Useful tips in Making a Fundraising Website

Have you experienced organizing a fundraising? There are times that we need to organize in order to support significant activities. This is frequently done for charities, non-profits and Non-Government Organizations to sustain operations. Raising funds is so much more than just asking money. This is also a chance for the organizer to build relationships and foundations for prospected new donors.

There are many ways to organize raising funds. One of the most effective way is to make a website. This is where I will share to you how to create a fundraising website! Here are some useful tips in making a fundraising website.

1. Simplify Your Donation Process

Since, our objective here is to keep donors and gather donations, it is important to simplify any process when donating. Donations are essential to any nonprofit organizations. If your donation process is easy to follow and easy to find, then you will have more chance of an increased donation through your donation site.

Emphasize Your Donate Button

Your donate button should stand out from the other buttons. Make it visible in every page in your site. Thru this, it will be easy to navigate in your site when they wish to donate. Emphasize it from the rest of the navigation buttons. Make it eye-catching from the other buttons.

Make It One Click Away

To keep your supporters, utilize in your site a one click away donating process. This donation button should lead directly to the donation page and form. Saves time for the potential donors and at the same time increasing your chance to receive donations.  

Remember: Lessen extra steps. After a potential donor clicks the donate button.  This button must directly lead to donation page and form.

It’s a common mistake done by website designers. Adding more process, will likely reduce the chance of a potential donor donating.

Make Use of Fundraising Software for Your Site

There are plenty of fundraising software available and there are even free software that you can utilize. This will make donating in your page much easier and will also have additional features, such as

• Donation ‘gauge’ which will act as monitor to encourage more donations.
• Pre-filled forms with amounts and descriptions. This lets donors know exactly what they’re contributing to.
• PDF receipts, and other features that will help you raise more money.
• Integrated employer donation matching.
• Recurring giving options. Place a recurring giving option on your form to see higher donor retention rates.

Bonus Tips

• Hide the standard top navigation in the header of the donation page.
• Employ a simple footer design
• Eliminate unnecessary links
• Hide social media icons
• Use text sparingly
• Some nonprofit organization’s donation process makes sure that visitors stay on their donation page once they get there.

2. Enhance Your Website and Donation Process for Mobile Devices

Surfing the internet has been in the convenience of our fingertips.
Bringing along with us our smartphones for almost 24 hours. Smartphones has become popularly the preferred media in accessing the internet doing activities such as, sharing, researching, and of course donating. As part of your nonprofit’s vision, is to be accessible to all for more potential donors.

Things to Do to Make Our Website Mobile Friendly.

• Avoid using large photos that needs to be scrolled down to view the whole photo.
• Use a font size that is large to be read on smartphones and tablets.
• Always check your website through your phone to know if it is smartphone compatible.
• Easy navigation should be incorporated in your website to be mobile friendly. Simplify your design in order to be more mobile friendly.

To increase donations by 126% your website must be mobile-friendly, as what NP Source have found out.

3. Present the Problem. Show the Solution. And Project the Impact.

Your nonprofit donation page should not feel like it’s a payment page.  Instead, it should gently remind visitors why they should give to your nonprofit organization.

To make the donors feel comfortable and not obliged as buying, here are some guide questions.

• Why should I help with my money?
• Why should I donate to you as opposed to another cause?
• How do I know my money is going to be used wisely and ethically?

Create a relationship in your website by starting with the concerns that you are trying to solve, what are the solutions available to solve it and why are you trying to solve it and why would you involve others.

Impart the awareness of the nonprofit to the potential donors including the solutions and motivate them to be part of the solution through their donations.

Motivate them with images and infographics that could stimulate their brain for them to help you.

Videos are more engaging. People will empathize more with videos and help your cause.

Keep your website stimulating and engaging with visuals.

Supporters and donors want to know that they are making a difference. They would want to know that their money is going to a good cause. Transparency should always be presented so that donor will continue to trust you.

4. Share to Your Audience Who You Are

Visitors on your site will most likely check on the “About Us” on your site. This is one way of making sure that they are in the right nonprofit that they would support.

“About Us” is included in the top clicks in websites. Even though your nonprofit is doing great with results this is an important part of your site. This is like the need to know basis. Through is, you are building rapport and gathering trust from potential donors.

Things to Do in “About Us” Page.

• Do not cram everything in this page.
• Separate your history, mission and vision statement, staff, annual reports and financials.
• Reflect your nonprofit’s personality here.
• Who are you?
• Tell them who does your charity trying to help? Be clear and brief.
• Tell them what inspired you to start?
• Tell them what you are doing right now. This includes your current projects.
• What are your plans?

Some organizations will not only tell the “About Us” story but rather they will have it named, “Our Story” or “Who We Are We”.  These all convey the same intent: to find out what you’re all about. This is also another chance to pour in your creativity to convey potential donors to support your organization.

This part right here is another perfect chance to share visual storytelling, so share your artistic touch.

Don’t make your storytelling long. Make it simple and brief.

Some nonprofit organization does their “About Us” through a video of how their nonprofit do their works Like the The Nature Conservancy does their About Us page well. They call it “Who We Are”. A three-minute video tells their story, and compelling stats capture the scope of their work. Think of showing your best you in a short video.

5. Utilize Videos

Videos convey more messages and emotions, if you will have the right videos in your website, this could mean that potential donors and volunteers will engage more in your nonprofit through this they can visualize why you exist will have the feeling to support you more. When more engagement will happen in your website, this could also mean that more support will come into your organization.

Engagements with videos through shares, likes, reactions and donations mostly outperform all other forms of digital communications.

Even if your video is just 60 seconds, they may convey a million words or pages of text which can capture more emotions and it is what’s important in your website.

Here are some other video statistics that nonprofits should know:

Videos represent 69% of all consumer internet traffic this year alone with impressive growth predicted over the next few years.

Video content is responsible for 85% of all U.S. internet traffic.

57% of online donors make a gift after watching an inspirational fundraising video.

Crowdfunding pages that are promoted by video raise 4 times as many donations.

More than 1/2 of video views happen on a mobile device.

92% of nonprofits say they value the investment they made in the video.

Home-made nonprofit videos frequently perform better than high-end productions on the internet.

Videos recorded on individuals’ smartphones are now a common way to capture and show the importance of your mission and the things you are accomplishing. Be one of the nonprofits that are succeeding through videos, a more powerful media tool as a nonprofit.

Here are just a few tips to get started with video:

If you have an iMovie App, that is already an awesome tool to edit your videos and upload them later to YouTube and Vimeo. Through tutorials and practice you can edit and produce your video. Just search “how to edit videos on iMovie in iPhone. This is if you are an iPhone user.

If you are an android user, there are many video editing software which you can download and use for free.

Record footages of your nonprofit doing according to your mission. Record your current projects and collaborations. This will be your content in your videos that you will showcase for the potential donors and volunteers.

Be passionate and show donors how they can help contribute.

Be thankful all the time. Don’t forget to say ‘Thank you” to your donors and volunteers.

Be clear in your message and your call to action in every video. Encourage them to help you.

Videos can be posted to YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook and with your email, website, number in order to contact you as you convince potential donors.

6. Recruit Easily

Volunteers are the muscles in every nonprofit. Include volunteer positions in your website to recruit them.

Things to Do in Volunteering Page

• Include a link of how to be a volunteer. This will lead to an application form.
• Create a page which describes the volunteer experience and how to be one.
• Welcome the volunteers to contact you.

You can call your volunteer button as “Be Part of Us” or “Be with Us” button. This will lead to a volunteer page information and volunteer page application form.

Put an emphasis to the volunteering page and button in order to gather more volunteers.

You might get unexpected results through this.

Your nonprofit online fundraising site doesn’t have to be expensive in order to be effective. Beyond Bars Animal Rescue is a small organization that features a Volunteer link prominently on its homepage.

Conclusion

In summary, make your nonprofit website, simple, clear, brief and easy. Do not overcrowd it with pictures, videos and links. Make your pictures and videos count to convey your message. Simplicity is elegance. When an extra process is added, adds a chance that the potential donors will be distracted and may back out.

Keep your website updated to generate more donors and supporters. Show your best to receive the response may it be as a volunteer or as a donor. Do not forget that the website reflects your nonprofit organization and it will be seen all over the world every day.