QR Code For Fundraising: Six Ways to Raise Funds And Spread Awareness

You’re probably a non-profit organization looking forward to raising funds. And you know that technology can help you make the most of your effort.

So you’re planning on using QR Codes to raise funds for the cause you’re working towards. QR Codes are square-shaped barcodes that can store alphanumeric information. And these are ahead of conventional barcodes that limit the scope of data or information to be encoded

From encoding a website link or text to encoding videos and images, QR Codes can help you do it all.

Now the question is—how can a nonprofit use a QR Code for fundraising. Well, in a lot of ways. Keep reading to know more.

A.How QR Codes can be used for fundraising

Here is a list of 6 ways QR Codes can be used in fundraising:

1. Smoothen the donation process

The most critical and crucial step for any fundraising is getting funds. And to ensure that, you need to have a sound donation acceptance process. 

But here’s the problem with traditional methods—simply adding your website URL to promotional material (especially print) is not enough. Why?

Because they’d have to put effort into pulling out their smartphone to open the browser and tedious type the entire link to finally make the donation. This is a long process. And to be honest, while some people may do the needful, the others won’t.

Don’t worry. QR Codes have got you covered. Smoothening the process of payments is one of the most popular use cases of QR Codes. So, create a QR Code that, when scanned, would take the end-users to your website or a payments app and add it to your promotional creatives.

2. Share contact details easily

Networking is an integral part of your industry. It helps you connect with like-minded people who may join you in the cause you’re working for. 

And when you meet such people, you give them your name card in the hope that they’d contact you.

Now a QR Code on your name card can increase the likelihood of them saving your number to actually contact you. We call it a VCard QR Code.

Just place a VCard QR Code on your name card (or even print promotions) with a CTA such as ‘Scan to Connect’. As the recipients scan it, they’ll be able to see your contact details on their phones with a button—’Save as Contact”. That means no need for them to manually type your details anymore. A simple scan is all they need to do. 

3. Gain social media followers

Want to remain connected with your attendees even after the fundraising? Social media can help you achieve it. In fact, many nonprofits now use social media to share their work and plans with their followers to gain support. 

And a Social Media QR Code can help you gain these followers. Simply create a Social Media QR Code that links to all your social media handles and put it out on your creatives, products, or posters. As end-users scan it, they’ll see buttons to all your social media handles such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. They can then select their favorite platform to follow you online.

4. To collect leads 

Collecting relevant leads is important in any industry. And with a QR Code, you can see the process getting streamlined in no time. How?

QR Codes have a feature called lead generation. That means, when the QR Code is scanned, it prompts the end-users to fill up a form before they go to the landing page. It could be simply a Thank You page, your website, or any other form of content. 

The leads collected are stored in your account dashboard and can be retrieved easily. 

5. Share event information

Say you are organizing a fundraising event and need to inform your audience about it.

To do it, you’d have to share all the event details such as the venue, timing, and description. And an Event QR Code can do it. In fact, it helps you do a lot more than this. How?

Your audience just needs to scan it to see your event’s complete information including exact venue location, timing description. And in addition to it, they also get the option to RSVP, share the event to their social media profile, view images, and even watch a video.

6. Raise awareness about your cause

Want to raise awareness about your concern or your organization? Then get people to visit your website. And a Website QR Code goes all the way to make it easier for your target audience to visit your website.

But what if you don’t have a website? Don’t worry, you can still create a mobile landing page with all the details you want. And you don’t need to hire a website developer to do that. A  Rich Text QR Code has got you covered. 

When scanned, it shows a mobile-optimized web page containing all the information. It can be anything such as description, buttons, social media sharing buttons, and venue’s map location.

B.Why should you use QR Code for fundraising

QR Code offers various benefits while helping in raising funds or awareness. Here are some of them:

1.Editable

Say you’ve created a QR Code to provide information regarding your fundraising event. After some time, due to unforeseen reasons, you’ve to change the event’s date and time. And now you need to put this information out.

A dynamic QR Code helps you do it without having to create or print a new QR Code altogether. That means you can edit the encoded information anytime you want.

2.Scan Tracking

QR Codes allow you to monitor their scanning activity. For example, how many people have scanned the QR Code, where they scan it, and when they scan it. This will help you draw valuable insights for your future campaigns.

3.Event Tracking

QR Code also offers a feature called event tracking. It helps you see how your audience interacts with the QR Code’s actionable content after they scan it. It could be anything such as the ‘Register’ or ‘Sign-Up’ button. This helps valuable insights optimize your campaigns in the future.

4.Customizable

QR Codes can be personalized as per your wish. You can add your organization’s logo and colors or even a background image to it. You can even change the pattern of both the eyes and data modules.

If you are going to use QR Codes for print media promotions, consider adding a design to them. Why? It is a fact that customized QR Codes attract 50%-200% more scans than basic black-and-white ones.

5.High-speed scannability

QR Codes have high-speed scannability. This means they come alive within seconds of pointing the camera in front of them. This ensures an easy and fast user experience.

6.Error-correction

QR Codes have a feature called error correction. It ensures that even after QR Codes get damaged, distorted, or dirty, they can scan well.

C. Some examples of nonprofits using QR Codes

1.Akshara Foundation

In Mumbai (India), an NGO called Akshara Foundation used QR Codes to accept monetary donations. They put up videos and posters containing a QR Code at metro stations. When scanned, it helped people to make donations.

2.Salvation Army 

In Nov 2019, Salvation Army introduced QR Codes on red kettle signs across the USA during the Christmas season. It allowed shoppers to make an online donation as per their wish.

Lt. Colonel Ward Matthews, National Spokesman, The Salvation Army, said:

“We’re humbled by the generosity of those who give to our red kettles, and we want to make it as easy as possible for them to support their local community.”

3.Dream a Dream

Charitable trust named Dream a Dream is empowering children and young people to overcome adversity and flourish. They also put QR Code on their website which. When scanned, it allowed the user to visit the donation page on their smartphone. 

4.Simon on the Street

Simon took an innovative approach to raise awareness about their cause and collect funds for the homeless people. How? They printed QR Codes on cardboard and then situated it on blankets and belongings. This made it look like a homeless person. 

When scanned, redirected the end-users to the JustGiving page where they can donate easily.

5.Globe Telecom

A telecom service in the Philippines, Globe Telecom, put up ‘purpose trees’ at its headquarters. These trees allowed employees and guests to make donations to their chosen NGOs by scanning the assigned QR Code.

All that people need to use is the app—GCash, to scan the QR Code and donate.

Yoly Crisanto, Chief Sustainability Officer, Globe, said:

“In an era of mobile technology, potential donors want to be able to act immediately. Using GCash not only makes giving more convenient but also democratizes it.”

D. How to create a QR Code for fundraising

Now you know why it makes sense to use a QR Code for fundraising. The next question is—how to create one? 

1. Decide on the QR Code category

Depending on what content you want your end-users to see, you’ll need to select the relevant QR Code category.

For example, if you want to direct your end-users to your website or donation page, you’d need a Website QR Code. On the other hand, if you want to provide all the important details, you’ll need a Document QR Code.

Once you’ve decided on the QR Code category, head on to find a suitable QR Code generator for your use case. To make it easier for you, here is a detailed comparison chart of the best QR Code generator available online. You can go through this to find the best one for yourself.

2. Create a QR Code

Using Scanova for demo purpose, here’s how you can create a QR Code for fundraising:

1. Go to Scanova

2. Select the relevant QR Code category

3. Enter the content you want to encode and click Continue

4. Now name the QR Code and add tags. Tags help you locate the QR Codes easily from your dashboard

5.Once you’ve entered the details, click Create QR Code

6.On the page that loads, you’ll see the image of the QR Code. Alongside, you’ll see the Edit Design option

7 .If you want to customize your QR Code, click on the Edit Design option. You’ll then see two design options to choose from—Custom Logo and Custom Background

Custom logo design allows you to add your organization’s logo and colors to the QR Code. On the other hand, custom background allows you to add an image as QR Code’s background

8. Once you’ve finalized the design, click Done Editing followed by the Download button. A window will open prompting you to sign-up for a 14-day free trial. Once you’ve signed up, proceed to download the QR Code

9. Here you’ll be asked to specify the QR Code image’s size and dimensions

10. Once you submit the details, click Export

That’s it. Your QR Code will be downloaded. It is always advisable to test scan the QR Code before putting it out for the audience.

That is all you need to know about QR Codes for fundraising. You can now go ahead and create your own QR Code to raise funds or awareness for the cause.