Increasing your online donations is as simple as adding a “donate” button to your website, right? If only! With so much content and so many good causes competing for our attention and money, driving online donations is rarely as easy as we hope.
If you’re ready to level up your website donation page, read on! Here are 11 website design strategies to help your nonprofit increase online donations.
How to Increase Online Donations
1. Lead with your story and a clear, compelling message.
People aren’t likely to give up their hard-earned money to a cause they don’t believe in. Your first objective is to convince a visitor why they should make a donation to your nonprofit. Clearly communicate what your mission is, why it matters, and how you’re fulfilling it. At the end of the day, people want to know that their contributions are being put to good use and making a difference.
2. Communicate your impact with stories and data.
Is your website doing all it can to highlight your organization’s impact? When donors know exactly how their money is being used, it helps strengthen their connection to the organization and build confidence in your nonprofit.
Communicate your impact with both unique personal stories and data. Humans are naturally drawn to stories. Use this to your advantage by telling attention-grabbing but simple stories that highlight your impact and show how donations make your work possible. Data can complement your personal stories, helping visitors understand the needs and providing concrete evidence of your impact.
Here are a few strategies to highlight your results across your website:
- Share blog posts or other stories with names and faces from the communities you are serving.
- Use infographics or stats to illustrate the need and your results. (For example, how many people or partners are you working with? What was the dollar value of your impact in your community?)
- Highlight specific examples of what a donation provides. Give as tangible examples as possible. (For example, a $50 donation provides a care package for one family.)
- Describe how donations will specifically help your nonprofit’s mission and projects.
- Link to your annual reports that showcase your impact.
- Make sure that both stories and data are readily available on your donation page.
3. Simplify the donation process.
How many times have you abandoned your online shopping cart because you didn’t have your credit card number handy? How long can you let an email sit in your inbox because it has an annoying task involved or you aren’t sure how to respond? It’s human nature to avoid or put off tasks that are inconvenient, time-consuming or confusing. Don’t let your donation form be any of those things!
Remove as many barriers as possible to simplify and streamline your online donation page process:
- Require the fewest number of steps and form fields possible.
- Add autofill capabilities to speed up the process for recurring donors.
- Give donors the ability to select a custom dollar amount in addition to displaying the suggested donation amount.
- Include a progress indicator to show where you are in the process.
4. Strategically place your calls to action (CTAs).
Visitors rarely follow a linear path that starts at your homepage. Assume that a visitor could land on any of your pages to start their journey. Calls to donate should be prominently displayed throughout your site and easily accessible so that visitors can navigate to the donation form in a split second from just about anywhere!
5. Build trust and confidence.
Identity theft and other scams are common enough that some donors might be hesitant to give online out of fear. Trust is an essential component in any relationship, and online donors want to know that their transaction is secure. Here are a few actions you can take to provide trust and security within your website:
- Utilize SSL encryption to protect data during transmission.
- Ensure you have an accurate and up-to-date privacy policy on your website.
- Highlight any certifications or endorsements from reputable third-party organizations.
- Feature your ratings from sites like Charity Navigator or Guidestar.
6. Allow multiple payment options and types of gifts.
A visitor might be willing to donate to your worthy cause, but only through a method that feels comfortable to them. Offer multiple payment alternatives for donations, including credit/debit cards, bank transfers, PayPal, Venmo, Cashapp, text to give, and even cryptocurrencies. Display the logos of accepted payment methods when possible for quick familiarity.
Consider including instructions for alternate methods of giving, such as in-kind donations, stock donations and legacy gifts. Be mindful of how you incorporate these options into your site. Typically, it’s best to direct a visitor considering these options to a development person who can guide them through the process.
7. Test your online donation process on a phone.
According to recent online giving trend data, 28% of online donations came from a mobile device. This fact – while not a surprise – does highlight the importance of making sure your website donation page is mobile-friendly. It is absolutely essential to carry out extensive testing across a variety of devices and browsers to guarantee a smooth user experience.
- Ensure your buttons are a large enough to be easily pressed with a finger.
- Test out your form on a mobile device and watch out for any usability issues.
- Make speed and performance a priority to decrease load times.
- Check that pop-ups or notices aren’t blocking essential elements and can be easily closed.
- Ensure your navigation is mobile-friendly.
- Add a donation button at the bottom or the page, or a “back to top” button, on long pages.
8. Demonstrate social proof.
It’s human nature to want to do what everyone else is doing. Donors want to know that your nonprofit has widespread support. Here are some tips for using social proof to drive donations:
- Post testimonials or stories from previous donors, or endorsements from recognized community or industry leaders.
- Feature your community partners by including logos or case studies. Show visitors that your organization is active in the community.
- Link to your social media sites to demonstrate your community engagement.
9. Use data analytics and A/B testing.
Take a look at your website’s analytics to see if there are opportunities for optimization. Google Analytics for Nonprofits allows you to see all kinds of data about your website. For instance, you can evaluate:
- Drop-off points in the donation process.
- Your most popular pages.
- Your most commonly exited pages.
- How long visitors stay on a page.
- What websites are referring traffic to your site.
Checking in on your website analytics could reveal some undiscovered issues you can resolve or opportunities you can leverage!
A/B testing, which involves creating two versions of something and comparing performance, can also help you test out small modifications to continually optimize your donation process. For example, you can test different elements of your donation form, such as the wording used on your buttons, and your suggested donation amounts.
10. Leverage recurring donations: the gift that keeps on giving.
Enable recurring gifts so that donors can contribute automatically on an ongoing basis. Aside from the fact that this type of donation allows for a steady stream of income for your nonprofit, it may feel more approachable to some donors to make smaller but more frequent gifts. Recurring donations also allow people to form a long-term connection with the organization.
11. Don’t forget to say thank you.
There is satisfaction in giving to others. It just feels good to support a worthy cause. Yet even the most altruistic donors aren’t immune to the power of a thank you. Let your donors know exactly how much their gift means to your organization, so that they’re eager to give again.
- Send personalized thank-you messages through your donor management software, via email or with a phone call.
- Let donors know how their contribution will make a difference and reiterate the importance of their support.
- Send regular updates about ongoing projects and how their donations have directly impacted the cause.
This will go a long way to show your appreciation, increasing donor loyalty and encouraging further support.
Keep at it! Increasing your online donations is an ongoing process that’s never complete.
Online fundraising will likely always be a challenge and require continuous optimization. But starting with a powerful message, an intentional website and a smooth donation process, your nonprofit is well on it’s way to attracting donors who will be eager to financially support your mission.
Need help with your nonprofit website design? We can help!
