Digital Marketing for Charities: 8 Strategies That Work in 2026

Charities must establish a solid presence on digital media to raise awareness about their mission and reach more potential donors. Using platforms like social media, websites, and online content, organisations can share their impact, tell engaging stories, and inspire people to support their cause.

This guide covers everything you need to know about digital marketing for charities, including the top 8 strategies to effectively market your organisation online in 2026.

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In this article:

• What is digital marketing for charities?

• Why is digital marketing important for charities?

• Where UK charities differ

• Build your charity's digital marketing strategy in 6 steps

• Digital marketing for charities: 8 best strategies

• A note on the stacked-tool problem

• Summing up digital marketing for charities

• Frequently asked questions

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What is digital marketing for charities?

Digital marketing for charities involves using online tools and platforms to spread the word about a charitable organisation's mission, connect with supporters, and raise funds.

Whether the steps involve optimising your website and sending email updates, or running social media campaigns and advertising online, the goal remains the same. The aim is to reach a broader audience, strengthen relationships with existing donors, and attract new supporters.

By adopting an effective digital marketing strategy, charitable organisations can share their stories, raise awareness about their cause, and simplify the online donation process. Implementing these marketing strategies plays a crucial role in expanding your base of committed supporters.

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Why is digital marketing important for charities?

Building close relationships with donors has always been challenging and time-consuming, especially for smaller charities with limited staff and volunteers.

Digital fundraising has made reaching out to donors and keeping them engaged much simpler. Now, charities with minimal personnel can use online tools to stay connected with their donors.

Here are the top 6 reasons why having a strong online presence is crucial for charities today.

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1. Eliminates geographical barriers

The internet enables charities to connect with people across the country and beyond, not just locally. Organisations can share news about their work and mission with a wide audience through websites, emails, and social media. This connectivity also allows access to a diverse community of potential donors, volunteers, and supporters.

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2. Increases donor convenience

Your donors are already online, browsing social media, working, or shopping. Charities that offer user-friendly online donation pages optimised for mobile viewing simplify the donation process for supporters. They can donate anytime, anywhere, without inconvenience.

Instead of going out of their way, supporters can learn about a campaign and donate directly from their phone or computer with just a few clicks or taps.

To further ease the donation process, ensure easy access to your online donation form. With a fundraising platform like Zeffy, you can build a free online donation form for your UK charity without incurring platform or transaction fees.

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3. Reduces marketing costs

Strategies such as email newsletters, blogging, video content, social media, and website SEO optimisation allow charitable organisations to promote their missions cost-effectively.

These approaches enable even smaller charities to establish a strong brand presence, increase awareness, and affordably attract new donors or volunteers.

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4. Builds long-term relationships

The internet allows charities to forge and maintain lasting relationships with supporters, beyond mere one-time donations. By sending regular email updates about their activities, charities keep supporters well-informed and cultivate trust.

Social media allows charities to interact by answering questions and expressing gratitude. Such interactions help supporters feel valued and integral to a community united by a common mission.

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5. Boosts credibility

Building credibility is essential to earning lasting donor support and trust, and a professional website plays a crucial role. It establishes an organisation as trustworthy and accountable. Potential donors must easily verify credentials before donating, making an informative online presence vital.

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6. Enhances online visibility

For charities, being discoverable online is crucial for organically reaching potential new supporters. Strategies such as SEO to rank higher in relevant searches, promoting across social media, and encouraging positive reviews all contribute to boosting your organisation's online visibility.

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Where UK charities differ

Before diving into the strategies, it is worth understanding the context that makes digital marketing for UK charities distinct from generic advice.

Gift Aid is your always-on multiplier. For every £1 a UK taxpayer donates, your charity can reclaim 25p from HMRC, turning a £100 donation into £125 at no extra cost to the donor. Every digital channel you use should route supporters to a form that captures a Gift Aid declaration. Prompt donors at the point of giving, include a declaration link in your welcome email, and keep signed declarations for at least 6 years.

UK GDPR and PECR govern all email and SMS marketing. Before you send a single email or text, you need a lawful basis under UK GDPR and, for direct marketing, compliance with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is the regulator. The ICO published updated charity soft opt-in guidance in 2026, check the latest position before launching campaigns.

The Fundraising Regulator Code applies to your online activity. The Code of Fundraising Practice (effective 1 November 2025) includes a new Section 9 covering online platforms. Every platform you use to fundraise, including social media and crowdfunding pages, falls under its principles: legal, open, honest, respectful.

The UK has three separate charity regulators. Do not treat the UK as monolithic. England and Wales: the Charity Commission (CCEW). Scotland: the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), all charities register regardless of size. Northern Ireland: the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI). If your charity operates across borders, you may need to register with more than one regulator.

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Build your charity's digital marketing strategy in 6 steps

• 1. Set SMART Goals

• 2. Know Your Audience

• 3. Craft Your Key Messages

• 4. Choose the Right Digital Marketing Platforms

• 5. Develop Compelling Content

• 6. Monitor Progress and Adjust Your Strategy

Increasing awareness and engagement through digital channels requires careful planning.

Establishing a system for creating and distributing your marketing content is essential. This approach will enable you to scale your charitable organisation efficiently and keep your team and resources manageable.

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1. Set SMART goals

Do you want to reach new supporters and volunteers? Is your goal to increase online donations? Each digital marketing campaign should have a unique goal that directs your strategies.

A SMART goals framework can help you establish clear goals. This framework emphasises five key elements essential to clear goal-setting:

• Specific: Clearly define what success looks like with precise, tangible outcomes. For example, if you publish social media content, set a specific goal like publishing at least one post daily.

• Measurable: Establish a way to track your marketing tactic's progress. Using the previous example, your measurable goal could be to increase post engagement by 15%.

• Achievable: Outline realistic steps towards achieving your goals. Suppose you've published 4 social media posts weekly and have observed a 10% increase in engagement. Setting a goal of a 15% increase in engagement is a logical and attainable next step.

• Relevant: Your goals should align with your current organisational priorities. For example, if your charity's main priority this year is to increase monthly donor retention, then your social media goals should support this. A relevant goal could involve crafting content highlighting the impact of regular donations and sharing stories of donor impact to foster long-term engagement.

• Time-bound: There should be a deadline by which you aim to fulfil your goal. You could set a time-bound goal of increasing your monthly donor retention rate by 5% within the next 6 months by delivering consistent, impactful social media content.

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2. Know your audience

Knowing your target audience helps you prioritise their preferred channels and tailor your messaging to resonate with them more effectively. For instance, an email message targeting donors will vary from one designed to recruit volunteers.

A supporter persona includes details like name, age, education, occupation, communication preferences, charitable goals and history, and motivations for supporting your charity's cause.

Create separate personas representing the different audiences you aim to engage. Use a fundraising CRM to create detailed personas, personalise your messages, and develop compelling content tailored to each group.

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3. Craft your key messages

Key messages contain information about your charity that you want to convey to your audiences and want them to share further.

It is important to craft your key messages before implementing your marketing strategy. Here is why:

• Ensures consistency: Regardless of who is doing the marketing, you can rest assured that the same core message is being promoted.

• Simplifies the process: By creating key messages ahead of time, you have a clear understanding of what your marketing message will entail.

• Targets the right group: By segmenting your audiences and tailoring your information to each group, you ensure that the right key message reaches the right audience, whether they are volunteers, donors, or members of your community.

For instance, if your charity supports a local foodbank, the key messages could be crafted as follows: "No one in our community should go without food. We collect, sort, and deliver emergency food to families in crisis every week."

This message can be tailored for different target audiences:

• For volunteers: Join us in our mission to ensure no family in the community goes without food. Your time makes a direct difference every week.

• For donors: Help us keep the shelves stocked. Your donation funds emergency food parcels for families in crisis right now.

• For community partners: Work with us to end food poverty in our area. Together we can reach more families who need support.

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4. Choose the right digital marketing platforms

Understanding your target audience will help you narrow down the platforms to use.

Start with the platforms your target audience prefers to engage with. Suppose your target audience comprises young professionals with busy schedules. A long video or podcast may not be the right marketing strategy to engage them. They are more likely to check out and share concise social media posts.

You will require certain free tools for UK charities to leverage the potential of various platforms and streamline your digital marketing strategies. For example:

• For email marketing, you will need an email service provider to help you automate campaigns. UK charities commonly use Mailchimp, Brevo (note: Brevo's pricing climbs to around £15 per month at 300 subscribers), or Beehive as lower-cost alternatives.

• For social media, you can access free platforms like Facebook or Instagram. You will also need a content scheduling tool to plan your strategy for each platform.

• For supporter management and donor tracking, UK charities widely use Beacon and Donorfy. Both integrate with common fundraising and payment tools.

• For creating engaging marketing materials, take advantage of free design tools and email templates. Charity Digital is a useful UK sector resource for software guides and discounts.

As you grow your digital marketing efforts, you can explore paid marketing methods like pay-per-click advertising and influencer marketing.

The stacked-tool problem. A typical small UK charity currently pays for JustGiving for donations, Ticket Tailor for event tickets, Crowdfunder for campaigns, a separate CRM, and an email platform. That stack costs time and money on every transaction. Consolidating onto one free platform, with Gift Aid handling built in, removes the stack tax entirely.

Pro tip: Avoid relying solely on a single platform. Engaging your supporters on multiple platforms allows you to reach a broader audience.

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5. Develop compelling content

You know your goals and audience and have chosen the online platforms to start your charity's digital marketing journey. Next, you must grab your supporter's attention and convince them to act.

Compelling content with the right messaging will help you achieve this. Here are a few tips to create effective content that will inspire and encourage your supporters:

• Use clear and concise copy: Whether you are writing a 1,000-word blog post for your website or a 300-word email, use your words sparingly. Avoid wordy phrases and eliminate redundant sentences or fillers. Use the active voice and make your copy easy to read.

• Add appealing visuals: Users generally dedicate a few seconds to a post and will scroll past it if it is not engaging enough. Include clear images and graphics to capture your supporters' attention.

• Use social proof: People tend to notice and follow other people's behaviour when making a decision. Highlight your charity's impact and story to showcase your credibility and existing support.

• Include strong calls to action: Calls to action (CTAs) encourage your target audience to take the next step. Depending on your current goals, the desired action could be donating, subscribing to your newsletter, or signing up to volunteer. The CTA should be short, clear, and actionable, "Donate now" or "Sign up to volunteer" both work well.

• Write for UK search intent: Topics like 'fundraising when you're not yet a charity', 'registered charity vs CIC vs community group', and 'Gift Aid for small charities' are underserved in UK search results. Your charity's own content can fill a gap that UK donors and volunteers are actively searching for.

Tailor your messages to the marketing channel you are using. Instagram content should have strong visual appeal with crisp, clear captions. Long, value-packed blog posts with sound SEO practices will work well for your charity website.

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6. Monitor progress and adjust your strategy

Measure your progress against the goals you set in Step 1. Optimise your marketing tactics, efforts, and messages along the way to increase the chances of achieving those goals.

Establish checkpoints throughout the campaign to track key performance indicators (KPIs). Conduct monthly or quarterly reviews to analyse campaign performance.

Here are some examples of KPIs you may track for the different marketing campaigns:

• Website traffic metrics: Track total sessions, new users, bounce rates, and popular pages and content to understand how effectively the website is driving visitors and engagement.

• Email marketing metrics: Monitor open rates, click-through rates, unsubscribe rates, and donation conversions from emails to gauge the success of email campaigns.

• Social media engagement: Measure likes, shares, comments, mentions, and follower growth across platforms to evaluate the reach of social content.

• Online donation conversion rates: Track the percentage of website visitors who complete the donation process to assess donation funnel optimisation efforts.

• Overall online revenue generated: Calculate the total donations received through the website, email campaigns, and social media initiatives to indicate the overall impact of your digital marketing efforts.

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Digital marketing for charities: 8 best strategies

• 1. Email Marketing for Charities

• 2. Social Media Marketing for Charities

• 3. Livestream Events

• 4. Content Marketing for Charities

• 5. Charity Website Design and UX

• 6. SMS Marketing for Charities

• 7. Influencer Marketing for Charities

• 8. Google Analytics and Ad Grants for Charities

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1. Run email marketing that respects UK GDPR

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Email is one of the most effective and least expensive ways to reach supporters and potential donors. It helps you connect directly with people who are interested in your charity.

Before you send a single campaign, make sure you have the right legal basis. Under UK GDPR and PECR, direct email marketing to individuals requires either explicit consent or, in limited circumstances, a soft opt-in. The ICO published updated guidance on the charity soft opt-in in 2026; check the latest position at ico.org.uk before launching campaigns. The Fundraising Regulator Code of Fundraising Practice (effective 1 November 2025) also applies to email fundraising activity.

Here are a few top tips to make the most of your email marketing:

• Set up a series of welcome emails for new subscribers. These emails can convey information about your cause and how they can support you.

• Prompt Gift Aid at the welcome-email stage. A signed Gift Aid declaration turns every £10 donation into £12.50 for your charity at no extra cost to the donor. Include a clear declaration link or form in your welcome sequence and keep signed declarations for at least 6 years (HMRC Gift Aid guidance).

• Send automated emails to thank donors for their donations.

• Send monthly emails regarding donation needs and opportunities.

• Send regular newsletters to share valuable educational content or updates about your charity on a weekly or monthly basis.

• Ensure there is a clear CTA in your emails, "Donate now" works well as the primary action.

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2. Social media marketing for charities

Social media has great potential to grow your community if you use the right strategy and post regularly.

Social media platforms are free and provide ample opportunities to promote your mission and engage existing and potential supporters. You can use these platforms to share the latest updates about your organisation, increase recognition, recruit staff and volunteers, and raise funds by adding online donation pages.

• Experiment with different tactics and content formats to find out what works for your charitable organisation.

• Use the paid tools available on various social media platforms to boost your posts and run targeted ads.

• Explore influencer collaborations to tap into a large audience and spread the word about your mission faster.

• Implement a user-generated content (UGC) campaign. Content from volunteers, supporters, and donors builds social proof for your digital marketing strategy.

• Be aware of platform donation mechanics. Facebook fundraisers pass Gift Aid to registered UK charities via the PayPal Giving Fund, a useful feature worth highlighting to supporters. If your social media campaigns drive donors to a JustGiving page, be aware that the default suggested voluntary contribution is around 17%, which has attracted significant scrutiny in the UK fundraising press. The platform your supporters land on matters as much as the campaign that brings them there.

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3. Livestream events to reach donors beyond your postcode

Livestreaming can be a valuable addition to your charity's marketing strategy. Conduct online fundraising events and reach a much wider audience than in-person events allow. It lets you:

• Expand your event's reach, as ticket sales are not limited by geographical boundaries.

• Make your event more inclusive for those who may be unable to attend in person.

• Save costs by not booking a venue, arranging decorations, or hiring caterers. You can also work with speakers and artists from around the country without paying them to travel.

• Handle card and tap-to-pay at hybrid events. Cash is falling away fast at UK fetes and community events. Zeffy's tap-to-pay from a phone means door takings do not lose out when supporters arrive without cash.

Regulatory note: If your livestreamed event includes a raffle or prize draw, you are likely running a small society lottery under the Gambling Act 2005. Most charity online raffles must register with the local licensing authority (£40 initial registration, £20 annual renewal). Key rules: a single draw cannot exceed £20,000 in ticket sales, at least 20% of proceeds must go to the cause, and the maximum single prize is £25,000. Incidental raffles drawn entirely at a physical event need no registration. Also note: ticket sales for events must show the total price including any fees to the buyer at checkout, hidden fees are the most common complaint about online fundraising platforms.

Pro tip: Use tools like live chat and polls during livestreamed events to make them more engaging and drive more donations.

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4. Content marketing for charities

Choose from different forms of content marketing, blog posts, ebooks, videos, or webinars, depending on your target audience, resources, and mission.

Conduct keyword research to identify the most-searched queries and topics you can write about, and plan your content strategy accordingly. A well-planned content marketing strategy will help you:

• Educate people about your mission and programmes.

• Enhance search engine optimisation efforts to rank higher on search engine results pages.

• Connect with people looking for your services or wanting to support a mission like yours.

• Establish your organisation's credibility and authority.

• Fill genuine UK content gaps. Topics like 'fundraising when you're not yet a charity', 'registered charity vs CIC vs community group', and 'Gift Aid for small charities' are underserved in UK search results. Charities that write clearly about these questions build organic traffic and trust at the same time.

Pro tip: Repurpose content for various purposes and channels to ensure your content pipeline is never empty.

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5. Design a charity website that earns UK donor trust

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Your charity's website will be the first place people visit to learn about your mission or how to join it.

The website should reflect your charity's values and purpose and make it easier for visitors to engage and take action. Your visitor's experience should be consistent with all your other digital marketing channels.

• Ensure the branding and tone are well-aligned, and the website is optimised for SEO. Target country = GB in Google Search Console and use hreflang markup correctly to avoid cannibalisation by the stronger US version of similar pages.

• Ensure the website is easy to navigate with clear menus that enable users to find information quickly.

• Optimise the website design for mobile users to offer an efficient browsing experience for all visitors.

• Create an aesthetically pleasing and consistent website design that highlights the impact of your charity's efforts.

• Include clear CTAs to make it simple for visitors to take action, whether signing up for a newsletter, volunteering, or donating.

• Display UK trust signals prominently. Every Tier-1 UK charity (Cancer Research UK, Macmillan, Oxfam, RSPCA) displays the following in their footer, and your supporters will expect them: your registered charity number (CCEW, OSCR, or CCNI), the Fundraising Regulator badge, a Gift Aid statement, and a link to your UK GDPR privacy notice. These signals are the difference between a supporter donating and a supporter leaving.

Your website is also great for promoting important marketing assets like your blog. Remember to link your social media pages to the website.

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6. Use SMS marketing within UK PECR rules

SMS or text messages have very high open rates, among the highest of all marketing channels, and help your messages land directly with your audience, even without an internet connection.

Before you send any SMS campaign, be clear on the legal position. Under PECR, SMS marketing to individuals requires explicit opt-in consent, there is no soft opt-in equivalent for texts. Every message must include a free and simple way to opt out, and you must act on opt-out requests promptly. The ICO (ico.org.uk) is the regulator for direct marketing compliance.

You can use SMS to:

• Promote peer-to-peer campaigns, express gratitude to donors, or send reminder messages to supporters about an upcoming event.

• Segment your list based on user preferences, demographics, and behaviour. Tailor distinct messages for each group.

• Make your messages clever, concise, and convincing.

• Provide an option for recipients to opt out at any time.

• Send messages at the right time to drive engagement, considering the local time zones of your recipients.

• Track your SMS marketing efforts by monitoring KPIs like open rates and conversion rates.

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7. Partner with UK influencers to build reach

Unlike email and content marketing, which depend on an initially inbound audience, influencer marketing for UK charities can connect you with an audience that is already engaged and listening. Building social proof takes time, but collaborating with influencers who people already trust can help you showcase your credibility faster.

Regulatory note: Any paid or gifted influencer partnership must be disclosed clearly under ASA and CAP Code rules, the #ad label is required. If the partnership involves an online fundraising element, the Fundraising Regulator Code of Fundraising Practice (Section 9, new in 2025) also applies.

Once you have found an ideal influencer partner, you can launch different digital campaigns:

• Raising awareness: Ask your influencer to attract attention to a new development in your programme. Provide them with a CTA to help their followers participate in your mission.

• Promoting your fundraiser: Request influencers to boost your fundraising message and invite more people. If they are attending, they can post updates from the event, encouraging followers to support your next fundraiser.

• Co-hosting a virtual event: Leverage the influencer's audience and co-host a virtual fundraiser. Host an online auction or conduct a session in their area of expertise.

• Amplifying your Christmas appeal or Giving Tuesday campaign: Year-end giving is significant for UK charities. UK moments to plan around include Giving Tuesday, The Big Give Christmas Challenge, Comic Relief, Children in Need, Macmillan Coffee Morning, and Remembrance Sunday. Start early and ask your influencer partner to seek donations on your behalf and share updates on progress in the weeks running up to December.

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8. Set up Google Analytics and Google Ad Grants for your UK charity

Google Analytics tools help you measure the number of visitors to your website, the actions they take, and the performance of your charity's digital marketing strategy.

Google Analytics is the most accessible analytics platform and is completely free. You can integrate Google Analytics with Zeffy to track visitors to your online donation form. Before setting up tracking, configure a consent management solution to comply with UK GDPR and PECR cookie rules, the ICO requires UK websites to obtain consent before setting non-essential cookies.

If you do not have a Google Analytics account already, follow these steps to create one:

• 1. Sign up for Google Analytics.

• 2. Set up your website as a 'Property' to collect visitor data.

• 3. Create a Google Analytics 'Reporting View' to analyse the data collected.

• 4. Add the analytics tracking tag to your website, ensuring your consent management platform controls when it fires.

Once you have a Google Analytics account, here is how you can use it to strengthen your digital marketing efforts:

• Define Goals in Google Analytics: In analytics, a goal refers to a website conversion or any valuable action visitors take on your website, such as watching a video or subscribing to a newsletter. Set up a 'destination goal' to measure how many people visit your thank-you page after donating or filling out a form. Combining the destination goal with content-focused KPIs will highlight how users interact with your website.

• Set up Google Tag Manager: Google Tag Manager ensures Google Analytics is set up to analyse all content on your website. It helps you track clicks to third-party sites or monitor form submissions on any page. You can tag links from emails and social media content to your website and measure their contribution to fundraising results.

• Apply for Google Ad Grants: UK registered charities can apply for Google Ad Grants through TechSoup UK. The programme provides up to the equivalent of £10,000 per month in free Google search advertising to eligible charities. This is a significant free channel that many small UK charities have not yet claimed. Verify your charity's eligibility via TechSoup UK at the point of application.

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A note on the stacked-tool problem

Most small UK charities do not have one digital fundraising platform, they have several. A £15 fete ticket, an autumn appeal, a Christmas raffle, and a sponsored 5K run typically requires Ticket Tailor for ticketing, JustGiving for donations, Crowdfunder for campaigns, and a separate CRM for supporter management. Each tool charges fees or subscription costs, and none of them talk to each other neatly.

Consolidating onto one free platform with proper Gift Aid handling removes the stack tax and gives your team a single view of your donors and campaigns. That is the UK-specific case for Zeffy: free, all-in-one, with no platform fee, no transaction fee, and no credit card fee, ever.

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Summing up digital marketing for charities

Digital marketing for charities offers vast opportunities to attract more supporters and expand the donor base. Online tools like crowdfunding, social media promotion, recurring donation options, and Gift Aid-enabled donation forms have opened up many new ways to find and connect with supporters.

Charities have plenty of affordable digital fundraising tools to choose from, allowing them to find what works best for their organisation. Set up your free Zeffy account and route every digital campaign, donations, tickets, memberships, raffles, through one fee-free platform with Gift Aid handled automatically.

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Frequently asked questions

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