Recently Trail Blazer clients have been signing up for online donations at an increased rate. But does having a web page for donations mean your work is done? Not by a long shot!
But with some preplanning and promotion you can increase your fundraising success.
Hint: Make the donation page a simple URL, like http://www.mysite.org/donate or http://www.mysite.org/donate.htm
Set some simple goals. What do you want your online donation collections to do for you?
Because an online donation page is not a magic pill, we should look at what we did in the past. From that we identified three areas that if you were just doing offline, you might change or make more effective.
Goals
1. Reduce paperwork and hours.
2. Increase sizes of gifts.
3. Increase number of gifts, both from existing donors and new donors (fourth goal).
So how does setting up an online donation collection help accomplish those goals?
1. Reduced paper work - Transfer the collection to the website – donors self input their data reducing paper work and hours.
2. Increase size of gifts – Once directed to your web site make up-sizing to slightly higher than average a real choice. We recommend a small, medium, and large donation. We have heard disagreement on whether to include an ‘open’ amount (fill in your own $) but I say go for it. By making the Medium level on the website be 10-20% more than the average donation last year, many people will see that medium level as the default, causing some to donate more than last year’s average.
3. Increase number of gifts – Spontaneous gifts! A well planned web site and email newsletters can have links to donation web pages for spontaneous gifts. Email newsletters can track open and click rates that let you know what part of your mission people get excited about. Web site analytic tools can give you information about your web site. By looking at response rates, and adding forward to friend appeals you can increase the effectiveness of your email newsletters. Printed newsletters still have a place – but are rarely forward and don’t have links to donation web pages for spontaneous gifts.
Don’t forget you need to promote!
Be sure a “donate now” button and links are on every page of your website – make them easy to find. Make it clear that gifts make the mission happen; everyone knows it, nothing good happens by being shy.
Email – Every email should have a link to the donation page. Depending on your message 3-4 links to the donation page would not be unusual in a newsletter.
Offline communications include not only the home page (and other contact information) but a link to the donation page. See the hint about simple URLs above. Even your stationary should have the simple donate URL, top and bottom if possible.
Most importantly measure your results.
Once your online donation page is setup to track donors, see who gives online vs. offline. Do this for each of your fundraising appeals. Include tracking for gifts that were outside of your appeals process. Over time this will help you to understand and even target direct mail and email appeals with the best use of resources.
Although Trail Blazer's software won’t do the work for you, it makes the job of cultivating donors easier. Your mission, your story, still needs to compel the donor to give their gift.
To learn more about setting up an online donation program, call Brian at 800-446-1375 or email him at
bhanf@trailblz.com
The online donation tools are included in your Trail Blazer annual subscription.
Trail Blazer Campaign Services, Inc. has 3 approved credit card gateways. To learn more about each gateway and which has the best value for you, call Brian today 800-446-1375.
We never handle your money we simply facilitate the transaction between the donor and you.