Improving and maintaining a donation income stream is an important part of any NGO or charitable organisation’s website. You would think so, wouldn’t you? But some not for profit bodies are better at using their websites to build their donor base than others.
What does best practice – and just good old common sense – tell us? To get donations we have to encourage donations, focus on answering potential-donors’ top questions and streamlining the donation process. Let’s start with the absolute essentials.
- Explain what you do – and keep it simple
Say what you do in clear, simple language. This might seem obvious, but many not for profit and charity websites do not clearly communicate in a clear concise manner. They can fail to say what the organisation does, how and why it is done.
Studies have demonstrated that websites that make the role of the organisation easy to understand have an advantage over those where goals and objectives are ambiguous. Explaining what you do in simple terms, without in-house or ‘right on’ jargon will be enough to encourage people who agree with the basic aims of the organisation to make a donation
- Tell people how their money will help
People are more cynical than they used to be. Not without good reason they want to know how their money will be put to good use. So tell people where their money will go and, again, keep it simple. Tell people what the amount you would like them to donate will achieve – be it £5, £10 or £50.
There’s nothing new about this, but it works, so use it – and again keep it simple – use real number, not percentages. Stick to manageable, affordable amounts. Use examples that are as close as possible to the core purpose of the organisation.
- Endorsements are powerful
Your reputation is important to potential doners. People want to know about the impact you make and that you are a legitimate organisation. In this the words of others provide more that your own assertions. Potential donors will pay particular attention to:
- name recognition
- media reports of the organisation’s impact
- high profile endorsements
- testimonials of ‘real people’
- number of years in operation
Not for profit or charitable organisations may have endorsements, case studies and recommendations on their website, but not always in the right context. They need to be visible and easily accessible in the context of a person considering a donation
Some of the most powerful endorsements are those from friends and family members. Testimonials and friends’ recommendations encourage users to act. Can form an important part of future campaigns – so be sure that the donor is encouraged to become an endorser.
- Have a big red button ready
It may seem the most obvious thing – but if you don’t ask you won’t get!
Not all websites have a clear donate call to action on the home or landing pages – they should have. But the donation call to action should be obvious on every page of the website. While research can tell you the most obvious triggers for donation, there can be a ‘long tail’ too – so when you push a user’s buttons they need a button to click. Again, keep it simple; use clear, concise words, especially when asking for money. Donateand Donate Now are immediately understood by users.
- An easy donation process
Once a potential donor has clicked the big red button the battle isn’t over. Complex registration processes are off putting and can mean that the donation is never completed. Keeping the donation process as streamlined as possible will increase the odds of getting users to complete the process. The fewer steps the better. Take care over the design of forms to ensure they are easy to use and, if you use a third party donation site, choose the ones that are simple, which users are most likely to have heard of and that allow a choice over registering to return.
- Capture interest and ask for more
The best websites enable supporters and donors to engage easily. When someone donates or is interested in donating it should be possible for them easily to register their interest. Modern inbound marketing technology can enable you to take sympathisers on a journey with your organisation giving you the opportunity to win further commitment, advocacy action or membership.
An Easy-To-Use Website and a Fast Donation Process Can Increase Donations
The impact of your website can’t be under-estimated. Getting the basics right makes a big difference. plain language, keeping it simple and easy to use means your site is more likely to turn traffic into the cash you need to be more effective.