Nonprofit Donation Pages: Remove Roadblocks with These 12 Effective Traits

For every 100 users that visit your online donation page, a slim 21% will donate (source: M+R Benchmarks 2021). That’s 79 donors who walk away without converting. 

So, how can you make an online donation form that converts? We have a short list to get you started. Take a look: 

12 Traits of an Effective Donation Page:

What makes up a fantastic fundraising landing page that gets your readers to turn into action-taking donors? 

Try using these 12 traits of an effective nonprofit donation page! With them, you’re sure to see your fundraising efforts increase. 

 

1. Branded. 

Your logo, brand colors, and consistent brand messaging should align throughout your website and your donation page. 

What you have for your social media channels, your emails, and your website pages should all match. That will reassure your reader they’re in the right place. Branded elements and colors are much more recognizable! According to Tailor Brands, using the same colors and branding elements can improve recognition by up to 80%. 

You can also use Canva Pro for nonprofits to create an entire nonprofit brand guide. 

 

2. Isolated. 

It’s easy to want to include plenty of information and links to share your entire story and brand with your audience. But, once potential supporters reach your nonprofit donation pages, they’re at a critical point of the donor journey. 

With too many distracting links, they may click off of the donation page entirely. If that happens, the likelihood of them returning is slim. 

Make sure you try to keep them to the online donation page as much as possible. Remove main navigation components so as not to distract donors away from the process. Keep links to other nonprofit website pages or social media channels off of the page. 

If you do feel the need to add in any links, try to do so after the donation button. 

 

 

3. Mobile-friendly.

More of the world is moving to an online space. And it’s becoming more accessible by the day. That includes the use of smartphones and tablets. 

Nowadays, donors are using all kinds of devices to find organizations. And they’re using their smartphones and tablets to make donations on nonprofit donation pages. 

The best thing you can do is make it easier for them to do so! Donors use all kinds of devices and as such, your page should be responsive – viewable on any digital device.  When you design your fundraising landing page, make sure you use a mobile-friendly theme. 

The great news is that plenty of fundraising platforms, like Givebutter and 4aGoodCause, do this for you automatically! You won’t need a developer to get the job done. 

You can check to see if your nonprofit donation pages are mobile-friendly by pulling up the page on your phone! It’s also a good idea to have multiple people try it from several devices. For example, if you have an iPhone, check it there. If a volunteer has an Android phone, have them pull it up, too. Do the same for tablets! 

 

4. Trustworthy. 

Unfortunately, with the rise in technology, there’s also been a rise in nonprofit cybersecurity threats. 

Not to mention, there are plenty of scammers out there willing to take people’s hard-earned money. 

We know that’s not your nonprofit organization! But your potential supporters might not know yet. Reassure them that you’re a trustworthy nonprofit by keeping your website and online donation pages secure. 

Your page should be fully encrypted with a security certificate and logo to assure your donors their information is secure. 

 

 

5. Compelling. 

This is the power of great copywriting! By using compelling words, you can communicate the need that your mission has. Help donors understand the value of their gift. 

The human brain subconsciously translates information into stories. You can help them out by skipping a step and using storytelling methods to tell your story properly. 

Think of this as an opportunity to showcase your elevator pitch and showcase your personality. 

Keep your most important copywriting at the top of the nonprofit donation pages, too! You can use that to grab the reader’s attention so they won’t feel compelled to click off the page. 

 

 

6. Urgent. 

For the most part, readers won’t take much action unless they’re told to. Naturally, the human brain says, “if it’s not urgent, it can wait until later.” 

But we know, your organization might not be able to wait until later. So be sure to communicate that the need for support is urgent! 

Be sure to tell your donors why their gift is needed now. And use active words, buttons, and headlines that demonstrate this urgency with words and phrases such as “now” or “don’t wait.” 

 

 

7. Concise. 

Most supporters don’t reach a donation page excited to read line after line of content. Typically, long-form content is saved for earlier in the donor’s journey, when they’re first learning about your organization. 

You can use longer content in your blog posts or even on some of your nonprofit website’s pages. 

But by the time potential supporters reach the nonprofit donation pages, they’re ready to make a decision: either they’re going to donate or they’re not. 

Don’t bog them down with a long donation page. In fact, a long, complicated check-out process can cost you up to 21% of your potential donors (source: The Baymard Institute). To mitigate this, use fewer form fields with fewer steps to complete the donation. 

 

 

8. Clear. 

Part of having a great user experience is keeping it clear and easy to read. A page that’s full of clutter, too many large boxes of text, or images that don’t load properly is a great way to get potential supporters to click off. 

Use ample white space on your form. Add headings, subheadings, and body copy appropriately so it is clear where information goes, what is being asked, and how to complete the process. 

 

9. Maximizing. 

Don’t leave money on the table! Give donors plenty of giving options while you already have their attention. Offer them the opportunity to opt into a monthly giving program. Ask them if they wouldn’t mind covering processing fees so 100% of their donation goes straight to your organization (and not to payment processing platforms). 

You can also ask if their employer participates in a matching gift program. If that’s the case, you can easily double your donation! 

And finally, don’t forget to offer appropriate suggested giving levels. You may leave money on the table if you ask for too little. And you may not receive a donation at all if you ask for a contribution that’s too large. 

Fundraising platforms like 4aGoodCause can help you with this! Many of the fundraising tools like employer matching gifts and monthly giving options are included in the platform. 

 

 

 

10. Helpful. 

Always include contact information – if your donor has a question while completing the form, it should be easy for them to connect with you. If error messages appear due to incorrect form fields or missing information, those messages should be in plain language and easily call out where those errors are (and how to fix them).

 

 

 

11. Thankful. 

The first thank you should appear automatically on the donation confirmation page. Showcase your appreciation right away. From there, set an automated email message that thanks the donor again and provides additional information such as tax deduction forms and information, or how to stay connected to your organization. 

 

12. Amplifying. 

Catch the donor while they’re feeling good and doing good. Ask them to share their act of kindness! Add social sharing buttons or automated actions after their donation processes where they can give a shout-out on the platforms they use. 

And if you’re looking for ways to improve your nonprofit organization, you may want to include a nonprofit survey. Having feedback surveys ready to go is a great way to understand what went well and what went wrong during the donation process. 

Plus, potential donors are more likely to participate in a survey directly after giving through nonprofit donation pages. So you can include a survey on the automatic thank you page after they donate. Or you can send a survey through email after they make their contribution. 

Use these 12 traits above as a checklist to ensure you are putting your best foot forward when building your fundraising landing pages. 

And if you need a great tool to help you create your effective nonprofit donation pages, we’ve got recommendations! 

We’re proud to partner with 4aGoodCause. With it, you can build customizable, branded online donation pages for your nonprofit. And yes! You can optimize it so it includes all of these effective traits. 

We have a free, on-demand training so you can get an inside look at the platform. Plus, it’s a zero-obligation, no-pressure training. Don’t worry about marketing or sales emails landing in your inbox. You can opt into receiving them, but you definitely don’t have to! 

 

Happy building!

– Your friends at NonprofitLibrary

 

P.S. View the recorded webinar with Ronald Pruitt, President and Founder of 4aGoodCause to learn more about how building an effective landing page can lead to more conversions. His platform is a great way for nonprofits of all sizes to build beautiful, effective fundraising pages without the hassle of website coding. Learn how you can raise more with his tips!