More is not always better: visitors to your donation page have a limited amount of time and attention.
Create an easy-to-navigate, donor-friendly donation page with these tips and encourage maximum contributions.
A clear call to action.
Anytime you communicate with your donors, provide a clear call to action—what do you want them to do? If your organization is sending out a paper or email communication encouraging donations, tell donors exactly where to go and how to do it. Provide the same instructions on your website.
Give visitors to your website the same clear and easy-to-follow action steps. If you are linking to your donation page from your organization’s homepage, provide a large, centrally-located “Donate!” button that sends potential donors directly to your donation form.
Simple and easy.
Avoid cluttering your donation page with text. Only provide what donors need to complete the form, and include pictures that will encourage giving. The easier it is to donate, the more likely donors are to hit “Submit.”
Encourage monthly giving.
Get the most from the donors you already have and encourage them to give monthly (or weekly, or quarterly, or annually—the point is to get them to give on a regular basis!). According to Gail Perry of Fired-Up Fundraising, monthly donors often give up to three times as much as one-time donors.
They’re already invested in giving to your organization—get the stability your organization needs by turning that investment into a regular, recurring donation.
There are a couple of ways to sign up monthly donors.
- Include an option on your regular donation form to have the donation recur.A donor passing through your form for a one-time donation is only a few clicks away from making that donation monthly, quarterly or annually. If you can use conditional logic within your form, you will be able to hide the additional fields required for the recurring transaction until the visitor checks the recurring box. This avoids cluttering the page and won’t effect conversion rates for one time donations, since the donor only sees recurring giving options when the box is checked.
- Create a monthly giving program.Set up a separate donation page for your monthly donors. Make donors who give monthly (or weekly, or quarterly) part of an exclusive “member” club. Name your club! You want your members to feel special for participating in your organization at the monthly level.
Stay in touch with monthly members; send them unique, branded emails or postcards letting them know they are part of a small and valued group in your organization.
Follow up.
Always send donors a thank-you note for donating. A donor who hears from you after their donation is more likely to give again. Make them feel appreciated for what they are able to contribute.
And be sure to let donors know about all the good their donations are helping you do!
