about Salesforce donation management as it relates to the rest of your toolkit can help you streamline your operations and collect donations effectively with minimal lag time.
Salesforce Donation Management and Processing: The Basics
Salesforce is the world’s leading constituent relationship management (CRM) solution, used by nonprofits around the world to facilitate operations, nurture supporter relationships, and manage programs.
Your nonprofit might accept a variety of donation types, from pledges to recurring gifts. With Salesforce’s wide array of apps and integrations, you can deploy any fundraising strategy with ease. Let’s cover a few frequently asked questions about Salesforce donation management, so you can better understand how it works and discover key considerations for your nonprofit’s giving process:
What is donation processing?
Typically, when you make an online purchase or donation, you enter your credit card information into corresponding fields on a web page. Then, the money transfers from your account, and you receive a confirmation email verifying the payment.
On the backend, however, there’s a lot more going on. For nonprofits, the donation process generally looks like this:
- A donor submits a gift on your donation page. A clear, streamlined donation form that only asks for essential information enables donors to complete the giving process easily and conveniently. Typically, you’ll collect their name, contact information, and payment details.
- The donation enters a payment processor. The payment processor is a third-party service that handles the donor’s transaction and securely collects donation details from your giving page. It can automatically detect potentially fraudulent transactions or invalid requests.
- The payment processor works to transfer funds. After verifying the donor’s payment information, the payment processor communicates with the donor’s financial institution to initiate a funds transfer from their bank or credit card account.
- The funds are transferred to your nonprofit’s bank account. After the donor’s bank approves the transaction, your nonprofit will receive the donated funds in your bank account.
While this process typically takes place when a donor makes a credit card payment through a standard third-party processor, it varies depending on the chosen payment method.
For example, ACH (Automated Clearing House) payments allow fund transfers from one bank account to another without involving a credit card company. Since these transactions occur through the ACH network, they often come with lower processing fees and are more reliable for ongoing or recurring payments.
How does Salesforce donation processing work?
When your nonprofit chooses fundraising software that integrates with your Salesforce CRM, you can use its payment processors to accept online gifts.
Many fundraising solutions that integrate with Salesforce have agreements with processors such as Stripe or Plaid, though others come with their own payment processors. These payment gateways should, at the very least, come with features such as:
- Batch and single gift processing. You should be able to choose between processing donations one at a time or in batches within a certain timeframe to speed up the process.
- Data reconciliation. Your fundraising software should be able to compare and match transactions to ensure that the information shared between your CRM and payment processor is accurate.
To maximize your online gifts, try to provide donors with as much flexibility as possible. According to Double the Donation, 63% of donors prefer to give online with a credit card or debit card, followed by direct mail (16%), PayPal (10%), wire transfer (5%), cash (4%), digital wallet (1%), and text-to-give (1%).
What should nonprofits consider about payment processing?
When considering your nonprofit’s donation processing system, there are two essential factors to account for:
Processing Fees
Common types of fees associated with payment processing include:
- Flat-rate fees
- Percentage-based fees
- Platform fees
You may encounter a blend of these fee types, depending on whether you accept credit, debit, or ACH payments. Additionally, payment processors may charge incidental fees for refunds, chargebacks, deposits, and other transactions. If you have questions about fees, request a processing statement from your current payment provider to review the true overall cost.
To minimize the impact of processing fees on your nonprofit, find a solution that has a “cover my processing fees” option for donors. When donors make a gift, they can opt to contribute just a few dollars more to cover the fees and ensure your nonprofit receives their entire intended gift.
Security
Retaining long-term donor support is all about trust and reliability. When you use fundraising software that shares donor data with your Salesforce CRM, consider how you will protect that data, especially payment information. Before investing in a donation processing solution, ask questions about how it stores credit card information, how this data is secured, and who can access it.
Payment details must be encrypted so that no one has direct access to them, not even donors themselves. Look for payment processors that are PCI-compliant, meaning that they take additional precautions to keep donor data secure.
Collecting Donor Data Through Salesforce Donation Forms
With fundraising software that integrates with your Salesforce CRM, you can collect information about your donors during the giving process. For example, you might add one or two custom fields to your donation page to learn about a donor’s employment or preferred contact method.
When a donor gives to your nonprofit through a Salesforce-integrated donation page, your CRM should automatically create (or update) their profile. Some of the details stored in that profile may include:
- Contact information. When donors initially fill out your donation form, you’ll ask for their email address and physical address. This information should be stored in Salesforce, allowing you to send a donation confirmation message initially and marketing materials later on.
- Payment details. Check with your providers to see if and how payment information is stored. There should be encryption or tokenization to protect your supporters’ financial information.
- Gift size. With Salesforce donation management tools, you can monitor gift sizes and, over time, suggest increased custom gift amounts to your repeat donors.
- Gift frequency. Tracking donation dates provides your nonprofit with insights into gift frequency. Offer donors the option to give regularly through recurring donations, allowing for more consistent and convenient giving.
- Geographic information. By learning more about where your donors are located, you can improve your outreach by recommending events you’re holding in their area or identifying local representatives during advocacy campaigns.
Store all of this data securely in your Salesforce CRM for your team to access. For additional protection, ensure your team is trained in standard cybersecurity practices and is able to use secure passwords, identify phishing emails, and secure physical access to computers and files.
How to Use This Donor Data to Improve Engagement
Your fundraising software should automatically send complete and accurate donor data to your Salesforce CRM. From there, you can use the data to inform your donor engagement and marketing strategies. For example, you might:
- Create personalized fundraising asks or dynamic gift strings directly related to a donor’s giving history.
- Identify donors who aren’t engaging as often as they used to and share updates on key campaigns, such as GivingTuesday, to re-energize them.
- Find donors with a high giving capacity and affinity for your cause to approach as major donor prospects.
Additionally, you can collect additional donor details when they participate in your peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, join your advocacy efforts, or register for your events. The more complete your data is, the better your chances of unlocking insights to improve your fundraising results.
How to Integrate Donation Processing Tools with Salesforce
While your donation page and CRM are two separate systems, with payment processing taking place behind the scenes, they are highly related and relevant to enabling a well-designed fundraising strategy.
Choosing a comprehensive, integrated Salesforce donation management tool, such as Springboard, is the first step to creating a top-tier giving process.
Springboard’s exceptional donation and donor engagement tools integrate seamlessly with the Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud. With this digital-first solution, you can involve donors in fundraising, peer-to-peer campaigns, advocacy, and events all on one platform. Every step of the way, you’ll collect engagement data to enhance your fundraising strategy and keep donors committed to your cause long term.
When it comes to Salesforce donation management and processing, your nonprofit will have access to Springboard Payments, a top-of-the-line payment processor with features such as:
- Batch and single gift payment processing
- Recurring payment options and donor self-service portal
- Financial reconciliation reports and superior fraud monitoring
- “Cover my processing fees” option for donors
Donors can give however they feel comfortable, using payment methods such as credit cards, e-checks, PayPal, Apple Pay, and more. Plus, source code tracking lets you see how donors are finding your website and the steps they take to reach your donation page. With this data, you can optimize each page in your giving process to guide more users to your donation page and encourage them to complete their gifts.
Unlocking Success Through Salesforce Donation Management
Understanding Salesforce donation processing is an important part of your fundraising strategy, ensuring you maximize the funding you receive, minimize fees, and maintain donors’ trust from start to finish.
As you continue to make improvements, keep an eye on your average gift size, the number of recurring donation opt-ins, and other key fundraising metrics to assess how you’re doing. Before long, you’ll have a donation process that keeps donors coming back for more.
To learn more about how your nonprofit can leverage Salesforce and other tools to boost fundraising success, check out these additional resources:
- Top Salesforce Donation Apps to Power Fundraising Results. Looking for the right Salesforce donation processing tool for your nonprofit? Check out the most popular options in this guide.
- Salesforce Donor Management: How to Master Your Platform. Learn more about how Salesforce can help you manage your donors to build relationships, retain support, and maximize fundraising.
- FAQs + Strategies for the Perfect Year-End Giving Campaign. The year-end giving season is a key time for donations. Ensure your donation management strategy is ready with these tips.
