Fundraising Platforms for Small Nonprofits

It’s no secret that nonprofits need monetary support to accomplish their mission. Small nonprofits face unique challenges that household-name charities don’t, but what they may lack in scope or reach, they more than make up for in passion and direct impact. Fundraising platforms for small nonprofits can make all the difference, increasing funds raised and helping efficiently manage successful events. At TicketStripe, we’ve helped countless small nonprofits organize successful fundraising efforts, and this article will show why TicketStripe is one of the best fundraising platforms for small nonprofits available today. Here’s what we’ve learned works best and real-world examples to inspire your next fundraising campaign.

Focus Your Mission for Maximum Impact

The biggest asset of a small nonprofit is its ability to make a targeted difference. Small nonprofits are typically created for specific purposes: to support beneficiaries who have been overlooked or underserved within communities or causes. Before donors open their wallets, they need to understand exactly why your cause deserves support.

Make sure your mission is crystal clear, including what funds can do, how they’re applied, and the potential impact your organization will have once it raises more funds. Craft a succinct, powerful mission statement and include it—or a shortened version—in all your materials, from your website to social media to printed materials and event invitations. TicketStripe allows you to fully customize event pages and online fundraising to showcase the information that will transform invitees into attendees and donors.

Share Stories That Connect Emotionally

When it comes to charitable giving, people support causes they feel emotionally connected to. An effective strategy for small nonprofits is sharing concrete details about their work: recent wins made possible by past donations, ongoing challenges that require additional support, and the faces behind their cause.

The more specific your stories—both heartwarming and heart-wrenching—the more potential donors will connect to your mission and open their checkbooks. Real stories of impact create the emotional bridge that transforms casual interest into committed support.

The Best Fundraising Platforms for Small Nonprofits: Tools in Action

For small nonprofits, crafting the right fundraising event is crucial. The most effective events are personalized, intimate, and mission-focused, creating strong connections that lead to lasting relationships. Successful events highlight the impact you’ve already made alongside unmet needs, whether through immersive experiences or featuring speakers who share firsthand success stories and challenges.

When evaluating fundraising platforms for small nonprofits, look for features that simplify your process while maximizing your donation potential. The right platform should offer customizable event pages, flexible ticket options, and robust fundraising tools without excessive platform or tipping fees that eat into your proceeds or your donors’.

Small nonprofits have a wide variety of event options to choose from, depending on their mission, audience, and resources:

• Runs or walks for your mission
• Wine events or wine dinners with local wineries or at neighborhood restaurants
• Indie nights featuring local artists or musicians
• Educational workshops related to your cause
• Community brunches with mission-focused speakers
• Skills-based classes that connect to your work
• Theater productions or plays
• Film screenings with discussion panels
• Food tastings featuring local chefs or cuisine
• Benefit concerts showcasing local talent
• Craft events or maker workshops
• Speaker series with experts in your field
• Formal galas or recognition ceremonies
• Themed dinner events with auctions or raffles

The key is choosing an event format that resonates with your supporters while authentically connecting to your mission. Below are real-world examples of how small nonprofits have turned these event concepts into successful fundraisers with TicketStripe’s fundraising tools.

Community-Centered Events

Local Runs & Walk Events

A perfect example is the 5K Color Run/Walk designed to raise both awareness and funds for child abuse prevention. By offering free participation for youth and a modest $25 ticket for adult participants, the event ensures broad community engagement and accessibility. In addition to the run, a follow-up ceremony serves as a symbolic tribute to children affected by abuse, further reinforcing the event’s mission.

This fundraiser demonstrates how small nonprofits can effectively combine community activities with meaningful, symbolic gestures to generate support and funding for critical local causes.

Apart from flexible ticketing and low fees, TicketStripe helped the Run to Protect event in a few key ways: custom order forms collected participants’ T-shirt sizes in advance, eliminating waste from excess inventory; the Fair Market Value feature provided automatic tax receipt information for donors; youth participants received genuinely free tickets without hidden charges; and organizers passed processing fees to willing buyers, ensuring 100% of proceeds directly supported child abuse prevention.

Wine Tastings & Food Pairing Events

An inaugural fundraising event in Frazee, Minnesota, brilliantly blends a sophisticated wine and food pairing experience with community engagement to support youth programs. Hosted at a local favorite restaurant with premium tickets at $100, proceeds directly fund gymnastics, fitness, and Ninja classes for children aged 18 months to 18 years, nurturing physical health, discipline, and confidence.

Beyond wine and food tastings, the event features engaging activities like a wine pull and raffles for themed experience packages, encouraging generous contributions while providing entertainment. This event is a powerful example of how small nonprofits can leverage intimate gatherings to raise funds, build community support, and highlight their direct impact, in this case, the lives of local youth.

Vault & Vine chose TicketStripe to streamline their event management process. With TicketStripe’s intuitive platform, event setup took minimal time compared to traditional paper ticketing, saving countless administrative hours. The platform’s flexible fee structure—the option to pass fees on to attendees—ensured more funds went directly to supporting youth programs. By providing a seamless digital experience for organizers and attendees alike, TicketStripe helped maximize the impact of this community event while minimizing administrative burden.

Mission-Driven Gatherings

Themed Annual Fundraisers

One standout small nonprofit created an event that brought community members together in a warm, engaging atmosphere. Every ticket sold and donation made directly supported the nonprofit’s mission. By integrating creative fundraising elements with authentic storytelling about its cause, the event not only raised vital funds but also deepened community involvement and awareness.

A key highlight is the use of tailored Donation Sponsorship packages. These sponsor names—designed to resonate with the nonprofit’s core values—transform every donation into a meaningful partnership. Instead of generic sponsorship tiers, they offered creatively named sponsor packages that resonated with their music-centric cause and recognized the Sponsor’s commitment, effectively turning supporters into champions of the cause.

• Altissimo Sponsorship
• Virtuoso Sponsorship
• Forte Sponsorship
• Rock n’ Roll Sponsorship
• Jazz Sponsorship
• Orchestra Sponsorship
• Band Sponsorship
• Soloist Sponsorship

Each package included 2-10 tickets sponsors could share after purchase, eliminating the need to enter all guest information upfront. When tickets were claimed, attendee data was automatically stored in the organizer’s TicketStripe dashboard, helping collect complete participant information effortlessly. This thoughtful approach not only incentivized giving but built long-lasting relationships extending well beyond the event itself.

Educational Summits

A two-day summit held in Atlanta brought together industry leaders for deep dives into trends, community engagement, company culture, leadership, and workforce development. The event featured a diversified ticketing and sponsorship model alongside standard two-day admission tickets. The event features a packed agenda that includes keynote presentations, panel discussions, fireside chats, and ample networking opportunities.

Alongside standard two-day general admission tickets, packages—ranging from Lunch and Bronze to Title and Education Sponsorships—offered specific benefits like speaking opportunities, branded visibility, and exclusive access to attendee data. Small nonprofits can adapt this scalable multi-level model by offering tiered donation levels that provide supporters varying recognition and engagement opportunities.

Community Banquets

A conservation fundraiser featured an evening of dinner, open bar, live and silent auctions, and raffles. Ticket options included Individual Tickets at $100 and Couples Tickets at $150, granting a one-year membership and admission. The event employed a thoughtful tiered sponsorship model designed to maximize community engagement and fundraising impact:

• Silver Sponsor ($350): Included company name/logo mentions on promotional materials, banner display, and two one-year memberships.
• Gold Sponsor ($600): Offered additional memberships, a custom bottom-handle bucket, and enhanced promotional visibility.
• Platinum Sponsor ($1,200): Provided a reserved banquet table, exclusive gifts including a tumbler set with an ice ball tray, and eight memberships.
• Diamond Sponsor ($2,000): Featured premium branding opportunities, a unique art piece, reserved seating, and eight memberships.
• Presenting Title Sponsor ($3,000): Granted top-tier exposure with comprehensive branding across all event communications, two reserved tables, and sixteen memberships.

The organization created these sponsor tickets using TicketStripe’s ticket bundles, which helps collect individual attendee data before the event through easy ticket sharing and claiming. Using TicketStripe’s “upcoming events” feature on their page, the nonprofit also promoted their future fundraisers, allowing supporters browsing one event to discover and purchase tickets for others in their calendar. This approach exemplifies how small nonprofits can structure fundraising events by combining ticket sales, membership benefits, and sponsorship opportunities to engage a broad range of supporters.

Expand Reach with Virtual Options

Another way to attract more participation is to offer hybrid events with both in-person and virtual options or go fully online. Using Zoom or other video conference platforms to broadcast speakers, performers, and activities makes your event accessible to those who can’t or prefer not to travel. This approach expands your potential audience beyond geographic limitations.

• Share video details immediately with the “message after purchase” feature and/or
• Email video details via your TicketStripe dashboard to ticket holders before the event

Maximize Fundraising Opportunities Within Events

Events are often a nonprofit’s biggest revenue generator—and with smart planning, ticket sales are just the beginning. Among the various fundraising platforms for small nonprofits, TicketStripe offers several features specifically valuable for small organizations:

Low Organizer Costs: As a ticketing and donation platform for nonprofits, TicketStripe is free for organizers when the low fees are passed on to the buyer. When fees are absorbed, our low fees make a significant impact as every penny counts.

Customizable Ticket & Donation Options: Create unlimited ticket types, from early bird discounted tickets to general admission, VIP, raffle, merchandise, and pay-what-you-wish options. You can also add donation options for ticket buyers to contribute at checkout—either suggested or flexible donor-chosen amounts.

Ticket Bundles for Sponsors, Table, & Group Tickets: This feature streamlines sponsor, group, and table tickets. A sponsor can purchase a package of tickets and easily distribute them to attendees. The online ticket claiming process collects contact information for everyone who claims a shared ticket, effortlessly building your donor database.

Additional Fundraising Opportunities: Consider selling branded merchandise in advance through your event page (which helps prevent costly overordering), or hosting fundraisers within your event like raffles or silent auctions. Use the Promoter tool to help spread the word through influencers while you track performance.

Make Donating Simple and Seamless

While nonprofits appreciate all forms of contribution, utilizing effective fundraising platforms for small nonprofits to accept donations online significantly increases fundraising potential. TicketStripe simplifies this process with:

Embedded Donation Pages: Customizable, dedicated donation pages can be embedded directly on your website, giving donors a seamless experience without leaving your site.

Multiple Payment Options: Accept credit cards, debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal for maximum convenience.

Customizable Order Forms: Collect valuable donor information beyond basic contact details using TicketStripe’s Order Forms. This allows you to better understand your supporters and build stronger relationships. For example, you could ask donors what initially connected them to your cause, whether they prefer email or physical mail for updates, or if they’re interested in volunteer opportunities. A children’s education nonprofit might ask, “Would you like information about our monthly giving program that sponsors a child’s after-school tutoring?” This insight helps tailor future communications and identify potential recurring donors.

Be Transparent About How Funds Are Used

Every potential donor asks, “How will my money be spent?” Small nonprofits, with their well-defined targets, should answer this question confidently and transparently. Show the impact of every dollar contributed to help donors feel confident when making their contributions.

Consider publicizing the exact costs of services your nonprofit provides, the prices of goods necessary for projects, or how monthly donations support ongoing initiatives. TicketStripe’s unlimited donations allow you to create tiered donations based on exactly what each contribution level accomplishes, giving donors clear insight into their impact.

Identify and Reach Your Ideal Donors

Growing a small nonprofit’s reach requires thoughtful research on potential donors. Think beyond immediate beneficiaries to those who might have an interest in your mission’s success. Consider approaching local corporations looking to support community causes, smaller businesses that benefit indirectly from your work, or individuals with personal connections to your mission.

Your outreach might be as simple as targeted emails or social media posts. In other cases, you may need to network at relevant events or connect with individuals with valuable relationships. The key is finding authentic connections with those who naturally align with your cause.

Mobilize Your Supporter Network

Word-of-mouth remains the most powerful tool for small nonprofits. Encouraging existing supporters to share your event pages or donation calls often brings in the most qualified new supporters.

Targeted social media campaigns for new initiatives or upcoming events are essential, and offering incentives for shares (like a free event ticket for referrals) can amplify participation.

• Plug in Meta and Google pixels to track your marketing campaigns and event page traffic, providing valuable insights to help you optimize campaigns.
• TicketStripe’s Promoter tool takes event publicity further by allowing organizers to incentivize supporters to sell tickets or encourage donations. Each promoter receives a unique URL for tracking their impact, making it easy to reward those who generate the most support.

By implementing these focused strategies and leveraging the right tools, small nonprofits can maximize their fundraising potential while creating authentic connections with donors who believe in their mission. The key is highlighting your unique impact, sharing compelling stories, and making it easy for supporters to contribute to your cause. When selecting from available fundraising platforms for small nonprofits, choose one like TicketStripe that understands your unique needs and offers features specifically designed to help you succeed.