6 Ways to Improve Year-End Online Giving

Online giving is one of the most popular ways donors contribute their year-end gifts to nonprofits. More and more people are relying on technology to streamline their to-do lists, especially during the busy holiday season. Donating online is fast, easy, and provides an instant sense of accomplishment for donors. It also offers an immediate way for nonprofits to acknowledge donors via a thank you page following each gift. Most people don’t have the time or energy to jump through hoops when it comes to making charitable donations. The easier and faster your online giving process is, the more likely donors will contribute to your nonprofit.

How can you make your year-end giving page more donor-friendly? Here are six ways to simplify and speed up the giving process for donors.

1) Make It Mobile-Friendly

A mobile-friendly page is donor friendly. People are using their smartphones to do everything from booking a yoga class to ordering holiday gifts to buying groceries. They want to be able to quickly make a donation via their mobile devices as well. Your online donation page should be attractive and easy to navigate on mobile screens of various sizes. A donation page that uses responsive design will automatically resize and reorganize content to fit any screen and be easy to use at the same time.

Bonus Tip: Network for Good’s fundraising page layouts are all responsive, making the design of your online giving page simple.

2) Keep It Short and Sweet

Best practices for online fundraising pages includes keeping your message concise, yet compelling, so readers can quickly take it in. Simply asking for a donation, however, isn’t enough. You need to convey the need and paint a picture of what the donation will accomplish. Include an image, clear call to action, and inspirational quote by a member of your community describing how your organization has helped them. Keep the focus on the donor and the mission, rather than on your organization.

Bonus Tip: It’s a good idea to include a “Learn More” link in any email appeals so donors with questions can find out more about your nonprofit before donating. Be sure to include a “Donate Now” button on the page you link to, so they can quickly return to your giving page.

3) Simplify

Minimize distractions to speed up the donation process. If potential donors have to spend time searching your website to figure out how to make a donation, they may exit without making a gift. They’ll mean to later, but then “later” never arrives. Make the process easy by using a large, obvious “Donate Now” button, and getting rid of extraneous links and other buttons.

Bonus Tip: Once you’ve built your donation page, test to see how long it takes page visitors to complete the donation process. No need for professional testing companies—simply grab a few people in your office (or recruit friends and family) to test it out.

4) Use as Few Form Fields as Possible

People have differing opinions on every subject under the sun, but one thing we all can agree on is that filling out long forms is frustrating. Don’t ask for any more information than you need to on your online donation page. You can always send short surveys to your donors later to learn more information about them.

Bonus Tip: If a field doesn’t help the donor make the donation, or help you raise more money, leave it out.

5) Choose One Compelling Image

As powerful as images are, too many can be distracting to page visitors. Feature one large photo on your giving page. Choose one that stirs emotion and grabs the viewer’s attention. Be sure to include your logo to reinforce brand recognition with your donors.

Bonus Tip: Instead of an image that tugs at donors’ heartstrings, try one that shows the joy of a constituent you’ve helped or the happiness of members working together as a community. Hope is a powerful emotion as well. People want to be part of the wonderful things your nonprofit accomplishes. Use your image to boost that sense of community.

6) Use Suggested Donation Amounts

Make it easy for donors to give without putting too much thought into it. Suggested donation amounts reduce the time donors need to spend by allowing them to quickly pick a donation amount that fits their budget. Use your average donation amount as the middle option, then offer one amount slightly below and one or two amounts that are higher to encourage your donors to stretch. Always include an “Other Amount” option as well. Make sure to include a monthly giving option so your donors can increase their connection to your organization.

Bonus Tip: Using impact labels that illustrate what each donation will accomplish is a powerful way to boost the effectiveness of your suggested donation amounts.

Incorporating these characteristics into your online giving page can boost your completed donations rate, since donors will be able to quickly and easily make their donation before moving on to the rest of their to-do lists. And that makes everyone’s year-end giving more enjoyable.

Be sure to check out the rest of our resources on online donation pages.