By Dan Hubbard.

Dan is the co-founder of PreparedNonprofit.com and the executive director of 4Amanda.org, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting financial toxicity in cancer care.

Not too long ago, we wrote “Gen Z Nonprofit Donors Are a Force to be Reckoned With.” In that blog we discussed the importance of making transparency, digital engagement, and peer-to-peer campaigns a priority for nonprofits, prompting them to embrace innovative technology, interactive fundraising, and authentic connections to effectively engage Generation Z donors. That blog had a concentrated focus on technology when reaching out to Gen Z.

This is Part One of our three-part blog series focused on ,enabling nonprofits to better harness technology in their organization, and today I am going to walk you through using various platforms to engage prospective donors while partnering with influencers across different genres of influencer platforms.

What we focus on herein is available either completely free, or paid for via commissions. Why commissions? Because no one should pay for uncertain outcomes in their marketing!

Now, we do know that many nonprofits shy away from commission payments on donor outreach, but we think that is a shortsighted position and argument in most cases. It depends very much on your restricted and unrestricted funds, the manner in which a particular silo of money you are paying from is funded, and the manner in which you seek donors for whom you will provide compensation.

In the cases we discuss hereinbelow, the nonprofit example has restricted funds provided by grant to pay the commissions, and their website specifies this fact numerously.

Now, having written that, if you want to compensate influencers on commission, you will need a way to track your influencers impact with affiliate marketing cookies or pixels. Why cookies/pixels? This is so you and the influencer can see what their impact is and you can pay them commensurately.

We will cover affiliate programs in the next blog piece.

Blogs that provide websites as an example without the writer’s direct personal knowledge always bother me, so I am only going to list resources that I/we have personally used or have direct personal knowledge. And no, I am not being compensated for this blog by any of the brands written about herein below.

1 Afluencer.com

Afluencer.com is a real opportunity for nonprofits, and a great influencer starting point!

Afluencer.com is an influencer platform and marketplace where brands connect with influencers called collaborators so they may advertise and influence for them across social media.

The coolest thing about Afluencer is that as a for profit or nonprofit brand, you can create an account for free, create a campaign called a collab for free, and reach out to one collaborator each day for free. You may also compensate influencers on a commission or pro rata basis. This means you’re not paying hundreds of dollars upfront for uncertain influencing outcomes – which is the most common drawback to most influencer marketing platforms.

Have I used Afluencer? Yes, we use Afluencer at 4Amanda.org, and we do so on a commission basis paid to collaborators (influencer).

A pretty sweet value-added service Afluencer provides is interviewing and producing a podcast featuring brands on their platform; here’s 4Amanda’s.

Overall, a very nice platform with all the features you might want!

2 GetRoster.com

GetRoster.com is unique-amongst-influencer platforms, in that it allows you to rely upon your donors and anyone on your “list” or following your social media channels to advocate for you. Your contacts become your influencers, and since you already know they like, it makes it easier and more authentic!

You simply send a message, text, email, or create a social media post, ask your followers/donors to complete your registration form (example here) that includes their social media URLs, and then create campaigns, drives, events, or challenges, and finally ask your followers to post and write about you.

Your nonprofit gets exposure, and you reward them in a manner that you have specified; it’s that simple!

So, what’s the reward? That’s up to you! It could be swag, it could be invitations to events, or it could be commission…as 4Amanda.org has chosen. Have I used GetRoster? Yes, we use it at 4amanda.org in our Ambassador Program, again on a commission basis.

In terms of cost to nonprofits for using the platform, we have negotiated terms that work for us, and I have it on good authority that GetRoster would love to chat with any nonprofit on platform access that works for them!

I love this platform! I love the people that work there and manage it, and I know you will too!

3 CauseTunes.com

CauseTunes.com is a real unique opportunity for nonprofits, and THE VERY FIRST OF IT’S KIND!

We all love Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, and other music streaming services!

But, did you know music artists make between .005¢ and .5¢ per stream, and typically earn only 10% to 50% of the cost of a download? That is ABSOLUTELY horrible!

Also, well-known streaming services do not allow artists to sell swag, tickets, autographs, personal recorded messages, etc.

CauseTunes aims to change all of that by offering the platform to artists free of any charges, and allowing them to keep 100% of their earnings, provided they advertise and/or influence for at least one nonprofit, at least once per month.

So, what’s in all of this for nonprofits...other than free advertising by music artists to millions of listeners, their social media following, and yours? How about one low yearly fee, creating custom campaigns and agreements, free advertising banners on the platform, and free info pushes to both artists and listeners.

This platform was a no-brainer for 4Amanda.org, but they are biased. They did spend $50 to become an early adopter and get a two-year platform subscription for the cost of one.

4 StudentAthletes.com

StudentAthletes.com is quite new and very interesting. It’s entirely free to nonprofits; no registration fee, no commissions, nor payments to get free advertising, advocacy, and influencing from NCAA student-athletes.

It is what is known as an NIL platform. NIL stands for "name, image, and likeness" and refers to the legal rights of college and high school athletes to profit from their personal brand. These rights include the ability to:

Sign endorsement deals;

Appear in advertisements;

Sell merchandise; and,

Get paid for social media content.

As an NIL platform, StudentAthletes.com will provide opportunities to all student-athletes to connect with brands, fans, nonprofits, employment headhunters, and the media. Student-athletes will be rewarded for their no-fee mission outreach and influencing for nonprofits registered on the platform.

Nonprofits will be able to register free of charge, create profiles free of charge, reach out to student-athletes free of charge, and track their chosen student-athlete’s influencing free of charge.

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If you have any issues with any of these platforms, reach out to us; we know them, their leadership, and will help you.

Need help with filings and documentation, help with technology in your nonprofit, or help with grants and donor outreach? Contact us today!