Nonprofit organizations have many ways to connect with their donors. Today, more than ever before your online presence is instrumental in getting the word out about your mission and all the great things you are doing for your community. This includes your website, one of the most important components of your online presence. Your website is many times the first-place potential donors and volunteers will go to learn about your organization. So, not only do you need to have a website, you need one that is dynamic, kept current, allows credit card processing, and optimized for mobile devices. Here are 3 tips for website content that generates online donations.
1. Visit Your Website Daily: Your website is part of your team and will work for your 24/7 if you keep the content current. Visit your website daily both from a computer and a mobile device. Test it and make sure it is actively working, has awesome content, and is easy to navigate. If your technology is outdated and your information is not current, make it a priority to consult with a web designer or developer to help you. This is imperative if you are seeking online donations. Millennials and younger generations are using their mobile devices for purchasing almost everything from A to Z. This includes researching what nonprofit organizations to support. They have money, want to give so you need to be prepared to make their online donation as easy and convenient as a click of a button. If not, they will find another nonprofit to support.
2. Clearly Tell Your Story: This is one of the most important aspects of website content and should be on your home page. Tell your story, the who, what, where, why, and how of your nonprofit. Donors are visiting your website to learn more about you and if you don't catch their attention in just a few moments, they will leave your site. Potential donors want to make personal connections and feel good about how their donation is making a positive difference. So, make your content full of testimonials from folks you've helped, pictures, and videos of events where people are smiling and helping others. Keep it personal and create an emotional connection. Telling your story is an ongoing process just as the great work you are doing, so add new content frequently. Add call to action tabs and buttons like, "Donate Now” to make it easy to donate.
3. Keep The Process Simple: Today's technology allows you so many opportunities to achieve online donations successfully. Keep the process as simple as possible, ask for just the information you need. Some donors are suspicious of providing too much information or get frustrated and stop altogether if it takes too much time. PayPal and Venmo are examples of seamless and trusted services to research for your online giving platform.
Make donating on your website as simple & clear as possible while appealing to the human side of the “why” people should donate to your cause will ensure more people will donate.
