In the case of most nonprofit organizations, donations are a vital part of their survival. It helps with make it possible to further your current mission, as well as the opportunity to expand the difference being made. In the past, it was ok for an organization to just accept donations delivered to the office or accept credit card information that was returned through the mail. These days 67% of donors worldwide prefer to give online, making the need for an effective donation page even more important for organizations looking to expand their impact. 

There are numerous ways to help encourage online donations, both throughout your website and on social media (which I plan to dig into more in the future). For today, I want to talk about some ways to make sure the donation page itself is effectively helping you engage and persuade visitors into becoming donors. 

Optimize for Mobile Experience 

Access to mobile devices, especially smart phones, is continuing to spread across the world. During the summer of last year, it was calculated that over 51% of website traffic came from a mobile device. With so many people potentially coming from a mobile device, it becomes very beneficial to make sure their donation experience is just as enjoyable as the desktop user.  

Provide a Compelling “Why” 

Most visitors to your website will already understand that you need their financial support to further your cause. Along with that basic knowledge, people still want to understand what you will do with the money. Is it going straight into a specific project (ie, you are working on a capital campaign)? Is it going toward just making sure you can keep your lights on in your office? People want to know how they are making a difference for your organization. 

When it comes to telling visitors why they should donation, it is best to explain in the form of a short story. Creating a brief picture of what impact their donation will make helps connect the reader to your situation. That engagement motivates them to become involved. 

Offer Multiple Giving Options 

Not everyone that becomes interested in donating will be interested or able to give the same amount. For that reason, it is helpful to offer people different amounts to help accommodate for all the potential donors. Along with the different amounts to donate, it helps to also offer the option of setting up a monthly recurring donation. At least 40% of Boomers, Gen Xers and Millennials prefer to be enrolled in a monthly giving program. 

In addition to the option of different donation amounts and a monthly giving program, it helps to show those interested in supporting you what impact their dollars are making. I know what you’re thinking… ”You already talked about that when you talked about giving a them a compelling story of why to donate.” This is different than just the why. In this case, I’m talking about telling them what each dollar amount means to your organization. What that can look like is telling them that by donating $25 they are helping a child have food for a month or that by donating $100 they are covering the cost of therapy for a child. Both of those are just random suggestions, but it gives you the idea behind it. By helping people see what a specific amount does to help, people are not only more likely to donate but there is increased chance of a larger donation. 

Request Minimal Personal Information 

When it comes to personal information, it can be hard to not ask for as much information as possible. Although we may want as much of their information as possible (who knows when we might want to use it for “something” in the future), it’s best to keep it as short and simple as possible. The more you add beyond the basics needed for processing a payment, the more likely people will lose interest in supporting your organization. 

Along with the information to process their donation, it is also beneficial to offer the option to stay anonymous. There are some people who do not like having others know who they support. Giving people the option to stay anonymous allows those people to continue offering support and giving the information only to the organization processing the donation. 

Provide “In Memory/Honor Of” Option 

There are people who donate toward a certain type of cause because of someone they know that has experienced a similar situation or was involved with a similar mission. Those people like to be able to declare the reason for their donation, to give credit where credit is due. By creating the option to mark a donation as being done “in memory of” or “in honor of” allows them to make that declaration. In the case of it being “in honor of,” it is worth adding a space for that person’s email (not a requirement to fill) so your organization can send that person an email notifying them about someone doing a donation in their honor. 

In Conclusion 

People and companies are becoming more and more willing to donate to a nonprofit organization, or several organizations. By making the experience as simple and as enjoyable as possible, you will increase the chances of someone completing the donation process. Though there are several ways to encourage donations across your organization’s website and over social media, today we only focused on ways to optimize your donation page. We looked at 5 different ways that would help the effectiveness of your donation page; optimize for mobile experience, providing a compelling “why,” offer multiple giving options, request minimal personal information and provide “in memory/honor of” option. With a powerful message and easy to use donation process, more visitors will be ready to donate.