Ask for donations on your charity website
Private donations are the life blood of many charities; learning how to ask for money on your charity’s website in a manner that is both respectful and effective is crucial.
Getting online donations right is not difficult, but many people get it wrong. This is a simple guide to getting it right!
Content
If users of your website are interested in donating, they will have questions. Research shows that the two most important questions are:
- What is your mission, goals, objectives and work?
- How will my donation be used?
Answer these questions clearly and you will be off to a good start. A secondary but still important question is:
- What are you ideals and values?
In answering this question you have the opportunity to communicate your distinctives and stand out from the crowd.
If possible integrate these items of content into the design of your website so that they are dynamic and visually engaging.
Process
Once you have your messages clear, make sure your process is simple and intuitive.
- Integrate the process with your content (the answers to users questions should be apparent as they donate)
- Make things easy with a clear donation button on homepage (this is an easy thing to get right!)
- Your donation page should set clear information about your organisation and where the cash is going.
- Ensure the payment process keeps control and does not require registration. Beware third party processing agents.
Best practice examples of donation pages within charity websites
Save the children
http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/donate.htm
Action aid
http://www.actionaid.org.uk/100044/sponsor.html
WWF
NSPCC
Further resources
In depth report on Donation Usability by Nielson Norman Group.
Related posts
Free digital comms guide for charities
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