When it comes to online fundraising, the most important thing for your organization to have is a solid giving page on your website.
This is also becoming important for direct mail fundraising, with more and more donors receiving a letter in the mail and going online to make their gift.
Here’s what an effective donation page should look like…
- It’s mobile responsive. The page should automatically reformat for all screen sizes to maximize the ease of use on all devices.
- All other navigation is removed from the page. You don’t want people getting distracted by anything once they’re ready to give.
- It’s branded to look like the rest of your website, with your logo clearly visible, so people know they’re in the right place.
- A short inspiring reminder on why their gift matters is included. Bonus points for a compelling photo.
- Only the most critical information is required to make a donation.
- It offers the option to make the gift recurring and encourages donors to give monthly.
- All major credit cards as well as PayPal are accepted.
- The URL for the page starts with https. The “s” indicates that it’s a secure site for transmitting credit card information, etc. This type of page is often also accompanied by a lock symbol in the text bar.
One last thing, and this is about your website itself…
Make sure your donation page is easy to find.You want to have a big, ol’ donate button in your primary navigation bar on every page. And that button should go directly to your donation page, not the “ways to give” page. No matter where someone is on your site, when they’re inspired to give, you want them to be able to act without delay!
With these recommendations in mind, do a quick review of your online giving page.
What improvements are needed and what will it take to get it done?
