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November 30, 2011

Bellstrike – Websites for Nonprofit Groups

Bellstrike is a tool that nonprofit groups can use to create professional looking websites in very little time and without spending much money. In mere minutes, a charity organization can design a website that impresses patrons and accepts donations from online visitors from around the world.

The idea behind Bellstrike is that charities and nonprofit groups that do good for others should have a way to solicit funds from potential donors without forking over tons of dough to build and maintain an online presence. It follows, then, that getting started and setting up a website with Bellstrike should be both easy and free. Type in your name, email address, the name of your organization, and choose a Bellstrike web address even if you’re planning to purchase a custom domain at some point in the future. Next, you’ll need to create a WePay account to start accepting online donations. Design your website to fit your tastes and the message of your group, and add your own photos for a completely custom feel. You can brand your webpage even more by adding your organization’s logo, and typing up your own content and information about what types of donations you are looking for. Bellstrike is fully integrated with Facebook and Twitter, so sharing your message with friends online is easy once your site is up.

What Bellstrike offers that most other website creation services don’t is the ability to easily solicit and collect donations online. Organizations can create gift catalogs that show people what they need or what they plan on buying with the funds they bring in, and donors can give money without ever having to open up a checkbook or attend a charity event in person. Bellstrike collects the email addresses of everyone who donates through a charity’s site, making it easy for the group to send personalized thank you notes and reminders about events coming up in the future.

Practical Uses:

  • Create a website for the charity you’re starting
  • Help the soup kitchen in your town build a website to solicit donations
  • Let people know what your group plans on buying with the funds you raise
  • Boost your search engine ranking by creating a website that is SEO-friendly

Insider Tips:

  • Organizations must connect with WePay to accept online donations
  • Bellstrike collects email addresses from every donor who pays online
  • Groups can create blogs to promote upcoming events
  • Gift catalogs can be created to let people see what their money will be buying

What we liked:

  • Groups that use Bellstrike only have to pay money if they’re successful in online fundraising
  • Nonprofits can create websites that look professional and modern
  • Organizations can collect email addresses for fundraising efforts in the future
  • Users can download information about their donors to a spreadsheet at any time

What we didn’t like:

  • Groups must give 6% of all donations to Bellstrike and 3.5% to WePay

Alternatives:

Company Info:

  • Launched: August 2011
  • Privately Held
  • Headquarters: Greenville, South Carolina
  • Founded by: Dodd Caldwell, Marshall Klickman, and Sean Gaffney
  • Web site: http://bellstrike.com

Costs:

  • Free setup
  • Groups pay 6% of all donations to Bellstrike and 3.5% to WePay

Comments

  1. Hi, this is Dodd from Bellstrike. Just wanted to thank AppVita for including us in their review! I did want to point out that we cap our fees every month so that while we do charge 6% of donations, nonprofits never have to pay more than $80/month in fees to us. That way, if they have a big fundraising month, they aren’t getting gouged. Feel free to let me know if anyone has any questions. Thanks,!

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