How to Optimize Your Nonprofit’s Donation Page to Increase Donations

Generating funds for your nonprofit takes a lot of work. That’s why it’s important to do everything you can to optimize your fundraising results.

One aspect of fundraising optimization that sometimes gets overlooked is the donation page. Once potential donors make their way to your donation page, they’re likely interested in supporting your organization. Optimizing your giving page helps to ensure you don’t lose donors at that critical point. It also helps to make sure you get the most out of each donation.

Here are 10 simple ways to tweak your donation page to boost your fundraising results:

1. Use Dynamic Asks

Encourage donors to give more by using your customer relationship management (CRM) or online fundraising software to automatically specify ask levels based on each donor’s last donation level. For example, if a donor previously donated $20, start ask levels for that donor at $20, or even $25. For new donors, use your average donation amount for the beginning ask level.

2. Tie Giving Levels to Your Mission

Associate donation levels with what the funds will provide for your organization. Letting supporters know that their donation can, for example, help feed a family of four or send a child to school for a year, yields far more impact than asking for a specified amount of money. 

3. Use Impact Imagery

Similarly, use images of people, animals or places that your mission supports. This approach helps donors feel more connected with your mission, making them more likely to give — and to give more.

4. Ask for a Recurring Gift

Give donors the option to make their gift a recurring gift, with the convenience of monthly payments charged automatically to their credit card. Using a pop-up box that asks to make the donation a monthly gift can be a highly effective way to do this. This approach encourages donors to remain donors longer and to give more over time. 

5. Ask Donors to Cover Transaction Fees

When someone donates through your online donation form, your payment processor typically charges your organization a transaction fee. This effectively reduces the donation (often 3% or more!) your organization receives. Include an option for donors to cover the cost of transaction fees, and your nonprofit can recapture some of those lost funds. In fact, data shows that, if available, donors choose to cover transaction fees 55% to 60% of the time.  

6. Use a Matching Gift Tool

Research shows that 84% of donors say they’re more likely to donate if a match is offered. Add a matching gift tool to your donation form to make it easier to take advantage of corporate matching programs and boost your fundraising campaign results. There are multiple matching gift tools available that you can easily embed on your web pages and donation forms.

7. Add Your Nonprofit’s Branding

Donors give to your organization because they want to support your mission. Make sure they know they’re in the right place and keep them engaged all the way through the donation process by using a custom web address, and prominently displaying your logo and other design elements related to your organization and your fundraising campaign.

8. Optimize for Mobile Devices

Use mobile design best practices, such as employing mobile-responsive design templates and minimizing image sizes, to ensure your donation page looks and works great on mobile devices. And be sure to test the page on multiple devices before going live.

9. Keep the Donation Form Simple

A long donation form can be a turnoff to donors. Review your donation form and make sure you’re asking for only what’s necessary to process the donation properly. You can gather more information about each donor later.

10. Offer a Range of Payment Options

Giving donors the ability to donate via their preferred method provides a simpler and more appealing path to completing the gift. In addition, offer versatile payment options, such as ACH, Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, cryptocurrency, donor-advised funds, PayPal and Venmo.

When you work hard on fundraising activities, the last thing you want is to lose donors’ interest or leave money on the table with your donation page. Use these tips to tweak your donation page, and get ready to boost your fundraising results.

The preceding blog was provided by an individual unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of NonProfit PRO.