Whether you’re an individual or an established nonprofit, selling charity eCards is a creative way to raise money for your cause. Make sure you know the basics of raising money using this method before crafting your designs.

Why Are Charity eCards Beneficial for Fundraising?

As explained in eCardWidget’s guide to charity eCards, this fundraiser offers an array of benefits that your nonprofit can leverage to forge stronger connections with your supporters.

For one, digital greeting cards are incredibly versatile. Your organization can create designs for every occasion. Create holiday, birthday, thank-you, and get-well-soon cards, among any other designs you can think of. You can even create cause awareness cards your donors can send to challenge others to give.

Beyond their versatility, charity eCards are incredibly low-cost and offer quick delivery times, especially compared to traditional paper cards and direct mail. Neither you nor your supporters will have to worry about printing or postage costs. As soon as someone makes their purchase, the card will be delivered to the recipient instantly.

They’re a great way to incentivize giving since donors will instantly receive an eCard in exchange for their charitable contributions. Plus, they serve as a natural form of peer referrals. Charitable marketing research estimates that 88% of people highly trust a brand when a friend or family member recommends it, making eCard recipients much more likely to engage with your cause.

How To Sell Charity eCards

Depending on your fundraising eCard platform, you’ll likely have a few options for selling eCards to donors. Fundraising Letters’ guide to selling charity eCards dives into a few flows your nonprofit can use. 

To sell fundraising eCards, you can:

1. Offer them as an integrated donation form. Add them directly to your site to streamline the online giving experience. Create a page that displays your eCards. Donors can choose their favorite one, add the recipient’s contact information, select a donation amount, and provide payment details. From here, your nonprofit receives the donation, while the donor’s loved one receives the eCard with a personalized message.
2. Offer them post-donation. Embed your fundraising eCards into your donation confirmation page. Upon submitting a donation, they’ll be met with a confirmation page where they can choose eCards to send to their friends and family.
3. Sell them as fundraising products. If you have a fundraising eStore, consider selling your cards as products. Donors can select their favorites to buy and send. For this approach, you’ll need to set a fixed price for each one. We recommend charging higher rates for more intricate designs or more popular eCards.

Pay attention to your eCard creation platform’s options for selling your cards. We recommend using one tailored to fundraising, so you’ll have several options. Plus, they may integrate with popular fundraising tools like DonorPerfect and Shopify to make the selling process as simple as possible.

Design Tips for Effective Charity eCards

Creating charity eCards tailored to your cause and its supporters will result in more impactful cards. Whether you’re a design pro or a newbie, you can design compelling charity eCards so long as you’re backed by intuitive design tools.

Here are some tips to bear in mind when crafting your fundraising eCards:

• Create designs for different occasions. You can create charity eCards for every occasion. Use them as peer-to-peer fundraising challenges or holiday fundraisers. You might also offer get-well-soon, thank-you, tribute, and birthday cards year-round.
• Tie your nonprofit eCards to your cause. Your charity eCards should match your organization’s branding and mission. For example, let’s say you work for an animal shelter and need a fun pet-themed fundraiser idea. You can create Valentine’s cards to sell. Feature images of your furry residents and pair each one with a witty animal pun.
• Don’t overload your designs. Instead, stick to a few colors, fonts, and graphics that communicate your message. Using clear and compelling visuals will help create a cohesive design that isn’t visually overwhelming.

Pay attention to which eCards donors send the most to learn what resonates with them. Your eCard platform will likely track data such as send and open rates, letting you know which designs are most popular.

How To Launch a Fundraising eCard Campaign

So long as you have a clear vision for your eCards, pursuing this fundraising idea is pretty straightforward. Follow these steps to set up a charity eCard campaign:

1. Determine your goals. Decide what you’re hoping to achieve with your charity eCards. Are you hoping to boost cause awareness? Are you looking to engage new donors through peer referrals? Are you trying to boost year-end donations? Establishing goals will guide your eCard creation strategy.
2. Choose an eCard platform. Choose one with intuitive design tools and templates to simplify the creation process. As we mentioned, you’ll want one that offers fundraising features. That way, you’ll have effective options for selling your eCards to donors.
3. Design your charity eCards. This is where you’ll want to spend the most time. Create eCards that align with the goals you set. For example, create holiday cards if you’re striving to boost year-end donations. Incorporate your nonprofit’s branding and message into each card by using relevant images and graphics.
4. Post your charity eCards for sale. Either sell them as fundraising products in an eStore or put them on your website using one of the strategies we discussed earlier. Price them appropriately, whether you sell them for fixed prices or allow donors to give any amount they want.

From here, all you have to do is promote your fundraising eCards to increase campaign visibility. Share them on your nonprofit’s social media and across email campaigns. Remember to watch which cards are most popular and use that as guidance when creating new eCards.