Quit looking for the magic app or crowdfunding platform that will attract online donations for your organization. Attracting online donations is NOT a software challenge: it’s an information challenge.
Here are 15 EASY things your nonprofit, non-governmental organization, charity or other mission-based organization can do right now via your web site that will make your organization more attractive to online donors, who may be current volunteers, new volunteers, family of board members, someone across town or across the country:
- Make sure your organization’s full name appears as text on your home page and your “about us” page (not just in the graphic of your logo). This will make your organization’s information easy to find online. Many times potential donors will look for you online based on your organization’s name – you want to make it easy for them to find.
- Make sure the location of your organization is on you home page and your “about us” page. You don’t have to give the street address if, for some reason, you don’t want to make your physical address easy to find (such as in the case of a domestic violence shelter or home for foster children) but you do need to say the city, the state or province and the country where your organization is based. Many times I have looked for a particular nonprofit in a particular place and I cannot tell on the web site if the nonprofit is the one I am looking for because it never says what region it’s in – and there are so many nonprofits and NGOs with similar names.
- You need to have as much information on your web site about what your organization has accomplished as you do about it needing funds. And don’t just talk about activities: talk about RESULTS from those activities. People want to fund organizations that make a difference, not organizations begging for money, especially organizations that have dire messages about soon closing their doors.
- Note what your organization’s costs are. If I make a donation, what is that donation paying for? If most of your funds go to staff salaries, that’s okay: talk about the expertise of your staff, the hours they devote to working directly with those you serve, what they do in their work, etc.
- Make sure your web site is free of misspellings and grammar mistakes. If your web site isn’t a good representation of your organization’s work, why would I donate?
- Make sure your web site has no outdated information. If I click on “upcoming events” on your home page, and the first item is about an “upcoming” event that actually happened nine months ago, I’m not going to be inclined to donate, because if you cannot maintain an up-to-date web site, perhaps you struggle delivering your programs or managing money as well?
- Make sure your web site is mobile ready – it should work on a smart phone, not just a lap top.
- Do not say on your web site that you involve volunteers to “save money” or list a monetary value for volunteer hours, because as a donor, my reaction could be, “Why should I make a donation? They should just get volunteers to do the work for free.”
- Make sure your web site has everything it needs to attract new volunteers. Volunteers often become donors.
- Have a page that describes the history of your organization, who founded it, where it is located, why it was founded, etc. This establishes credibility for your organization.
- List the board of directors. This further establishes credibility for your organization – it shows the people willing to be fiscally-responsible for this organization.
- Get a group of family members or friends of staff to bring their laptops or smart phones to your organization. Ask them to find your web site online, without using the URL – using only the name of the organization, or something about your mission and your location, like “Help animals in Henderson, Kentucky.” See how long it takes them to find your organization’s web site using various methods and find out how they search for it. Note any problems they have in finding the site and address this accordingly.
- With this same focus group, ask what the site says that would make them want to donate. Listen to what they say and make improvements based on that.
- Offer a way to donate online. Even if just 10% of all of your donors choose to donate online, that’s money you would not have gotten otherwise, and the number of people that switch from donations by postal mail to online donations rises every year. There should be a way for people to donate using a credit card and Paypal.
And here is a non-web site specific way to increase donations to your organization: Put a notice on every fundraising event or fundraising activity that says that a person doesn’t have to participate in the event or fundraising activity in order to donate to the organization. “You don’t have to attend our black and white ball to donate to our organization! You can make a donation anytime via our website…”
By the way: much of this is the criteria I use when reviewing a site for an organization I think I might donate to – and many times, I have NOT given to an organization because it lacked the aforementioned info.
Also see:
Mission-Based Groups Need Use the Web to Show Accountability
Crowdfunding for Nonprofits, NGOs, Schools, Etc.: How To Do It Successfully
Web Site Construction & Content Suggestions for Nonprofits, NGOs and small government offices
Design Standards and Tips for Nonprofits, NGOs and small government offices
Required Volunteer Information on Your Web Site
Marketing Your Nonprofit, NGO or small government office Web Site
Nonprofits & NGOs: you MUST give people a way to donate online