What is a donation app?
A donation application is a web, mobile, or desktop application that enables users to donate money to a cause. Donation apps typically include the ability for users to browse different causes and organizations, view descriptions of the causes, contribute funds via credit card or other payment methods (such as PayPal), and share their donations with friends on social media sites.
Donation apps are similar to crowdfunding apps, peer-to-peer lending apps, and fundraising apps. CharityNavigator is an example of a donation app, while LendingClub is an example of a peer-to-peer lending app.
Examples of donation apps built with Crowdbotics:
- People can scan a QR code attached to collection jars with their phone and the app pops up to raise money for the homeless.
What is the typical cost to build a donation app?
A donation app usually costs about $37,500 to build. However, the total cost can be as low as $25,000 or as high as $50,000. A donation app with a low number of features (also known as a minimum viable product, or MVP) will be more affordable than an app that includes all intended functionality.
For example, here are some previous donation app price quotes from Crowdbotics:
How long does it take to build a donation app?
A donation app usually takes 133 hours to build. However, a donation app can be built in as few as 133 hours, or in as many as 133 hours. The exact timeline mostly depends on how complicated your specific app is. As a general rule, it will take longer if you require highly custom designs, niche features, complex logic, or non-standard release platforms.
For example, some previous donation apps build with Crowdbotics received the following hourly estimates:
Not seeing what you’re looking for?
Crowdbotics has quoted and built hundreds of applications for teams of all sizes. Browse our historical estimates by industry and app type to understand possible costs and considerations.
How to successfully grow your donation application
A donation app encourages growth by making it easy for users to donate money to a cause that they care about. An effective donation app will demonstrate that the funds are being used effectively, and it will also provide detailed information about the impact of donated funds on the ground. Donation apps can increase customer loyalty through gamification strategies, such as rewarding users with badges and points for their donations. They can also use social media marketing to generate more word-of-mouth referrals.
Risks and challenges of building a donation application
Donation apps are vulnerable to misrepresentation and fraud. Before building a donation app, you should ensure that you have the right people in place to handle the finances of your organization. It is also very important that you build fundraising campaigns that clearly communicate the values of your organization, including how funds will be used and who will be responsible for deciding how they are spent.
