Improving Fundraising Efficiency in Small and Medium Sized Non-profit Organizations Using Online Solutions

Abstract

Although Switzerland enjoys a mature e-commerce sector and online marketing with widespread use of social media, large Swiss nonprofit organizations (NPOs) still adopt mainly off-line marketing and mass marketing strategies to support their fund-raising efforts. Mass marketing techniques are expensive and require a large financial investment, which Swiss small and medium-sized organizations cannot afford. The high cost of adopting these conventional fund-raising strategies greatly affects small NPOs, who lack funds to run their social and humanitarian projects. If instead NPOs focused on more cost-efficient marketing strategies, they could improve the sustainability of their fund-raising campaigns. Taking an explorative approach, this study first surveys Swiss donors to understand and quantify their behaviors. Second, it conducts qualitative interviews with NPOs to provide insights into their fund-raising strategies. Finally, it concludes with a set of practical suggestions for small and medium-sized NPOs to build specific capabilities to collect online donations more efficiently.