HOW TO UNLOCK YOUR DONOR’S POT-O-GOLD WITH YOUR WEBSITE
It’s that time of year, wether you live in Ireland, tout an Irish sir-name, have an 23&Me to prove your heritage or just love a Guinness - we ALL get to be a bit Irish!
So today, I wanted to take the time to tell you some of my favorite and proven ways to get your donors to give YOUR Nonprofit more of their Pot-O-Gold!
MAKE IT STUPID SIMPLE
If potential donors have taken the effort to navigate to your website when they could be mindlessly scrolling TikTok, you better make it worth their time and get the job done FAST! This means, Lots of Calls to Action (Donate, Support, Make A Difference etc) + a stupid simple button in the navigation that leads to a minimal click donation form. A few years back it was all about the 2-click check out. Now, things have gotten more streamlined and users are ok with clicking a few times if the experience and content is beautifully presented. Make it easy, make it impactful.
CHECK YOUR SITE:
Donor Button in TOP + BOTTOM Navigation
Calls to Action on EVERY Page?!? (extra points if you have 2 | deduct points if you have 3+ on more than 4 pages, we are not selling the Snuggie here so dial it back a bit).
MAKE DONOR FORMS EMBED, RESPONSIVE, RECURRING GIVING, IMPACT FOCUSED THANK YOUS + COVER FEES
I have said it before + I will continue to say it again + again, EMBED YOUR DONATION FORMS. Use a donor management that will help donors trust your reputation and know where their money is going. Consistency = Stability + DONORS WILL NOT GIVE TO YOU IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A CLEAR IDENTITY THAT IS CONSISTENT ESPECIALLY WHERE THEY PUT IN THEIR CREDIT CARD INFO. While some All-in-Ones will allow you to put your “branding + logo” the url changes and savvy donors will notice it. Keep donor forms embedded + your website responsive. Don’t know if your website is responsive? Open it on your phone then call me. 😍 Add impact statements if you can on your donation form (DONORBOX offers this) to help donors understand the impact of their dollars and hopefully give more. Help donors to give monthly by encouraging monthly giving + ask them to help cover ACH fees. And, after you get that donation, RETAIN that donor by writing an impact focused donation letter. Keeping them from lapsing 80% of the time.
CHECK YOUR SITE:
Is your donor form embedded on your site?
Monthly + Annual Giving Encouraged?
Ask them to cover credit card fees?
Add Impact Statements to your donation levels?
Impact focused donation letter?
MAKE YOUR NEED IMPORTANT… LIKE NOW!
Urgency is imperative. Sometimes though your urgency is hard to communicate so create campaigns or visual themes around seasons or quarters to help tie the giving needs together. Matching Gifts also do wonders to get donors to open their pockets, IF THEY KNOW THEIR GIFT WILL DOUBLE, they are twice as likely to give. This is why Giving Tuesday is so successful for so many charities.
CHECK YOUR SITE:
Have you expressed your needs + their urgency?
Do you have a theme or campaign in place (extra points if you change these out throughout the year).
Do you have matching gifts in place to encourage donors to give more?
MAKE YOUR WEBSITE TALK TO THE REASONS WHY PEOPLE DONATE
There are really only 6 reasons someone would willingly give their hard earned money to your cause. YOUR WEBSITE HAS TO COMMUNICATE ALL OF THESE + HAVE A CTA ON EACH SECTION.
CHECK YOUR SITE:
Connected to those with a social connection to your mission? (add social images or shoutouts)
Connected to Trust in the organization? (add your transparency badges)
Connected to the altruistic? (add impact stories)
Connected to those who want to see immediate impact or tangible results? (add direct statistics on how your charity has changed the mission)
Connected to those who want to feel good about giving? (add current stories with direct language on how donors changed the story)
Connected to those who only want tax benefits? (add your nonprofit status in your website footer + on your donation page/check out make sure its clear when they will receive a tax letter)
