Giving directly is not always better: the benefits of a donation platform
Giving directly to a good cause remains valuable. But more and more people are choosing to give through an online donation platform, with more freedom of choice, more control and room for personal and local initiatives.
Anyone who wants to help mainly wants their contribution to be simple, safe and to end up in the right place. Sometimes that means giving directly to a charity. But more and more people are choosing to give through an online donation platform.
That is sometimes seen as an unnecessary extra step. Why should there be a platform between the donor and the cause itself?
Yet such a platform has clear advantages, precisely from the giver's point of view. You get more freedom of choice, you can support personal and local initiatives as well, and you keep more control over how you donate and which details you share.
So the question is not whether giving directly is better than giving through a platform. What matters is which way of giving suits you and the cause you want to support.
01You decide who you help
Traditional fundraising largely revolves around charities and social organisations. Crowdfunding has added an entirely new world alongside it.
You can now contribute directly to someone in your own neighbourhood facing unexpectedly high medical costs. To a family starting over after a fire. To a sports club that wants to get a project off the ground. Or to a local initiative for animals, education or emergency aid.
None of that requires setting up a large organisation first. A donation platform makes it possible to present a specific initiative online and then give a large group of people the chance to contribute. That considerably widens the choice for the donor.
02You decide which details you share
Privacy plays an increasingly important role in online giving.
When you give directly to an organisation, a broader relationship can grow out of it. Some donors like that and are happy to keep receiving news, campaigns or other information. Others simply want to contribute once and leave it at that.
A platform can offer extra choice there. At Steunactie, a donor can choose to give anonymously, for instance. That puts an important part of the control with the person who gives.
A donation is first and foremost a choice made by the donor. It does not have to lead automatically to a long-term relationship with an organisation.
Steunactie's starting point
03Simple and familiar online payments
A good online payment process seems self-evident these days, but technically there is quite a lot involved.
Through a donation platform, a local association, private initiative or small foundation does not have to build a complete payment environment itself. The platform arranges the technical infrastructure that processes donations securely.
For the donor, that mainly means convenience. You open a fundraiser, choose the amount you want to give and pay with a familiar payment method. For Dutch and Belgian donors, local payment options matter here. That low threshold makes it easier to contribute spontaneously when a fundraiser moves you.
04Large organisations are no longer the only ones visible
Perhaps one of the most important changes crowdfunding has brought is that everyone has been given the opportunity to mobilise people. A good idea or an urgent request for help no longer has to pass through layers of organisation before people can contribute.
You see that every day in fundraisers for medical treatment, funerals, veterinary bills, sport, education, personal emergencies and local projects. It also means that givers can stand much closer to the purpose of their donation.
You may know the organiser personally. You know which family it concerns. You know the association. Or you can see exactly which specific project the money will make possible. For many donors, that personal character is precisely an important reason to give through crowdfunding.
05A platform takes a lot of work off your hands
There is more technology and administration behind an online fundraiser than you see as a visitor.
Payments have to be processed, donations recorded and proceeds paid out, and organisers need to be able to manage their campaign. On top of that, the platform has to be reachable when there are questions or problems.
By organising these parts centrally, an organiser can focus mainly on their campaign and on reaching donors. At Steunactie, organisers can manage their own fundraising page, follow donations, post updates and see how their campaign is developing. For someone who has to raise money quickly, after an unexpected event for instance, that saves a lot of work.
06A donation platform is not free, and it does not need to be
A frequently heard argument against donation platforms is that costs are deducted.
That is true. A platform has to be developed, secured, maintained and supported. On top of that there are costs for processing payments. So the most important question is not whether there are costs at all, but whether those costs are clear and transparent. A donor and an organiser should be able to see in advance how the business model works and which part of a donation is deducted.
Steunactie chooses not to charge anything for starting a fundraiser. Costs are only deducted once donations are actually made. We also do not ask donors for an extra tip to Steunactie during checkout.
Anyone who only wants to support one specific charity and knows its account number can of course also transfer money directly. That remains a simple way to give. A platform offers other services alongside it.
Start a fundraiser with no upfront costs
At Steunactie you pay nothing to get started. Costs are only deducted once donations are actually made, with no hidden tip during checkout.
Start your fundraiser07Trust remains important
The fact that crowdfunding is accessible does not mean that you, as a donor, no longer have to look at anything.
With personal fundraisers in particular, it is wise to check who the organiser is, why money is being raised and what will happen to the amount. A good fundraiser makes that as clear as possible. Look for example at:
Who is organising the fundraiser
What their relationship to the recipient is
What the amount is needed for
Whether updates are posted regularly
How specific the story is
A platform can provide a safe technical environment and payment processing. The content of a personal fundraiser, however, remains something you as a donor have to look at consciously.
Giving directly or through a platform?
It does not have to be one or the other.
Do you want to support an organisation structurally, and do you feel strongly connected to the work it does? Then giving directly can fit perfectly.
Do you want to help a specific project, person, family or local initiative? Then a donation platform offers possibilities that traditional fundraising often does not give you. The same applies when you want to start a fundraiser yourself. Crowdfunding makes it possible to bring a group of people together around a specific goal within a short time.
In the end it comes down to the giver's choice
The world of giving has changed. People not only want to choose how much they give, but also to whom, how and on what terms.
Donation platforms respond to that. They make giving more accessible, offer room for small and personal initiatives, and give people the possibility to start a fundraiser themselves when help is needed.
That does not mean traditional charities have become superfluous. On the contrary. Large organisations play an important role in many social issues. But alongside them, room has emerged for a different way of giving. More direct, more personal and accessible to everyone.
And it is precisely that freedom of choice that we at Steunactie consider important.
This article was partly inspired by a publication from Stichting Donateursbelangen on the role of independent donation platforms and the interests of the giver.
Steunactie Editorial
We write about giving, crowdfunding and how donation platforms work, so that you can make an informed choice about how and to whom you give.
