Online fundraising: 10 Best Practices for your Donation Form

 

Imagine your non-profit is fighting for a good cause that is close to your heart. You have received an incredible amount of encouragement from people, and your online fundraiser is ready. But you are not receiving donations? Well, a poorly designed donation form can be enough to discourage a potential donor.

 

Studies show that it takes around 50 milliseconds to make a first impression on website visitors. That means that you literally get a fraction of a second to convince a user to use your donation form. You have one chance to do it right – so let it go well.

 

There are also other factors that can contribute to a great donation form that makes donors want to withdraw their credit cards. Here is a list of the best techniques for your donation form, as recommended by industry experts. Let’s begin:

 

How Can I Do Online Fundraising?

1. Online fundraising: Keep it simple

The truth is that donors, no matter how good your case is, do not want complicated donation forms. You must, therefore, keep your donation form as minimalist and clear as possible. Only ask for information that you deem necessary. And do not bombard users with unsolicited information.

 

Make your texts are as simple and concise as possible. Long sentences will bore potential donors. If possible, find a professional or a friend who writes well to help you put the content together. Your donation form must get to the point immediately and still maintain an empathetic tone.

 

Here are a few examples of organisations that use good design practices for their donation form:

 

Online fundraising: Code for America

Online fundraising: Shanti Bhavan Children’s Project

 

2. Have Your Branding In The Donation Form

Make sure that your donation form matches the overall appearance of your website. A donation form that fits well with the rest of your webpage shows professionalism and takes your fundraising seriously. Donors respond to organisations that take the time to do things well. It inspires confidence.

 

Choose a donation form that you can easily adjust. Use the correct colours. Pay attention to the details, such as the text alignment, the spaces, the spelling and the grammar. They may seem like small things, but they are still noticeable. And it all makes a difference.

 

Add an image showcasing the work done by your non-profit. Perhaps one that allows children to enjoy a hot meal that the donations have made possible. Or an action photo of your team that works on location with people in need. The goal is to show potential donors what it’s all about. And a good picture speaks a thousand words.

 

3. Optimise Your Donation Form For All Devices

Almost every smart device, whether it is a telephone, a tablet or a desktop computer, has a browser. A good donation form can be displayed optimally on any device. People are always on the move, and technology helps them stay up-to-date and productive. The most likely scenario is that your donors use more than one type of device to access the internet.

 

Your donation form must be accessible, regardless of which device they use. Seek the same donor experience on all types of equipment. It should be as easy to donate on a computer at home as well as on a smartphone while on the bus.

 

4. Make It Easy To Find

People only have limited time available. And even if potential donors want to contribute, they will soon lose interest if it becomes too difficult to find your donation form. Ideally, your donation form should be somewhere on your homepage.

 

If a donor has to scroll quite a bit down to get to the form, consider adding a bookmark somewhere higher so that they can get there faster. Or, if your donation form is on a different page, make sure it is accessible in less than 2 clicks on the mouse. From the moment a potential donor visits your homepage, the time starts ticking. So, let those precious seconds count. Guide them, subtly but purposefully, as quickly as possible to the donation form.

 

Professional tip: add your donation form to the navigation bar of the website. Make it sticky so that it is always clearly visible.

 

As mentioned above, the goal is to secure the donation quickly. This requires limited mandatory information and a fast payment process. Do not intimidate potential donors with long lists on the screen for capturing data. They might see it as too much of a hassle and give up the entire donation.

 

Another good tip is to allow clickable answers instead of typed answers. For example, if you are looking for volunteers, it is better (and faster) to get their answer with a “Yes / No” radio button, which they can easily click.

 

5. Onboard Returning Donors Quickly

Finding donors who are willing to make a consistent donation is the main prize for every campaign. The process of onboarding does not have to be a long and tedious registration filled with verification e-mails and collecting information that you might not even need.

 

The time spent on this exercise must be kept to an absolute minimum. WhyDonate is great when it comes to onboarding donors. It literally costs a single mouse click. No additional information is needed to complete the process. The donor will receive an email with instructions to log in, and that is all.

 

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