By Shay Lessman from Qgiv
Qgiv is an online fundraising platform empowering over 20,000 nonprofit fundraisers to raise money for their causes. Learn as one of their experts shares with us 6 tangible takeaways for nonprofits to increase donations and accelerate online fundraising.
With more and more people donating online, it’s imperative that your nonprofit has the tools to accept online donations. But simply having the technology alone isn’t enough to be successful. You will also benefit from knowing how to make your online fundraising a process that donors find quick, painless, and enjoyable overall. After all, a frustrated supporter is unlikely to complete their donation if the process is slow and tedious. That’s why we put together these great online fundraising tips for nonprofit organizations. They’ll help you maximize your online fundraising tools so you can increase the number of donations your organization receives, meaning more resources to put toward your mission.
Keep it short and simple (KISS)
Add your branding to your donation form
Make sure your form is secure
Use a matching gifts integration
Encourage donors to make recurring gifts
Make it convenient for donors to give
1. Keep it short and simple (KISS)
The main function of your online donation form isn’t data-gathering! It’s supposed to be a tool for you to accept donations online quickly and easily. Keep your form short and to the point. Your supporters can quickly lose steam if they have to take too many steps or fill out too many fields to complete your donation form. One important acronym to keep in mind when you create a donation form is KISS, keep it short and simple. Most people don’t have a ton of free time to sit down and donate to their favorite charities. From work to home life, there are a lot of different demands placed on us. Completing a donation is just another thing to add to our checklists, but if it’s too complicated, people can give up part way through! Instead of a form that makes donation abandonment easy, a short, simple form encourages donors to stick it out and make the gift.
To have a short, simple form, remove excessive content. Evaluate if you need every custom field on your form. Chances are, you can live without some of the donor data you’re asking for to get more would-be donors to complete their gifts.
2. Add your branding to your donation form
Put your supporters’ minds at ease by making it clear that they’ve reached your official online donation form. Online transactions can make your supporters wary, especially if they don’t see your branding on what should be your online donation form. Instead of leaving your donation form unbranded and generic, be sure to incorporate your logo, fonts, and brand colors. That way, donors can be assured they’re giving to you and not another nonprofit organization.
3. Make sure your form is secure
Like we previously stated, your supporters need to feel confident that giving on your online donation form is the right thing to do. They’ve got the warm fuzzies from the desire to donate, so now it’s up to you to make sure they feel secure in that decision. When they land on your online donation form, how do they know that it’s secure and their data won’t be compromised? There are a few ways to make sure your donors know their sensitive information is safe with you. Start by looking at your form URL. Does it start with https:? If so, that means that your form is secure. If your website is secured by a cyber security company, be sure to include their logo on your donation form as well. This step goes the extra mile to show donors that you care about protecting their financial information.
4. Use a matching gifts integration
So, your online donation form is simple and sweet, branded, and secure. The next tip is to include a matching gifts integration on your donation form. A matching gifts integration makes it easy for supporters to check and see if their gift can be matched by their employer. If their gift can be matched, the integration will even provide instructions about how to apply for the matching gift with their employer. This can mean double the donations (and sometimes more) for your nonprofit organization. A matching gifts integration can make a significant difference, especially if you partner with a business that matches donations. Encouraging employees to donate through a corporate giving campaign and emphasizing that their gifts will be matched by their employer is a great way to raise funds quickly.
5. Encourage donors to make recurring gifts
Another great online fundraising tip is to encourage your donors to make recurring gifts. When you set up your form, make recurring giving an option. Not only do recurring donors give more in their lifetime than one-time donors, but they also have a much higher donor retention rate compared to donors who give single gifts to your nonprofit organization. There are a number of ways to encourage recurring giving. Our favorites at Qgiv are the recurring nudge and recurring modal.
The recurring nudge and modal are unique tools that encourage recurring giving through the power of suggestion. The nudge is a brief statement on the one-time gift side of your donation form suggesting a recurring gift. It’s a subtle approach that inspires recurring gifts.
If your nonprofit is bolder and wants to emphasize recurring gifts even more, the recurring modal is your best friend. As donors complete the final step to finalize their one-time gift, a small pop-up window will appear, encouraging them to give on a recurring basis instead.
It doesn’t force a one-time donor to choose to make their gift recurring, but it does give them a chance to pause and think about making a recurring gift if they missed the recurring nudge.
6. Make it convenient for donors to give
Our last tip is to make it convenient for donors to give. You’ll want to make sure that your donors are able to donate using the payment methods that they prefer. Offering a variety of payment methods makes it possible for you to receive more in donations. This means that you should be accepting debit and credit cards, eChecks, and other payment methods. An increasingly popular method of payment is through digital wallets. Services like Venmo and Apple Pay that use digitized payment methods can save your supporters a lot of time and effort when they want to make their gift. Their payment method is already stored on their devices, which means they don’t have to manually enter a credit card number to complete their donation.
Conclusion
We hope that these six online fundraising tips for nonprofit organizations inspire you to make the most of your online fundraising software. From making sure your form is simple and secure, to encouraging matching and recurring donations, your nonprofit organization will undoubtedly benefit from implementing these tips.
Are you looking for online fundraising tools for your nonprofit organization? Give Qgiv a try. Request a demo today!
About the Author
Shay Lessman is a writer and editor with a passion for helping nonprofit organizations succeed. He has experience in fundraising communications and has written several successful grants. He is also a proud pet parent of two very naughty dogs. When he’s not working at Qgiv, he can usually be found writing poetry, playing games, or listening to podcasts.
About Qgiv
Qgiv is an online fundraising platform empowering over 20,000 nonprofit fundraisers to raise money for their causes. Through online giving and event registration forms, text fundraising, peer-to-peer fundraisers, and auction events, fundraisers can provide a more personalized giving experience for donors while keeping costs low. To learn more, visit www.qgiv.com.