For many non-profits, the idea of launching an online fundraising program can seem intimidating. That’s why starting today, we’re launching a series here on the Arreva blog in the hopes that we can pull back the curtain on some tips and tricks we’ve picked up through years of enabling thousands of nonprofits to raise money online.
Through this series, hopefully, we can make this process a little less scary, and help some of you grow your donor base while engaging with them in a whole new way online.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be covering many of these quick tips, and more, in a more in-depth way. But to kick off our Online Fundraising Fundamentals series, we wanted to walk through eight things you can do today in order to launch a successful first online fundraising campaign quickly and effectively:
The homepage of your website is a lot like the lobby of your office. You want to be able to quickly communicate where you want people to go, and how you want them to get there. When you’re launching an online fundraising campaign for the first time you will want to make sure your donation link is featured prominently on your homepage. If you look at most nonprofits' websites today, you’ll probably see a bright red or yellow button asking you to donate. Don’t be afraid to let your donate button stand out.
58.99% of all online traffic last quarter was mobile. That means that if your donation page or form is not responsive to a mobile screen you could be missing more than half of your website visitors. Make sure that whichever provider you use offers mobile responsive donation pages.
Online donors tend to prefer small, specific projects versus the traditional broadly general ask. It’s easier for a donor to feel like they’re making an impact when you ask them for a $20 dollar contribution to a $1,000 dollar campaign than it is to ask for a donation of any size to a multi-million dollar capital campaign.
It is especially important to allow for small donation levels along with larger gifts. When you ask donors for small amounts towards a larger but still moderate goal, it makes it easier to go back to them again over time. When donors can see real or apparent impact from the money they are donating, they are more apt to give repeatedly.
Sharing your donation page across social media and other channels is essential. Even if you aren’t running a specific fundraising campaign at the moment, make sure to regularly include links to your donation page on your social media profiles, online newsletter, and even staff communications.
Donors like to give to organizations they feel personally connected to. Online consumers tend to trust their peers, friends, and family more than they trust brands and organizations. One of the best ways to expand your donor base and raise more money rapidly is to leverage the personal and professional networks of your supporters by launching peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns.
Be sure that your online donation pages provide the opportunity for donors to make their donations recurring gifts. Recurring donors give 5 times the amount annually as one-time donors, so make sure whatever software you use has fully integrated recurring giving capabilities.