4 Ways Nonprofits Should Optimize their Website for Fundraising Success

This article is written from the perspective of our fundraising consultant, Rev. Jana Swenson, CFRE. You can read her full bio HERE.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s railroad transportation was in such high demand that railways increased by sevenfold! But, by 1920 railroads were no longer turning a profit. What happened? The invention of the automobile. With the introduction of the affordable Model T, in 1914, the automobile became the more popular way to travel.

Railroad owners assumed the automobile was a short-term fad that would have no impact on their business. Instead of adjusting their strategy, they continued business as usual. When they finally recognized the automobile was here to stay, it was too late. The decline in use and profits was well underway and, in fact, continues to this day. 

But what do automobiles and railroads from the early 1900s have to do with optimizing your website for fundraising?

About 30 years ago a new invention was born. Namely, the internet. With her arrival came an easier and faster way for people to invest in their favorite nonprofit or congregation. But many leaders assumed she was a fad and kept doing things the way they've always been done. Just like the railroad companies of the 1900s, nonprofits that don’t successfully leverage the Internet for fundraising will not survive.

One of the most important ways congregations and nonprofits can leverage the Internet for fundraising is by optimizing their website. Throughout this article, you will learn three common myths about the use of websites for fundraising and four things every nonprofit website that is optimized for fundraising has. 

Why Should Nonprofits Optimize Their Website for Fundraising?

If you wanted to develop a relationship with someone that you admired, you’d make an effort to get to know them, and they, you. You’d pay close attention to the things that interest them and engage them in meaningful ways. Over time this person who was once an acquaintance would become a friend who is now equally invested in the relationship. 

As a nonprofit or church, your website facilitates the relationship-building process. It is an important tool in moving those interested in your mission from an acquaintance to a friend.

Those who are invested in your organization are volunteers who give of their time, advocates who share their passion, and donors who give their financial resources. The easiest and most effective way these investments are now made is online. 

As it relates to donations, 63% of gifts made to nonprofits are now made online — that’s over half of the number of gifts a nonprofit receives. Double the Donation also reported that 75% of online donations are made from a desktop as opposed to other mobile devices.  

This data shows that individuals are increasingly more comfortable with online navigation and making donations online. If nonprofits are serious about hitting their fundraising goals, they need to optimize their websites for fundraising. 

3 Myths About Nonprofit Websites and Fundraising Online

“Your mind is a powerful thing,” writes James Clear. “The stories you tell yourself and the things you believe about yourself can either prevent change from happening or allow new skills to blossom.”  

This also applies to your beliefs about websites and online fundraising. If you’re going to improve your website for online fundraising we first need to unpack three common myths. 

Myth #1: The purpose of a website is to impart information. 

It’s easy to see a website as the primary way of telling the world about your mission; the place to share “who you are, what you do, where you are located, and how to stay in touch.” This is like introducing two friends who don’t know each other and walking away, giving them no common ground to continue a conversation. Your friends have no reason to get to know each other better. 

This is the exact opposite result you want your website to have. 

The purpose of your website is not only to give viewers a reason to get to know you, but ultimately to engage them at a deeper level. We want to move them from spectators of the mission to owners of the mission. Owners believe in the organization, care about the impact it’s having, give their time to facilitate that impact, and invest financially to ensure it has the resources it needs. Moving your website viewers from spectator to owner requires their engagement. 

Myth 2: Only younger generations prefer to give online.

The general assumption is that GenXers (43-58) and Baby Boomers (59-77) are not comfortable navigating online giving platforms and prefer traditional ways of making a donation — like direct mail or attending an event. As a result, many nonprofit organizations spend significant time and money on these more expensive and labor-intensive ways of inviting gifts. 

In reality, investing in your donor’s online giving experience will have a better return on investment, both in time and money. It also is the vehicle of choice for older donors. Data shows that 55% of GenX’ers and 54% of Baby Boomers prefer to give online. So if you want to save money and time, and maximize your fundraising efforts, it is imperative that you optimize your website for fundraising. 

Myth 3: As long as we have a “DONATE BUTTON” we’re good to go.

Would you get engaged to someone on a first date? Probably not, you just don’t go from introducing yourself to someone to being in a committed relationship with them. 

For this same reason, simply having a donate button doesn’t optimize your website for fundraising. It’s like introducing yourself to a website visitor and assuming that when they see the donate button, they’ll be ready to make a gift. 

A donate button is important, but it is the last step of the donor engagement process. If your website doesn’t engage your viewer and help them transition from spectator to owner your donate button won’t get used!

How to Optimize Your Website for Fundraising

As an executive director, pastor, or development director there are already a lot of things on your plate. Right? You want to increase online donations, but don’t know how to do this without investing lots of time and energy. 

So, here are the four highest ROI ways to optimize your website for fundraising success:

Step #1: Make Your Mission Clear and Compelling

You have 7-15 seconds to capture the attention of a website visitor. That’s not a lot of time. And yet, that is exactly what you need to do with your website. 

The best way to capture a website visitor’s attention is with a clear and compelling mission. 

Four principles for a clear and compelling mission are:

1. Focus on the impact. How does your organization change lives? What problem do you solve?
2. Be clear over catchy. If creativity becomes the goal you may be sacrificing clarity. Avoid over-using alliterations or wordplays. 
3. Use a power verb. We often revert to generic verbs like “help” or “serve” when in reality, a more specific verb will better define your mission.
4. One sentence. If it takes more than one sentence to summarize your mission on your website it’s too long.

New Story applies all four of these principles on their home page.

Impact: End global homelessness

Clarity: Simple and easy-to-understand words are used

Power Verb: “Pioneer” is a word that indicates New Story is on the cutting edge

One sentence: It’s one sentence

Once you get your viewer's attention you want to keep it. The good news is that if you demonstrate your mission in a clear and compelling way, you will keep the viewer's attention. Here are two more ways to keep your viewers attention with a clear and compelling mission:

Tell stories. Communication expert Donald Miller wrote, “neuroscientists claim the average human being spends more than 30% of their time daydreaming…unless! Unless they’re reading a novel or watching a movie. Why? Because when we are engaged in a story, the story does the daydreaming for us.” 

Stories capture attention. One or two well-told stories about a person whose life was changed for the better is all it takes. The viewer understands that one story represents many more stories just like it. Stories also catalyze action. They move your viewers emotionally and motivate them to participate — to join you in making a difference in someone’s life. 

Remember that inspirational content is less about you and what you do, and more about your viewer and their interaction with your mission. Your website should draw them in, to the degree that they are changed in some way. Either they are enlightened about the problem your organization solves, or they connect emotionally with your purpose and values. An engaging and inspiring website invites viewers to experience your mission.

Use images and videos. Images and videos help your viewers have a micro-experience of what you do. They demonstrate the impact you are having. It’s proof that you are solving real problems and making a difference in the world. For some organizations, the use of real-life photos and videos will not be appropriate. In this case, consider using other visuals that bring your mission to life. 

Step #2: Make Your Website Easy to Navigate and Use 

Have you ever opened a website on your phone where you had to zoom in and then scroll back and forth to read the text? How long did you stay on that website? Probably not long and chances are you moved on instead of opening the website on a desktop.

This is significant because 57% — over half — of website traffic occurs on mobile devices. If your website isn’t easy to use on both desktop and mobile devices you won’t be able to fully engage the viewer.

Here are seven ways you can make your website easier to navigate TODAY:

1. Optimize your website for mobile and tablet use, as well as every browser
2. Home page layout: Place the logo on the top left corner and a bright bold (ideally red) donate button on the top right corner
3. Invite visitors to subscribe to your newsletter and other e-communication on the homepage and footer of every page on your website. Engagement over time increases the possibility that they will become donors
4. Create strong share-able content, usually in the form of a blog, youtube channel, or social media post
5. Make sure social media platforms are easy to find; a good place for these is in the footer or the top right corner of your website
6. Check links periodically, this includes (especially) any buttons and tabs on your website
7. Ensure the Donate button takes the viewer to your Ways to Give page.

Time spent making your website user-friendly is time well spent. The more positive the visitor experience, the longer they will engage with your mission.

Step #3: Give Donors a Full Range of Gift Options 

Every donor is unique based on their stage of life, financial situation, and philanthropic propensity. As a result, the way your donors make their gifts should vary from donor to donor. If you are only asking for cash gifts, then donors who aren’t in a position to give from their monthly cashflow won’t make a gift. 

But if you offer an easy way for them to make a gift of stock, or a charitable distribution from their IRA, you are not only likely to receive a really nice gift, but you’ll engage more donors at a variety of giving levels. This is the one place where nonprofit organizations are leaving donations on the table.

By sharing a full list of giving options and instructions on how to make them, you will increase the chances of getting bigger and better gifts. 

Here are 10 giving options you can provide your donors:

1. How to make a one-time donation (be sure your donor immediately receives an email acknowledging and thanking them for the gift)
2. How to make a recurring, automated donation
3. How to give to different programs or projects 
4. How to make a stock donation 
5. How to make a gift from an IRA 
6. How to make a gift with a Donor Advised Fund (DAF)
7. How to get your gift matched
8. How to make a Gift in Kind — create and maintain a Wish List 
9. How to make a Planned Gift
10. How to set up Peer to Peer fundraising 

Helping donors think creatively about ways they can make their gifts not only improves the quality of the gifts you receive but also helps donors make gifts in ways that are best for them. 

Step #4: Make it Easy to Process and Acknowledge Online Donations

The goal of optimizing your website for fundraising is to create a path of least resistance for your donors to move from spectator to owner of your mission. Everything we’ve covered so far — a clear mission, easy navigation and inviting different types of gifts — is creating an easy-to-follow path for your donors to make a gift. 

But this journey continues until a gift is processed, tracked and most importantly, acknowledged.

If you’ve lived in the fundraising space of your organization for any length of time, you know that processing, entering and acknowledging donations takes a tremendous amount of time. The less streamlined the system, the more time and money it costs your organization, and the longer it takes for a donor to be thanked. Thanking a donor in a timely and appropriate manner is the best way to ensure future gifts.  

While your Customer Relations Management (CRM) software has to do many things, don’t underestimate the importance of its use for donor management — especially if you rely on individual donors for a significant portion of your income. One of the best ways to save time and money is by integrating your payment processor with your CRM or using your CRM’s donation processing platform. This will allow you to automatically connect the gift with the right donor and immediately send a donor acknowledgment email. This prevents having to enter all donations into your CRM manually.

Your Next Steps

Fundraising is not rocket science, but it does take time and energy — two resources that nonprofit organizations never have enough of. 

Investing your time and energy on the things that have the highest return (ROI) becomes critical. Optimizing your website for fundraising (as opposed to running a fundraising event, for example) is one of those high ROI things. Research shows that “nonprofits of all sizes routinely leave a lot of potential revenue on the table… It can be beneficial to take into account… the dominance of web browsing when developing updated fundraising strategies in the coming years.” 

If you haven’t downloaded the 10 Things You Need on Your Donate Page yet, you can do so here. 

At Brenda Moore and Associates we specialize in solving fundraising problems for faith-based nonprofits. Chatting with you would be a bright spot in our day! If you would like to discuss more high ROI fundraising strategies, schedule a call HERE.

This article was co-authored by Rev. Jana Swenson, CFRE and Samantha Roose.