Can your donation page boost donations?

Fundraising can be a tricky business. As little as a few too many steps on a fundraising page can be enough to turn a willing supporter away.  

Indeed, online fundraising pages are the gateway between a charity and its next donation. With online giving continuing to grow, having an inviting charity checkout can be the difference between supporters clicking ‘donate’ once and them doing so again in the future. 

There are lots of core elements of a good charity checkout – memorable branding, minimal steps, a visible call-to-action. But digital fundraising changes all the time and it is vital that charities regularly review their pages to ensure they are up-to-date and effective. 

In this article, we outline the ingredients for a great charity checkout and what they contribute to a charity’s ability to fundraise. 

The current state of play 

According to the Charities Aid Foundation, charities are at risk of becoming reliant on a small pool of donors. Fundraising growth has, in recent years, been driven primarily by average gift size, rather than number of donors.  

Fundraising platform iRaiser notes that this should empower charities to ask for more on their donation pages. The platform suggests too many charities often assume that higher asks will put donors off, but if the donation experience is convenient to them, they “in fact recognise the opportunity to give a higher amount of money without donating at lower frequencies” 

However, with the cost-of-living crisis continuing in the UK, it is also worth acknowledging that it may be harder for donors to sustain these larger donations in the future.  

Charities must also seek to grow their donor base through simple options for giving and personalisation made possible through the data they get during the donation process. The ask should be sensitive, personal to their supporters during a time of financial instability, and prioritise their convenience as much as possible. 

“People coming to your website for the first time will be much happier to donate higher amounts if their experience is good,” says iRaiser. “That means no friction on pages, clear design and branding, strong value propositions and the preferred payment options, including ApplePay and American Express cards.” 

More to consider 

iRaiser has a helpful Donation Checkout Checkup service which evaluates the effectiveness of charity checkouts in order to help charities increase the number of donors they get on their websites.  

Charities can book a slot to find out if your checkout is up to scratch, but in the meantime, here are three tips to help you audit your page. 

• Branding

Effective branding helps supporters to feel connected to the charities they donate to. Donations are transactions like any other and donors need to feel that their donation is secure. They should still feel at home on your site when clicking donate. 

Having an online fundraising page that fits in seamlessly with the rest of your website helps donors trust that their donation is going to the right place and crucially, increases brand recognition which helps with getting supporters to return.  

If looking to a third-party platform to provide your donation checkout, consider how customisable it is and easy to brand. Does it fit seamlessly into your site or take you to another page? The more in-keeping with your charity style, the more trustworthy and authentic your checkout will seem.

• Call-to-action

Words are really important on a charity checkout. There are lots of different ways charities can use them to encourage donations. 

For example, charities should emphasise the personal experience of donating by talking directly to their supporters – demonstrate the difference that “you” will make with an individual contribution. 

Likewise, using the word “today” builds on what your supporter experience does, in that it motivates people to donate there and then, by explaining the urgency of the cause. 

And finally, there is the humble “thank you”. Saying thank you to your donors not only helps to reinforce the security of the process, but also provides charities an opportunity to further explain their impact to an engaged audience.

Research suggests that donors who receive an extra thank-you letter give up to 60% larger gifts than those who did not. 
 

• Simplicity 

Simplicity, when it comes to fundraising pages, is everything. There should be as little friction as possible between clicking donate and finalising the transaction. This includes accepting multiple forms of payment, only asking for the relevant details, and keeping the form clutter-free. 

Ultimately, creating a great supporter experience will increase the amount you fundraise because fewer people will fail to complete the process. The fewer hurdles they face, the less opportunity they have to drop-off.