Political fundraising cycles are notoriously unpredictable, which can be stressful for fundraisers and donors. We all know how exciting it is when new people announce their candidacies and when the fundraising events start. We're also acutely aware of how painful the following lulls of worry and budget adjustments can be, which can drain the joy and, dare I say it - FUN - out of fundraising. We created GoodChange to ease as many of these pain points again so that fundraising and donating is a rewarding experience for everyone.

‍

Let's start with the trials experienced by fundraising staff. For fundraising staff, political cycles take years off their youth and add gray to their hair.

‍

Huge stressors include:

1. The inconsistency of call time vs. emails

2. Creating the best solicitation list

3. The struggle to push for the perfect event

‍

But the big one, especially for first-time candidates, is the utter dread of asking a friend or family member to donate. Regardless, every ask carries a risk of rejection which takes a lot out of a fundraiser, whether they are a first-time candidate or a veteran fundraiser. We can all agree - fundraising can be exhausting. Donors feel the pain as well. When we ask donors how they feel about political fundraising, they tell us that constant solicitations, arbitrary deadlines, and manufactured schemes/matches are exhausting. To add fuel to the fire of donor exhaustion, many donors need help to stop recurring donations because the path to canceling is too hard to navigate.

‍

But even more problematic, donors feel these all too common tactics are dehumanizing. Fundraisers must be purposeful about engaging donors so that the donor feels valued for more than a one-off donation. Instead, donors should always feel regarded as partners in a common cause for change.

‍

When Becky and I built GoodChange, we sought ways to help fundraisers raise needed funds while engaging donors with one ask rather than 100. We wanted to empower donors to take control of their donations and create a grassroots donor community. With our first version of GoodChange, we have laid a solid foundation to accomplish this and to ease the pain of frantic and constant solicitations. For fundraisers, while we DO process one-time and flat recurring donations, our focus is on recurring donations in creative ways - making it easy to motivate donors to give, and easy for donors to be a part of the team. Finding and nurturing recurring donors are vital to increasing donations, reducing donor fatigue, and making a more joyful process.

‍

For donors, being asked for one recurring donation rather than 100 asks for $3 is a welcome relief. And on GoodChange, our donor dashboard shows all contributions made and who the donor is supporting, and also - allows the donor to pause their recurring donation on their own. We've received so many calls from donors who have had a family emergency, lost a job, or just wanted to stop a donation - and they've had to enlist our help to accomplish something that any donor should be able to do one their own, with respect to their dignity and privacy.

‍

Focusing on recurring donations early while respecting and nurturing donors will deliver results. Less frenzy, less stress, better relationships, and stronger campaigns - we're here for it!

‍

We have countless more ideas to implement. There is no limit to where we can go from here, and our team is hard at work 24/7, building out new features and ticking off deliverables from our product roadmap. We have exciting things ahead, and we want you to know that your feedback is critical to us!If you're a donor or a fundraiser, please let us hear from you. We're building GoodChange to make advocacy, fundraising, and serving easier for all of us, and we'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas! We're always reachable at hi@goodchange.app. Or, if you want to book a demo, grab a spot on my calendar here. The time to start is now!