Top 5 Mistakes Nonprofits Make on Their Donation Pages

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Top 5 Mistakes Nonprofits Make on Their Donation Pages

Have you ever looked at your website analytics and wondered why so many visitors leave your website without making a donation? The good news is that most of them are likely genuinely interested in donating to and supporting your organization. The not-so-good news is that you may be making some common mistakes on your donation page that are causing visitors to leave without making a donation

We know how frustrating it can be to see so few visitors converting to donors, which is why we’re going over the top five mistakes that nonprofits make on their donation pages and how you can avoid them:

  1. Making it too complicated or long
  2. Not using compelling language
  3. Not offering an option to make their donation recurring
  4. Not optimizing the page for mobile users
  5. Not giving donors the option to match their gift

When it comes to virtual fundraising, your donation page is a crucial part of your strategy for converting donors and meeting your fundraising goals. Let’s dive right in so that you can start taking steps to make sure your donation page is in tip-top shape. 

1. Making it too complicated or long

A donor that has navigated to your website in order to donate is usually happy to provide their info and enter payment details. But when they start entering their information and one page turns into two, then three, even donors who really want to give may get disillusioned. 

Keeping your donation form simple and requiring only essential information can help increase your donor conversion rates. Your donors are busy, and not everyone will have the time to enter pages of information for your records. If you’d still like to collect more information, you can always include optional fields or give the option to create an account while donating, where your supporters who have the time can give more information.

2. Not using compelling language

When writing any front-facing material for your website, it’s important to make it strong and compelling. There are a lot of nonprofits out there, which means that your organization has to work a little harder to make sure that donors pick you. One of the ways you can do this is through the power of the words you use

Go through your donation page with a fine-toothed comb and ask yourself if you’re conveying your intended message and how important it is to potential donors. Here are a few things you can check for:

  • The use of “you.” Subconsciously, addressing the reader as “you” will make them feel more connected to your cause. 
  • Words like “only” and “small.” Using these words to describe a donation can help your donor feel that they can spare the “small” amount you’re asking for. 
  • Thank yous. You should always make sure your appreciation is clearly communicated to your donors. Even before they donate, saying thank you or “we appreciate your support and generosity” can make them more likely to donate. 

If you don’t have the time (or see the need) to fully repurpose your existing website copy, quickly running through and making small changes like these can make a big difference in the overall impact of your message. 

3. Not offering an option to make their donation recurring

Many donors don’t realize that a recurring donation is a possibility when they’re completing your donation form. For many donors, being able to “set it and forget it” is an appealing option and increases the annual amount they’ll donate. You don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to receive repeated donations from your donors! 

The best way to do this is to offer an easy option, like checking a box, that does not require extra work from your donor. Especially if they’re short on time (as we all are), they’ll be much more likely to sign up for recurring donations if it only takes the click of a button. Optimize your donor’s experience by ensuring they not only realize they can set up recurring donations but that they also have an easy way to do so. 

4. Not optimizing the page for mobile users

Especially when your marketing strategy includes social media or text messages, you’re likely to have a lot of mobile donations. The last thing you want is for an eager donor to get frustrated and quit after zooming, scrolling, and clicking in an attempt to fill out your form on their phone. Your form should appear in the proper size for their mobile device with buttons and fields that are easy to interact with. 

Ensuring that everything shows up well in a web browser as well as on mobile is an essential part of ensuring a positive donor experience, regardless of when, how, and where your supporter is giving to your organization. 

5. Not giving donors the option to match their gift

There’s a very good likelihood that most of your donors have no idea what matching gifts are or if their employers even offer donation matching. For this reason, it’s a big missed opportunity if you don’t include a way to check matching gift eligibility as a part of your form. 

You can integrate a matching gift database so your donors can search for their employer’s matching gift information right from your donation form. Because 81% of donors say they’re more likely to donate if they know their gift will be matched, according to Double the Donation, ensuring they can find that out without leaving your form is an excellent way to increase the likelihood of them completing the donation. 

Conclusion

Remember — your donation page is the end goal of any nonprofit marketing strategy. If you’re putting in the time, effort, and money to craft a robust marketing campaign for your fundraisers, you want to make sure your efforts don’t fall flat because donors get frustrated during the donation process. Take the time now to make the necessary optimizations for future success!

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