Often times a client comes to us seeking advice on how to boost their fundraising efforts. Setting up an online store is something that can be fun and financially rewarding at the same time. Soon you will have people wearing around your brand – further promoting your cause.
In 2008 ecommerce sales reached $133.6 Billion according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. How can your nonprofit organization tap into this huge market? Your organization has 2 options when it comes to fundraising through ecommerce.
For around $500 – $1000 you can get an online store integrated into your website if you find a developer who knows what they are doing. The next step is to start creating your products. I recommend using http://www.zazzle.com/. Here you can brand anything from mugs and t-shirts to your own skateboard. Pretty cool! Order your inventory, take some photos and put them on your new website and start selling! Oh – don’t forget to sign up for a payment processor so you can accept credit cards. PayPal has become the standard for online payments processing and gives good deals to nonprofit organizations.
How do I get started?
Find a reliable web developer to get an online store up and running. Since we are nonprofitCMS love WordPress, we set up all our clients on WP e-commerce (http://www.instinct.co.nz/)