Empowering Nonprofits: How SHARE Detroit is Elevating Fundraising for the DRE Project
SHARE Detroit is home to over 500 nonprofits. Each of these nonprofits has a page on our website where they can post their events, volunteer opportunities, and wishlists. Community members can also donate directly to nonprofits via their SHARE pages and nonprofits can use SHARE as their primary donation link on their own websites. Jennifer Jackson, founder of The DRE Project, sat down with SHARE to talk about the impact SHARE’s easy-to-use platform has had on her organization’s ability to maximize donations.
Jackson started the DRE Project in 2021 to honor the memory of her sister Dre who passed away in 2013. The DRE Project delivers groceries, meals, and birthday boxes to people experiencing hardship in Metro Detroit. Of the impact her sister’s death had on her decision to establish this nonprofit, Jackson reflected, “The journey through that pain led me to discover my purpose of helping others. I now go into these dark places to be the light for those in need.”
Nonprofits rely on donations in order to fulfil their missions, but organizations fundraising online face a major barrier to receiving donations: service fees. Many online payment platforms charge organizations a service fee, which ultimately reduces the amount of money nonprofits receive from each donation. Jackson knows this experience well. The DRE Project previously used Facebook for fundraising, but after Meta made changes to their policy about what organizations were eligible to receive donations, the DRE Project were left unable to use the service despite their 501(c)(3) status. After this, they were approved to receive donations from PayPal and Venmo but were charged fees for these services. Jackson further lamented that through PayPal and Venmo, the DRE Project was unable to accept money from personal fund donations, which Jackson has observed is an increasingly popular way to give.
Donors who use SHARE Detroit are given the option to add processing costs to their donation, thereby covering the service fee for the nonprofit they are donating to. Jackson said this factor made the switch worth it to her organization. She was also complimentary of our platform’s user-friendliness and ability to accept personal fund donations.
If you’re a nonprofit hesitant about using SHARE Detroit for your donations, Jackson advises, “Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. SHARE Detroit is a partner that offers a platform, which is advertised as the place you go to give. This is the easiest switch you can do, especially if you already have a PayPal account.” Jackson also noted that DRE Project donors did not comment about their move towards using SHARE for donations–which was the goal all along!
When asked what the future of fundraising would look like if more organizations began to use platforms that eliminate service fees the way SHARE Detroit does, Jackson emphasized, “We all need every penny we can get. Fees are increasing in every aspect of business, so try to save where you can. Eventually, I would love to have all my [donations] through the platform. I can’t wait for [SHARE] to incorporate an option for a reoccurring donation, as a place to donate on behalf of someone/something. What’s awesome is I now have a partner that handles that part of my business, which allows me time to tackle other projects!”
Jackson is right—nonprofits need any and all help community members can provide and SHARE Detroit is proud to bridge the gap and make giving both easy and efficient.
