3 free web tools for managing fundraising campaigns with a team

Free web tools that sync between desktop & mobile are invaluable if you’re coordinating a fundraising campaign with a team.

This post examines 3 online tools that can help teams coordinate digital fundraising campaigns:

1. Slack, for easy discussions
2. Appear.in, for quick group video calls
3. Trello, for simple project management

Slack

Slack is a chat service allowing teams to have online conversations and share documents easily. Email lacks effectiveness for real-time group project discussions, and Slack addresses this gap for small group projects.

Easy online discussions for campaign teams

You can create various chat channels for different members. For example:

• A #general channel for all team members for daily brainstorming and updates
• A #socialmedia channel for members planning campaign marketing
• A #stewardship channel for discussing donor gratitude strategies

You can also send direct messages to team members for individual conversations.

This ability enables whole-team online communication for easy coordination when planning campaigns with multiple elements.

Easily share campaign documents

You can share campaign documents (like draft messaging) for instant team feedback. A search feature helps locate documents, and you can ‘pin’ important files to channels for quick accessibility (such as campaign images for social media).

Appear.in

Appear.in enables rapid team video and voice calls, ideal if campaign members travel frequently.

No login details needed, no need to download a program

Unlike Skype, which requires downloading and login credentials, Appear.in is cloud-based. You enter a unique URL (for example, appear.in/campaign_catchup). Your video conversation starts immediately. Anyone visiting that URL joins the chat without logins.

Screenshare

Appear.in offers screensharing capabilities, perfect for discussing campaign materials or demonstrating how to moderate online campaigns on external platforms.

Trello

Trello simplifies to-do lists and allows members to be assigned different tasks.

Different to-do-list boards for different projects

You can create separate boards for different projects (like “campaign launch plan” or “post-campaign tasks”), each containing tasks specific to that campaign.

Drag & drop tasks into lists

For each board, you can create multiple lists. This can remain straightforward (such as ‘to-do’, ‘in-progress’, and ‘done’). You drag tasks between lists.

A task like “agree on a campaign hashtag for Twitter” starts in the to-do list. Relevant team members get assigned and notified. Once brainstorming begins, drag it to ‘in progress’. After approval, move it to ‘done’.