A nonprofit organization’s website is essential for the effectiveness of its operation. It is the most important place online, where foundations and associations can share their mission and engage people. The site’s “donate page” plays a crucial role. It is a subpage explicitly dedicated to making it possible to donate funds. Your “donate page” is your fundraising business card. First impressions, engagement, clarity, and the ease of making a donation greatly impact whether and how much support your organization receives, as well as whether a donor will stick with your organization long-term.
What should be on a foundation’s/association’s website?
An NGO’s website is an organization’s online headquarters. For people who are not yet familiar with your foundation or association, it will likely be the first source of information about your organization’s mission and goals they find. It’s also where they will learn about the work you do. It’s often also the first opportunity for people to engage in your activities. A website should be an interactive tool that makes finding ways to get involved in the organization’s mission easy. A secure and transparent mechanism for offering financial support is vital in this context. A bank account number in the footer is not enough. A subpage with a special donation form or “donate page” will come in handy. Not sure where to start? Let us help!
The “donate page”: A subpage specifically for donations
A “donate page” is a fundamental part of online fundraising: a subpage, or as they say in marketing lingo, a “landing page,” which you direct a potential donor to after asking for financial support. If the website doesn’t look good or isn’t intuitive, it can discourage potential donors from donating to your organization.
According to M+R Benchmarks 2023, the average donation page conversion rate for nonprofits in the United States is just 19%. Designing a good donation page is no easy feat. To help you out, I’ve put together a few tips that you can use when creating a new donation page or to use as a checklist to evaluate your nonprofit’s current website.
Start from the beginning: Your website on a smartphone
I believe there are two fundamentals. First, smartphones are slowly becoming the main tool we use to navigate the Internet. According to the previously mentioned M+R Benchmarks study, in 2023, most of the traffic on American nonprofits’ websites came from visitors using mobile devices (57%), with 43% of traffic from desktop devices. Although 75% of revenue still came from users using desktop devices (perhaps because we make larger donations when we are more focused, sitting at our computer), your donate page has to be fully responsive and mobile-friendly. This means, among other things, that the page should load quickly, images should adapt to the device’s resolution, and the donation form should be easy to fill out using a phone.
The second fundamental of an effective donation subpage? Distinct donate buttons should be your first concern. Firstly, I mean your website’s CTA (call to action) button that leads to the donate page. This button should stand out, be visible from every subpage and when scrolling, and encourage direct financial support (“Donate,” “Make a Donation”). Placing it in the top menu (in the top right corner) and emphasizing its visibility by, e.g. making it red, is good practice. The second most important button on the page is the one in the online donation form itself. It, too, has to be easily noticeable, and it should make it clear to the user that after clicking it, they will donate funds to your organization.
Make it nice: Websites should be attractive
The appearance of your donate page is essential. An aesthetically pleasing site catches the eye, evokes emotions, engages, and shows professionalism. Moreover, the right aesthetics can emphasize your organization’s identity. Real photos or sketch-like drawings can be a good way to go; however, it all depends on the character of your organization, the field you work in, and the way you communicate.
Coherent branding strengthens brand recognition and solidifies the organization’s image in site visitors’ minds. It also helps build potential donors’ trust. Seeing the same colors, fonts, or logos, they know beyond doubt that they are on your organization’s subpage and using its donation form, making them feel comfortable and secure.
Remember that clarity is an important factor in the success of a donation page: it makes it easier for potential donors to understand your message, navigate the page, and ultimately make a donation.
Create an inspiring message and entice people to donate
Donors support a specific NGO because they care about the issues it tackles, value its mission, and want to be a part of it. Tell them about what you do convincingly, and engage them in your story, in the stories of your beneficiaries. Make the stories vivid, tangible, and thought-provoking. It’s fine that they can read them on your homepage or the “About Us” tab, too.
Remind users of your mission and reiterate why your cause is so important. Show how financial support translates into real change. Underscore all that with a concise and concrete slogan that will convince them to donate, i.e. a call to action (CTA). Use verbs that inspire and motivate them to take action: “donate,” “change,” and “fight,” and emphasize that the need is urgent.
Show that you’re trustworthy
Your organization’s reputation and credibility are among the key decision-making factors for donors. With the professionalization of fundraising and the nonprofit sector in Poland and the development of responsible social attitudes and philanthropy, potential donors’ awareness is growing.
That is why it is worth including content that legitimizes your organization’s work on your donation page. Share information on your organization’s experience, achievements, and any awards or distinctions you have received. In this context, it’s also imperative to clearly communicate to potential donors what your nonprofit will use their donations for.
Another way to bolster your NGO’s credibility is by sharing endorsements from other donors and partners. While recommendations from friends and family are, of course, immensely important, sharing short testimonials and references on your website plays a similar role. They can be from well-known people, but often, a quote from someone like us, a donor, their photo, name, last name, place of residence, or job title can be even more compelling and authentic.
Make donating easy
Make it intuitive
Remember that the main goal of your donate page is to convince potential donors to support your cause and to smoothly guide them through the process. So don’t make it harder than it has to be! Don’t distract them with unnecessary content, links, or complicated navigation. Keep it simple. Before designing the page and the payment form, map out a potential donor’s actions on your site and make the process as intuitive as possible. Organize the content, questions, and form fields logically and coherently.
Only ask for essential information and place optional fields at the end of the form. Try not to be repetitive and not to make the potential donor input the same information multiple times (e.g., add the option to deselect that the mailing address is the same as the billing address). Limit the number of steps a donor has to take to finally make a donation.
Offer multiple ways to donate
Providing a choice of payment methods is crucial to the effectiveness of your organization’s donation page and a positive donor experience. By including a variety of payment options, you enable donors to use the one that is most convenient and cost-effective for them. The more options you provide, the more donor preferences will be satisfied. BLIK reigns supreme among Polish customers (a payment system that allows users to make instant payments and withdraw cash using a six-digit code from their mobile banking app). This is a vital tip for social organizations.
Also, be sure to communicate all of the payment methods clearly and concisely. Offer the possibility of making recurring donations and encourage donors to choose this option, making it easy for them to support your organization consistently and long-term.
Source: Fundacja Ocalenie
Suggest levels of support
Offering different levels of support not only simplifies the donor’s decision-making process but is also an effective tool for increasing donations. This is because of the ease of the process, the power of suggestion, and the social factor (a donor may feel better knowing they are among the “more generous”).
When setting suggested support levels, consider your campaign’s goals, the average donation size of your previous donors, and the support levels offered by similar nonprofits. This is a key part of your donation page, so it’s worth taking your time to consider the options. You should, however, remember to leave the donor the choice of donating whatever amount they would like.
Ensure security
One of your main goals should be ensuring that the donor feels safe throughout the donation process. Proper security increases the donor’s trust in your organization. So, make sure you have the necessary security certificates and the highest standards for processing personal data. Remember that the choice of payment operator also matters.
According to the study “E-consumer Behavior in Poland in 2022”, 78% of online shoppers admit that they feel safer when they recognize the entity that processes their payments. We can assume that this also applies to online donations – a familiar payment operator inspires greater trust.
Want to learn how to create and design a website? Take part in Sektor 3.0’s free e-learning course “A Website: Your Nonprofit’s Online Headquarters.”
Donate page: A mandatory part of an NGO’s website
Your NGO’s donate page is often potential donors’ first encounter with your organization’s website, making it a vital tool for introducing your organization, engaging visitors, and ultimately attracting and retaining donors. The way it is designed has a significant impact on the success of your online fundraising. An attractive and user-friendly donation page and an intuitive donation process can increase the number of donations to your NGO and set the stage for greater donor engagement.