For many nonprofits, one event carries the year: a gala, an auction or a festival. It raises real money, but it raises it on one night, after venue, catering and staff time come off the top. Plenty of supporters would give at other times of year if it were easy.
Why one big night isn't enough
Events are worth keeping. They build community and bring in new supporters. But relying on them alone has costs:
- Venue, food, rentals, printing and auction items are paid before a single dollar reaches your programs.
- Someone moved by your work in April has no easy way to act on it until the next event.
- Months of planning go into one evening.
- Weather, a competing event or a slow economy can sink the year's biggest fundraiser.
What an always-open giving page is
An always-open giving page is a single link where anyone can give at any time, from a phone, in about a minute. It doesn't expire after a campaign. It shows your organization's name and mission, lets a donor pick an amount, and takes card, Apple Pay or Google Pay without making them create an account.
Because it never closes, the same link can live in every place your supporters already see you.
Where to put your giving link
- Your website, as a button in the header, not buried on an "About" page
- The footer of every newsletter
- Staff and board email signatures
- Your social media bios
- A QR code on event signage, programs, table tents and the check-in table
- Thank-you emails to volunteers and past donors
- Printed flyers and posters for your programs
Unrestricted gifts, with an option to choose
Unrestricted gifts are the most useful money a nonprofit receives, because you decide where it does the most good. Make "where it's needed most" the default. If you have programs donors connect with, such as youth classes or a public art fund, offer them as optional funds a donor can pick. You keep flexibility, and donors who care about one program can support it directly.
Thank-yous and tax acknowledgments
Online gifts still need a human thank-you. Donors get an automatic receipt from the payment processor, but a short note from your organization is what brings them back.
For any single gift of $250 or more, the IRS requires donors to have a written acknowledgment from the charity to claim the deduction (IRS Publication 1771). Make sure your giving tool tells you who gave, or at least asks donors whether they'll share their name and email with you, so you can send it.
For education foundations
District education foundations can use the same approach for schools. Give each school, or each classroom, its own link under the foundation, and run short campaigns in the fall and spring alongside an always-open link for the foundation itself.
A simple monthly rhythm
- Week 1: share one story from your work in the newsletter, with the giving link.
- Week 2: post the same story on social media, with the link in your bio.
- Week 3: thank recent donors by name (with their permission) or by number ("42 neighbors gave this month").
- Week 4: check what came in and which posts drove it, then pick next month's story.
That's about an hour a month.
How Verusara helps
Verusara gives Oklahoma nonprofits an always-open giving page, with optional funds, and a QR code for print. Stripe sends 90% of every gift straight to your bank account at the moment it's made, typically arriving within two business days, so Verusara never holds the money. Every gift shows up in your own Stripe dashboard, and donors who opt in share their name and email so you can thank them. There are no event costs, contracts or invoices.