Improve Your Online Fundraising
Here’s a great presentation from Convio on improving the fundraising performance of your website.
I like it because its recommendations are data-driven … they didn’t spring out the imagination of someone’s creative department.
And I like the recommendations because they are specific and produced real results for the client who is the subject of the case study — the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). For example:
- a 25% decrease in the bounce rate off ADL’s homepage (if your nonprofit’s homepage bounce rate exceeds 50%, you’re hurting!);
- a 57% increase in donation page completion rates;
- a 28% increase in single gifts; and,
- a doubling (within six months) of sustainer (monthly) giving.
Nothing to sneeze at there!
The changes Convio made to the ADL site are pretty fundamental and could apply to any nonprofit’s website fundraising.
Visitors to your website are arguably the best prospects you’re ever going to have. After all, they chose to be there … they initiated the contact. [Imagine if people went to the post office and asked if they had any mail from you!] To not engage these visitors effectively should be a firing offense!
Yet data indicates that less than 10% of website visitors are induced to take any action at all … even signing up for an e-newsletter or expressing an opinion. This is what future donor acquisition is all about … not cold prospecting, but converting leads.
Nice presentation Convio.
Tom
P.S. I noted that at least in ADL’s case, the option of watching video, presented on the home page, increased the stickiness of the site. Veteran Agitator readers know I have a crush on online video!
2 responses to “Improve Your Online Fundraising”
Behavioral Science Q & A
Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
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I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
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Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]
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Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
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There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
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I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
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Dear friend, great post and thank you for these great tips. I’m not sure if you know but there’s a company out of Dallas that has a great idea for fundraising. Check out http://www.phoneraiser.com . You can launch a fundraiser for your organization, non-profit, church, etc. with a unique fundraiser idea. Good luck.
Help your fundraising efforts by putting a free fundraising thermometer on your website.