Driving donor engagement online doesn’t begin and end with your nonprofit’s web design. In addition to prioritizing user experience and brand consistency, the top nonprofit websites thoughtfully consider their audience’s preferences by offering various donation options to suit donors’ needs and interests.
Studies have shown that 97% of donors want flexibility in where and how they give to causes they care about, and 20% of donors reconsidered donating when a nonprofit didn’t include their preferred payment option.
Incorporating these preferences into your online donation strategy will allow you to increase digital giving and strengthen donor retention. Explore the following tips to expand your website’s donation options and promote these giving opportunities effectively.
1. Offer multiple payment methods.
Nowadays, there are many ways to give to nonprofits, and the more payment options you offer, the more donor preferences you’ll appeal to.
Double the Donation’s fundraising statistics show that 63% of donors prefer to give online with a credit or debit card. Other donors prefer giving via direct mail (16%), PayPal (10%), wire transfer (5%), cash (4%), digital wallet (1%), and text-to-give (1%).
With that in mind, consider offering these popular payment options on your website’s donation page:
- Credit/debit cards
- ACH payments
- Digital wallets, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Venmo
- Gifts of stock
- Donor-advised fund grants
- Cryptocurrency
- Information about submitting cash or check donations via mail or in-person drop-offs
You may not be able to accept every one of these donation options, but choosing a few to expand your website’s offerings can help you better appeal to donors’ preferences.
Include an FAQ section at the bottom of your donation form or in a sidebar menu to provide additional information and context for each giving option. For example, check out the Climate Reality Project’s Guide to Giving page. This page addresses common donor questions and concerns about everything from ways to give to taxes.
Offering multiple giving options and instructions on how to use each one empowers donors to choose the best method for them. This flexibility improves the giving experience, increasing the chances that donors will give again.
2. Highlight unique ways to give.
Your donation page should also offer multiple ways for donors to level up their involvement. Some donors may be willing to take their support even further but need a nudge to push them in the right direction.
Highlight various giving options donors can choose that benefit supporters and your organization. For example, your donation page should:
- Allow donors to give in honor or memory of someone. Kanopi’s hospital web design guide includes multiple examples of healthcare websites that empower donors with this option, which makes the giving process feel more personal for donors. Donors will be able to recognize a loved one who was impacted by your nonprofit’s mission or had a close connection to your cause.
- Promote matching gift opportunities. Matching gifts allow donors to maximize their impact by getting their donations doubled by their employers. Include a matching gift database search tool on your donation page so donors can research their matching gift eligibility right from the form.
- Spotlight your monthly giving program. Let donors turn their one-time gifts into recurring monthly donations with the click of a button on your donation page. Highlight the benefits of joining your monthly giving program, such as access to an exclusive impact newsletter or priority event registration. Additionally, show donors the impact of recurring giving by highlighting the positive effects of different monthly gifts. For example, take a look at how the Nashville Food Project Giving Society page spotlights the impact of various giving amounts:
It’s much easier to retain donors when you use these unique options to show the true impact their gifts can have on your mission. Supporters will be able to make a gift that aligns with their values and makes them feel like they’re doing everything they can to support your mission.
3. Maintain payment security.
As you add more payment and donation options to your website, you must ensure each is as secure as possible. A secure payment process helps maintain fundraising productivity and donor trust.
Establish a secure payment process by following these steps:
- Use a PCI-compliant payment processor. Payment card industry (PCI) compliance is a set of standards organizations must adhere to to protect their customers’ or donors’ credit card information. These safeguards include firewalls to protect data, regularly updated security software, anti-virus and anti-malware tools, and more.
- Encrypt sensitive payment details. Encryption protects payment details by scrambling the information into a code that can only be read using a secret key.
- Require strong passwords for donor portal logins. If you give donors the option to create a profile in your donor portal, require them to set strong passwords. Strong passwords are typically at least 12 characters long, use a combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and numbers, and are unique from passwords used for other accounts.
- Use two-factor authentication. This process involves using two different methods to log in, such as a password and a security question or a code sent to your email address. This authentication makes it easier to protect accounts from getting hacked.
After setting up secure payment processes, don’t forget to conduct regular website maintenance. Run security scans and upgrade your software when new patches are available to maintain top-notch security.
4. Promote your giving options on multiple channels.
Advertise your website’s new donation options so supporters can learn about them and choose the method that appeals to them.
Use the following marketing channels to share information about and links to your website’s donation options:
- Website blog
- Social media
- Email newsletters
- Direct mail
- SMS (text messages)
Highlight the benefits of each giving option for donors and your nonprofit. For example, let’s say a donor is interested in donating stock to your nonprofit. Direct them to a detailed blog post that answers common questions and explains the win-win benefits of this giving method. Explain that the donor can access tax benefits, such as income tax deductions. Meanwhile, your nonprofit benefits from larger donations because you won’t have to pay taxes on these gifts.
Wrapping up: Evaluating online giving success
With these tips, you can safely expand your online giving options and promote them widely to your nonprofit’s audience.
To assess the effectiveness of your efforts, track donation page metrics such as your conversion rate and the frequency at which donors choose different giving options. Consider highlighting more popular options higher up on your donation form or including FAQs about your most commonly-selected giving methods.
You can also track social media and email engagement to see how frequently your audience interacts with content about your donation options. Evaluate which posts or emails see the most engagement and adjust your promotion strategy to focus on your highest-performing content.