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Nonprofits and Waivers: What Your Team Needs to Know

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A guest post by Daryl McCall of SmartWaiver

Put yourself in this situation: Your nonprofit has organized a 5K fundraiser where participants are running, chatting, and turning out in force to support your cause. Everything is going great, until a runner sprains their ankle after tripping over a bumpy length of the track. Luckily everyone is all right, but you’ve hit another snag. You neglected to provide event waivers, leaving you in a gray area over liability and what next steps you should take.

This scenario is something countless nonprofit teams have suffered first-hand, especially less experienced professionals who are just starting their nonprofits. In all of the excitement and confusion of preparing for an event, it can seem all too easy to forget about your liability waivers.

However, this is an essential part of events, volunteering, and other activities that your nonprofit hosts! Beyond just covering your legal bases, an effective event waiver can positively affect your organization’s reputation, your events’ success, and attendees’ experiences.

In this short guide, we’ll walk through the fundamentals of why and how your nonprofit should use liability waivers. We’ll cover:

  • Benefits of Waivers for Your Nonprofit
  • Elements of an Effective Waiver
  • Waiver Software: Features to Look For

Benefits of Waivers for Your Nonprofit

The consequences of not having a liability waiver can range from legal trouble to losing the trust of your supporters by not informing them of the risks of a particular activity. While some people might think of waivers as a tedious formality, in reality, they’re a critical measure to protect your supporters and your organization from harm.

Additionally, well-constructed waivers can have the added benefit of:

  • Reinforcing your organization’s professionalism
  • Educating volunteers and attendees about programs they choose to participate in
  • Financially shielding your nonprofit from foreseeable risks
  • Securing photography releases so that your organization can use supporters’ images in your marketing materials
  • Collecting important supporter data that can be used to improve future events and programs

If you imagine your waiver to simply be a slip of paper listing a few of the mishaps your supporters may face and a line for their signature, then you’re a bit off base. An effectively-crafted waiver is a powerful registration and engagement tool that elevates your nonprofit’s ability to engage and retain supporters.

Elements of an Effective Waiver

So, what exactly makes for an “effective” activity waiver? The waiver completion process should be as smooth and seamless as possible for your supporters, while also representing and efficiently collecting important information for your nonprofit.

To strike that balance and create a great waiver for volunteers, event attendees, and other supporters, consider these waiver best practices:

  • Consult a legal professional. This is the best way to ensure that your waiver covers all the foreseeable risks associated with a specific activity, secures signers’ permission, and meets all necessary legal standards. Before rolling out your liability waivers, be sure that it’s received the green light from an experienced legal consult.

 

  • Brand your waiver to your organization. From your website to your ongoing newsletter blasts, the material your nonprofit distributes should all be branded to your organization. Your waiver is no exception. Use the waiver’s letterhead, font, background color, and other stylistic elements to neatly fit the waiver into your nonprofit branding strategy.

 

  • Collect all the necessary participant data. Whether your waiver is a flimsy printed sheet or a robust online system, you should be mindful to collect these important details: names, dates of birth, addresses, personal and emergency contact information, accessibility limitations, allergies, and any additional health information.

 

  • Invest in online waiver software. Waiver software is quickly becoming an essential trend in the nonprofit sector, and it’s easy to see why. With the right waiver software, your supporters can easily sign and submit waivers at their convenience. Online waiver software also automatically organizes data and offers advanced customization tools to make your waivers as effective as possible.

Let’s dive a bit deeper into what waiver software can do for your organization.

Waiver Software: Features to Look For

According to the Crowd101 guide to why nonprofits should invest in waiver software, these systems are a critical tool to streamline data management, increase transparency between supporters and your nonprofit, ease logistical issues, and offer easy contactless signing.

These are the broad-strokes fundamentals of what strong waiver software can do for your organization. However, what particular tools and capabilities make for a good waiver solution? We recommend keeping an eye out for these key features:

  • Auto-photo capture and other advanced verification methods. Auto-photo capture, fingerprint capture, and video recording are all effective verification tools to ensure that you have a record tying the right supporters to the right waiver.
    • The ability to create flagged questions. By automatically flagging answers to important questions like “Have you been injured volunteering before?” your nonprofit can more easily prepare for heightened risks or participants with special accommodations.
  • Video embedding capabilities. Being able to embed video content, such as a safety video explaining program risks and how to avoid them, can engage users and prevent accidents before they occur. Additionally, it will go a step further to show off the professionalism of your nonprofit organization.
  • Field customization. Tailor your waiver to your nonprofit’s unique needs by customizing each field to capture important supporter data. Some online waiver software providers, like Smartwaiver, even offer unlimited customization capabilities and the ability to configure the waiver’s visual design to match your brand.

 

As you hit the market for a waiver solution well-suited to your nonprofit’s goals, be on the lookout for a flexible, convenient system that you can thoroughly customize between different activities. This ensures that you can set up a seamless and engaging online waiver process for any occasion.

Daryl McCall of SmartWaiverDaryl McCarl is the Director of Business Development at Smartwaiver, the leading digital waiver service trusted by thousands of organizations around the world. www.smartwaiver.com

3 Simple Communication Tips to Help Your Nonprofit Build Healthy Relationships With Donors

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A guest post by Elena Stewart

Nonprofit communication has changed drastically in recent decades. In the 1990’s, most people didn’t expect a personalized experience when dealing with the organizations they supported. Nonprofits would send a letter in the mail, and donors would send back a check — and that was it.

Now, organizations (and businesses) use algorithms, CRM software, and automation tools to personalize everything from our shopping carts to our newsfeeds. As a result, we expect personalization. And you can rest assured that your donors do too!

But donors are after more than a personalized experience; they want to feel that they have the inside scoop and a sense of belonging with the organizations they support. And they want to know they’re making a positive impact. Below are three practical communication tips for connecting with your donors!

Know the Core Functions of Your Strategy  

First, you must know how to create a successful donor communications strategy, which involves identifying your core functions. For example, you’ll need to focus on telling impactful stories about people instead of relying on statistics and numbers. A personal story about someone directly impacted by your organization can be powerful and inspiring.

You should also plan to regularly update your donors about the progress your nonprofit is making in the community and the world. Of course, you should always communicate how their contributions have made an impact.

Furthermore, it’s important to allow your donors to participate in the conversation. When people give their money to a nonprofit, they want to feel like they belong to the community and contribute to the world’s betterment. Take advantage of your donors’ expertise and resources when strategizing, and give them a platform to share ideas and opinions.

Send Email

Once you have your core functions in place, it’s time to make a plan for executing your donor communications strategy. To do so, you’ll need to choose the appropriate channels.

Chances are you already use email because it has long been among the most common platforms for donor communications. But there may be some things you can do to improve results.

For example, make sure each email is personalized by including the donor’s name, contribution amounts, and years with the nonprofit. And consider that email tends to lack the personal touch of a phone call. Think of ways to warm up your messages by recalling bits of your last conversation with the donor or mentioning their specific interests or recent donations.

You should also respond quickly when a donor emails you. When someone sends an email, it shows they are engaged in your nonprofit, and you want to maintain their enthusiasm with a fast and personal response.

And, of course, every email you send should be relevant to your organization’s goals, challenges, and progress. The occasional uplifting story can also go a long way in inspiring action!

Engage on Social Media   

If your nonprofit is not active on social media, now’s the time to engage. Develop your social media strategy around age and other demographics to determine which platforms to focus on for your messaging. Social media is an excellent way to post updates about your nonprofit, interact with donors and other supporters, and promote your cause.

You can even build a community by growing your online presence. Look for free tools that allow you to design custom infographics for explaining the challenges and victories occurring in your community.

Meet In-Person

We live in a digital world, but face-to-face communication is as powerful as ever. Look for opportunities to meet people in person so you can have natural conversations without the possibility of technical issues. The right body language and connecting on a human level can do wonders for moving people to become donors or continue their contributions.

 

There are many other ways to build healthy relationships with your donors through communication. A well-timed text message or handwritten letter, for example, can inspire people to action.

But the ideas above can help you lay a firm foundation for your donor communications strategy. Keep learning how to get your organization’s message across more effectively, and stay true to your mission and values along the way!

 

Would you like to read more helpful content or learn about communication consulting services for nonprofit organizations? Visit DennisFischman.com today!

Elena Stewart made the jump from a corporate job she wasn’t entirely happy with, to running her own business that gives her the financial freedom and flexible lifestyle she’s always wanted. As a life coach, she now gets the happiness of helping others get to the places that might seem out of reach.

Fundraising Tuesday: 3 Exciting Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Ideas

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A guest post by Jacob Spencer of Donately

Donating is good, charitable, and meaningful. But can it be exciting? While it might not be the first word that comes to mind when you think about how to raise donations, injecting a new element or two into your usual fundraisers can help spice things up for long-term supporters while also intriguing new ones.

How can you make a classic reliable fundraiser like a peer-to-peer campaign more exciting? Like with most fundraisers, your data will be your guide. Put it to use to make informed decisions about what your donors want out of your campaigns. For instance, if donors have shown a preference for virtual events, start brainstorming more ways you can engage with them online during your campaign.

To help inspire your nonprofit, this article will dive into three peer-to-peer fundraising ideas to help change up your usual campaigns for the better. We’ll explore:

  1. T-Shirt Fundraisers
  2. Giving Days
  3. Events

1. T-Shirt Fundraisers

Donors give to peer-to-peer campaigns because of their connections to your volunteers who are fundraising on your behalf. You can make their choice to give even more meaningful by making them feel like they’re part of a team with custom t-shirts.

In t-shirt peer-to-peer campaigns, volunteers raise funds by selling t-shirts to donors. These shirts promote your cause and give donors something to hold onto that will remind them of your nonprofit. Here are a few tips for running this type of fundraiser: 

  • Design custom shirts. While you theoretically can make one t-shirt design and have all of your volunteers promote it, it’s much more meaningful for donors if they can buy a custom garment either designed wholly or with significant input from their friend or family member. Help your volunteers create designs that look good and represent their connection to your cause with design templates, color choices, and suggested fonts.


  • Gamify your campaign. Just like with sports jerseys, having everyone wear matching t-shirts can create a bit of a competitive vibe. Your nonprofit can leverage these feelings of friendly competition and gamify your campaign with a prize for the volunteer who raised the most.

 

  • Celebrate volunteers. At the end of your campaign, thank all of your volunteers for their hard work. Send a thank you card, give them a call, or even host an appreciation event where they and their friends and family can show up in their new t-shirts.

To get started with your t-shirt peer-to-peer fundraiser, you’ll need to partner with a platform that specializes in custom merchandise. Donately’s guide to online donation tools recommends Bonfire, citing their high-quality and discounted payment processing fees for nonprofits. Check them out or explore other options to find a partner that gets your nonprofit team and supporters excited.

2. Giving Days

Giving Tuesday has become a staple of nonprofits’ fundraising strategies. In just 24 hours, supporters are encouraged to give and see if they can reach your organization’s fundraising goal. While the short time span might seem like a detriment on the surface, creating a sense of urgency can help generate a lot of excitement in a limited time frame.

For your peer-to-peer campaigns, consider scheduling them around Giving Tuesday or create a giving day just for your organization. For example, many veterans’ groups make Memorial Day their giving day.

To prepare your volunteers for rapid-fire fundraising, share your nonprofit’s marketing and promotional tips ahead of time. Host an onboarding session where volunteers can ask questions like how they should discuss your nonprofit or if they can still accept donations made after the deadline.

Plus, giving days and peer-to-peer campaigns have an essential aspect in common: they both rely heavily on social media promotion. Online fundraisers can be more accessible for many volunteers, including those who live in remote locations outside of your core community. Make sure your nonprofit’s social media pages are set up ahead of time so volunteers can link to your organization when they make their #GivingTuesday posts.

3. Events

How do you end a peer-to-peer campaign? For nonprofits running continuous and rolling peer-to-peer campaigns, the answer might be never. But sometimes your organization will need to launch a campaign to raise funds in a short period of time. For these types of peer-to-peer campaigns, consider ending with a bang by hosting an event.

Peer-to-peer events give your volunteers an opportunity to meet with others who worked on your campaign, have one-on-one conversations with your staff, and introduce your nonprofit to members of their personal networks who attended. There are a variety of events you can host, including:

  • Walk-a-thons
  • Auctions
  • Community days
  • Advocacy events
  • Sporting competitions

Remember that an engaging event can also serve as one last opportunity for supporters to donate. If you’re close to your goal, let attendees know and keep them updated on your progress live throughout your event to drum up even more excitement.

Author: Jacob Spencer, Customer Success / Account Manager, Donately

Bio: I strive to make every step of our customer journey as enjoyable as possible. My goal is to turn everyone that trusts Donately into a raving fan! Raising funds can be daunting, but we know that with the right tools, it can and should be easy.

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